If you or a loved one is struggling with the effects of fentanyl misuse, you should be aware of the opioid epidemic in the U.S. and the side effects of excessive fentanyl use. You should consider undergoing a drug detox treatment program.
When someone uses fentanyl, they will experience the drug’s euphoric and pain-relieving effects. However, like using any other powerful opioid, there are also side effects that could affect the person’s overall health. If you’re looking for drug detox treatment options near Dallas, TX, contact Santé Center for Healing today. Call 866.238.3154 or reach out to our team online.
What Is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller that’s up to 100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is for pharmaceutical use only. For some cancer patients, fentanyl can be prescribed for pain management — doses are applied through a patch on the skin. It can also be prescribed for intense chronic pain due to nerve back injury, nerve damage, major trauma, or surgery.
Opioids interact with opioid receptors in the brain and bring about a range of responses from feelings of pain relief to contentment, relaxation, and pleasure. However, a prolonged period of using fentanyl causes side effects that negatively affect health. In the short-term, some effects that arise when someone uses fentanyl are the following:
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pupillary constriction
- Respiratory depression
- Urinary retention
Fentanyl can also be produced illicitly and sold on the street. Fentanyl may also be mixed in with some batches of heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as high-quality heroin. Many people may believe they are purchasing heroin and don’t know that they are purchasing and will be using fentanyl – this often results in overdose deaths.
What Are the Long-Term Side Effects of Fentanyl Use?
As mentioned above, the most alarming of all fentanyl side effects is death. Someone who consistently takes fentanyl will become increasingly tolerant to its effects. This leads to increasing their dosage size of frequency, which is another path to a lethal overdose.
While the short-term effects of using fentanyl don’t seem to be that bad, long-term misuse due to fentanyl addiction will significantly affect overall health negatively. An addiction to opioids — including fentanyl — could increase the risk of:
- Anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders
- Breathing problems during sleep
- Chronic and severe constipation
- Falls and fractures in seniors
- Heart attack and heart failure
- Hormonal and reproductive issues
- Immune system suppression
Remember that tolerance and addiction can develop even when someone’s following their doctor’s recommendations for using fentanyl medically. Anyone taking fentanyl — as well as their loved ones — must always be on alert and looking for any signs of an opioid use disorder developing.
When Should a Client Consider Drug Detox Treatment?
When taking the negative long-term side effects of fentanyl misuse, it seems prudent to seek professional help right away once you suspect that you’re dealing with an opioid-related problem. You don’t want to wait until health risks come to fruition or you’re in the ER due to an overdose to start considering how to overcome the fentanyl addiction.
There are several options for fentanyl addiction treatment that you can look into:
- Drug detox treatment program: This is often the same as medical detox. Medical help and supervision during the process of detox enable clients to get through opioid withdrawal in a comfortable and safe environment. Clients also get access to medications and other forms of care that can help them in managing acute withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings. Most of the time, clients transition from detox into a comprehensive inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment program.
- Inpatient treatment program: This option gives clients access to 24/7 medical care and supervision. However, they need to get admitted into an addiction treatment facility where they will reside for the duration of their program.
- Outpatient treatment program: This option is available in several forms. A day treatment program, also called a partial hospitalization program (PHP), is the most time-consuming with treatment sessions lasting around 4–6 hours daily, five days per week. An intensive outpatient program (IOP) involves about 2–3 hours of treatment sessions per day at least two days per week. Standard outpatient treatment, on the other hand, only involves 1–2 sessions per week.
Some treatment programs use medication-assisted treatment (MAT). This involves the use of FDA-approved prescription medication in addiction treatment programs to provide a well-rounded approach.
Ready To Learn About Santé Center for Healing’s Drug Detox Treatment Options?
Are you searching for drug detox treatment options near Dallas, TX? Contact Santé Center for Healing today by calling 866.238.3154 or reaching out to our team online.
