Anyone who has gone through heroin detox knows that it is no walk in the park.  The reason for this is because of the intense and relatively nasty withdrawal symptoms that occur when you stop using heroin.  Obviously, this is a huge part of what keeps an addict hooked on the drug to begin with, as these withdrawal symptoms can be extremely uncomfortable.

The heroin detox symptoms can include nausea, cold sweats and chills, extreme restlessness, vomiting and diarrhea, and severe anxiety.  But this list of symptoms does not really do the condition justice, as it is the intensity of these symptoms that make the withdrawal so unbearable. 

Most addicts who have never tried to kick heroin will start out with trying to do heroin detox from home.  This generally proves to be very unsuccessful, especially if they do not know what to expect, and the withdrawal symptoms will drive them back out to score more heroin.  Without any sort of help at all, the chances of them getting clean in this situation are slim to none.

There is help available for people to detox from heroin with.  There are options.  For example, there is a procedure known as ultra rapid detox in which the addict is put to sleep for a few hours and their body is physically flushed from the drugs while they are put under.  When the person wakes up their withdrawal symptoms are all gone, as if by magic.  However, this procedure is still very expensive and also somewhat dangerous, as a few people have died during the procedure for some reason.  Likewise, this approach misses one of the crucial elements of long term recovery: the addict does not have the painful memory of withdrawal to help prevent future relapses with.  The memory of discomfort can be a powerful tool in the fight to stay clean later on in recovery.  Also, ultra rapid detox does not have the same level of counseling, support, and peer networking built into it that some other solutions have.  The addict is physically detoxed but then they are left hanging with no real support.

Another option for detox is for the addict to go to a drug rehab or a treatment center facility. This is the traditional 28 day program that includes detox at the beginning of it. For most people, this is going to be a much more solid option than simply going the rapid detox route. The main reason for this is because of the support and learning experience that will follow while they are in rehab. Also understand that they will still have help from a physical standpoint while they are in detox in a drug rehab, and the medical staff there can help medicate their symptoms as they withdrawal from heroin. Generally, this is done under the care of a doctor and the withdrawal symptoms can be kept to a minimum as the person is detoxed over a 3 to 5 day period. Sometimes it does take a bit longer but for heroin the time period is usually pretty short.

Going to a drug rehab like this is a great option because after the addict is detoxed they can start attending groups and learning about how to live a clean and sober life. This is the missing element from the other detox options and this is what will ultimately produce success in those who want to change their life. Rehab will give them the tools to make changes and also give them the support to follow up on those changes by introducing them to a circle of peers that are trying to stay clean and sober as well. Most rehab programs use a 12 step model and introduce the clients to meetings, where they can also find support at after they leave treatment. In short, going to rehab can teach the person a new way to live so that they do not just return to the drug after they leave.

Finally, a person seeking heroin detox might look into drug therapy, such as taking Methadone or Suboxone long term in order to stay off of heroin. This might be a decent option for some people but the majority will do better with the other options. If you use drug therapy then you are creating another dependency, and the other options offer complete freedom from chemicals. But for certain cases, people will need drug therapy in order to feel normal after long term use of heroin over a period of decades. Their body has become accustomed to the extra dopamine and there is no way for their body to feel normal again without any help. In cases like this, taking Suboxone maintenance is probably a good option. I would avoid Methadone at all costs if possible because it is such a powerful drug and is very, very difficult to detox from. In fact it is much harder to detox from Methadone than it is to detox from Heroin. In some ways this "cure" is worse than what it intends to treat, so don't fall into this trap.