What is Cocaine Addiction?
Cocaine, also known as “coke,” is a potent stimulant most frequently used as a recreational drug.
Cocaine was called “the drug of the 1980s and 1990s” because it was widely used during that time. In 1999, alcohol and Cocaine were the most commonly reported primary substances of abuse. Nearly 1.5 million Americans (0.6% of the population) reported using Cocaine, according to a 2014 study.
Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms, Signs, Detox & Treatment
Cocaine and Other Substances
Cocaine is a street drug that looks like a fine white crystal powder. Street dealers often mix it with things like cornstarch, talcum powder, or flour to increase profits. These dealers also mix Cocaine with other drugs like stimulant amphetamine or synthetic opioids that include fentanyl.
Adding synthetic opioids to Cocaine is extremely dangerous as people do not realize how harmful the consequences can be. The process of mixtures in Cocaine is called tampered Cocaine and is the leading cause of many overdose deaths in the United States. The use rate has remained relatively steady since 2009, after a sharp decline from the 1990s and early 2000s.
How does Cocaine Addiction Happen?
Cocaine is addictive due to its reward pathway in the brain. After a short time that Cocaine has been administered or consumed by the user, it is easier for the user to depend on it.
Cocaine is produced from the coca plant’s leaves, which come from South America, and is considered a powerful stimulant drug. Healthcare workers worldwide utilize it for legitimate purposes like giving local anesthesia or other surgeries, but on a general basis, cocaine use and selling of Cocaine is considered illegal.
Cocaine is administered by a user through inhaling, injecting into a vein, snorting, or inhaled smoke. Cocaine is also rubbed into the gums or used as a combination of heroin and Cocaine, known as Speedball.
Some individuals also smoke Cocaine that has been processed to make a rock crystal. This specific crystal is heated, resulting in fumes’ production, eventually inhaled into the lungs. This form of Cocaine is called crack, which refers to the crackling sound of the rock as it’s heated.
Crack can also be smoked like a cigarette by sprinkling it on Marijuana or Tobacco. People who smoke Cocaine usually take it in binges, which means they take it in short intervals at intensively higher doses and maintain their high.
If you have continued to use Cocaine for some time, you may have an addiction. Contact Avatar Residential Detox Center NJ for immediate help and get Cocaine Addiction Treatment at our rehab center.
Common Street Names for Cocaine
As a popularly used illicit substance, Cocaine has its fair share of nicknames. More commonly used slang terms are blown, coke, flake, snow, candy, white, bump, yeyo, rail, line, base, and crack.
Looking for Signs of Cocaine Abuse
The following are some effects that a person might feel when they abuse Cocaine:
Cocaine prevents dopamine from being recycled, which causes large amounts of them to build up in the space between the two nerve cells, thus stopping their routine communication. This strongly reinforces drug abuse behaviors because the reward circuit eventually adapts to the excess dopamine caused by Cocaine and becomes less sensitive to it. To experience high euphoric feelings, people tend to consume Cocaine in much more extensive and frequent doses.
Signs of Cocaine Overdose
The following are some of the signs that indicate Cocaine overdose:
If you notice any of these side effects, get in touch with Avatar’s medical detox team.
How do you identify a Cocaine Addiction?
Cocaine is the second most frequently used illegal drug globally, after cannabis. Between 14 and 21 million people use the drug each year. People can easily overdose on Cocaine. Cocaine overdose can cause serious consequences, life-threatening effects, or death.
Death from cocaine consumption can occur even during initial use or consumption after that. Cocaine drug addiction can also cause long-term effects on your body. Consumption of drugs and alcohol together increases the risk of overdose and death.
Cocaine addiction is often identified with the following symptoms:
- Constricted blood vessels
- High body temperature
- High blood pressure
- Restlessness
- Dilated pupils
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Nausea
- Tremors and muscle twitches
Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms
Cocaine withdrawal occurs when someone who has used a large amount of Cocaine cuts down or quits taking the drug. Symptoms of withdrawal can occur even if the user is not entirely off Cocaine and still has some drugs in their blood. Withdrawal Symptoms include:
Effects of Cocaine on Your Body
Cocaine has varied effects on every individual, from intense euphoria to sensations of anxiety, pain, and hallucinations. Cocaine is produced from the coca leaf (Erythroxylum coca), which affects the central nervous system (CNS).
Cocaine causes a rapid buildup of dopamine. This buildup of dopamine provokes the individual’s potential for misuse. Even though the consumption of Cocaine fulfills the craving for the dopamine reward, it also changes the brain’s neurochemistry causing a substance use disorder.
Treatment Options For Cocaine Addiction in NJ
At Avatar Residential Detox Center NJ.we provide a range of drug detox treatments and specialty therapies to help patients in the cocaine addiction treatment programs, which help with their symptoms and lead to an addiction-free life.
Inpatient Detox Treatment
At Avatar, our cocaine addiction treatment program in NJ consists of a customized plan for every individual with cocaine addiction by helping them through several cocaine detox treatments and specialty therapies. Detoxification is considered the first step towards a person’s path to recovery.
The patients get to stay at our facility with all the amenities our trusted medical professionals provide to them. Staying onsite prevents the patients from any distractions whatsoever and also diminishes the potential for relapse. It helps the person remain in control and not look for Cocaine, eventually consuming it and ensuring physical and mental well-being.
Medication-assisted Detox
At our cocaine detox center, NJ, we provide a specified medication-assisted treatment and detox programs offered to the clients. This treatment differs from patient to patient because it takes into account the level of severity of cocaine addiction.
No particular medication exists that can reverse cocaine overdose. Behavioral support is proved to be the most effective in treating cocaine addiction. Contingency management or motivational incentives are used, which involve providing rewards to patients who remain substance-free.
Dual Diagnosis
Besides physical consequences, people addicted to Cocaine also face mental health issues like anxiety, depression, hallucinations, and paranoia. To treat this, at Avatar Residential Detox Center, we have Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to teach individuals coping mechanisms other than substance abuse. It provides people with better ways to cope with trauma, stress, and other triggers. We also offer Group Therapy, which involves group sessions with people undergoing treatment for cocaine abuse.
Aftercare planning
At Avatar, once the rehab is complete, we then conduct aftercare sessions with our patients. Avatar’s medical professionals develop the most suitable and personalized aftercare plans based on patients’ unique needs that essentially aid in combating cocaine abuse.
Avatar Residential Detox Center accepts all most insurance plans such as Molina, BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, CareFirst, Anthem Health, and more. You can easily verify your insurance coverage.
Avatar also offers customized flexible self-pay options for all our treatments. For our patients who can not drive to the location, we provide door-to-door pick-up and drop services. If our patients require hospitalization at Avatar, we also offer free pick up and drop off for the hospital visits.
