Getting a heroin addict through a detox is their first step on the way to a new, drug-free life. But amazingly, many forms of heroin addiction treatment sidestep this action completely. By giving a heroin addict a substitute, similar substance — or even in some areas, a pharmaceutical form of heroin — a heroin detox is avoided.
In the US, drug programs aim only to reduce the harm of heroin addiction by providing the addict with a chemically-similar drug that prevents withdrawal symptoms from kicking in. The problem is that the person remains chained to an addictive substance. Some formulations are compounded in a way intended to reduce or eliminate the euphoric effect of heroin. But since all of them have become themselves drugs of abuse, this fact tends to believe the theory that they do not provide a high.
Proponents of this substitution treatment argue that since these heroin addicts (now turned into synthetic opiate addicts) are no longer living illegal lifestyles and are not spreading disease by sharing needles and other risky behavior, that this harm reduction is a valid therapy. There is some truth there, because the harm of drug use is reduced.
For years, Above It All Treatment Center has enabled heroin addicts to detox and go through an entirely drug-free rehabilitation. Instead of substitute drugs like methadone, buprenorphine, Suboxone or other formulations, a heroin addict is eased through withdrawal using a combination of nutritional supplementation, gentle reorientation exercises and physical assists. As surprising as it might sounds, some of the severity of heroin detox yields to these simple and non-invasive techniques used at Above It All Treatment Center drug rehabs.
Because most addicts starting a heroin detox are in poor physical condition, receiving immediate and ample nutritional supplementation alleviates some symptoms that are really based on nutritional deficiencies. Drugs and stressful lifestyles are known to deplete nutritional stores. Nutritional deficiencies can also cause the depression suffered by so many trying to recover from addiction.
Once the heroin detox is done and the person is ready to leave the withdrawal phase of recovery, the recovering addict faces the remainder of the program with a tolerable experience behind him. For some, this starts off the entire drug rehab process on a very positive note.
After the body breaks down drugs like heroin or cocaine and gets rids of the majority of the components, residues called metabolites are left behind, lodged in fatty tissues. These residues have been proven to be involved in the triggering of cravings, even years after a person stops taking drugs. The proof is that once a student on the Above It All Treatment Center program flushes out these residues, she not only can think more clearly, she also normally notices a reduction in drug cravings. Some people even say they are gone. There is no greater gift to a person who intends to leave an addicted lifestyle behind than the reduction or elimination of drug cravings. Without this, every day may be a battle to overcome the cravings and stay sober.