6–12 hours
- Withdrawal begins — sooner than with longer-acting opioids
- Anxiety, restlessness, cravings
- Watery eyes, runny nose, yawning, sweating
- Muscle and joint aches setting in
Substance detox
Heroin detox, with a team beside you.
Heroin is a short-acting opioid, which means withdrawal starts sooner and peaks harder than it does with longer-acting drugs. Almost all street heroin in Indiana now contains fentanyl, so what you are actually withdrawing from is often both. Medically supervised detox with 24/7 nursing manages the symptoms, and medication-assisted treatment lowers the cravings and the overdose risk that follow.
Knowing the signs
When it's time to get help.
You don't have to hit a crisis point to reach out. A few signs that heroin has become something worth treating:
Withdrawal starting within hours of the last dose
Using to feel normal rather than to feel high
Needing steadily more for the same effect
Track marks, or moving to smoking or snorting to avoid them
Money, sleep, and relationships organized around getting it
Having overdosed, or needed naloxone
Trying to stop and getting as far as the first night
Knowing fentanyl is in the supply and using anyway
What to expect
The heroin withdrawal timeline.
Everyone's different, but here's the general shape of withdrawal. These are typical patterns, not a diagnosis — your plan is built by a clinician around your history.
12–48 hours
- Symptoms intensify steadily
- Insomnia, goosebumps, dilated pupils
- Abdominal cramping, nausea, loss of appetite
- Elevated heart rate and blood pressure
48–72 hours (peak)
- The most intense stretch
- Vomiting and diarrhea together — fluid loss is the main medical risk and what nursing monitors
- Severe cramps, muscle pain, and agitation
- Little or no sleep
4–7 days
- Acute physical symptoms resolve for most people
- Fatigue, low mood, and poor sleep continue
- Appetite begins to return
Weeks to months
- Post-acute withdrawal: cravings in waves, anhedonia, disrupted sleep
- Where medication-assisted treatment and therapy do the most work
- Tolerance has dropped sharply — returning to a former dose is the highest-risk moment for overdose
This is general information, not medical advice. Your plan is built by a clinician around your history and health.
How we help
Treating heroin at Jasper Grove.
Medically supervised detox
24/7 nursing monitors vitals and withdrawal severity, with comfort medications for nausea, cramping, sleep, and agitation. Fluids and electrolytes are managed actively through the peak.
Learn moreMedication-assisted treatment
Suboxone, Subutex, or Vivitrol when it's the right fit — started and managed by our medical team to steady cravings and reduce overdose risk after detox.
Learn moreTreatment for what's underneath
Trauma, depression, and anxiety commonly sit beneath long-term opioid use and are treated alongside it rather than afterward.
Learn moreResidential treatment
Detox moves directly into residential care — individual and group therapy, relapse prevention, and an aftercare plan built before you leave.
Learn moreOverdose-risk planning
Naloxone access and a concrete plan for high-risk moments are part of discharge planning, because the weeks after detox are when tolerance is lowest.
Ready to take the first step?
Admissions answers 24/7. One call starts your plan and checks your coverage.
Call (317) 527-4529 Getting care in Indianapolis
Close to home, insurance accepted.
Heroin doesn't care who you are, and plenty of people across Indianapolis found their way to it from a legitimate prescription. However it started, getting off it safely is what we do.
Heroin detox and residential treatment are accepted through Indiana Medicaid — Anthem, CareSource, MHS, and Humana Healthy Horizons — plus most major insurance. Call and we'll verify your specific plan and your exact cost up front.
Level of care is determined by a clinical assessment. Jasper Grove provides medical detox and residential treatment, and is accredited by The Joint Commission.
Common questions
Heroin detox, answered.
How long does heroin withdrawal last?
Withdrawal usually begins 6 to 12 hours after the last dose, peaks between 48 and 72 hours, and the acute physical symptoms resolve over about 4 to 7 days. Cravings, low mood, and sleep problems can continue for weeks or months — that stretch is called post-acute withdrawal, and it's the period medication-assisted treatment is designed to carry you through.
Is heroin withdrawal dangerous?
It is rarely fatal by itself, but it is not safe to assume it's harmless. Vomiting and diarrhea together can cause serious dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, and existing heart or medical conditions can be destabilized. The larger danger is what follows: tolerance drops during withdrawal, so a return to a previous dose is when overdose risk peaks.
What does heroin withdrawal actually feel like?
Most people describe a severe flu with restlessness they can't escape — aching muscles and joints, sweating and chills, watery eyes, cramping, nausea, and an inability to sleep or sit still. The physical symptoms are matched by intense anxiety and cravings. It is genuinely hard, which is why comfort medication and monitoring make a material difference.
Can I detox from heroin at home?
We don't recommend it. Home detox has a very high return-to-use rate precisely because the symptoms peak so hard, and stopping alone leaves the dehydration risk unmanaged and the overdose risk unaddressed. Medical detox treats the symptoms and connects directly to treatment rather than back to the same environment.
Does heroin always contain fentanyl now?
Not always, but it is common enough across Indiana that we assess and plan for it. It matters clinically: fentanyl changes the withdrawal timeline and affects when buprenorphine can safely be started. Your assessment at intake covers this.
Do you use medication-assisted treatment for heroin?
Yes. When it's the right fit we use Suboxone, Subutex, or Vivitrol, started and managed by our medical team. We do not offer methadone.
What happens after detox?
Detox handles the physical dependence; it doesn't treat what drives the use. Residential treatment follows directly — individual and group therapy, treatment for co-occurring conditions, relapse prevention, and an aftercare plan made before you leave.
Do you accept Indiana Medicaid for heroin treatment?
We accept Indiana Medicaid and most major insurance for detox and residential care. Call and we'll verify your specific plan and your exact cost up front.
What we treat
We help people detox from more than one thing.
Dealing with more than one substance is common — and we treat the whole picture. Explore the others we help with:
Take the next step
Detox that's safer with a team beside you.
Don't try to get through it alone. Admissions answers 24/7 — call and we'll help you start heroin detox safely, and verify your coverage first.