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Rehab for Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, Meth, and Molly (MDMA) are the most commonly abused narcotic stimulants treated in rehab. Although these substances have varying levels of severity, duration, and side effects, they are all equally dangerous in their addictiveness. Rehab is necessary to provide support and stability in the aftermath of cocaine addiction.

 

Stimulants, commonly referred to as uppers, increase energy and dopamine (pleasure hormone) levels within the brain resulting in euphoria. Continued use of stimulants causes the brain to reduce the natural production of dopamine, making it difficult for those who abuse stimulants to feel pleasure without the drug. As a result, it is difficult for people with a stimulant addiction to recover without the aid of rehab for stimulants.

Rehab for Cocaine Addiction

Signs of a cocaine addiction may include:

  • Planning activities around cocaine use
  • Engaging in other high-risk behaviors
  • Loss of interest in activities
  • Prioritizing cocaine use
  • Continuing to use despite negative effects
  • Withdrawal symptoms and/or cravings

 

If you recognize any of these signs in yourself or others, you may suffer from a cocaine use disorder and require comprehensive treatment. It is important to recognize the development of your physical dependence on cocaine in order to safely detox from stimulants.

Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine is a stimulant and a dangerous narcotic. It is nearly impossible to obtain cocaine in a “pure” form, meaning that cocaine users will always be ingesting other chemicals and substances that drug dealers used to “cut” the product— this process occurs in order to make the most money from the least amount of the substance.

What is Cocaine?

Cocaine, also known as coke, is a strong stimulant often used as a recreational drug. Addictive in nature, cocaine produces a sense of euphoria as it forces an increased production of dopamine through the user’s brain. In a cruel twist of fate, cocaine strips the brain’s ability to naturally produce dopamine with each use, leaving the person dependent on cocaine, unable to feel pleasure without it.

Can you Overdose on Cocaine?

In 2014, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that over 900,000 Americans had a cocaine dependence or abuse problem in the last year, and the National Center for Health Statistics reported over 5,000 cocaine overdose deaths that same year. All methods of cocaine consumption (oral, intranasal, IV, and inhalation) can result in the bodily absorption of toxic levels of the drug. A cocaine overdose can lead to heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and sudden death (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Additionally, users who inject cocaine subject themselves to a higher risk of contracting a contagious blood disease like HIV or Hepatitis C. Prolonged cocaine abuse can alter the brain’s physical composition, resulting in tolerance and dependence.

What are the Side Effects of Cocaine Use?

Cocaine use is not simply an emotional rollercoaster– it also has terrible side effects concerning the body. Cocaine is an intense shock to the system and while it’s controlling the release of dopamine, it also forces the heart, liver, and lungs to work in overdrive. While not all side effects are immediate and irreversible at first use, prolonged use can destroy organ systems and possibly lead to death.

Short-Term Effects of Cocaine Use May Include:

  • Constricted blood vessels
  • Increased body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure
  • Tremors
  • Violent behavior
  • Anxiety
  • Erratic outbursts
  • Mood swings

Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Use May Include:

  • Tolerance
  • Nasal irritation
  • Lung damage
  • Risk of HIV/Hepatitis C
  • Heart inflammation
  • Cognitive dysfunction

To overcome cocaine addiction, proper treatment is essential. Serious complications can occur during cocaine withdrawal so it is important to enlist the assistance and supervision of medical personnel at a rehab for stimulants. Because We Care, Royal Life Centers is committed to providing the safest, most effective medication-assisted cocaine detox, followed by carefully structured, individualized medical regiments, an intensive therapy program, and extensive aftercare options.

What are the Most Common Stimulants?

In addition to cocaine, there are many other stimulants that have increased in use across the U.S. in recent years and at alarming rates. Three of the most abused narcotic stimulants are crack-cocaine, methamphetamines, and MDMA (“molly”). There is absolutely no medical use for any of these substances, which is why all of the substances listed are only available from street vendors and drug dealers. The potential for continued abuse and addiction for all stimulants is extremely high.

