Withdrawal / Withdrawal symptoms

Sustained use of many kinds of drugs can cause adaptations within the body which lessen the positive effects of the drug and create a physical dependence on it. Withdrawal is the body’s response to being denied a drug on which it has become physically dependent. Depending on the rate of the body’s elimination of a particular drug, withdrawal symptoms can appear within a few hours to several days.

For heroin users, withdrawal usually sets in about eight hours after the last dose. The most common effect is simply a craving for another hit to return to the state of euphoria. Withdrawal symptoms can be very vicious, however; they include anxiousness, restlessness, and irritability. Users yawn, sweat, and sneeze frequently. Their nose and eye begin to stream and they feel cramping pains in their abdomen. They will likely experience nausea, deep aching in the bones and muscles, and even insomnia. Withdrawal is associated with pale clammy skin covered with goose-bumps, which led to the phrase “going ‘cold turkey’”, and twitching and thrashing of the legs, which led to the phrase “kicking the habit.”

The worst withdrawal symptoms can last for weeks. In some cases, attempting to go through withdrawal without medical supervision can be life-threatening.