Needle track marks can scar person’s arms for years and even for life and can be helped with laser treatment. These scars can cause embarrassment and are a constant reminder of where that person has been in his or her past drug addiction. There are ways to improve these scars to be less visible. You do not need to suffer for something you do not do anymore and hiding or removing needle track marks with laser treatment could be beneficial to your well being.

Having to wear long sleeves all the time and having noticeable scars were your veins are is definitely not very appealing. Especially while going on job interviews or within the company of friends. There are creams that can help and many different ways to hid the scars, but probably the best way is through scar laser treatment.

You could use vitamin e or scar removal crèmes to help in healing track mark scars from injecting drugs over and over. This may help some but will not remove the scar. Laser treatments are probably the best way or best chance of completely removing the scars. Usually there will be multiple laser treatment sessions that can get very costly. Sometimes this may not work or even worsen the scar but this is something you will need to discuss with your doctor.

Once choosing a doctor you will need the funds to pay for these treatments which usually are done over multiple sessions. These sessions can each be very expensive ranging in the hundreds of dollars. Make sure you have enough money to cover all of the sessions or you will have a half done scar laser treatment and your track marks will still be there just as noticeable as ever.

Each type of scar requires a different type of laser removal. Your scar must be diagnosed and looked at by a dermatologist qualified in laser scar removal. You may want to see a couple of doctors to determine which will be the best one for your situation as well. So no longer do you need to live with the ugly scars of your past drug use and getting those track marks removed with scar laser treatment will definitely improve the quality of life.

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After two years of being on suboxone and staying clean at times and going back to heroin at others i have finally decided it was time to reduce my suboxone dosage which has caused me some suboxone side effect symptoms. I was using 16 mg a day of suboxone and dropped it down to about 4 mg. Once that had occurred I found myself going and copping heroin to get high. This was some months ago. I played a game of cat and mouse with suboxone and heroin at first, going from suboxone to using heroin for a week and back to suboxone. The suboxone then became an enabler to my heroin addiction in which I never suffered withdrawal symptoms. I am now on a steady 2mg a day of suboxone for quite some time and am suffering some suboxone side effect symptoms.

When I awake in the mornings I have sweat all over me. The worst is it collects inside of my ear.I feel cold and yucky, but about an hour after being awake I feel fine. Upping the dosage has helped but the idea is to get off of the suboxone. Since it has been many weeks since lowering the dosage to 2 mg it does not have any correlation to a dosage amount that has been recently reduced. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with taking suboxone for so long.

My doctor prescribes me two months at a time so it will be awhile before I go back again. If there are other folks who have been on suboxone for long periods of time it would be great to hear how you have made out I would like to lower the dosage to 1 mg a day very soon. Hopefully this will not effect me even worse. I just want to be off of this stuff as soon as possible.

It becomes difficult to split down the suboxone pills once I get to 1 mg. I would like to get to 0.5 mg over the next month. it is at this level where I plan to jump off. I am sure I will feel quite fidgety at that time. The last time I jumped off of suboxone the fidgety stuff lasted 6 days. I just hope the suboxone side effect symptoms do not last me too long.

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Needle exchange programs have been put in place to help with the safe disposal of needles among heroin addicts and other intravenous drug users. With the spread HIV Aids and Hepatitis C at an alarming rate the needle exchange programs helps reduce the sharing of needles by providing sterile and safe to use needles to heroin addicts and other intravenous users who otherwise have no means or access to new and clean needles.

Diseases like HIV Aids and Hepatitis C which are blood borne diseases are very common among injection drug users. These users are at a very high risk of contracting these diseases with 34 % of all HIV Aids being attributed to intravenous drug use and 75% of all new cases being attributed. Zero tolerance drug policies which make needles a crime to posses have resulted in the reuse and sharing of syringes making the problem even worse.

Around 36 states participate in the 185 needle exchange programs in the county allowing drug users to exchange and receive needles that are new and clean. It has been shown that states that have allowed for needle exchange programs and decriminalized possessing syringes have shown significant decreases in the sharing of needles. Some states have as well allowed for the sale of syringes at pharmacies without the need for a prescription.

