Author: James Anderson

Cocaine: Side-Effects and Addiction Treatment

These classifications may help direct the most appropriate course of treatment. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. Make your tax-deductible gift and be a part of the cutting-edge research and care that’s changing medicine. Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. The symptoms usually begin about 6-12 hours after your last use.

As an individual develops tolerance to cocaine, they also become physically dependent on it. If the drug is discontinued, withdrawal symptoms, with physical effects, can occur. A strong craving for cocaine is the most prominent effect of withdrawal, but other symptoms usually occur as well.

The goal of detoxification, also called “detox” or withdrawal therapy, is to enable you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible. For some people, it may be safe to undergo withdrawal therapy on an outpatient basis. Others may need admission to a hospital or a residential treatment center. An in-depth look at the signs and symptoms of cocaine addiction, how to get help for your loved one, and what treatment options are… Cocaine, especially crack cocaine, is strongly addictive for several reasons. For one thing, the high feels very pleasurable, especially when you first try it.

How Do People Use Cocaine?

This can lead to a negative mood when you don’t take the drug. Your brain may become less responsive to other natural rewards, such as food and relationships. A typical dose of snorted cocaine is between 30 and 70 milligrams. When you snort it, it takes slightly longer to feel the effects.

This makes you compulsively crave or use substances like cocaine. Research suggests that certain communities may be more prone to using drugs, including cocaine. For example, those who identify as LGBTQ are more than twice as likely to use illicit drugs as heterosexual people. LGBTQ adults are also more than twice as likely to have a substance use disorder.

Interventions focusing on behavior are often used along with medications. If you seek an inpatient program, you would be in a supervised setting where you are not able to obtain or use the drug. When you stop taking cocaine, you can experience severe withdrawal symptoms that need to be managed. Cocaine addiction is one of the different stimulant use disorders. Stimulant use disorders are a subcategory of substance use disorder.

What Are the Long-term Side Effects of Cocaine Abuse?

But more research is required to determine the effectiveness of these techniques on addiction to cocaine. Cocaine addiction is a complex disease, with physical, mental, social, environmental, and familial factors. There are a variety of treatment methods for cocaine addiction that address all these components.

This may lead to using greater amounts of it, which can impact your mental and physical health. Tachycardia (rapid heart rate), arrhythmia (irregular heart rate or rhythm), and malignant hypertension (severely high blood pressure) can lead to a heart attack, stroke, or death. Acute kidney failure (rather than slowly deteriorating kidney function) is a life-threatening emergency that’s also common with cocaine overdose. The main complication of cocaine addiction is overdose, which results in cocaine toxicity.

1. When you stop taking cocaine, you can experience severe withdrawal symptoms that need to be managed.
2. Research suggests that certain communities may be more prone to using drugs, including cocaine.
3. Some of the side effects of cocaine depend on how you take the drug.
4. In a 2021 national survey, about 4.8 million people in the U.S. ages 12 or older said they had used cocaine in the past year.
5. Tachycardia (rapid heart rate), arrhythmia (irregular heart rate or rhythm), and malignant hypertension (severely high blood pressure) can lead to a heart attack, stroke, or death.

Cocaine is addictive because it inhibits dopamine’s reabsorption via nerve cells, creating a sense of euphoria. Its properties make it classified as a Schedule II drug with a high potential for abuse. In early tests, a vaccine helped reduce the risk of relapse in people who use cocaine. The vaccine activates your immune system to create antibodies that attach to cocaine and stop it from making its way into your brain. But we need much more research into whether the  vaccine  is safe and effective over the long term.

Smoking crack is highly addictive, highly dangerous, and a much larger problem for users than other forms of cocaine. Unlike heroin and opioid drugs, there are no medications used to treat cocaine addiction. The treatment is focused on detoxification (also referred to as detox) and behavioral therapies. You might receive treatment with a pharmaceutical drug if you have a co-addiction that can be treated pharmacologically, such as an addiction to alcohol or opioids. When snorted, smoked, or injected, cocaine induces intense feelings of euphoria. Over time, however, the body alters its own natural patterns in terms of production and reuptake of the neurotransmitters.

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But it carries many risks, including overdose and serious physical and mental side effects as well as addiction. If you or someone you know has problems with cocaine use, seek help from a doctor or mental health professional. Although cocaine is highly addictive and can wreak terrible destruction on a person’s life, there is help.

People with SUD may benefit from 12-step programs in group settings to encourage recovery. These interactions promote a community where members can hold one another accountable. In a 2021 national survey, about 4.8 million people in the U.S. ages 12 or older said they had used cocaine in the past year. The rate was highest in the age group (1.2 million people or 3.5%), followed by those over age 26 (3.6 million or 1.6%). When you heat the rock crystal and breathe the smoke into your lungs, you get a high that’s almost as fast and strong as when you inject it. To find a support group in your area, talk to a healthcare provider or go online.