Recognizing Heroin Addiction
If you’re concerned that a loved one may be in the throes of heroin addiction, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the following physical symptoms and signs associated with substance abuse:
- Personality changes
- Mood swings
- Disorientation or mental confusion
- Lying about activity or drug use
- Fatigue or sleepiness
- Slurred speech
- Unexplained weight loss
- Runny nose
- Scabs or bruises
- Track marks on the arms or legs
- Wearing long-sleeved shirts or long pants even in warm weather (to cover track marks)
- Missing school or work obligations
- Withdrawing from family and/or friends
The Devastating Effects of Heroin Abuse
Long-term heroin addiction can have devastating effects. Drug abusers are preoccupied with their addiction, often sacrificing their friends, family, school, work, and other commitments in favor of pursuing their next chance to get high. In addition its negative social impact, heroin addiction can also wreak havoc on the abusers body, leading to a variety of possible health problems such as:
- Systemic bacterial infections that can affect the user’s heat valves of blood vessels
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Lung disease including pneumonia or tuberculosis
- Complications as a result of sharing needles or exchanging contaminated body fluids (HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, etc.)
Before heroin causes irreversible damage, use your Medical Mutual heroin detox coverage to seek help now.
Recovering from Heroin Addiction
The first step towards sobriety is to go through detox, a process during which the addict flushes all illegal drugs and other intoxicants out of their system. The type of detox you may undergo may depend on your Medical Mutual heroin detox coverage; while some facilities offer medically supervised treatments that allow for practically painless detox, some insurance companies view these treatments as experimental. In those cases, detox can be an uncomfortable process, but it’s an essential and unavoidable part of recovery.
One your system is clean, you began the real journey – maintain your new-found sobriety. Whether your initial treatment starts in an inpatient facility or via outpatient rehab, your Medical Mutual heroin detox coverage will most likely provide some sort of long-term support. Support groups allow recovering addicts to connect with like-minded individuals who understand the struggle in ways few other people can. Other 12-step type programs offer guidance and accountability to help members keep on track so that past heroin addiction continues to have no place in their healthier, happier future.