Needle exchange programs have shown to actually help reduce these blood borne diseases in addition to being able to help heroin or other intravenous drug users find and get help for their drug problems as well. Interestingly, the few states that do not participate in needle exchange programs and still have not decriminalized possession of needles show some of the nations highest cases of blood borne diseases. The federal Government, who funds more HIV programs and prevention programs than any other entity, refuses to fund needle exchange programs despite the fact that it is known to help reduce blood borne diseases like HIV Aids and Hepatitis C.

Aside from needle exchange programs and sales of syringes through pharmacies there are also doctors who can prescribe syringes which can also help in the reduction or spread of disease. Physician prescription of syringes also can provide a vehicle to drug treatment facilities and referrals for other health care services for the heroin or drug addict. Again though, there are few states that allow for the dispensing of sterile syringes through a prescription by a physician.

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Heroin Withdrawals and New Medicines that are being studied may soon come to the market. Many young school children are becoming addicted to heroin with alarming amounts of overdoses and deaths. This may be the reason for an ever increasing interest in drug companies to study medications that can remove the withdrawl effects of the heroin so these young kids can get off of the “Dope”. Until recently there have not been too many options for those who were “Hooked” on heroin. Mainly, Methadone Treatment has been the preferred way to treat heroin withdrawls. However, over the past few years there have been new treatments and medications that have shown great promise and hope for those hooked on heroin with more studies still in trials. One such study shows one Promising New Treatment where the patient receives one injection that lasts 6 weeks and will experience no heroin withdrawls.

Heroin addiction suboxone treatment, another promising new treatment, which contains Buprenorphine and Naloxone has been a very popular new medicine used for the treatment of heroin withdrawls. It has proven to be very effective and patients can be off of heroin within a few weeks without the withdrawl effects associated with stopping heroin abuse. Some highlights of Suboxone are: it does not need to be dispensed at a facility approved by the government such as Methadone, it is not as tightly regulated like methadone, it can be prescribed by a physician, it has little abuse potential, and does not cause overdose if it is abused. Naloxone is the ingredient that prevents a patient from trying to abuse the medicine by causing heavy withdrawl effects if the drug is injected. Buprenorphine is the ingredient that is a partial opiate used as a painkiller but can also remove any withdrawls caused by heroin. Because it is a partial opiate if too much is taken it cannot cause overdose. This leads to less stringent regulation of the medicine and can be taken home by the patient, unlike methadone which must be dispensed daily at the methadone clinic. Because of less stringent regulations patients who do not have access to methadone clinics, or have to travel very far to get to a clinic daily, can now simply go to a physician and take the Suboxone home.

Other studies are showing promise in the treatment of heroin withdrawls such as one study where the patient receives one injection of Buprenorphine which lasts up to six weeks. Once the injection is given the patient experiences no withdrawls and becomes free of the heroin. Researchers at Johns Hopkins published the study where five opiate dependent volunteers received a single injection of 58 mg of Buprenorphine and were assessed for four weeks for any signs of opiate withdrawal. This was done first residentially then as outpatient. None of the patients required any additional medication for withdrawal relief. Heroin withdrawal has definitely some very promising new treatments coming in the near future.

See also:

Heroin Addiction Aftercare Programs

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Heroin Addiction Detox Aftercare programs play a very important role in keeping a patient who has gone through detox or rehab from relapsing. There are many different types of after care programs, usually referred to as outpatient programs. Some involve just substance abuse counseling or drug counseling, others involve group therapies and they can vary from once a week to five days a week. While in aftercare programs patients can be on the methadone program, suboxone, or many other types of medication to help them stay clean until they can get a start in the right direction.

Heroin Addiction and detox are usually not enough for the patient to make it and not relapse because detox is usually a few short days. Over the years health insurances are not willing to pay for very long when it comes to inpatient drug or substance abuse rehabilitation. This leaves the patient to make it on their own after detox.

Depending upon how much and how long a patient has been abusing heroin or other opiates will determine what type of aftercare treatment program will best benefit the individual. Part of the role in detox is to set the patient up with the correct aftercare and contact the facility so that upon their release from detox they can attend right away.

