Mozhaisk deanery. Breaking a drug addict is the other side of drug euphoria


Withdrawal from an addict is a sign of addiction and is characterized by severe symptoms. In narcology, this condition is referred to as withdrawal syndrome, or abstinence.

The addict always feels withdrawal approaching. Depending on the type of drug, experience, the first signs may appear 8-12 hours after the last use.

Causes of breaking

There are several reasons for breaking:

  1. Reducing the dosage of the drug
  2. Switching to a "lighter" drug, which is now needed more and more often
  3. Cessation of use, for various reasons: an attempt to quit the addiction and endure the “withdrawal”, or lack of funds to purchase the next dose

The suffering that an addict experiences during withdrawal is phantom pain. Despite the fact that in fact they do not exist, the body realistically experiences them. Withdrawal syndrome does not allow a person to rest even in a dream. Therefore, as a result of "breaking" the body is critically dehydrated and exhausted. It takes a long time to recover from such stress on your own, even for a healthy person. For a drug addict, the consequences of withdrawal can only be cured by qualified specialists. Also, in the conditions of a narcological clinic, it is possible to eliminate a severe state of withdrawal.

Potential breakage hazard:

  • Risk of death from pain shock, cardiac arrest, critical exhaustion
  • Accident caused by a drug addict
  • Development of mental disorders
  • physical oppression
  • Murder
  • suicide

Withdrawal syndrome can provoke irreversible deterioration. They can manifest themselves at the physical level, for example, failures in the systems of the body, and lead to the degradation of the personality, disorders in the nervous system, and mental disorders.

The problem cannot be ignored. As a matter of urgency, it is required to provide support to a person and provide him with competent assistance.

The addict can give up and replace the dose with a "light" drug, or drugs, alcohol. As a result, it can end in death from an overdose, or stop the work of one or another organ, such as breathing. In this case, there is a possibility of coma.

Symptoms of drug addiction withdrawal

The withdrawal symptoms of a drug addict and the intensity of their manifestation depend on the type of drug addiction, experience. Abstinence manifests itself in a progressive system. Her symptoms increase, for 3-5 days, and then subside. As a result, abstinence, together with residual symptoms, can last up to a month at most. During this time of torment, rarely anyone manages to endure and not use the drug again.

Withdrawal symptoms:

  • Mood swings, aggressive outbursts
  • Loss of self control
  • Severe pain in bones and joints
  • Muscle convulsions
  • Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malfunction of the digestive tract, which leads to critical exhaustion
  • Chills
  • Strong sweating
  • tearing
  • Violation of the cardiovascular system: tachycardia, high blood pressure

Removing the withdrawal of the addict

It is risky to carry out the withdrawal of a drug addict on your own, at home. This approach often leads to complications, if you do not resort to the help of specialists, then death may occur. Illiterate help, even from good intentions, can cause serious damage to human health and only aggravate the situation.

Risks of self-treatment, home treatment:

  • Heart failure
  • Anaphylactic shock - an allergic reaction
  • Respiratory arrest
  • Violations of the functions of body systems

Withdrawal syndrome is an attempt by a drug to return a person to a vicious circle of dependence. The chances that a person himself will be able to give up the drug and endure the “withdrawal” are extremely low.

Often, it is the fear of withdrawal that prevents the addict from giving up the addiction. If you explain that in a drug treatment clinic, they can help relieve severe symptoms, then perhaps he will give up the choice in favor of a healthy life. This can work especially in the initial stages of addiction.

To alleviate the condition of a drug addict, while not harming him, it is best to seek help from a drug clinic. Especially when it comes to withdrawal symptoms. Modern methods of treatment allow saving the life of a drug addict, eliminating “breaking” in the shortest possible time, safely and painlessly.

If you do not provide appropriate medical care in time, you can die from breaking. Withdrawal in drug addicts is scientifically called drug withdrawal syndrome. It begins to manifest itself when the dosage of the consumed psychotropic substance is refused or reduced. Its intensity will directly depend on the duration of the drug and its variety.

