Cocaine makes a user feel fast, their heart beat slams in their chest, the corners of their mouth pull up, eyes pop, and they feel excited, happy, and really invested in whatever it is they are doing. Cocaine is in its nature an “upper”. Which is to say it makes the user feel more energy, makes them more alert and more focused on whatever their task at hand is. It is clear to see why a person would be so drawn to a substance of this nature. In today’s world, energy is low. Work and responsibilities are asking more of individual people for less. Nevertheless, it also proven to be incredibly risky to use as it has a number of dangerous and negative side effects.
Side Effects of Cocaine
Mood Changes: Even though the initial effects of cocaine can be an elevated mood, moods change. A bad trip for a user can turn from motivated eager joy, to anger, nerves, and even paranoia that someone is out to get you. The paranoia can even sometimes create a violent fear based reaction in a user.
Makes A User Feel Sick: Cocaine can make a user feel sick, causing extreme discomfort and pain in the stomach, headaches, nausea and vomiting. It can even cause a user to shake or even pass out.
Loss of Appetite:Cocaine can cause a severe loss of appetite, perhaps even spurring rapid weight loss. This can eventually lead to malnutrition and even death when unchecked.
Cardiac Complications: Because of the paces that cocaine puts a body through, the heart suffers. When a person’s body is pushing for days and the heart rate is sped up so much, the heart’s physiology can even change. All of this can lead to heart attack
Stroke: For the same reasons someone using Cocaine may suffer a heart attack, they may also experience a stroke. The pressure on the body can cause many systems to become dysfunctional.
Infectious Diseases: Anytime someone uses a drug intravenously, it becomes more likely that the person will contract some kind of infectious disease like HIV or Hepatitis.
Trouble Regulating Body Temperature: Cocaine can make it difficult for a person to regulate their body temperature, often resulting in feeling constantly too warm throughout the high.
How Can a User Know if They’re Overdosing?
A cocaine user should look out for some of the following signs and symptoms to tell them if they are overdosing on cocaine.
- Throwing up
- Chest pain
- Rapid heart rate
- Feeling abnormally warm
- Experiencing panic
- Seeing hallucinations
Cocaine Chemical Dependency Treatment & Rehabilitation
Cocaine has a short half life in the body so users come back to the drug over and over to get to the place of focus and drive that cocaine initially made them feel. The problem is though that with the devastating side effects of the drug, and the short life of a high, substance abusers feel very strong cravings that feel sometimes to be impossible to overcome. Treatment is needed for successful recovery.
FHE Health offers quality care and affordable rehab. Florida detox costs have changed for many people as insurances are beginning to offer higher coverage for treatment. At our drug and alcohol detox and rehab centers, we have trained staff who can help someone suffering from chemical dependency get out from under their cocaine addiction and teach them to deal with the intensity of cocaine cravings successfully. Call today to learn more.