There is regular substance abuse counseling where the patient will attend one or two sessions a week with a substance abuse counselor. Once the patient has some time away from the heroin they will begin to lead a normal life and have safeguards in place to help them from relapsing, such as AA or Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.

There is also group therapy where there are sessions held with multiple patients who help each other out in a group session. This can occur anywhere from one to five days a week. Most time this is coupled with counseling sessions and called intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment. Patients are usually encouraged to attend AA or NA meetings as well.

With the help of these aftercare programs once a patient has detoxed from heroin is very important and adds to the success of patients not relapsing.

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What are the warning signs and how can you spot signs of drug relapse? There are many symptoms that accompany drug relapse that are sometimes hard to spot. If you have a loved one who has had problems with drugs in the past or has been through a drug rehab you may want to be aware of any signs or symptoms of a relapse. If caught early on there is a better chance for that person to get back on track whether they have actually had a drug relapse or not.

Addicts have a disease and always need to maintain that disease, just as one would if they had diabetes. There have been studies done showing that as many as 54% of those recovering from addiction experience a relapse at one point or another. Sometime addicts back off on the maintenance of their disease, such as going to AA Meetings, and start to slowly slip backwards. This may not even be intentional but occurs when life starts to fill up with all the rewards of staying sober. Before they know it they are in trouble and a relapse may occur. The symptoms and signs may actually start to occur before the relapse actually happens, so paying attention to your loved ones behaviors can possibly save them before having a drug relapse.

Most likely there will be counseling sessions and AA or NA Meetings that are being attended to daily. As life gets better and time starts to fill up with many things such as; going back to school, starting a family, getting involved in many activities. Sometimes these things make it difficult to show up at AA Meetings daily. As this happens the recovering addict starts to slowly and unintentionally slip away from their involvement of these things.

You may notice changes in the persons behaviors and attitudes. When confronted the recovering addict does not even notice this happening and usually will attribute it to other things such as a bad week. It becomes difficult to get back in the groove of things again so it is important to support them in going that direction.

Here are some things to watch out for:

Stopping medications
Hanging out with old friends
Isolating
Failing to follow treatment plans
Setting unrealistic goals
Changes in eating, sleeping, and energy levels
Dwelling on past issues
Avoiding things
Boredom

There are many symptoms to watch for and to spot signs of s drug relapse can sometimes be tricky.

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Suboxone blocking dosage is the dosage amount that will block other opiates from causing a euphoric effect on the person trying to use heroin or other opiate while on suboxone. The important factor of suboxone having a blocking effect is so the patient who should have a relapse will find that it was not worth the effort and they can easily bounce back on track with their program.

When beginning a suboxone treatment the patient is usually inducted to the program with Subutex or has started while in withdrawals from heroin or other opiate. The dosage amount usually is determined by how much heroin or opiates the patient has been using. However, suboxone has a blocking effect at only certain dosages.

Usually 8mg is a day is an amount that will cause blocking of any heroin or opiates that may be used. This affords the patient time away from the drug long enough to get the help they need. Once the patient has had some time away from the heroin or other opiate then the dosage amount can be reduced to a point where the patient can get off of the suboxone as well.

Some patients when relapsing may feel some withdrawal effects as well if they use to soon after taking suboxone. For the most part the acting drug in suboxone responsible for that is called Nalaxone. This drug is meant to keep the patient from trying to abuse the suboxone more than cause the patient withdrawals because they had a relapse. However, it does add a bit more of a deterrent to any possible relapse. For the most part the right dosage amount that causes the blockage of heroin or other opiate usually is enough to deter further relapses because there is no reward payoff in the relapse.

