Heroin Addiction in Costa Mesa, CA

Call Now To Get On The Road To Recovery

*As required by law, all communications with Resurgence Behavioral Health are HIPAA Compliant and 100% Confidential

What is Heroin Addiction?

Heroin addiction in Costa Mesa CA has increased in recent years, as the substance is more widely available now than ever before.

This is a problem that has persistently plagued the entire country.

Heroin is one of the most frequently smuggled illicit drugs in existence, and that has made its use very challenging to regulate.

Individuals with heroin addiction should seek help, as the long-term effects of this addiction can be incredibly damaging and even fatal.

Local healthcare professionals in the Costa Mesa area are ready and prepared to help heroin users turn their lives around.

What is Considered Heroin?

Heroin is an opioid drug that is derived from morphine, which develops naturally in the seeds of opium poppy plants. These plants are commonly found in certain areas of Colombia, Asia, the Middle East, and Mexico. In the scientific community, heroin is known as diacetylmorphine, but otherwise, it is typically referred to as dope or smack.

This drug comes in a few different forms, typically a brown or white powder, but it can also be a sticky black substance called black tar heroin.

Users typically smoke, swallow, inject, or snort heroin.

Heroin has similar effects to prescription opioid pain killers like Percocet or Vicodin, and most heroin users start by using prescription drugs first before moving on to heroin because it’s stronger. Because it’s cheaper, stronger, and easier to get to than a prescription, most individuals that advance their drug use to include heroin won’t be able to go back to regularly prescribed drugs.

Unlike prescription opioids, there is no accepted medical use for heroin, but heroin can be up to three times cheaper than prescription alternatives, so it’s easier to get for many individuals.

The Dangers of Heroin Use

The potential for heroin addiction in Costa Mesa CA is very high. The short-term effects of heroin intake can cause a surge of euphoria or pleasure because it interacts with the areas of the brain that trigger feelings of relaxation and pleasure. It can relieve stress, make individuals feel at peace, ease anxiety and depressive episodes, and increase drowsiness, all in the short term.

Before it became illegal, Bayer boasted heroin as a method for treating a cough (at the beginning of the 1900s) until medical professionals realized how dangerous and highly addictive it was, and it was classified as an illegal drug moving forward.

Heroin is now classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it offers no acceptable medical uses, and the potential for it to cause addiction is high. After using heroin, the brain can be altered enough to change some of the pathways in the brain, effectively rewiring the way that it recognizes the feelings of reward and motivation.

After a time, these feelings won’t be produced naturally, and users will have to turn to heroin to create them again. The need to recreate the euphoric feelings that were created the first time is one of the characteristics that makes heroin so addictive.

Users typically build a tolerance quickly, so they will need larger amounts or more frequent use to recreate the same feelings, leading to a dependence that is difficult to reverse alone. Heroin becomes even more dangerous when it is mixed with crack cocaine, a common practice in the drug community.

The combined substance is often called a speedball, and it increases the risk of permanent damage to the body or an overdose. If you or someone you love is using heroin in Costa Mesa CA, it’s time to get help before any lasting damage is done.

Symptoms to Look for When Someone is Using Heroin

In addition to the feelings of euphoria that a heroin high may produce, there are other, more unpleasant short-term side effects, too. Individuals addicted to heroin will often report intense itching, nausea or vomiting, a dry mouth, and a warm flush throughout the skin. Heaviness in the limbs, cloudy mental capacity, and passing back and forth between consciousness and semi-consciousness are also common. What is more troubling are the long-term side effects of heroin addiction in Costa Mesa, CA.

The long-term side effects may include:

• Insomnia
• Users who take heroin through injection often experience collapsed veins
• Users who inject heroin are also at an increased risk for HIV if their judgment is impaired enough to share needles with other users
• Users who snort the substance often experience damage to the soft tissue inside of the nostrils
• Heart lining or valve infections
• Abscesses
• Stomach cramps and constipation
• Disease of the kidneys and liver
• Pneumonia and other issues with the lungs
• Depressive episodes and other mental disorders

When an addicted individual uses too much heroin, it is possible for them to overdose and suffers more immediate and life-threatening, or fatal consequences. During a heroin overdose, the user may experience impaired breathing, slowing down to an unnatural rate, and their breathing may even stop altogether.

When there isn’t enough oxygen reaching the brain, a dangerous medical condition known as hypoxia kicks in. Hypoxia is known to cause effects on the nervous system that can either be short or long-term, but typically include a coma and irreparable brain damage.

The best way to avoid a heroin overdose (in users that can’t stop on their own), is to seek help at Resurgence Behavioral Health as soon as you realize that you have a problem. You can call us to learn how we can help you change your life before it’s too late.

If you or someone you love has ingested heroin or any substance and is exhibiting troubling symptoms, do not hesitate – call 911. Emergency room doctors and many first responders will be equipped with a medication called naloxone that can help to treat an opioid-related overdose if it is administered right away. This medication blocks the effects of opioids by binding to their receptors.

Withdrawal Symptoms of Heroin Addiction in Costa Mesa, CA

Heroin withdrawal symptoms can be severe when addicted users attempt to stop abruptly. If you’re experiencing heroin withdrawal in Costa Mesa, CA, we help you through it with our medical drug detox program. Symptoms may start as soon as a few hours after you’ve stopped taking heroin.

The most common of these symptoms are:

• Uncomfortable restlessness
• Intense pain in the muscles and bones
• Trouble sleeping
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Cold flashes
• Leg twitches or other uncontrollable movements
• Severe cravings for the drug

Your symptoms will vary depending on a number of individual factors like the length and amount of use, genetic factors, method of use, and more.

Heroin Addiction Treatment in Costa Mesa, CA

There has never been a better time to turn your life around than this moment. If you’re facing a heroin addiction in Costa Mesa CA, we can help you through it.

We offer a variety of tools, services, and options that will give you the strength and support that you need to overcome any obstacle. These range from behavioral therapies and holistic treatments to support groups and aftercare planning, with a wide variety in between.

Call our drug rehab center today to learn more about our customized treatment programs, the medical detox process, and our complimentary insurance verification.

During this call, we can also perform an admissions questionnaire so that we have all of the information we need to move forward in creating a specific treatment plan that is as unique as you and your addiction.

The only thing left to do is get started, and we’re ready when you are.