Description

Withdrawal syndrome in drug addiction is a set of mental, physical conditions that can be observed after taking the last dose of a psychotropic drug or when the dosage is reduced, switching to weaker drugs.

Breaking a drug addict requires mandatory help. This pathological condition leads a person to a new dose, leading him in a vicious circle. The strength of manifestations will depend on the main active substance of the drug, its ability to accumulate in the body and participate in life.

Withdrawal is an integral part of physical addiction. Any drug, entering the body, is delivered with the bloodstream to the brain cells, where it directly binds to them. Most of the substances contained in drugs tend to accumulate in tissues and organs. The substance becomes a part of the organism, without which it refuses to exist normally. When it is gradually withdrawn, breaking begins. If its symptoms are not relieved, the risk of a breakdown increases even after prolonged abstinence. During the withdrawal period, the body has time to cleanse itself, so the susceptibility to the drug will be stronger, and taking the standard dosage for an addict can kill him.

How long the withdrawal lasts is directly related to the composition of the hallucinogen. The most devastating consequences for the human body are the use of opiate drugs and methadone. Symptoms of drug withdrawal during the abolition of the latter can be observed for 2-3 months. Not everyone manages to pass such a test completely. Weaker drugs as such do not cause physical pain, but they affect the psyche, sometimes forcing people to do terrible things in an attempt to get the desired dose.

Symptoms

Drug withdrawal has its own symptoms. The clinical picture can help determine what type of drug a person is using. For all varieties of drugs, the following symptoms of withdrawal will be common:

  • weakness, lethargy;
  • pain all over the body;
  • feeling that someone is trying to break the bones from the inside;
  • nausea, vomiting, diarrhea causing severe dehydration;
  • tremor of the limbs;
  • convulsions similar to those in epileptic seizures;
  • profuse discharge of mucus from the nose, tearing;
  • sleep disturbances, irritability, aggression;
  • the appearance of thoughts about one's own uselessness, helplessness.

As the manifestations of withdrawal intensify, the addict tries to protect himself from people. He perceives everyone, even the most dear, as enemies, inadequately reacts to them.

Spice

During withdrawal, spice addicts are more dominated by symptoms related to the mental state. A person becomes irritable, can fall into a deep depression. A characteristic sign of withdrawal is a sharp change in mood from depressive, depressed, to sharply aggressive. Individuals who have canceled Spice often experience paranoid delusions.

The drug addict has reduced muscle tone, he feels weakness, trembling in the body. There is drowsiness, sometimes pain in the joints. Withdrawal begins 10-12 hours after the cessation of consumption of the substance. It will last for several days. More precisely, it will not work, because the unstable composition of the substance on each organism will have a different effect. It is important whether detoxification was carried out, what means were used for this.

Phenibut

This drug, which is part of the nootropic group, significantly enhances the effects of narcotic drugs, so it is often used in conjunction with cannabis consumption. Taking it longer than the period described in the instructions, exceeding the dosage prescribed by the doctor leads to addiction. Withdrawal syndrome occurs with prolonged therapy, if additional measures to eliminate mental disorders are not used. The substance is physically addictive, so the withdrawal syndrome will be more manifested by somatic signs:

  • chills;
  • tremor of the limbs;
  • pain when touching the skin;
  • body aches.

The main medicinal effect of the drug is to reduce mental pressure, increased anxiety, improve sleep quality, and regulate the work of nerve centers. With withdrawal syndrome, there is a significant deterioration in the patient's condition. The appearance of suicidal tendencies is often noted. The duration of the withdrawal syndrome depends on the dosage, the condition of the patient himself.

Methadone

Methadone addiction exhibits the most distressing symptoms. After withdrawal, the addict suffers from terrible pain. There is a feeling that they are trying to break it from the inside. Convulsions begin, from the side of the psyche a persecution mania manifests itself.