For more info on Heroin addiction and treatment:Heroin Addiction Residential Treatment

Heroin Detoxification and Types of Treatment

Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers

Heroin Treatment Methadone Treatment

Heroin Addiction Suboxone Treatment

Heroin Addiction History

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Heroin addiction and the choice of using residential inpatient treatment is probably going to be the best choice an addict can make to ensure they do not relapse. Studies show that inpatient treatment of more than three months has the best results (DATOS – Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies ) interestingly the study shows that heroin addicts who were still in OMT after1 year (outpatient methadone treatment) were using far less heroin than those who left the program after a year. “Client sub samples with longer retention in long-term residential programs and in outpatient methadone treatment had significantly better outcomes than those with shorter lengths of stay (results were inconclusive for outpatient drug-free programs because of sample limitations).“

Types of Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Programs and Length of Stay

There are a variety of Residential Inpatient Treatment programs to choose from. There are mainly two types of treatment; short term and long term. Short term residential inpatient substance abuse treatment programs generally are from 28 days to 90 days. Insurances can dictate the length of stay for a patient which the facility usually will work around to benefit the patient as best as they can should their insurance allow a stay of only 2 weeks. Long term residential inpatient substance abuse treatment programs can be anywhere from 90 days on up to 2 years. The approach between the two treatments can be quite different.

Other Types of Residential Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

Other types of residential inpatient substance abuse residential treatment programs are available as well but are not as popular or are only partially inpatient. One that is not as popular is religious residential substance abuse programs that base the recovery more on religion. Another more popular type of residential inpatient residential substance abuse treatment program is called a “Half Way House”. This type of treatment involves treatment in the facility and out of the facility. Residents usually are working and can go home on weekends and Holidays. Longer term residential inpatient substance abuse treatment programs use this approach for patients who are nearing their term at the facility to slowly introduce them back into the communities.

Long Term Residential Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Approach

The approach the Long term residential inpatient substance abuse treatment programs take can vary. There are Biophysical, behavioral modification, religious, and those that focus on AA (Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Step Recovery).

Long Term Behavioral Modification Programs

Behavioral modification programs focus on breaking the addicted patient’s character down by humiliation and various forms of ridicule, once the patient is broken down they then try to build the patient back up. Shaving patient’s heads, wearing diapers, and wringing out mops by hand all day are not uncommon practices at these facilities. This type of treatment is based on the Pavlovian idea that man can change his actions based upon stimulus and response. Many patients do not make it through this type of program and end up leaving to hold their dignity together. The success rate is very low and this type of program does not work well. They are becoming less popular. These programs can be up to two years in length and some use a slow integration back into the community allowing them to attend AA meetings and work on the outside as well as visits back home near the end of the patients treatment.

Long Term Religious Programs

These types of programs usually have a long waiting list and are difficult to get into. They are based mostly on religious beliefs and try to fill the addictive void of spiritual belief. This approach again has very low results as with many approaches.

Long Term 12 Step Programs

This type of program is most popular and has only slightly higher results than other approaches. It is based on AA (Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step Recovery). It usually will incorporate after treatment plans such as counseling.

Long Term Biophysical Programs

This is a newer type of treatment that is springing up everywhere. The claim is it has very high results. There are many parts of the body that is damaged when taking drugs and this incorporates many of the other approaches but brings the body back to health quicker through vitamins and other ways of removing toxins from the body enabling the addict to think a bit clearer. Sometimes addicts suffer many psychological issues that do not enable them to get the full benefit of what they are learning when stopping heroin use or other drugs.

Heroin Treatment Residential Inpatient Treatments are definitely better than outpatient treatments and provide better results.

For more info on various treatments see the links below.

Heroin Detoxification and Other Types of Treatments

Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers

Heroin Treatment Methadone

Heroin Addiction Suboxone

Heroin Addiction History

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Heroin detoxification and types of Treatment facilities is a difficult but important decision an addict must take if they want to get clean. Heroin is one of the most difficult drugs to get off of and stay off of because of the effects it has on the brain and its physically addictive nature. Science, medication and advanced treatments have come a long way in helping treat heroin addicts and them to continue living happy sober lives. Heroin detoxification and types of treatment will enables the heroin addict to withdrawal from the heroin and lend time to the addict to learn how to live without it.

Heroin is very widespread among young folks now, more so than years ago. These young folks come from mostly middle class families.