Crack-Cocaine

(crack)
Crack cocaine is a chemically modified form of the narcotic stimulant cocaine. Crack abuse spread rapidly due to its faster and intensified high. Crack-cocaine use spread like wildfire because it was relatively inexpensive, and very potent. The name “crack” comes from the crackling sound that emerges from burning cocaine chunks. Smoking crack cocaine delivers the dopaminergic-mind altering substance to the pleasure center faster than intravenous drug use because the blood route from the lungs to the pleasure center is shorter than from the arm to the pleasure center.

Crack-cocaine’s effects are felt rapidly, and peak very rapidly. While the effects of crack are super-stimulated, the short high lasts for as little as two minutes and extends to twenty minutes at most. As a result, users often abuse crack in binges to make up for the short-lived nature of the high. The binge cycle of crack repeats in a short-lived stimulant effect followed by an extended energy-draining crash. Subsequently, crack abuse fuels tolerance, dependence, and addiction that never live up to the short-lived side effects.

Short-Lived Side Effects:

  • Intense euphoria
  • Grandiosity: increased sense of self-importance
  • Heightened concentration and focus
  • Central nervous system stimulation
  • Reduced appetite
  • Weight loss

Once you become addicted to crack, you become obsessed with the pleasure from the drug’s short-lived side effects. Individuals addicted to crack become isolated from the people around them, and through that isolation, they are allowed to be consumed by nothing but their never-ending chase toward euphoria.

Those who suffer from crack-cocaine addiction spiral into compulsive binge-episodes in an attempt to elongate the duration of the high. The uncontrollable need to stretch out the euphoric bursts from the drug lead crack addicts to behave irrationally and illogically. As a result of the incredibly short half-life of crack-cocaine, crack withdrawal symptoms start almost immediately after use.

MDMA

(molly)

Molly has been peddled as MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) by drug dealers across the USA. Teenagers and young adults often take Molly thinking they are taking pure MDMA. On the contrary, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) says that only 13% of Molly contains MDMA. Expanding on that, this means 87% of Molly contains no MDMA whatsoever, and the 13% of Molly that does contain MDMA is still laced with other hazardous chemicals.

People who abuse Molly operate under the dangerously false belief that they know the substances that they are introducing into their body. Each individual dose of Molly has the potential to be entirely different in chemical composition to the next dose. 

MDMA is a synthetic psychedelic drug that alters the mind and launches feelings of euphoria. Although MDMA is commonly considered synonymous with the terms Molly and Ecstasy, the difference between the drugs is the level of purity. MDMA’s chemical composition is purely, solely 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine.  In comparison, Molly and Ecstasy have MDMA in them, in theory, but are mixed, or laced, with a myriad of other chemicals.

Richard Cohen documents MDMA use as already being popularized during the mid-1990s. The term for the MDMA by-product, Molly, began receiving attention in 2011. Regardless, pure MDMA is far from “safe.” MDMA is a man-made substance created in illegal laboratories with the intended purpose of producing a mild hallucinogenic experience and heavy stimulant effect. It cannot be stressed enough, the purity of MDMA does not negate the dangerous side effects it can inflict on those who use it.

Often referred to as the “happy” drug, a “high” on Molly typically elicits a vibrant wave of euphoria. The side effects of Molly, however, are not always a positive experience. A misconception surrounding Molly is that MDMA is free from “bad trips”. Bad trips, or negative mental and emotional experiences, are actually a common side effect of Molly.

Once you become addicted to crack, you become obsessed with the pleasure from the drug’s short-lived side effects. Individuals addicted to crack become isolated from the people around them, and through that isolation, they are allowed to be consumed by nothing but their never-ending chase toward euphoria.

Those who suffer from crack-cocaine addiction spiral into compulsive binge-episodes in an attempt to elongate the duration of the high. The uncontrollable need to stretch out the euphoric bursts from the drug lead crack addicts to behave irrationally and illogically. As a result of the incredibly short half-life of crack-cocaine, crack withdrawal symptoms start almost immediately after use. 

Side effects of stimulants like molly and crack-cocaine can include: headaches, heart palpitations, sweating, chest pains, hallucinations, paranoia, panic attacks, anxiety, confusion, psychotic and violent behavior, unnaturally high body temperature, nausea, dehydration, cold fingers, teeth clenching, full-body chills, convulsions/seizures, kidney failure, death.