One of the features of methadone is the ability not only to accumulate in tissues and organs, but also to have an antitussive and antiemetic effect. This state of affairs often leads to death due to poisoning or pneumonia, because mucus and toxins are not removed from the body.

Causes of the condition

Drug addicts develop a strong dependence on a psychological and physical level. The hallucinogen, getting into the body, is built into the process of its vital activity, replacing the neurotransmitters that are responsible for the flow of nerve impulses from the brain to the rest of the body. As a result, the body completely shuts down the production of many vital neurotransmitters. Nerve cells gradually die off, as a result, brain activity decreases, a person begins to degrade. Changes occur from drugs that are identical to those of schizophrenics.

The connection between the cells of all organs is broken. As a result, the body turns into a set of cells and nerve impulses caused by a psychotropic substance.

Consequences for the body

It often happens that in the process of drug addiction treatment, the patient dies from withdrawal symptoms or self-inflicted injuries. Withdrawal is accompanied by severe pain and psychological abnormalities. Drug addicts often have suicidal thoughts because the brain is not in control on an emotional level. Not everyone is able to withstand the test of pain. In addition, drug addicts often die due to the failure of one of the organs. Patients lack basic instincts, they do not need food, rest, water during withdrawal.

The most severe consequences of drug use are for the brain. Drug withdrawal often leads to the development of dementia, psychosis, epilepsy. This is due to the destruction of entire sections of the GM. If medical assistance is not provided in time, withdrawal is much more likely to kill a person than the drug itself.

Feelings at different stages of withdrawal

A drug addict can experience a variety of emotions and sensations that appear as a result of withdrawal from a psychotropic substance. Even the addict himself cannot always describe how he feels during withdrawal. From the moment the first symptoms appear, a person goes through three stages of cleansing the body.

  1. At the first stage, the brain and central nervous system are released from the effects of the substance. There are initial signs of drug withdrawal. A person begins to feel that he is surrounded by enemies. He tries to close himself off from everyone in the room or disappears for several days. All attempts to talk or somehow help end in a violent scandal. Quite often, manifestations of abstinence at the first stage cause drug addicts to feel insecure, it seems to them that someone is constantly watching them, persecuting them. Fear appears. Along with mental symptoms, the initial manifestations of a cold are observed.
  2. At the second stage, the active removal of the toxin from the body begins. This happens through vomiting and diarrhea. Many patients do not find the strength to even get out of bed. Further, there is a violation of thermoregulatory processes, since the toxin is also excreted from the body through heavy sweating. Often at this stage, the manifestations are so strong that the person gives up trying to stop using the psychotropic drug and takes the dose again.
  3. The third stage, few can withstand. After the cessation of active removal of the toxin from the body, its adaptation to life without the drug begins, which until recently replaced neurotransmitters and transmitted most of the information. Weakened after vomiting and diarrhea, the body begins to demand a dose. The addict feels like literally every cell of his body hurts, which further aggravates the mental state. There is a feeling that the bones are trying to crush, all the muscles are torn, and the joints will soon turn inside out. In an attempt to relieve pain, people often injure themselves.

Conclusion

Trying to give up hallucinogens, all drug addicts will eventually feel the manifestations of withdrawal symptoms. This is a difficult test that a person cannot overcome without medical help. It is difficult to say how quickly the abstinence will pass. For some, withdrawal ends in a day, while for someone it can last 2-3 months. At the last stage, a psychologist should work with the patient. If adequate rehabilitation is carried out, then the addict will have a chance to return to a full life.

Drug addiction is a serious disease that leads to damage to internal organs, the development of neurological and mental disorders, and leads to personality degradation. A drug addict is a person who is physically and mentally dependent on psychoactive substances and needs to gradually increase their dose.

Drug addiction develops very quickly, and the person himself does not notice how he gets into its network. Drugs act on the brain in such a way that the person using them believes for a long time that he is in control of himself, and, if desired, can easily refuse psychoactive drugs.

