Understanding Cocaine
What Is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a powerful, illicit stimulant drug derived from the leaves of the coca plant.
It comes in a variety of different forms and has a myriad of effects on physical health and mental health, while also being highly addictive. Cocaine abuse and addiction can further these challenges, as cocaine causes not just immediate effects on the body and mind, but prolonged drug use and drug abuse can lead to lasting consequences and mental health conditions that persist long after the immediate effects of cocaine have subsided.
What Does Cocaine Look Like?
Cocaine comes in a variety of different forms, from a white powder to a crystalline substance called “crack cocaine.”
However, this powder can also be dissolved in water. Talking to a health care provider about cocaine, as well as its effects, is paramount to identifying substance abuse in a loved one. If you are suspicious that you have found cocaine or recognized potential signs of substance use disorder (SUD), contacting Harmony Grove Behavioral Health or a local treatment facility for more information is crucial to accurately identify what cocaine looks like and confront the situation with as much education and information as possible.
What Is the Most Common Way Cocaine Is Used?
There are multiple ways that cocaine is commonly used, from snorting cocaine in its powder form, dissolving this powder into liquid, and injecting cocaine, or smoking crack cocaine.
Knowing not just the common ways cocaine is used, but also identifying potential paraphernalia such as spoons and needles, can also help you identify cocaine use in a loved one.
How Addictive Is Cocaine?
Cocaine is highly addictive. Even those using cocaine may realize the need for change, but feel urges and cravings to use cocaine even against their own better judgment and will.
Addictive substances like cocaine can also fundamentally affect the brain, making overcoming addiction as a disease difficult. However, while it is highly addictive, healing is never impossible with the right support, education, professional care, and sober support groups.
What Are the Immediate Effects of Cocaine?
Cocaine quickly floods the brain with dopamine, while its stimulant effects affect the central nervous system, increasing things like blood pressure and heart rate.
This intense feeling of euphoria, coupled with increased body temperature, high blood pressure, and constricted blood vessels, takes a heavy toll on the body. Feelings of anxiety and depression are also common, as well as an increased risk of chest pain, nosebleeds, and increased blood flow. An increased sense of confidence or feeling of invincibility, fueled by a sudden surge of energy, can also lead to risky behaviors.
Dilated pupils, increased breath rate, paranoia, nervous twitches, spasms, and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli like light, sound, or touch can also set in quickly after using cocaine.
Understanding the Types of Cocaine
What Is Cocaine Hydrochloride (Powder Cocaine)?
Cocaine hydrochloride is the name of cocaine in its powdered form, and is typically a white or off-white color.
In this form, it is commonly snorted, but can also be dissolved and administered by injection.
What Is Crack Cocaine?
Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine that presents as a rock or crystal-like structure, but keeps its white or off-white color.
In this form, it is commonly melted and smoked.
What Is Freebase Cocaine?
Freebase cocaine is another form of cocaine that is often smoked in a pipe.
It can look similar to crack cocaine, but has chemical differences, in that chemical processes are used to extract cocaine base.
Signs of Cocaine Use
What Are the Signs of Cocaine Use?
Dilated pupils, elevated heart rate and body temperature, sudden rush of energy, overconfidence or feelings of invincibility, inability to sleep, and erratic mood swings are all possible signs of cocaine use.
Changes in daily behavior, personal hygiene, weight loss, or mental health problems like anxiety, panic, and more may also be associated with cocaine use and addiction.
Does Cocaine Use Change Someone’s Behavior?
Cocaine can have profound effects on a person’s behavior, with sudden bursts of energy, an altered sense of reality, and hyperfixation on tasks or ideas.
A person may become more erratic, believe themselves to be invincible, or act in a way that disregards risk or their own safety, among other behaviors. After the effects of cocaine wear off, there can also be an intense comedown effect or “crash,” leading to intense fatigue, mental fog, aches, anxiety, and intense cravings for more cocaine to address these effects. This can lead to bingeing on cocaine and greatly increase the risk of overdose on the drug.
Long-term use of cocaine can also lead to other changes in behavior. Behavioral changes like living a more secretive lifestyle, stealing, lying, self-isolation, and more are common as an attempt to hide cocaine use from loved ones.
What Are Cocaine Eyes?
“Cocaine eyes” refers to the dilated pupils, glassy, glazed eyes, or red and bloodshot eyes of those who use cocaine, either directly under the effects of the drug or as a result of prolonged use.
What Is Cocaine Nose?
“Cocaine nose” is the damage that snorting cocaine does to the nose, often including a dry, runny nose, frequent nosebleeds, loss of olfactory senses, or damage to the septum of the nose as a result of continued snorting of cocaine.
