Hi there, I'm writing a character that is addicted to sugars (a street drug in Durban, South Africa that is the waste products from heroin and cocaine cut with rat poison/detergents/other chemicals). The drug is said to be similar to heroin, however it is smoked through a pipe. The character is going to continuing most of the first act in a state of withdrawal. However, through most of my research, I can't find specific physical and emotional stages of withdrawal. How does withdrawal progress? Do you become more or less frantic as it progresses? How do the physical symptoms display and when in the process? The character is completely reliant on the drug and has been for almost five years. I'm looking at a period of two weeks without the drug and without seeking medical attention.
Physically, heroin withdrawal feels a lot like a bad case of the flu. Fever, chills, sweats, vomiting, diarrhea, runny nose, tremors, and general aches and pains typically begin 6-12 hours after the last dose, peak on day three, and run a week to 10 days. Emotionally, it's almost impossible to predict. Anxiety, irritability, and insomnia are common. The bigger issue is facing the feelings the person was medicating with the drug. You can do almost anything you want here and you'll probably do best by figuring out your character's backstory. Why did he start using? No one wakes up in the morning and says, "I think I'll become an addict today." What was he trying to get or forget? There's your emotional stuff.