Depending on the severity of drug addiction, abstinence from drug use often leads to withdrawal symptoms, or as it is also called, drug withdrawal.

is a pathological condition that manifests itself in different people through different periods of drug use. Basically, the withdrawal syndrome develops against the background of taking hard drugs, heroin.

Usually withdrawal occurs after the use of narcotic substances for several weeks. During this period, a person usually develops drug dependence, and there is a need to increase the dose. The higher the “experience” of a drug addict, the more intense the drug withdrawal syndrome.

But in people who have certain characteristics of the nervous system or its painful changes, withdrawal can occur even after two or three times of using drugs.

A person begins to realize that he has fallen into the insidious networks of drug addiction only when an abstinence syndrome appears. If it is impossible to take the drug, the patient feels withdrawal. It is different for every drug addict, but according to all its symptoms, it is always painful and unpleasant.

The first signs of withdrawal syndrome in a drug addict appear after 8-10 hours from the use of the last dose. The first signs of drug withdrawal are nervousness and irritability, inability to control one's behavior and emotions. The body shudders from severe chills, there is profuse salivation and tearing, the nose is blocked from a runny nose, sweating increases.

After a while, the addict's dilated pupils stop responding to light. Strong vomiting begins. The addict cannot eat anything. There is no appetite at all, and the effort to eat something turns into puffiness. If the patient does not use the drug, all withdrawal symptoms will intensify and reach a peak intensity after three days.

Then the addict's blood pressure rises, the pulse quickens, and diarrhea develops. But the most basic and most painful symptom of drug withdrawal is severe pain in the bones and joints. It's like it breaks a man. His muscles are cramping. The addict, tormented by pain, does not even manage to rest or pass out. Men may experience spontaneous ejaculation during withdrawal.

But harder than physical pain, the drug addict suffers psychological suffering during the withdrawal syndrome. It turns out that pain during breaking is imaginary, phantom. When a person begins to use drugs, he expects a feeling of pleasure from them. But when withdrawal comes instead of pleasure, the patient realizes that the drug will not give him the desired pleasures. After the onset of the withdrawal syndrome, the “high” from the drug disappears altogether, and the addict is forced to take drugs to get rid of suffering.

Narcotic substances have the ability to depress neurons, so they block pain sensations. After regular drug use, the nervous system gets used to such work, and its cells stop producing their own painkillers - endorphins, which are also responsible for feelings of pleasure and joy. Cells of all tissues and organs begin to demand narcotic substances, refusing to function without them. Instead of adequate signals, the brain receives signals that the body is suffering. This is the drug addiction.

Removal of drug addiction

Removal of drug withdrawal is the first victorious result in the fight against drug addiction. The very name “drug withdrawal” sounds scary, but it’s even scarier to see this state with your own eyes, not to mention feeling it for yourself. If the drug addict was able to painlessly overcome the withdrawal syndrome, then he could easily give up drugs. It is the pain during withdrawal that makes the addict use the drug again and again. After the experience of withdrawal, the addict can no longer exist without drugs.

The longer the drug use lasts, the more difficult it is to remove the drug withdrawal. With a long narcotic experience, breaking should be removed in a hospital, so that the patient is constantly under the supervision of doctors. Withdrawal symptoms cause the addict to experience severe discomfort, from which only qualified narcologists can save him.

The process of removing the withdrawal syndrome in drug addiction involves the complete cessation of drug use. When removing withdrawal from a drug addict, pain is eliminated and nervousness is reduced. The only exceptions to the general rules are serious cases of drug addiction, in which a sharp withdrawal from drugs can lead to the death of the patient. When removing withdrawal symptoms, toxins and undigested poisons are first removed from the addict's body. This procedure is called detoxification. This phase of treatment is mandatory in the elimination of drug withdrawal symptoms.

How to get rid of drug withdrawal? In modern narcological practice, there is a fairly wide arsenal of means to relieve withdrawal symptoms, but in order to achieve the desired effect, it is necessary to determine the composition and amount of drugs in each specific case or prescribe other detoxification methods. This is only possible for a qualified specialist.