Side Effects of Cocaine
What Are Some of the Negative Side Effects of Cocaine Use?
The effects of cocaine last long after the initial effects wear off. Mental side effects include anxiety, depression, panic, and more, alongside an array of physical side effects from elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and more.
Other side effects include:
- Insomnia and nightmares
- Physical and mental restlessness
- Psychosis
- Twitches
- Seizures
- Dehydration
- Depression
- Cravings for more cocaine
- Anger or irritability
- Difficulty forming and recalling memories
- Impaired decision-making skills
- Increased risk of heart attack or stroke
- Damage to the cardiovascular system
- Intense weight loss
The intensity of side effects can depend on the amounts of cocaine used, the frequency of use, and other underlying challenges, such as mental health disorders or combining cocaine use with other substances like alcohol or other drugs.
Likewise, those injecting cocaine intravenously can also be exposed to an increased risk of additional side effects and challenges, especially in the form of Hepatitis C from sharing unsanitary needles.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Addiction?
Cocaine can continue to impact your wellness, leaving lasting effects on your mental and physical health. These long-term effects include:
- Chronic high blood pressure
- Anxiety disorders or depression
- Persistent paranoia
- Compromised dopamine pathways make it difficult to enjoy other aspects of life
- Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
- Damage to the nose, eyes, and throat
- Decreased ability to prevent infection or illness
- Compromised sexual function
How Does Cocaine Affect Mental Health?
Cocaine can lead to increased feelings of anxiety, depression, paranoia, panic, and psychosis by disrupting normal brain function and hijacking the brain’s dopamine pathways, compromising the brain’s ability to regulate mood and process feelings of reward.
However, it can also affect mental health indirectly. Compromising sleep schedules, nutrition, and physical health can make it more difficult to regulate mood, leading to further mood swings or mental health challenges, as well as compromising self-care outlets that may otherwise help address difficult feelings or emotional states.
What Are the Social and Financial Side Effects of Cocaine Use?
While cocaine addiction can feel very isolating, its effects are never limited to an individual, leading to financial challenges, employment challenges, and damage to important personal relationships.
Many of those using drugs can easily lose track of how much money is being spent on these drugs, and personal budgets can be compromised as money set aside for personal hobbies, groceries, or even rent is instead used to facilitate addiction. Coupled with inconsistent workplace attendance or loss of a job due to compromised workplace performance or failing a drug test, can further affect a person’s financial independence and security.
Cocaine can also impact important relationships, bringing feelings of distrust, miscommunication, and even resentment into otherwise important relationships. Spouses, parents, siblings, and even children are all affected by a loved one living with cocaine addiction. Isolation from friends, loved ones, regular social groups, and more can all facilitate a dangerous and destructive cycle of cocaine use.
Cocaine Overdose
Can You Overdose on Cocaine?
Yes, a cocaine overdose is possible and can be life-threatening.
Intense comedown effects after the effects of cocaine wear off can also cause many to binge use the drug, increasing the chances of overdose.
What Are the Signs of Cocaine Overdose?
Some of the signs of cocaine overdose include:
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Extreme body heat and sweating
- Irregular heart rate
- Severe confusion, anxiety, or paranoia
- Difficulty focusing
- Erratic behavior
- Nausea and vomiting
- Discolored skin, including blueish lips and fingertips
Recognizing the signs of cocaine overdose in a loved one is paramount to preventing devastating outcomes and getting a loved one the help and medical support needed.
What Do You Do If Someone Overdoses on Cocaine?
If someone overdoses on cocaine or if you suspect someone is overdosing on cocaine, immediately call emergency services.
Be ready to provide details about your location, clear walkways for emergency personnel, and provide landmarks and updates to information during this time, such as noticing any additional symptoms or signs of overdose, such as substances on the person or paraphernalia found.
Staying calm during this time is crucial. Taking a moment to breathe, communicate clearly, and act with intention is essential to helping someone through a potential overdose.
Turning them on their side, clearing airways of obstructions such as vomit, checking for a pulse, monitoring heart rate, and staying with the person to provide updates as necessary until emergency personnel arrive is essential.
Cocaine Addiction Symptoms
How Can You Tell If You Are Addicted to Cocaine?
Some signs that a person is addicted to cocaine include an inability to decrease or cease the use of cocaine even when they want to, when cocaine use overshadows other responsibilities at home or at the workplace, or continued use of cocaine even after experiencing negative effects of the drug, especially an overdose.
A preoccupation with using cocaine or structuring the day around opportunities to use the drug can also indicate the need for professional care.
What Are the Common Signs and Symptoms of Cocaine Addiction?
