If you or someone you know is struggling with fentanyl use, it is essential to seek professional help. Because fentanyl is so potent and commonly found in the drug supply, it is easy for people to accidentally overdose on fentanyl. A fentanyl overdose can occur after the drug is injected, swallowed, snorted, or smoked. Symptoms of a fentanyl overdose, including slow or absent breathing, generally occur within minutes of the overdose. Death can follow quickly if the overdosed person isn’t treated. The person should receive immediate medical attention for supportive care and to ensure the emergency has ended.
What Does It Mean To Have a Substance Abuse Problem?
Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues (some stronger than fentanyl, some weaker) are not “naloxone resistant.” They are opioids and will respond to naloxone if someone is overdosing. If using fentanyl under a doctor’s care, communicate openly with them about any concerns. If using fentanyl on your own, understand the dangers and seek professional treatment to help you quit. If a person has a susceptibility to addiction, then it is a situation where the person is more likely to develop a substance use disorder. If a patient is taking this drug on a prescription basis, they need to communicate immediately with their physician if they experience any adverse effects. Aftercare includes sober living homes, 12-step meetings, alumni programs, and regular check-ins with counselors to maintain accountability and motivation.
How to Identify a Potential Fentanyl Overdose and What to Do
“It’s a degree of loss of consciousness and a degree of lost muscular control,” Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a UCSF professor of addiction medicine, told ABC7 San Francisco. If you have ever witnessed what looks like seemingly intoxicated people bent over or frozen in place on sidewalks or in parks, you might be seeing someone in the throes of opioid use. An 11-month-old girl swallowed a blue tablet she found while crawling around a new apartment. Additional testing was positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine, acetaminophen, and tramadol (from Joynt & Wand, 2021). If you suspect someone is experiencing an overdose, the CDC recommends following the steps below.
- This stigma discourages treatment-seeking behavior and fosters misinformation about addiction as a medical disease rather than a moral failing.
- “Fentanyl is in the supply of many drugs on the street,” explains Dr. Donald.
How Long Does Crack Stay In The Body?
As little as 2 milligrams or less may cause death, which is about the size of a few grains of salt. It’s hard to predict https://sitelemed.ci/reframing-holidays-in-early-recovery-holidays/ the amount of fentanyl that could kill someone. As little as 2 milligrams may be lethal depending on how big your body is, what your tolerance for opioids is, and your past usage of fentanyl. After a fentanyl treatment, you may have side effects that hinder your thinking and reactions or cause dizziness or drowsiness.
Cities are trying to provide more treatment options, harm reduction services, and education to help people understand that addiction is a medical condition that needs treatment. One of the most dangerous effects of fentanyl is how it slows down breathing. When breathing slows down too much, the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, making people feel dizzy and unsteady on their feet. Without realizing it, they might bend over as their body tries to find a position that makes breathing easier. The bent-over position can make breathing problems worse, as being hunched over doesn’t allow the lungs to expand fully, depriving vital organs of oxygen. If you or someone you know is showing these symptoms, it is important to seek professional help immediately.
Treatment options for fentanyl addiction
Social media has also played a role in how communities respond to the fentanyl fold. The fent fold position itself can make overdoses more dangerous because it can make breathing even harder. When someone is hunched over for a long time, it puts pressure on their chest and makes it harder for their lungs to work properly.
Fentanyl is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. The extreme strength means even small amounts can have huge effects on the body. When someone uses fentanyl, it affects their brain and nervous system much more dramatically than other drugs. The amphetamine addiction treatment drug works by attaching to receptors in the brain that control pain and emotions.
Become a Harm Reduction Champion
Fentanyl caused more than 73,000 fatal overdoses in 2022, and the number is expected to rise. If you use fentanyl, the risk of life-threatening effects is high. You can protect yourself before it’s too late by getting professional addiction treatment right away. Beyond overdose, long-term fentanyl lean effects of fentanyl lean include opioid use disorder, memory loss, emotional dysregulation, and damage to respiratory and brain function.
- This depressant effect is dramatically stronger with Fentanyl, resulting in much more rapid and dramatic physical symptoms, such as “Fentanyl Fold” or severe “Nodding Off”.
- Fentanyl is typically administered intravenously (IV), intramuscularly (IM), transdermally (TD) as skin patches, intranasally (IN) in the form of a volatile nasal spray, and intrathecally (IT).
- Knowing how to handle suspected fentanyl contamination and seeking medical help when needed is crucial to preventing harm.
For more information on our programs and services, please visit our website or contact us directly. Together, we can overcome the challenges of addiction and build a healthier, drug-free future. Support groups provide a community of individuals who understand the challenges of addiction.
In 2022 alone, over 2,300 of the state’s 2,893 drug overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl, accounting for nearly 80% of all fatal overdoses according to the NJ Department of Health in 2023. Fentanyl is an urgent public health threat facing communities across the state, one that is not hidden behind closed doors but unfolding in full view. While using fentanyl, you should talk to your doctor about having a rescue medication called naloxone readily available (e.g., home, office). Naloxone is used to reverse the life-threatening effects of an overdose. It works by blocking the effects of opiates to relieve dangerous symptoms caused by high levels of opiates in the blood. Your doctor may also prescribe you naloxone if you are living in a household where there are small children or someone who has abused street or prescription drugs.