Some drug addicts try to remove the withdrawal on their own, at home. But such cases have never brought the desired result. The patient takes alcohol in the hope that it will relieve him of pain, but this only aggravates the situation. Trying to fall asleep, in order to get rid of aching pains, the addict takes painkillers and sleeping pills. But without all these remedies, withdrawal is even less dangerous. Of particular danger is the use of various psychostimulants during the withdrawal syndrome, which in this situation carry a huge risk to the health and life of the addict.

When removing withdrawal at home, there is always a risk of complications, moreover, in such conditions there is no strict control over the patient's compliance with the necessary sobriety regimen. Therefore, it is necessary to remove withdrawal symptoms and treat drug addiction in a hospital, where there are necessary conditions, equipment and drugs for this.

The patient should know that the removal of withdrawal will last 5-7 days, during which his body will be cleansed of toxins, drug residues and the symptoms of withdrawal will be softened and then removed. In most cases, the procedures begin with the intravenous administration of a polyionic saline solution to the patient, which restores the electrolytic balance in his body. Sedatives, hypnotics, vasodilators, diuretics and other drugs are added to this solution.

After detoxification of the body, the patient is given vitamins and minerals that help the body mobilize internal forces for faster recovery.

Removal of withdrawal is the first stage in the treatment of drug addiction. The drug addict must understand that after the elimination of the withdrawal syndrome, the treatment of destructive addiction to narcotic drugs must necessarily follow, otherwise his life will go downhill.

Drug addiction treatment begins with the removal of withdrawal symptoms, then drug therapy is carried out. After that, much attention is paid to the psychological rehabilitation and social adaptation of a person. Together with the patient, the specialists of narcological clinics go through all stages of this difficult path and support him at every level of getting rid of drug addiction. If the patient will strictly follow all the recommendations of the doctors and take the issue of his treatment seriously, then he will be able to return to normal life and again find family, friends, work ...

Drug addiction is like a medal with two sides. One of them is a feeling of euphoria, oblivion after taking a dose. The other side is the withdrawal of a drug addict, which seems endless to the unfortunate. What is withdrawal syndrome? How to help a patient whose recent "high" turned into unbearable suffering? All this in the review.

The enemy must be known by sight

Drug withdrawal is one of the pathological processes that develop during the use of narcotic drugs. A particularly vivid clinical picture is observed as a result of the use of potent substances. Heroin is one of those drugs.

The state of a drug addict can be called a response of his body to a restriction in the drug.

Breakdown time is individual. Only one thing is logical: the longer the “experience” of the addict, the greater the likelihood of frequent and most intense attacks.

If the syndrome did not start after several doses of the narcotic substance, this cannot be a guarantee of the further absence of withdrawal.

Why does withdrawal syndrome occur?

A person who "sits on a drug" gets used to the drug; the body of the unfortunate undergoes cardinal changes. Gradually, the harmful substance, having rebuilt the metabolism of the addict, becomes a vital component for the patient. A person places the drug on the same level with food, water, air.

When a drug addict for some reason does not take a drug, his nervous system experiences stress, which negatively affects all human organs. The body of the poor fellow is trying to make up for the imbalance that has appeared, using the entire arsenal of compensatory mechanisms. The stock of internal resources turns out to be negligible to restore the patient's previous state. As a result, drug withdrawal occurs, its first symptoms appear.

Gradually drug addiction becomes life-threatening

Description of the clinical picture

Withdrawal symptoms may vary slightly. Their list and nature depend on the type of drug, the time of taking the drug and the physiological parameters of the drug addict. Indicative withdrawal symptoms are as follows:

  1. After about 10 hours of abstinence from a dose, the drug addict becomes irritable, nervous, distracted. Gradually, the person's condition worsens, he loses control over himself.
  2. Cold symptoms appear: the drug addict freezes, his nose is blocked, tears flow uncontrollably, the patient sweats profusely.
  3. The pupils of the unfortunate dilate and do not respond to light exposure from the outside.
  4. The addict loses his appetite, he is constantly sick, vomiting and diarrhea may appear. All these symptoms are attempts by the body to remove unnecessary substances.
  5. Arrhythmia is observed, blood pressure rises.
  6. A person suffers pain that occurs in muscle tissues and bones. The unfortunate person feels as if his joints are being torn to pieces. The picture is complemented by convulsions, the bones literally “break”.