The Signs of Cocaine Use

Cocaine use typically starts small in an attempt to re-energize. Often, people give in and try cocaine halfway through a party, for a study-aid to power through the final hours of studying, or to prepare for a work presentation. Unfortunately, most people who use cocaine in this manner have already developed a level of dependence on the substance without the proper knowledge to realize it. There is a litany of signs associated with cocaine abuse that can help you identify the possible behavioral and physical changes within yourself or a loved one. 

Warning Signs of Cocaine Use Include:

Behavioral changes from cocaine use:

  • Change in eating habits
    • No eating during use
    • Binge eating during withdrawal
  • Change in sleeping habits
    • Not sleeping during use
    • Binge sleeping during withdrawal
  • Mood swings 
    • Euphoric and sporadic during use
    • Depressed and irritable during withdrawal 
  • Demeanor
    • Talkative, social butterfly during use
    • Social isolation during withdrawal
  • Risky behaviors 
  • Financially irresponsible
  • Empty-grandiosity

Appearance identifiers of cocaine use:

  • Dilated pupils
  • Runny nose
  • Nose bleeds
  • White powder residue around the nose (intranasal use)
  • Chapped lips or red markings around the mouth (smoking)
  • Burn marks on the hands and lips (smoking)
  • Deterioration in hygiene habits 
  • Increased need for privacy 
  • In possession of razor blades, straws and other cocaine paraphernalia
  • Darting eyes or avoiding eye contact
  • Clothing choices that are inappropriate for the climate
  • Sweaty or clammy skin
  • Needle markings on the skin (intravenous use)

Withdrawing from Cocaine or Crack-Cocaine

Cocaine withdrawal is predominantly psychological, meaning it can be extremely taxing on a person’s emotional state. Withdrawal symptoms can set in 90 minutes after use, lasting for a week or longer. Typically, the duration of withdrawal aligns with the length of drug use and size of drug dose. The leading cause of cocaine relapse boils down to the cocaine abuser’s battle with anhedonia, craving cocaine for its ability to provide emotional relief in the form of pleasure.

Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms Include:

  • Depression
  • Poor concentration
  • Fatigue
  • Confusion
  • Agitation
  • Restless
  • Paranoia
  • Anxiety
  • Volatile mood swings
  • Hallucinations
  • Cravings
  • Drug-Seeking

Stimulant Addiction Cycle

Cocaine withdrawals present with the common “crash” associated with stimulants. Following the “high”, feelings of euphoria and energy from cocaine quickly deplete as the drug leaves the body. The resulting “crash” triggers a rapid decrease in mood, as the brain is now void of dopamine. The onset of cravings becomes visceral in an attempt to replenish dopamine levels. After, cravings subside and fatigue crashes over the body. Despite the overwhelming sense of exhaustion, people addicted to cocaine often require other drugs of the depressant variety in order to find sleep.

 

Following the initial crash, cocaine users can experience rapid mood shifts and a heightened emotional range. The irrational and erratic shifts in mood is an indicator of the emotional instability that proceeds anhedonia. Anhedonia, the inability to feel enjoyment, is a common side effect of prolonged cocaine abuse. No longer able to produce positive emotion, a cocaine user becomes entirely dependent on the drug, falling into the cycle of “getting high to feel pleasure, crashing into anhedonia, craving pleasure, getting high to feel pleasure”, etc. This cycle makes it almost impossible to avoid a cocaine relapse without the careful attention and support of medical and psychological professionals within a rehab for stimulants. 

 

Our goal at Royal Life Centers is to make detoxification from cocaine as smooth as possible, which is why our guests are monitored through and after detox by our 24/7 on-site medical staff to ensure safety and comfort during rehab for cocaine.

Cocaine Use Disorder Levels of Severity

Mild
Moderate
Severe

Frequently Asked Questions about Stimulants

In order to curb stimulant withdrawal symptoms, medical staff often provide nutritional supplements, prescriptions for non-addictive medications, and light exercise regimens. It is important during a stimulant detox to reintroduce structure like a consistent sleep schedule, a healthy diet, and plenty of hydration. Our techniques promote the guest’s physical health and offer them the rest that was previously unattainable due to the stimulants in their system.
Like all stimulants, if you stop taking molly after abusing it, you may experience marked neuropsychiatric effects such as debilitating mood changes, agitation, unhappiness, and anxiety during withdrawal. Physicians and their associates should monitor patients with regard to the severe physical and emotional symptoms that may emerge during the withdrawal process.

