Heroin addiction

Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs there is. It takes hold of your body and your mind after only a handful of uses, and the effects can reach into every part of your life. Are you addicted to heroin, or is someone close to you? We build the treatment around your situation and aim it at lasting recovery.

Heroin addiction is a form of drug addiction. On our drug addiction overview page you can read more about how addiction develops, how to recognise it and what treatment is possible.

Heroin addiction is a serious condition in which your body and your mind come to depend entirely on heroin. Heroin is a powerful, addictive drug from the opiate family: the opioids that come from the opium poppy. Doctors treat an addiction to heroin as a severe illness that needs treatment.

In the Netherlands, heroin addiction counts as a medical condition. There are several factors which influence your chances of becoming addicted: what you inherit, what you have lived through and the world around you. Recovery takes medical treatment and care over a longer period.

An estimated 12,000 to 14,000 people in the Netherlands have a problem with heroin, which shows how serious this illness is.

How addictive is heroin?

You can become dependent, in body and mind, after using heroin only several times. Injected into a vein, heroin is 2 to 3 times as strong as the same dose of morphine, and it reaches your brain within seconds. That speed is a large part of what makes it so addictive: the faster a drug arrives, the stronger the pull to use again.

How you take heroin changes that risk. Injecting puts it in your brain in seconds, so the pull is strongest and the chance of an overdose is highest. Smoking works more slowly, though it still works quickly, and the addiction builds there too. 

Those changes in your brain make the craving stronger and stopping harder. Heroin can take such a hold that you end up putting everything else aside to keep using the drug.

Are you addicted to heroin, or is someone close to you? Contact our team or call 040-303 5023 to talk about the addiction and how we treat it.

Addiction to heroin starts in your brain. Heroin locks onto the opioid receptors there and takes the brake off the cells that release dopamine, the chemical behind reward and pleasure. The flood that follows gives the intense euphoria and calm, and it throws your reward centre out of balance.

Your body adapts fast and builds tolerance, so you need more heroin for the same effect. At the same time your body starts to lean on heroin just to feel ‘normal’.

Physical dependence follows quickly. Your brain changes so far that stopping brings severe withdrawal symptoms, and that is what pushes you to carry on using even when you want to stop.

What raises the risk of heroin addiction

Several things raise the risk of becoming addicted to heroin:

• Family history: a higher risk when addiction runs in your family
• Your mental resilience: how you cope with stressful and emotionally difficult situations
• Your surroundings: easy access to drugs, pressure from the people around you, or living where drug use is common
• Mental health problems: depression, anxiety or other psychiatric conditions

Addiction also works on the parts of your brain that handle decisions, self-control and memory. That is what makes the circle so hard to break: the craving for heroin gets stronger while holding back gets harder.

Spotting heroin addiction early makes a difference for getting treatment in time. The signs of heroin addiction turn up in several ways and can build quickly.

Physical signs of heroin addiction

The physical side of heroin addiction shows in:

• pupils that stay pinpoint small, even in dim light
• sudden, sharp weight loss and poor nutrition
• neglected hygiene and appearance
• barely eating and no interest in food
• scars, abscesses or infected skin where heroin has been injected
• heavy scratching and itching all over the body
• damage to your teeth and gums
• feeling ill if you cannot use, because withdrawal sets in

Behavioral signs of heroin addiction

Changes in behaviour are often the first thing family and friends notice:

• lying about activities and whereabouts
• stealing money or valuables
• pulling away from people and breaking off contact
• focusing constantly on getting hold of heroin and using it
• leaving work, school or family duties undone
• running into money trouble with no clear reason

Psychological signs of heroin addiction

Mentally, a heroin addiction shows itself in: 

• big swings in mood
• apathy and no drive
• low mood and negative feelings
• anxiety and paranoia
• trouble concentrating

One important warning sign is not being able to stop, even when it costs you. With heroin addiction you keep using while you lose your job, while relationships break down and while the problems pile up.

Withdrawal starts 6 to 12 hours after the last use and hits hard. It is severe enough that many people use again just to make it stop.