The drug addict cannot eat, drink, sleep, or defecate on his own. He tries to hide from prying eyes, to remain alone with himself. Often, drug addicts curl up under the covers, where they are also haunted by withdrawal. The described symptoms can be observed for several days, until the unfortunate person is at the disposal of the medical staff.

The consequences of the pathological condition and the provision of assistance to the patient

In the process of breaking, all systems and organs of the human body suffer. The skin becomes thinner, rougher and cracked, the structure of hair and nails is destroyed. The thirst for the narcotic substance prevails over the other needs of the patient. An addicted person forgets to eat, drink, he loses interest in his own life. For the unfortunate, any moral and moral principles cease to exist, even the instinct of self-preservation of the individual seems to dissolve. Native people for a drug addict cease to be valuable and loved. A drug addict lies, turns into an unprincipled and ruthless person. In other words, there is a complete transformation of the personality and physiology of the addict.

How to help a drug addict?

How to remove the break? Is there a reliable way to deal with the pathological process? In modern narcological practice, there are many drugs used in the case of withdrawal symptoms. Among them:

  • Drugs for symptomatic treatment.
  • Means for the normalization of sleep.
  • Medicines that cleanse the body of toxins.
  • Drugs that correct the work of the cardiovascular system.

In order to really alleviate the patient's condition and not exacerbate the manifested ones, it is necessary to accurately determine the composition and dose of the agents used. Sometimes there is an operation with alternative methods of detoxification. In any case, only a medical worker can do this.

Only a doctor can determine the dose and types of drugs for detoxification

Often, drug addicts try to "help" themselves on their own. To this end, the unfortunate take alcoholic beverages, further aggravating the situation. Sleeping pills, any anesthetic and various psychostimulants cause great damage to human health and threaten his life. Therefore, the direct responsibility of the relatives of a drug addict is the timely involvement of qualified medical staff in the process of removing the syndrome.

What is provider-supervised treatment? The patient will have a difficult journey of five to seven days. During this time, his body will be cleansed of decay products and residues of a harmful substance. Removal of withdrawal begins with injections of polyionic saline. This tool helps the addict's body to restore the internal electrolytic balance. As additional drugs, sedatives, diuretics, vasodilators and other drugs are used. Gradually, the withdrawal symptoms will disappear. When the detoxification process is completed, minerals and vitamins are administered to the patient in order to restore the immune system and mobilize strength for a speedy recovery.

During detox, the body is cleared of drug residues and their decay products.

What will be the patient's future path?

Beating withdrawal symptoms is just the first step on a long road to getting rid of drug addiction. The patient will have to understand that he has a chance to regain his former happiness and live a full life without drugs. Otherwise, the process will start again, the signs of the syndrome will not keep you waiting. Detoxification and restoration of immunity is followed by drug therapy, the main focus of which is the rehabilitation of the nervous system and internal organs of the patient.

And it's not over yet! Faced with withdrawal symptoms, a drug addict needs a serious rehabilitation of the psyche, as well as social adaptation. This is also done by qualified professionals.

The scale of the damage that drug addiction entails is incredibly great. The described breakdown is only a small part of all the horror that a person who finds himself "on the needle" will face. Only our prudence, common sense and efficiency of action will help to give a due rebuff to drugs.

When faced with the question of drug withdrawal treatment, it is necessary to remember that all variants of drug addiction have the same clinical picture. The stages of addiction are divided into the following:

  • Intoxication (drug use, alcohol);
  • Acute withdrawal (drug withdrawal);
  • The period of post-withdrawal disorders;
  • Formation of therapeutic remission.