The symptoms of withdrawal from cocaine usually last around four days when you undergo a professional medical detox. If any of the more severe withdrawal symptoms occur like onset psychosis, symptoms could stretch in length and be more detrimental. Symptoms can range in intensity, and more serious symptoms like psychosis can occur, which is why these symptoms should be managed with medication and the individual should be under the care of a medical professional.

“Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms” can occur after detoxing. Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (PAWS) are reactive physical symptoms brought on by triggers of drug use. PAWS can last for several months, which is why inpatient treatment and continuing care is recommended.

Yes, there are definitely effects of cocaine use. The most prominent short-term effect (intense euphoria), leaves the brain barren of pleasure once the drug has left the body. As a result, longer term effects following drug use are extreme dysphoria, depression, and suicidal thoughts. 

Translational and clinical research strongly suggests that the alteration of mood, concentration, thinking, memory, and judgement are possible side effects from brain damage caused by chronic abuse of stimulants.

Despite popular belief, Molly rarely, if ever, contains pure MDMA. When analyzed using toxicology instrumentation, Molly usually contains a combination of dangerous chemically synthesized ingredients and other drugs, including identical ingredients to those found in “bath salts.” Laboratory analyses of Molly samples have also indicated the presence of varying amounts of addictive drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, ketamine, PCP and amphetamines.

Pure MDMA is hazardous to your mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing. However, the “bonus” ingredients found in Molly have been associated with reactions requiring emergency medical and psychiatric visits as well as death in people who believed they were taking unadulterated and pure MDMA. It is important to understand that regardless of what drug dealers claim, Molly consumers never truly know the number of chemicals they are buying in addition to the small amount of “MDMA”.

As one of the most popular recreational drugs within rave culture, the stimulant Molly is supposed to produce the pleasure and energy of MDMA for drug users to stay awake and party for hours on end.

We are not exactly sure why molly gained such popularity in recent years, because the chemical components of molly are essentially glorified bath salts. Due to the mixture of hot environments and continuous physical activity in which Molly is often taken, those who abuse the drug are put at a hi

Yes, you can go into withdrawal from crack. The symptoms of withdrawal from crack are more mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms— which should not be underestimated in their detriment. Crack-cocaine withdrawal symptoms are mostly marked by extreme mood swings, volatile behavior and irrational thinking. Desperation for more of the drug can lead the crack user’s behavior to be undeterred by negative consequences, including: criminal activity, destroyed relationships, interference with the law, etc.
While cocaine abuse can begin as a social drug, only used during celebratory events, users typically find themselves addicted sooner after— sometimes even just after a few times of heavy use. This is because the continuous use of cocaine eventually depletes the users ability to experience pleasure without it, leading to a dependence on the drug. It is important to note any signs of a growing addiction to cocaine.

Treatment for Cocaine Addiction

After medical detox at Royal Life Centers, guests begin transitioning to the most important part of treatment, a residential inpatient program. Residential inpatient is a comprehensive structured treatment environment. Treatment during rehab for stimulants focuses on the neuropsychiatric, psychological and social aspects of addiction. Individual and group therapy are among the many ways that recovery-sensitive cognitive behavioral therapy (RS-CBT) is delivered.

 

We provide individualized treatment programs that introduce patients to self-help groups such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA). Residential and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) usually last from 30 days to 6 months.

 

Our residential inpatient program is a 2-week long program, which can be extended to 4-weeks. Our intensive outpatient services are a part of our 12-week program that transitions guests from a partial hospitalization program (PHP) to intensive outpatient program (IOP). A residential and IOP rehab stay is best followed by ongoing aftercare. We provide aftercare options, such as sober living, to aid in your recovery journey once you have successfully completed treatment at rehab for stimulants.

Looking for a Rehab for Cocaine Addiction?

We can help you get started right away. We work with most private insurance policies and we have affordable private pay rates if you do not have insurance. Give us a call and we will figure out the best treatment plan for you or your loved one.
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