Strong cravings for cocaine, inability to stop the use of the drug, weight loss, anxiety, mood swings, using higher amounts of cocaine to achieve similar effects, increase in risky behaviors, compromsied social circles or spending time with those that enable further use, and decline in workplace performance, attendance, or ability to tend to personal resonsibilities can all be common signs of cocaine addiction.
However, each person will have unique symptoms. Contacting Harmony Grove Behavioral Health about the signs you see to learn more about cocaine addiction is paramount to learn about addiction and how to support change.
What Do I Do If I Am Addicted to Cocaine?
If you are living with addiction, contacting a professional detox facility to learn about addiction and the detox process is crucial.
Educating yourself about addiction, its challenges, and having professionals support you as you begin your healing journey. Talking to various facilities about the healing process, amenities, and strategies used to support cocaine addiction recovery is paramount to help you find the place where you feel most comfortable to begin your healing.
Contacting detox, inpatient, and dedicated outpatient treatment facilities, such as Harmony Grove Behavioral Health, can help you explore what your healing journey might look like, what to expect, and the various support systems available to you throughout your journey.
Cocaine Withdrawal
Will I Experience Cocaine Withdrawal?
Stopping any kind of drug or addictive substance can result in withdrawal, whether it is cocaine, alcohol, opioid use, benzodiazepines, or other drugs.
Even caffeine can come with withdrawal symptoms. However, while you should expect to experience withdrawal symptoms, the severity will vary depending on the person, frequency and intensity of use, and the support options available.
What Are Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms?
Intense cravings, mood swings, anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, nausea, vomiting, nightmares, and fatigue are all common cocaine withdrawal symptoms, but your experiences can vary.
What Do I Do if Symptoms are Severe?
There is no replacement for professional detox care for beginning your journey to overcoming cocaine addiction, and medical detox professionals and addiction specialists can provide a variety of programs to navigate severe withdrawal symptoms.
Treatment Options for Cocaine Addiction
What Are the Different Treatments for Cocaine?
Treatment for cocaine addiction comes in a variety of forms, combining evidence-based treatment modalities like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with holistic healing options, mental health and emotional support, peer support and group programming, and comprehensive relapse prevention strategies.
What Is the Best Treatment for Cocaine Addiction?
There is no one, single treatment that will always help cure cocaine addiction. Rather, healing is about finding the right combination of strategies that best support your sober efforts.
Having evidence-based and holistic healing options, an ongoing support group, and making adjustments to address personal stresses, challenges, and triggers can all help you find the best approach for your unique healing journey.
Does Cocaine Addiction Treatment Include Family Support?
Yes, effective cocaine addiction treatment will also involve family support, exploring education, communication, and more regarding the disease for comprehensive healing at home.
Will I Need Detox for Cocaine Addiction?
Professional detox for cocaine addiction is recommended to navigate difficult withdrawal symptoms and help you transition to further levels of care while maintaining your cocaine-free life.
FAQs
Can Using Cocaine Cause Problems in Pregnancy?
Yes, cocaine use during pregnancy can pose significant risks to both the mother and the child, affecting blood flow, oxygen flow, and the brain of the developing child. Birth defects, low birth rate, and more are all possible.
Cocaine use can also cause premature membrane rupture, as well as lasting developmental challenges that may not be apparent until the child’s early developmental and adolescent years.
What Are the Symptoms of Cocaine Toxicity?
Cocaine toxicity can come with symptoms such as extreme overheating, sweating, anxiety, irregular and rapid heartbeat, paranoia, and an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and seizure.
What Are the Street Names for Cocaine?
Coke, blow, white lady, yayo, snow, and crack are common street names for cocaine.
However, local communities or groups may have their own unique slang for the substance, and it can vary depending on the form of cocaine being referenced.
Can People Recover From Cocaine?
Absolutely! While overcoming cocaine addiction is difficult and takes hard work and support, there is nobody who is beyond recovery or “too addicted” that they cannot pursue a drug-free life.
Can I Quit Cocaine Cold Turkey?
Quitting cocaine cold turkey is possible, but it is best to approach this with professional detox support to navigate withdrawal symptoms, mental, emotional, and physical needs, and adjust your treatment plan for effective relapse prevention and continued care.
Cocaine addiction can affect every facet of daily life, with a myriad of effects on your physical and mental health, as well as behaviors and social life. However, despite its dangerous and addictive qualities, healing is always possible. Harmony Grove Behavioral Health offers a dedicated cocaine addiction treatment program, providing outpatient support and professional care across Houston, Texas. Our personalized approach empowers you to find your unique journey to healing while getting you involved in our larger healing community, with peers and professionals all ready to support your sober change. To learn more about how our outpatient cocaine addiction treatment can help you, call to speak to us at (713) 564-6468.