Heroin stimulates the “Pleasure System” in the brain. The system involves Neurons that use neurotransmitters called “Dopamine”. The Neurons project to Nucleus Accumbens which then project to the Cerebral Cortex. It is other neurotransmitters systems that use endorphins that are responsible fore the withdrawals felt when heroin is stopped.

Once in the brain Heroin is converted to morphine by enzymes. The morphine then binds to opiate receptors in the brain that are part of the reward pathway in the brain which consists of the Cerebral Cortex, VTA,, Nucleus Accumbens, and the Thalamus. Morphine also binds to areas in the pain pathway of the brain which consists of the Thalamus, Brain Stem, and Spinal Cord. Three types of Neurons participate in the opiate action; one releases dopamine, a neighboring terminal that contains GABA, and the post-synaptic cell containing dopamine receptors. Opiates bind to opiate receptors on the neighboring terminal which sends a signal to send more Dopamine. Heroin therefore causes more Dopamine to be sent than needed causing excessive pleasure and blockage of pain.

The neurons over time have been used to this so when the Heroin has been stopped the person feels withdrawal symptoms for a few days, this can be quite unbearable and one big reason why Heroin addicts fail to stop using. There are some long term effects on the neurons that also can affect the addict and cause depression and anxiety for months afterwards.

Heroin detoxification in inpatient treatment facilities can help the patient withdrawal with little or no withdrawal symptoms through various medicines. There are different types of treatment facilities which patients can enter. Unfortunately insurances can make it very difficult for addicts to seek these types of treatments, and because of the very expensive cost often addicts are left to self destruct and have nothing left. It is then that there are state programs to pick up the tab or indigent spaces in these facilities. The insurance issues are a subject for another article which I am sure to publish soon. The four types of facilities are; Detox Units, Short Term Rehabilitation, and Long Term Rehabilitation and Outpatient Treatments. Outpatient treatments consist of two types which are Intensive Outpatient Treatment and traditional Outpatient Treatment.

Detox Units are often found in Hospitals but can be found in many Rehabilitation Facilities as well. The length of stay in these Units is usually 2 to 10 days. The Units are usually locked facilities but the patient does have the right to leave if they want to. The sole purpose is to detox the patient from the drug they are on through medications. The Units are staffed with nurses, doctors, therapists and counselors. This step of detoxification from heroin is very important because it is where the patient will detoxify the drug from there body and the staff will start to work with the patient in planning the treatment they will receive afterwards. Again, depending upon the patients insurance will determine where the patient will go. Sometimes the staff is working with the patient on this or they may have the patients family involved, and at times they will be working with Courts, Family Services, Probation Departments and other agencies. What happens with the patient afterwards is very important because just getting off of Heroin is usually not enough for the patient to remain free of Heroin for long. The patient needs to learn about their addiction and modify the way their brain thinks and learn to cope with things they have not for a long time.

Later articles about heroin addiction and the types of treatment facilities will get in depth on what each of those facilities have to offer and how they will lend a hand in giving a heroin addict the best shot at leading a Sober Life.

More on Heroin Detox with Medicines:

Heroin Treatment Methadone Treatment

Heroin Addiction Suboxone Treatment

Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers

Heroin Addiction History

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Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers have been reported on many occasions and can have some severe implications. Some of the Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers include, death, extreme severe withdrawal pain. Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers are not portrayed at all by the clinics that provide them and their advertisements usually lay claim that there is no suffering of withdrawal with the Rapid Detox Treatment and that patients will have a high likelihood of staying clean from opiates afterwards. One such study shows this is not the case providing data from actual.

Rapid Detox Treatment Danger: Study

The following Info was found at StraightFromTheDoc.com Dangers of Rapid Detox

A recent study from JAMA shows the dangers:

"But the technique can be life-threatening, is not pain-free and has no advantage over other methods, a new study of 106 patients found.

The study, the most rigorous to date on the method, showed that patients' withdrawal was as severe as those of addicts undergoing other detox approaches.

The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Patients underwent withdrawal when they awoke, even though they were given additional medications for withdrawal symptoms that included anxiety, insomnia, achy muscles and joints, diarrhea and vomiting.

Three of 35 anesthesia patients suffered life-threatening events, despite painstaking safety measures.”

