What are the
long-term effects of heroin use?
One of the most detrimental
long-term effects of heroin use is addiction
itself.
Addiction is a chronic,
relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive
drug seeking and use, and by neurochemical and
molecular changes in the brain. Heroin also
produces profound degrees of tolerance and
physical dependence, which are also powerful
motivating factors for
compulsive use and abuse.
As with abusers of any addictive drug, heroin
abusers gradually spend more and more time and
energy obtaining and using the drug. Once they are
addicted, the heroin abusers' primary purpose in
life becomes seeking and using drugs. The drugs
literally change their brains and their behavior.
Physical dependence develops
with higher doses of the drug. With physical
dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the
drug and withdrawal symptoms occur if use is
reduced abruptly. Withdrawal may occur within a
few hours after the last time the drug is taken.
Symptoms of withdrawal include restlessness,
muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea,
vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps ("cold
turkey"), and leg movements. Major withdrawal
symptoms peak between 24 and 48 hours after the
last dose of heroin and subside after about a
week. However, some people have shown persistent
withdrawal signs for many months. Heroin
withdrawal is never fatal to otherwise healthy
adults, but it can cause death to the fetus of a
pregnant addict.
At some point during
continuous heroin use, a person can become
addicted to the drug. Sometimes addicted
individuals will endure many of the withdrawal
symptoms to reduce their tolerance for the drug so
that they can again experience the rush.
Physical dependence and the
emergence of withdrawal symptoms were once
believed to be the key features of heroin
addiction. We now know this may not be the case
entirely, since craving and relapse can occur
weeks and months after withdrawal symptoms are
long gone. We also know that patients with chronic
pain who need opiates to function (sometimes over
extended periods) have few if any problems leaving
opiates after their pain is resolved by other
means. This may be because the patient in pain is
simply seeking relief of pain and not the rush
sought by the addict.
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Courtesy of :
National Institute on Drug Abuse
