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Fentanyl is classified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule II substance, meaning it has “a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence.”
The drug is an incredibly potent, doctor-prescribed opiate painkiller that, when used as intended, is primarily for the relief of severe, end-of-life pain in cancer patients, according to information from the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Misuse of fentanyl for any other purpose therefore poses serious health dangers in the form of addiction and deadly overdose, as evidenced by the rising numbers in recent years of fentanyl-related deaths— the most famous of which was that of the pop star celebrity Prince in 2016.
If you’re wondering whether you need fentanyl detox, you have come to the right place. This article will educate you on:
Fentanyl is much more potent than other addictive opiate drugs. That makes it extremely physically and psychologically addictive (not to mention deadlier than even heroin). Once experienced, the drug’s seductive high is very difficult to walk away from, leading over time to changes in brain chemistry that constitute the brain disorder known as addiction, for which treatment is the best hope of recovery.
The reason why fentanyl is so addictive has to do with how the drug works. Like other opiates, fentanyl binds to the brain’s μ-opioid receptor, flooding the brain with the pleasure neurotransmitter dopamine. (It is this binding action that creates the addictive euphoria associated with fentanyl and other opiates.)
But fentanyl crosses the blood-brain barrier, initiating this binding process, far more rapidly than other opiates do. This makes the drug 50-100 times more potent than morphine and 40-50 times more powerful than heroin, with the result that a much lower dose of fentanyl is required to achieve the same euphoric high.
The fact that fentanyl is extremely addictive means that if you’re wondering whether you’re addicted to the drug, you probably are already experiencing some of these mental and physical side effects of fentanyl use:
Other potential signs of fentanyl abuse and/or addiction may include:
If any of the above signs of fentanyl addiction describe you, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone for a free consultation with one of our dedicated counselors. Your life is too precious to gamble on fentanyl.
Anyone who is wondering whether they need fentanyl rehab needs to understand the risks of overdose— and, that regardless of how they have been using fentanyl (whether for legitimate medical purposes or illegally as an effort to get high) they are susceptible to a deadly overdose.
Illicitly manufactured fentanyl has driven an alarming rise in synthetic opiate overdose deaths in this country, according to statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). For example, drug deaths involving fentanyl reportedly more than doubled between the years 2015 and 2016 alone. There are at least two explanations for this disturbing increase:
Any fentanyl overdose should be considered a life-threatening medical emergency. Immediate treatment in a hospital emergency room (ER) room or intensive care unit (ICU) is required.
There are also dangers to detoxing from fentanyl on your own. The biggest of these: that the seemingly unbearable symptoms of withdrawal, while not usually fatal, may drive you back to the drug looking for relief, in a relapse overdose that ultimately proves deadly.
Other dangers of detoxing from fentanyl in severe, long-term cases of addiction can include:
Fentanyl rehab is at least a two-step process that involves a medically supervised detox from the drug, immediately followed by 35-plus days of residential inpatient treatment. During detox, clients are closely monitored 24/7 for any complications during withdrawal. Where medically appropriate, they also receive a short-term course of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to relieve opiate cravings. The goal is to help you move safely and completely through withdrawal, so that you can successfully embark on the next phase of rehab (treatment), without fear of relapse or other medical dangers. For more information about a medically managed detox from fentanyl, consult this Fentanyl Detox Guide.
During the second treatment phase of a rehab program, clients take part in an intensive, daily routine of group and individual therapies that address the roots of their addiction, while living in a structured, drug-free environment that introduces them to the various components of a healthy recovery lifestyle.
Anyone, at any time, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, or religion can find themselves vulnerable to the threat of addiction and overdose— especially when their drug of abuse is fentanyl. But fentanyl rehab can help you take back your life: it may even save it.
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