Rapid Detox Treatment Claims

Rapid Detox Treatment also known as Ultra Rapid Detox Treatment is way of detoxifying a person addicted to heroin or opiates in a concentrated period of 10 hours time, normally this can take up 5 to 6 days, without the discomfort linked to opiate withdrawal.

Patients can suffer extremely difficult withdrawals for 5 to 6 days when trying to quit opiate drugs they are dependent upon, such as heroin. Without the help of medication many fail to make it through the seemingly impossible withdrawal period causing patients to give up.

Rapid Detoxification also known as Ultra Rapid Detoxification is usually completed in one day. The patient is placed under general anesthesia for 4 to 6 hours at which time the patient will receive intravenous naloxone, medication that eliminates opiates from the body very quickly.

Apparently, once awake the patient is then free from opiates and ready to return to normal life in a couple of days. Then there is a claim that over 65 percent of the patients who are treated remain drug free after one year.

Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers: Reported Deaths

There are many cases in which deaths have occurred relating to Rapid Detox Treatments. One such article (The Dangers Of rapid Detox Drug Treatment) at Poppies.org explains this.

Summary

It is quite obvious that there needs to be more studies on using Rapid Detoxification Treatment Dangers and using it as a way of detoxifying heroin or opiate addict. There are other methods that have been in existence for quite some time such as Methadone Treatment and Suboxone Treatment.

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Heroin addiction treatment with methadone is relatively safe under physician care and has been used for the past 30 years. Treatment for heroin addiction goes far back in the heroin treatment history timeline many centuries. Heroin releases dopamine which then occupies the opioid receptors in the brain. The addict constantly needs to have these receptors filled or they suffer withdrawal symptoms. Methadone also occupies these receptors but stabilizes the patient so that the behaviors associated with heroin do not occur.

The effect of the methadone will last between 24 and 36 hours unlike heroin which is only 4 to 12 hours. This allows the methadone to be taken orally once a day. Methadone will also block any opiate used by the patient so they cannot feel the euphoric rush associated with heroin. Because methadone does not produce any euphoric feelings or make the patient drowsy it is safe for the patient to go about their daily lives working and driving.

Ultimately the patient will remain opiate dependant on the methadone. Withdrawal from methadone takes a much longer time, and because of this the patient can be maintained many years (Methadone Maintenance Treatment – MMT) without the harsh side effects.

Methadone maintenance treatment is an individualized personal treatment that is dispensed with a prescription through the care of a physician in clinical methadone treatment centers. It is estimated that 20 percent of the heroin addicts are on a methadone maintenance treatment program. Federal regulations restrict the use and availability of methadone with strict protocols; in addition, most States closely monitor the clinics and the distribution of prescriptions. However in 1999 Department of Health and Human Services released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making for the use of methadone (NPRM). This gives more flexibility of the patient’s clinical physician a little more freedom to make choices in the treatment of their patients.

As time goes on more studies and advances are being made, Heroin addiction treatment with methadone is now not the only method used for treatment of opiate addicted patients there is heroin addiction treatment with suboxone that has emerged just recently as a few years. You may also want to take a look at the new Suboxone Treatment now available in the USA.

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Heroin Addiction treatment with suboxone has been very successful over the past few years, and only recently has been used in the United States as a detoxification medicine. Suboxone is combination of buprenorphine and buprenorphine HCI and naloxone HCI dihydrate. Buprenorphine was originally to control pain ‘Subutex’ (without the naloxone) and was available as an injectable drug though out the United States. It has been used as an opiate detoxification medication through out Europe since the middle 1980’s and was available in the form of a tablet.

Suboxone comes as a sublingual (dissolves under the tounge) orange tablet in the shape of a hexagon. It ratio of 4:1 Suboxone: Naloxone. The naloxone was added to deter addicts from abusing suboxone as an injectable drug. If an addict tries to inject suboxone they would become very sick because the naloxone removes opiates from the receptors causing withdrawls.