Any treatment should be based on taking into account the period of the disease. Addiction treatment begins with harm reduction during an acute withdrawal disorder through detoxification, roughly speaking, withdrawal from drug withdrawal.

Withdrawal begins when a person's drug addiction is already developed, and for some reason access to the drug has ceased.

How does addiction develop?

A single use of the drug does not cause dependence. Dependence appears after 3-5 injections or intranasal use of heroin, 10-15 injections of morphine, 30 doses of codeine. On average, the stage of episodic administration of the drug lasts 2-3 months. If the drug intake becomes regular from the very beginning, then the period of drug addiction is reduced to 1-2 weeks.

Drug addiction also has its stages.

Addiction stages:

  • First stage. The regularity of anesthesia is the beginning of the first stage of the disease. Sleep is superficial, appetite is suppressed, the amount of urine decreases, constipation. Gradually increase the dose. The absence of the drug manifests itself after 1-2 days, mainly in the form of mental disorders. The duration of the first stage when injected is from 2 to 4 months, when taking codeine - up to six months, when ingesting poppy straw - up to several years.
  • Second stage. Tolerance has grown sharply (by 100-300 times). The physiological effect of the drug changes - constipation disappears, with colds, a cough appears, sleep is restored, pupil constriction is preserved. Behavior becomes lethargic, passive. There are signs of physical dependence.
  • Third stage. Most drug addicts do not live to this stage. In the third stage, not only a large drug addiction syndrome is expressed, but also the consequences of chronic intoxication. The first is physical addiction. Tolerance drops to 1/3 of the previous dose. The effect of the drug is extremely stimulating, there is practically no euphoria. A dose of 1/8-1/10 of the constant dose is required to achieve physical comfort. Outside of intoxication, there may be no ability to move. Withdrawal syndrome is less pronounced, but comes sooner, and its duration reaches 5-6 weeks.

Patients of the third stage seek medical help, because they cannot get the required amount of the drug and suffer from prolonged withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes they try to give up the drug on their own, trying to replace it with alcohol, tranquilizers, barbiturates, but this, as a rule, does not lead to success. Sometimes there is a transformation of one drug addiction into another or the formation of polydrug addiction.

Withdrawal symptoms may differ depending on the type of drug the person has used, such as:

Opium (morphine, heroin)

Withdrawal from morphine addiction occurs several hours after the last dose of the drug. A variety of somatovegetative, neuropsychiatric symptoms are noted.

Physical manifestation:

  • yawn,
  • sweating,
  • lacrimation,
  • diarrhea,
  • chills,
  • pupil dilation,
  • nausea,
  • vomit,
  • tides,
  • fever,
  • increased breathing,
  • spasms of the muscles of the larynx, abdomen and other groups, pain in them,
  • dehydration and weight loss.

Psychological manifestation:

  • There is an alarming state, anxiety, an unaccountable fear of death, which comes in waves.
  • Sleep is disturbed, often accompanied by nightmares.
  • The mood is changeable: either a slight euphoria with an overestimation of one's own personality and one's capabilities, or a lowering of mood with depression, or irritability, anger with apathy and aggression.

Acute, the most severe period of withdrawal - 7-10 days. However, then, within 1-1.5 months. severe asthenia, depression, somatovegetative disorders, decreased performance last. There are short-term psychoses with a change in the state of consciousness. There may be Korsakov's amnestic syndrome, convulsive seizures. Mental disorders become noticeable and are expressed in psychopathization with dysphoria and deceit. A decrease in the moral and ethical qualities of a person, emotional devastation, loss of ability to work is revealed. Neurological changes are mainly expressed in the form of vegetative disorders (narrowing of the pupils, dry mouth, stool retention, fluctuations in blood pressure, etc.)

