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Hyped up and financially drained? Stop the madness of addiction. Call Recovery Connection now and get started on the road to recovery. 1-800-993-3869. Our helpline is open 24 hours, 7 days a week, all calls are free of charge and strictly confidential.
Cocaine is a white crystalline powder that is extracted from the coca leaf. The purity of today’s cocaine is variable because it is cut with laxatives, flour, sugar and local anesthetics which make it physically addictive. Cocaine is a powerful and highly addictive drug.
Crack, a light brown powder, is a form of cocaine that has undergone processing and heating, to from a rock crystal which can be smoked. Powder cocaine is typically snorted or melted and injected. When cocaine it smoked, it first enters the lungs and then is immediately delivered to the brain. Smoking is a much faster drug delivery system than snorting cocaine. Injecting cocaine is the fastest delivery system, and is highly addictive. According to a government report on cocaine, the most dangerous form of cocaine is a smokable form of cocaine paste. Cocaine can be combined with other drugs such as heroin and injected into the system. This is called speedballing.
Cocaine rapidly alters brain chemistry and leads to an overall stimulatory experience. This experience includes euphoria, but can also lead to psychosis.
Cocaine prevents dopamine levels from being reabsorbed back into the neurons that produced it. Because the dopamine is still in neuronal synapse (the area between two brain cells) it continues to activate the dopamine receptor and causes the euphoria and alertness associated with cocaine use.
This euphoria is so powerful that cravings can even occur 10 years after the addiction has been treated. It should be noted that research studies have found that in animals a single binge experience can create memory cues and environmental cues that can trigger intense cravings for cocaine. It is believed to be the same in humans.
As the amount and frequency of cocaine or crack use increase, the signs of cocaine addiction become more and more evident. Chronic cocaine use and addiction create relationship problems, financial instability, and legal trouble. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "...cocaine abusers and cocaine exposed animals have difficulty adapting their behavior to avoid negative outcomes." This reality explains the cycle of addiction that many cocaine addicts suffer.
Cocaine addiction is a condition that can present the user with a multitude of short and long term health complications, social difficulties, and legal problems. The behaviors and problems associated with cocaine use include:
Other medical complications of cocaine use are related to the method of ingestion. For example, users who snort cocaine may lose their sense of smell, have nose bleeds, or have problems swallowing. Deterioration of the nasal septum may require reconstructive surgery. Because of the lack of fluid and food intake during the cocaine highs, the cocaine or crack user is at this point dehydrated and malnourished.
Poly drug use is always a serious problem. When cocaine is combined with alcohol use, cocaethylene is produced by certain enzymes that are contained in the blood. The effects of cocaethylen are more toxic to the brain and heart than each drug used alone. This mixture results in more drug related deaths than any other combination of drugs. Physical changes that occur during cocaine abuse include:
Regular use of cocaine or crack can cause mental instability, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, infectious diseases, and dental problems. However, no matter what your current situation is, if you are a cocaine or crack addict, help is available.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, "more than half of all people addicted to cocaine also have a mental health disorder...When diagnosed and treated, relapse rates are dramatically reduced. (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000947.htm)
The predominance of mental health problems and addiction necessitates dual diagnosis treatment. Eventually, the cocaine addict or crack addict "gives-up" on chasing the high, or runs out of resources to get more of the drug. Once this happens, the addict enters the next period or the withdrawal period.
A cocaine addiction treatment center with an inpatient drug detox unit can treat cocaine withdrawal. There are medications available to help ease the withdrawal symptoms associated with cocaine detox or crack detox. Immediately following detox, an addiction treatment center that offers drug rehab will provide the cocaine addict with the appropriate therapy to address all underlying issues.
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