Suboxone is not a full opiate and is partial agonist therefore making it impossible to overdose on. This renders the drug as a safe way to detox from heroin or other opiates and in turn regular liscenced physicians can prescribe this medicine to their patients to keep at home. In addition the drug will block any opiates the addict may try to use so they cannot feel the drugs effects. This enables the addict to get back on track fairly quickly if they should have a relapse.
Unlike its counterpart methadone, suboxone is much easier for opiate dependants to detox safely and without suffering the effects of withdrawl fairly quickly. Suboxone can be used as a maintenance treatment in which the addict stays on the drug for an extended period of time eliminating the need to return to their opiate addiction. Heroin Addiction Treatments with methadone can work well for most opiate addicts but the problem is getting them off of the methadone. Methadone is usually used as a maintenance treatment.

Suboxone comes in 2mg, 4mg, and 8mg tablets making it easy for doctors to prescibe amounts that are necessary and then to eventually decrease the suboxone until the a is completely off of the suboxone and opiate free. You may also want to take a look at methadone treatment as way of treating an opiate or heroin addiction.

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Heroin, which is a very popular drug of choice in the American drug culture today, is not a new drug that just showed up in the late 1960’s nor is its negative effects unique to modern times. Heroin is an opium derivative and, as with any opium derivative, there is severe physical and mental dependency that develops when it is abused.

As long ago as 3400 B.C., the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. The Sumerians’ knowledge of cultivating poppy was passed on to the Assyrians, Babylonians, and finally, the Egyptians. Interestingly enough, there is even evidence from excavations that the Neanderthals used poppy seeds.

Some where around 330 B.C. Alexander the Great introduced opium to the people of Persia and India, where poppies were grown in large quantities. By 400 A.D, opium thebaicum was introduced to China by Arab traders.

It was not until the 15th Century that residents of Persia and India began consuming opium mixtures recreationally, a practice that turned opium into a major product in an expanding intra-Asian trade. Under the reign of Akbar between 1556 and 1605, the Mughal state of North India relied upon opium land as a major source of revenue.

The history of the opium trade involves almost all of the costal European nations, Portugal, Spain, France, Holland and the UK. They exported opium from India to China, competing with the Arab and Indian merchants who had been using this trade route for many years.

It was not until 1700 that the British introduced China to the process of mixing opium with tobacco so that it could be smoked. This was to about to drastically change the amount of opium consumed by the Chinese in a huge way. With nearly 2 million pounds of opium being sold in China each year, it was creating an epidemic that the government tried to control ending in opium wars.

In the 1800’s during the American Civil War, soldiers used morphine freely, and those that had been wounded returned home with their kits of morphine and hypodermic needles. In 1866 the Secretary of War stated that during the war the Union Army was issued 10 million opium pills, over 2,840,000 ounces of other opiate preparations such as laudanum or paregoric, and almost 30,000 ounces of morphine. The result of all this earned opium addiction to be referred to as the 'army disease' or the 'soldier's disease.'

Diacetylmorphine was first synthesized in 1874 by C.R. Alder Wright. He had been working with finding a non-addictive form of opium. In 1897, Felix Hoffman produced two new compounds for the company he worked for, Bayer. These compounds were acetylsalicylic acid and diacetylmorphine. By 1899, Bayer was producing around a ton of heroin each year, and exporting it to some 23 countries. The country in which the drug did extremely well in was the US, where there was a large population of morphine addicts already existing, a over zealous market for patent medications, and almost no regulatory rules in place.

Interesting to note is heroin received its name from the very people who were testing it as they said it made them feel heroic. Bayer eventually saw the issues heroin was creating by the amount of people being admitted to hospitals for recreational use of the drug and stopped producing the drug in 1913. People were scrapping metal to be able to afford their habits giving rise to the term ‘junkie’. The following year use of heroin without a prescription was outlawed and then by 1919 a court ruling determined that it would be illegal to prescribe heroin to addicts. Then in 1924 the use and manufacturing of heroin was banned in the US. However in Britain the medical use of heroin continues today and accounts for 95 percent of the world’s legal consumption.

For information on treating heroin or opiate addictions you can visit methadone treatment, suboxone treatment, or rapid detox treatment dangers.

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