At the late stage of opium addiction, all syndromes of the disease state become more complicated and aggravated. Tolerance falls, while there are failures in the rhythm of taking the drug, especially during periods of somatic distress. However, when the condition improves, drug use resumes. Euphoria is practically not observed, the stimulating effect of the drug is reduced. Mental dependence is partially satisfied by improving the mental state and some rise (stimulation) of intellectual and physical processes.

Physical dependence is severe. In the withdrawal syndrome, in a more acute form, all the symptoms of the chronic (II) stage of drug addiction appear. Asthenic syndrome becomes especially difficult and protracted, while even taking a drug relieves it for a short time. Expressed depression, often with suicidal thoughts.

In patients, the decrease in the intellectual-mnestic properties of the personality becomes pronounced, they lose their individual traits, become similar to each other. Asthenia and adynamia predominate. It is worth remembering that the removal of heroin withdrawal should take place only with consultations and under the supervision of medical personnel.

External manifestations of drug addicts:

  • There is a general aging
  • cachexia,
  • earthy gray skin
  • trophic disorders in the form of crumbling teeth, hair loss,
  • diseases of individual organs or systems: cardiovascular, genitourinary, respiratory, gastrointestinal tract,
  • impaired coordination of movements.

Methadone withdrawal manifests itself in physical symptoms:

  • Dizziness,
  • lacrimation,
  • Runny nose,
  • sneezing,
  • Nausea,
  • Vomit,
  • Diarrhea,
  • Fever,
  • Chills,
  • Tremor,
  • Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat),
  • Pain in the joints of the legs,
  • Increased pain sensitivity
  • Increased blood pressure.

Mental symptoms:

  • Thoughts of suicide
  • Depression,
  • Adrenal exhaustion,
  • prolonged insomnia,
  • Rave,
  • auditory hallucinations,
  • visual hallucinations,
  • Increased perception of smells, reality or imagination,
  • Noticeable decrease in sex drive
  • Anxiety,
  • Panic,
  • Paranoia.

Why does methadone cause such effects?

Long-term use of methadone is addictive, the effect of the drug is reduced. This process is called "tolerance" to the drug. Drug tolerance may require increasing doses of methadone to prevent painful withdrawal symptoms.

With an increase in the dose of methadone, the amount of negative effects of the drug on the body increases. This impact includes:

  • blunting emotions,
  • Lack of sleep
  • Loss of consciousness,
  • Loss of sex drive and interest
  • Loss of clarity of thought
  • Slow response, increased chance of accidents,
  • Dehydration and inability to properly metabolize.

The symptoms of methadone withdrawal are the most severe of all drugs.

  • Painful and debilitating symptoms can last for several weeks or, at high doses, for several months.
  • Almost no one was able to complete the withdrawal of methadone on their own, medical assistance is needed.

Facts about methadone withdrawal:

  • Methadone is a narcotic drug, like other opiates and opioids such as g eroin, oh xyContin, in icodin, oh xycodone, hydrocodone.
  • Methadone is the most addictive drug.
  • People taking methadone are severely deficient in essential vitamins and minerals.
  • People taking methadone will experience severe and painful withdrawal symptoms if the drug is withdrawn abruptly.
  • The pain of methadone withdrawal can be compared to a very serious case of the flu, only 10 times worse.
  • Methadone use for pain relief can be fatal.

Symptoms of codeine withdrawal

If you have been taking codeine for a long time, codeine withdrawal may occur if you abstain from the drug. Symptoms appear in two stages. The early phase occurs within a few hours after the last dose. Later, secondary symptoms set in as the body adjusts to life without codeine.

Early symptoms of codeine withdrawal are similar to all symptoms of heroin withdrawal.

Secondary symptoms include:

  • Diarrhea,
  • stomach cramps,
  • dilated pupils,
  • Nausea and vomiting,
  • Goosebumps.

Many of the symptoms of codeine withdrawal become antagonistic to the effects of codeine. For example, using codeine causes constipation, but if you stop using it, it can cause diarrhea. Codeine often causes drowsiness, but during withdrawal, the person suffers from insomnia.