Re: Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms
Magali Swinderman
Cocaine withdrawal occurs when someone who has used a lot of cocaine cuts down or quits taking the drug. Symptoms of withdrawal can occur even if the user is not completely off cocaine and still has some of the drug in their blood.
Cocaine produces a sense of euphoria (extreme mood elevation) by causing the brain to release higher than normal amounts of some chemicals. But, cocaine's effects on other parts of the body can be very serious, or even deadly.
When cocaine use is stopped or when a binge ends, a crash follows almost right away. The cocaine user has a strong craving for more cocaine during a crash. Other symptoms include fatigue, lack of pleasure, anxiety, irritability, sleepiness, and sometimes agitation or extreme suspicion or paranoia.
During withdrawal, there can be powerful, intense cravings for cocaine. The "high" associated with ongoing use may become less and less pleasant. It can produce fear and extreme suspicion rather than euphoria. Even so, the cravings may remain powerful.
Symptoms of withdrawal usually disappear over time. If symptoms are severe, a live-in treatment program may be recommended. There, medicines may be used to treat the symptoms. Counseling may help end the addiction. And, the person's health and safety can be monitored during recovery.
People who have cocaine withdrawal will often use alcohol, sedatives, hypnotics, or anti-anxiety medicines to treat their symptoms. Long-term use of these drugs is not recommended because it simply shifts addiction from one substance to another. Under proper medical supervision, however, short-term use of these medicines may be helpful in recovery.
Avoid cocaine use. If you use cocaine and wish to stop, talk with a provider. Also try to avoid people, places, and things you associate with the drug. If you find yourself thinking about the euphoria produced by cocaine, force yourself to think of the negative outcomes that follow its use.
Bernstein CA, Poag M, Robinstein M, Ahn C, Maloy KF, Ying P. Substance withdrawal. In: Bernstein CA, Poag M, Robinstein M, Ahn C, Maloy KF, Ying P. On Call Psychiatry. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 20.
National Institute on Drug Abuse website. Cocaine research report: what is cocaine? nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-cocaine. www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-cocaine. Updated May 2016. Accessed February 21, 2023.
Unlike opiates and alcohol, cocaine withdrawal symptoms include more mental and emotional effects than physical ones. Cocaine withdrawal symptoms include concentration problems, fatigue, inability to feel pleasure, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or actions, cocaine cravings, nightmares, restlessness, and slowed thinking. Physical symptoms may include, muscle aches, nerve pain, tremors, and chills.
The severity of your cocaine withdrawal comes down to multiple factors. These factors include the length of your cocaine use, how frequently you abused cocaine, purity of your drug, how you used it, your health, and your mental condition.
Cocaine withdrawal symptoms begin when you stop using your drug or run out of cocaine. Your physical dependence on the drug means your body grew accustomed to having cocaine in your system. It has adapted to cocaine and now functions with the drug. Your brain requires cocaine to feel normal.
Physical health complications occur when someone abuses cocaine with alcohol. Withdrawal after this lifestyle produces the risk of heart problems, like a heart attack. Some people suffer seizures in cocaine withdrawal.
Depression symptoms like low mood, energy, and motivation may develop during cocaine withdrawal. Some people experience suicidal ideations. These are reasons why people going through cocaine withdrawal need support and monitoring throughout detox. About half of people using cocaine already suffer from depression, so withdrawal makes these symptoms worse.
Other psychological effects of cocaine withdrawal include aggression, violence, and paranoia. These symptoms make detox dangerous for the person going through withdrawal and those caring for that person. This is another reason why detox programs play an important role in drug dependence recovery.
Ashley Addiction Treatment in Havre de Grace, Maryland provides on-site detox with comprehensive access to medical care. However, detox is only the beginning of your journey to lasting recovery. You need cocaine rehab to gain the support, education, skills, and insights you need for lasting recovery.
If you or someone you love is struggling with cocaine addiction, our rehab programs provide a pathway to that recovery. Call Ashley Addiction Treatment now at 866-313-6307 for information about available programs.
When it comes to party drugs, few of them are more well-known than cocaine. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people abuse cocaine every year. Because of its addictive nature and strong withdrawal symptoms, many of them are afraid to seek treatment. However, what cocaine withdrawal symptoms can they expect in detox?
