How Long Does a Heroin High Last?

Get Informed on How Long Heroin Lasts to Help a Loved One Get Clean

I struggled with heroin addiction for almost a decade, and it was by far the worst period of my life. Dealing with daily withdrawal symptoms and the constant need for more heroin was an exhausting lifestyle.

When asking how long does a heroin high last, the short-term answer is a few hours. The long-term answer is until it gets unbearable to keep chasing that high, or until the lights go out for good.

When I finally decided to seek treatment at Changes Healing Center in Phoenix, I was at death’s door and really didn’t see much of a path to any sort of new life.

Keep reading to learn more about the heroin high, and find out how to break the chains of the drug, whether for yourself or for a loved one you see getting caught up in addiction.

How a Habit Becomes Dependence, Fast

There are many ways to ingest heroin. I tried them all. I was smoking heroin, injecting heroin, and snorting heroin as well. Most often, I would inject it. How long does a heroin high last? It depends on a number of factors, namely how high your tolerance is.

More often than not, the peak of a heroin high is around an hour. While the high lasts several hours, the chase goes on and on. It really becomes more of a way of life, a lot like in the movie Trainspotting.

What Does Heroin Look Like in Real Life?

Heroin comes in multiple different forms, and as I mentioned above, it can be ingested in several different ways. Heroin often comes as a white or brown powder. Black tar heroin is another form of street heroin that is crudely mixed with other drugs, resulting in its dark appearance. In some cases, heroin can come in a liquid form as well.

The scariest part of dealing with a heroin addiction is you never really know what you are ingesting. Drugs like heroin are typically cut with so many additives, that often there is little heroin in it. These days, heroin is cut with extremely dangerous drugs like fentanyl. This is what often causes heroin overdose, at least nowadays.

An important note I have to drop here is the following:

If you have a loved one using heroin, please keep Narcan available at all time, and encourage them to carry it as well. If and when they are using, ask them to use in the presence of others who can and will administer the drug if overdose occurs. While we all want our loved ones to stop entirely, keeping them alive until they agree to get clean is crucial.

Can You Survive A Heroin Overdose?

As someone who overdoses multiple times, I am truly lucky to be alive. Many addicts don’t survive one overdose let alone multiple. Drugs like heroin increase dopamine production, which is the brain’s reward system. There’s no way to explain how good that first shot feels. The first time I tried heroin, it was all I wanted to do.

Unfortunately, you never get that feeling again. Us heroin addicts refer to this as ‘chasing the dragon’. When you continue to use heroin, you are desperately searching for the feeling you got the first time around. You never get it.

This leads many heroin addicts to mix heroin with other drugs in an attempt to seek other highs. Many heroin addicts, myself included, combine heroin with drugs like meth and cocaine, making the risk of OD even higher.

Dealing With Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms

Long-term heroin use leads to intense withdrawals if you go too long without getting more heroin. Once you find yourself in the cycle of heroin abuse, you are on the clock at all times. You always have to worry about that next fix so that you don’t feel sick. Once the withdrawals set in, it feels like death warmed over.

Common physical withdrawal symptoms include ongoing nausea and constipation, increased heart rate, weight loss, and excessive sweating and itching. The mental symptoms of withdrawal include depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Just imagine dealing with both physical and mental withdrawal simultaneously. It is pure hell.

For this reason, if you are seeking help for a loved one, make sure they know that medications and detox will be provided to make them as comfortable as possible. That way withdrawals or ‘dope sickness’ will not be the reason they avoid treatment support for getting clean.

When To Seek Heroin Addiction Treatment

There is never a bad time to seek help for heroin addiction, but unfortunately, many addicts never get to that point. Everybody’s addictions are different, but a dangerous drug like heroin is all-consuming. Using heroin regularly results in a wide variety of mental and physical problems.

A heroin addiction is a life-or-death situation. Your next fix could be your last. Other drugs can create similar problems, but there is no way to overstate how destructive heroin (and now fentanyl) is.

Because of my time at Changes Healing Center, I am here today to help educate others on the dangers of heroin. If you want to know more, continue reading to see how bad it can get… and what your options are for treatment.

Leaving Behind The Heroin Lifestyle

When I first got clean and off heroin, I was very sensitive to everything. I had to relearn how to be a normal person. My addiction had lasted so long that I wasn’t sure how to reintegrate myself into society. This is where all the things you learned in treatment come in. A big part of recovery is maintenance and learning how to deal with triggers that might come.

I haven’t met many former addicts who quit and weren’t active in the recovery community. Keeping yourself in check is key. Because of the things that I learned at Changes Healing Center, I have been able to fight off the urge to relapse.

I continue to attend NA group meetings and go to therapy. I try very hard to hold myself accountable, and I have great people in my life now who will help hold me accountable as well.

Finding Lasting Recovery Through Addiction Treatment

Finding the right place to begin your recovery journey is vital. There aren’t a lot of addicts who quit on their own and never go back to their old ways. Beating addiction requires a complete life turnaround. This is why many addicts must hit rock bottom in order to change.

When you can’t get any lower, that is often when the light clicks on for people. It was that way for me anyway.

It does not have to be that way for you or someone you care about using heroin though, as the bottom can be wherever you choose to pursue a life that does not center around the next fix.

I have my sobriety now and a new life all because I took the first step and checked myself into Changes Healing Center. They helped give me my life back. It’s important to remember that wherever you end up, your future is in your hands and it isn’t up to anyone else to make decisions for you.

Get Help for Heroin for a Loved One at Changes Healing

Effective heroin addiction treatment doesn’t cure you, it just helps you see the light and rebuild yourself so that you can make the right decisions when you are left to your own devices. Recovery can be scary, but nowhere near as scary as being on the street looking for more heroin so you won’t get sick.

Taking that first step into Changes Healing Center was the best decision I ever made. If you or your loved one want solid support to get clean, give them a confidential call and get options today.