Fetanyl

 Today I need to talk about something that is very important and hits very close to home right now.  A close family friend has passed away two day ago due to a Fentanyl overdose.  She was 25 years old, and now she is gone.  So I thought this blog topic should be What Every Parent Should Know About Fentanyl Abuse.

What is Fentanyl?  It is a narcotic that is used to treat severe pain.  It is a controlled substance and the risk for addiction is high.  It can cause respiratory distress and death when taken in high doses or when combined with other substances, especially alcohol, or other illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Side Effects of Fentanyl Use

The side effects associated with fentanyl can emerge, with greater severity, in individuals who abuse this drug. For this reason, it is helpful to consider some of the most common side effects, which include but are not limited to:

Confusion

Chest pain

Convulsions

Blurred vision

Black stools

Labored breathing

Irregular heartbeat

Fainting

Feeling of a tight chest

Dizziness or lightheadedness

Decrease in urine flow

Cough

Dry mouth

Fever or chills

Loss of appetite

Mood changes

Pounding in ears

Pale skin

Back pain or side pain

Nervousness

Tingling or numbness in the hands, lips, or feet

Ulcers, sores, or white spots in the mouth

Sneezing, sore throat, or sunken eyes

Swelling in the calves, ankles, feet, and hands

Fatigue

One of the most common side effects of fentanyl abuse is the onset of addiction (to be clinically accurate, addiction per the DSM-5, would be called an opioid use disorder). When the body continues to receive fentanyl, it naturally makes adjustments. One adjustment is to build tolerance, which then requires the person to take more fentanyl in order to achieve the desired high.

There is a great danger implicit in tolerance — as the fentanyl intake rises, so too does the risk of harmful side effects. The body wants to promote survival but once drugs are introduced, and drugs are foreign substances to the body, the system gets turned into a potential engine of personal destruction.

More Rare Side Effects

The side effects that are considered rare for individuals who use fentanyl for therapeutic purposes under the control of a doctor may be brought out by abuse of fentanyl. Some of the less common side effects include but are not limited to:

Problems walking and balancing

Clumsiness

Stomach or abdominal

Headache

Muscle jerking or twitching

Less responsiveness to stimuli

Hallucinations (visual, audio, and tactile)

Severe constipation

Extreme sleepiness

Abnormal thoughts

Slowed or fast paced heartbeat

Trembling

Seizures

Signs of Fentanyl Overdose

When a person uses fentanyl as part of a medically supervised pain management plan, there is little risk of overdose. However, fentanyl abuse exposes a person to an ongoing risk of overdose. The most common signs of fentanyl overdose are slow breathing or acutely shallow breathing. If the following symptoms arise and persist, it may be necessary to seek medical attention:

Shallow or slowed breathing

Depression; feeling empty or discouraged

Loss of strength

Muscle stiffness

Lack of interest in activities

Back pain

Diarrhea

Signs of Fentanyl Withdrawal

When a person stops using fentanyl or considerably reduces the familiar dose, withdrawal symptoms emerge. The following are some of the most common fentanyl withdrawal symptoms may include:

Restlessness

Yawning

Chills

Irritability or anxiety

Runny nose or watery eyes

Sweating or chills

Muscle pain

Overall weakness

Stomach cramps

Widened pupils

Joint pain

Backache

Fast breathing

High blood pressure

Increased heart rate

Nausea

Vomiting

There is a general advisement in the addiction treatment community that an individual should not attempt to stop using narcotics suddenly. The opioid withdrawal process can be particularly uncomfortable, and suddenly stopping the use of narcotics can trigger severe withdrawal symptoms to emerge. Rehab programs that offer medication-assisted therapy will provide eligible clients with substitution therapy in the form of drugs like methadone or Suboxone (buprenorphine).

It is called substitution therapy because the person is safely transitioned to the treatment medication without fully detoxing from narcotics. Some individuals will remain on an opioid substitution therapy for months or even years. Other individuals will eventually reach full detoxification (i.e., no opioids or opiates in the body).

Help is available 

SAMHSA National Helpline

Confidential free help, from public health agencies, to find substance use treatment and information. Learn more

1-800-662-4357

Fentanyl

What is it?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths. Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico.

Street Names

Apace, China Girl, China Town, China White, Dance Fever, Goodfellas, Great Bear, He-Man, Poison and Tango & Cash

How is it used?

