Heroin is an opiate, which means that it chemically resembles opium. When opiates enter the brain, they produce an extreme feeling of pleasure (called euphoria) and also decrease the body's ability to feel pain. Heroin is an extremely addictive narcotic drug because over time the cells in the brain become accustomed to the presence of the drug, which means that when the drug is gone, these brain cells feel a lack of the drug. This is what leads to withdrawal symptoms and can cause severe side effects from detoxing.
Step 1
Talk to a doctor or other health professional. Heroin addiction is a health problem and attempting to detox from heroin use should not be done on your own. If you don't have a doctor you trust, visit that doctor. Otherwise you can go to a free clinic if you prefer to maintain your anonymity.
Step 2
Examine your options. The Partnership For a Drug-Free America is a national organization that can inform you about your options for a heroin detox. Their website (drugfree.org) can give you information about different types of treatment as well as find treatment centers.
Step 3
Try medically-assisted detoxification. Medically assisted detoxification involves using medications (such as methadone) to help ease withdrawal symptoms as the heroin gets out of your system. These medications can only be obtained via a prescription and are most easily obtained from methadone clinics and other drug treatment centers.
Step 4
Join a support group. There are a variety of support groups for people with opiate addiction (Narcotics Anonymous is one such organization which has chapters all over the world). Having social support can be critical while detoxing from heroin and also can help you not use narcotics in the future.
