When you help someone who struggles with addiction, you’re likely to come across new terms that you don’t know. Not understanding these terms makes it even more difficult to grasp the trouble with which your loved one struggles. Dope sick, for example, is a term that many people haven’t heard.

What Is Dope Sick?

The term “dope sick” is slang for opiate withdrawal symptoms. People typically experience such symptoms when they detox from painkillers such as hydrocodone or oxycodone. However, some people use this term to refer to heroin withdrawal too.

In most cases, people only experience withdrawal after they heavily use opiates for several weeks or longer. However, it only takes trying drugs such as heroin once to develop an opiate addiction. Once addiction sets in, it’s hard for them to stop using opiates.

What Does Opiate Withdrawal Feel Like?

People who experience opiate withdrawal typically say that the symptoms are the worst thing on Earth. In fact, the effects are usually so bad that they continue to use drugs to avoid going through it at all. In general, however, people say that the symptoms are similar to having an extreme case of the flu.

Because of the extreme nature of the side effects, people usually wonder if opiate withdrawal causes death. The good news is that it very rarely, if ever, ends in death. Despite that, most people say that the process makes them wish that they were dead because of its intensity. Some of the symptoms include:

  • Insomnia
  • Vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Chills
  • Body aches
  • Diarrhea
  • Night sweats

How Long Does It Take to Get Over Opiate Withdrawal?

The length of time that withdrawal takes depends heavily on how long people use opiates. In general, the longer that they use opiates, the longer that withdrawal lasts. A basic timeline lays out the average duration of the process.

In most cases, people start to experience symptoms within the first 24 hours after their last dose of opiates. The side effects typically start off mild but peak within 72 hours. From there, they gradually subside. People might experience some mild symptoms for weeks after they stop using opiates.

Let Us Help You With Addiction

At Ashley Addiction Treatment, we don’t want dope sickness to keep you from getting well. That’s why we offer on-site detox services. Detox is always the first step in treating addiction. Some of the other services that we offer include:

Don’t let the fear of being dope sick keep you or a loved one from getting help. Let us help you deal with opiate withdrawal. Reach out to us today at 866-313-6310 to find out how.