• Intense, short-term high
• Temporary feelings of euphoria
• Slowed respiration and reduced blood pressure
• Nausea
• Fainting
• Seizures
• Death

https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl

Signs and Symptoms of Fentanyl Abuse

Fentanyl is one of the strongest opiate drugs on the market. It is not a long-lasting drug so it is often used for surgery recovery and for breakthrough pain—meaning that when a person is already taking an opiate but has temporary pain that breaks through the opiate barrier, they may be given fentanyl.

Time-release formulations for fentanyl provide strong pain relief over time. They come in two forms—a lollipop and a patch. Fentanyl also comes as a small piece of film that can be dissolved under the tongue and a pill meant to be lodged inside the cheek. In hospital settings, fentanyl can be injected. For the individual abusing the drug outside a hospital, this is highly dangerous, as the difference between a therapeutic dose and a deadly dose is very small.

Fentanyl Most Likely Abused with Other Opiates

Several years ago illicit fentanyl entered the scene of the developing opioid crisis, where addicts seeking a stronger high were willing to risk overdose by using heroin cut with the drug. The fact that fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, even a tiny bit too much can be fatal. When dealers began mixing unknown amounts of fentanyl with heroin and other drugs in order to increase their profits—often selling to an unsuspecting customer—overdose began to take the life of countless individuals across the U.S.

Signs of Fentanyl and other Opioid Abuse

As with any opiate, the main symptoms of fentanyl abuse are euphoria, drowsiness, lethargy and mellowness. Fentanyl very quickly creates a tolerance to high doses, so a dose that is adequate for the intended high one week will probably not create that intended high even a few days later.

There are many other signs and symptoms of using fentanyl, either medically or illicitly, that are not desirable.

These include:

• Dizziness and lightheadedness
• Dry mouth
• Retention of urine
• Suppression of breathing
• Severe constipation
• Itching or hives
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Headache
• Difficulty seeing
• Depression
• Hallucinations
• Bad dreams
• Difficulty sleeping
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Swollen extremities

Addiction Is Also a Symptom of Abuse

In most cases, addiction is accompanied by a deterioration in personal integrity. It takes many unethical or criminal acts to maintain an addiction over time—either expenditure of large amounts of personal money or thefts, prescription fraud, doctor-shopping or other crimes, to get the drugs that are needed. A fentanyl addict normally has secrets from most or all of the people they encounter regularly. If the thefts are from a workplace, as often happens, they will be living a secret life while at work. Hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes are often the sites of fentanyl theft by desperate employees.

Different people become addicted at different rates. Some addicts try to prevent addiction by letting time pass between usages of strong opiates and others feel compelled to use the drug continuously once they start, which walks them straight into addiction. Those coming off heavy fentanyl abuse will often be weaned down to a lower level before going through withdrawal, as unsupported withdrawal from strong opiates can be brutal.

If you suspect someone you care about is abusing opioids that may include fentanyl, get them help right away. Waiting until tomorrow could be one day too late.

Recovering from Opioid Addiction at a Narconon Rehab

The Narconon drug and alcohol rehab program located around the world has developed a humane way of helping a person through withdrawal and then taking them all the way to lasting sobriety.

If a person does not need weaning or medical detox, he can safely and tolerably come off his drugs through in the Withdrawal unit at a Narconon center. Each person is immediately given generous doses of nutritional supplements that help alleviate the worst of the body’s reactions to withdrawal. A person coming into a rehab is normally in a severely depleted condition, and these supplements begin the rebuilding process. They also assist the body in starting to eliminate the toxicity that exists from the drugs that were used.

A number of methods and exercises have been developed that help a person both mentally and physically during withdrawal. Specific supplements can help with diarrhea, vomiting or other symptoms. Assists are simple and gentle procedures that help relieve physical pain and mental anxiety. Objective exercises calm a person’s mind and enable him to direct his attention toward recovery and the future and get attention off pain and the past. Those going through this process often remark on how manageable this withdrawal procedure is.

This is followed by an innovative detoxification step. Opiate abusers experience a mental fog from using these drugs (as do users of many drugs). Drug residues that are not fully eliminated from the body can cause this fog to persist, even long after drugs are discontinued. The Narconon New Life Detoxification combines sauna, exercise and nutrition to activate the body’s ability to flush out these residual toxins. The result is clearer thinking and an improved outlook on life. Most people also state that their cravings for drugs are greatly reduced or eliminated altogether.

A person who wishes to stay drug-free for the long haul must then overcome a mental or psychological need for drugs. This means building the skills to deal with life as it is, without hiding or trying to escape. This is the final phase of the Narconon program.

Learn how this program can help someone you love recover from an addiction that may seem hopeless.

https://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/fentanyl-signs-symptoms.html