Physical withdrawal symptoms include:

• chills and fever
• severe nausea and vomiting
• diarrhoea and stomach cramps
• muscle and joint pain throughout the body
• broken sleep and extreme tiredness
• sweating and shaking
• rapid breathing

Psychological symptoms:

• intense craving (an overwhelming urge for heroin)
• anxiety and panic attacks
• depression and mental anguish
• irritability and aggression
• trouble concentrating

The worst of it usually peaks after 2 to 3 days and lasts 5 to 7 days. Low mood and craving can stay for months, which is what makes relapse a real risk in that period.

Heroin use carries serious health risks, in the short term and over the years.

Short-term risks can be life-threatening:

• overdose: heroin slows your breathing, which can lead to unconsciousness and death
• breathing problems: shallow breathing even at normal doses
• heart problems: an irregular heartbeat and poorer circulation
• infections: injecting causes abscesses and blood poisoning
• HIV: passed on through shared needles

Long-term consequences affect almost every organ system:

• liver damage: long-running inflammation and eventually liver failure
• heart disease: damaged heart valves and a higher risk of a heart attack
• lung problems: smoking heroin causes lasting damage to your airways
• brain damage: less oxygen reaching your brain leaves lasting problems with thinking and memory

People who use heroin are 6 to 20 times more likely to die than others of the same age. Someone who keeps using dies on average 20 to 30 years earlier than expected, mostly through overdose, infection and violence.

Social consequences are just as damaging:

• losing work and running into money trouble
• ending up homeless and shut out
• turning to crime to pay for drugs
• losing relationships with family and friends
• leaving children and family duties undone

We build every treatment around the severity of the addiction and the symptoms you have. That can mean inpatient treatment, where you stay with us and focus entirely on your recovery, away from old patterns and triggers.

Or it can mean outpatient treatment: you live at home and come in for treatment 2 or 3 times per week. After your treatment at one of our rehabilitation centres, you return home. This way, you can bring straight into practice what you learned.

Contact our team and we work out your personal treatment plan together during an addiction assessment. Your situation and coming off heroin shape that plan, which improves the chance of lasting recovery.

Insurance and what you pay

Your health insurer covers the costs for treatment for heroin addiction, which makes it easier to take the step. Under your basic Dutch health insurance (basisverzekering), addiction treatment falls within covered care, and your own risk excess (eigen risico) comes off first. On an expat policy or cover through your employer, your own terms decide what comes back.

Call us on 040-303 5023 or fill in your details on the contact form, and we look at which programme suits you and how treatment costs are covered.

Asking for help with a heroin addiction is an important step, and a brave one. Heroin is strongly addictive and takes hold of you physically and mentally, so professional help is often what it takes. If you have been using heroin over a longer period, stopping on your own is not advisable: withdrawal can be severe, and cutting down can set it off as well. Get in touch and we work with you towards a life without addiction.

Coming off heroin with professional treatment

Coming off heroin asks a lot of your body and your mind. Our detox programme tapers the heroin gradually, under medical supervision, so withdrawal stays as manageable as possible.

Treatment of your heroin addiction starts from there. Breaking the mental hold matters as much as the physical side, so we work on the patterns and the problems underneath the use through group therapy and individual sessions. That shows you how your old habits work and gives you the tools to live without heroin.

Coming off heroin is hard, but with the right treatment recovery is possible. The aim is not only to stop using, but to rebuild your life and keep the risk of relapse as small as possible.

During your treatment, we will help you look at your old patterns from a new perspective. That way, you learn what your triggers are, where you are most at risk, how to handle those moments, and what to do if relapse comes close.

Customised aftercare to get back on track

Heroin addiction has a severe impact on your entire life. It reaches your health, your work, your money and the roof over your head. With aftercare we help you get your life back on track by bringing you into contact with social care organisations, peer groups such as Narcotics Anonymous, or outpatient treatment after your inpatient programme.

We arrange that aftercare during your addiction assessment, so it is in place the moment your treatment ends, and it is what keeps relapse at a distance and your life steady.

Heroin addiction is serious, and it can be treated. Spotting the signs, knowing the risks and getting help in time are what make rebuilding possible. Whether the addiction is yours or you are worried about someone close to you, treatment is there. When you are ready to talk about your situation, call us on 040-303 5023 or fill in your details on the contact form. We then look at what treatment for heroin addiction would mean for you.