Friend texting me from abroad feeling terrible after taking heroin

[electra]

He was an addict 10 years ago, got clean and to my knowledge has not done it since. But he's just gone away on holiday and for some reason unknown to me thought it would be ok to do one shot.

The effect seems to be that his body then wanted more, he recognised he made an error of judgment and is now feeling absolutely awful because he's having dreadful 'cold-turkey' response.

I know absolutely nothing about the use of drugs but am very scared about heroin as I know two people who died, very young from using it

I am worried about him. He is staying with his parents and is so ashamed he's in bed and they think he's got flu - he doesn't want to tell them.

Sorry, but I think he's got to tell them, or seek medical support where he is.

He says he thinks he'll feel better in 3 days when the drug craving wears off - does this sound plausible or not??

yes but in the mean time he knwos if he goes and gets soem more heroin that it will make him feel btter - best to get soemone to stop him doing that and getting him to come off the sdrugs - but really only he can decide whether to take more or not.

text him and ask does he want soemone to help him and do cold turkey

I don't know much about it other than that it is highly addictive, so his response sounds right. I think he needs to tell his parents though - it's the lesser of 2 evils (risk of using again versus disappointing them)

Thanks for your replies. I feel rather helpless here because he doesn't seem to want to tell anyone about what is going on.