Out of all the drug addictions that are difficult to recover from why is heroin one of the hardest? One of the biggest reasons according to medical science and all of the addiction studies is the intense physical sickness and the physical withdrawal symptoms that the user feels when heroin is stopped. With many substances an intense mental craving is experienced but few cause the extremely unpleasant symptoms that withdrawal from this drug will. Often the user wants to quit but when withdrawal sickness kicks in they go back to the drug just so that the pain and discomfort goes away. With most other substances the user returns because of a desire to experience the high again, but with heroin a common term is getting right or being sick and needing medicine.
When the user tries to stop the drug abuse the withdrawal symptoms can set in quickly, and they are the most severe for the first 2-4 days. After a week or so they will usually be gone, but during this time period the user may feel like they are dying. Restlessness sets in so that they can not concentrate or sit still, and insomnia is very common. Cold flashes, goosebumps, and sever sweating may be notices, and many experience deep muscle and bone pain. A common description of the physical withdrawal symptoms have been described as having the worst possible case of a very bad flu. In some cases detox is needed in a professional setting because with chronic use of large doses the symptoms of the withdrawal may require medications and could be fatal if not properly treated.