Physical dependence on a drug such as cocaine occurs as the body adapts to it. Eventually, it tricks the brain into thinking that it needs that drug in order to function normally. As soon as the substance is no longer available, withdrawal kicks in.
Other symptoms of cocaine withdrawal include physical discomfort, headaches, insomnia, and vivid nightmares. Severe cases can bring about delirium tremens, which involves confusion, visual hallucinations, and fever. It is important for people to seek medical help if these more severe symptoms become present.
In fact, people may experience extreme depression or anxiety during cocaine withdrawal. They may also have suicidal thoughts or feelings of hopelessness that can be life-threatening if not addressed by a professional. Having strong social support and good mental healthcare during this period is essential for successful recovery from addiction to cocaine. Finally, the cravings associated with cocaine withdrawal can be intense and hard to resist, leading people to relapse or become involved in criminal activities. Professional help can make all the difference in reducing these risks.
In many cases, underlying mental disorders lead to the development of addiction. Dual diagnosis treatment is a service that can address addiction and other disorders. Getting this treatment is the key to long-term sobriety. When you come to BoardPrep Recovery Center, we give you the tools that you need to overcome both your cocaine addiction and mental health condition.
At BoardPrep Recovery Center, we help people not only detox from drugs but also overcome addiction. As a cocaine detox center in Tampa, FL, we take great pride in walking them through the entire recovery process. We even create custom treatment plans for each person. A few of the services that we offer for cocaine withdrawal symptoms include:
Learn more about cocaine withdrawal symptoms and how you can manage them effectively. Fight back against addiction with our help. Call us today at 866.796.4720, or contact us online to get started on treatment.
However, only in the last century did people begin to isolate the pure primary psychoactive component, cocaine hydrochloride, from its raw plant extracts to obtain what we now know as cocaine. This purified form of cocaine became an active ingredient in many tonics and elixirs in the early 1900s.2
Though stimulant withdrawal does not usually involve severe physical symptoms (nor does it present immediate medical dangers to a patient), some individuals may be at risk for experiencing a significantly debilitating dysphoria (i.e., depression and overwhelmingly negative thoughts and feelings). This profound dysphoric period could, in some cases, be associated with suicidal thoughts or attempts and could also lead to a patient relapsing on cocaine.3
While many of the symptoms of cocaine withdrawal begin to resolve within several days after quitting, some people may have a more protracted or prolonged course of withdrawal and continue to experience troublesome withdrawal symptoms for several weeks.3,4 Protracted withdrawal is the presence of substance-specific signs and symptoms of withdrawal that persist well beyond the time frame expected after someone stops using the substance.4
Cocaine withdrawal is commonly experienced by those who become dependent on this drug. Dependence on cocaine develops when someone uses cocaine over an extended period and begins to rely on this drug to function normally.
Cocaine-related increases in dopamine activity strongly reinforce continued use of the drug. However, over time and with repeated use, the brain of someone who uses cocaine adapts to the excess dopamine in its system, gradually becoming less sensitive to the effects of cocaine, causing them to require increasing amounts of the drug to avoid the onset of withdrawal symptoms, such as depression and insomnia.1
The onset of withdrawal symptoms for cocaine may depend on the type of cocaine that someone uses. For instance, regular crack cocaine use is associated with relatively faster onset of cocaine withdrawal symptoms, on the order of hours after it was last used. In general, acute cocaine withdrawal symptoms might last around 3-4 days.3 However, some symptoms of cocaine withdrawal can persist for 3-4 weeks in certain people.3
A medically supervised detox protocol allows the body to clear itself of a stimulant while medical professionals monitor withdrawal progress and take any needed action to keep people safe and comfortable in early recovery. There are currently no medications specifically approved for cocaine withdrawal or treatment, but certain medications may be used during medical detox to help people manage troublesome cocaine withdrawal symptoms, such as insomnia.
Though stimulant withdrawal may not be as severe or immediately dangerous as some other types of acute withdrawal syndromes (such as those associated with alcohol or opioids), quitting cocaine and experiencing cocaine withdrawal can be unpleasant. In more severe cases, stimulant withdrawal can give rise to certain mental health complications, such as a withdrawal dysphoria or depression.3
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