The main goal of anyone entering a cocaine rehab program is to undo their reliance on this addictive stimulant. However, there are also other reasons for prompt seeking treatment from rehab professionals. One primary reason for anyone who uses the drug is the ever-present risk of an overdose. Overdose odds are heightened in cocaine users. Awareness of this increased risk of cocaine overdose and its causes can increase your motivation to get the help you need for effective recovery. Contact Northpoint Recovery online or call 888.296.8976 to learn more about overdose risk for cocaine abuse and other damaging effects of addiction to problem substances.
How Does a Cocaine Overdose Occur?
Cocaine use creates an overdose risk in the same fundamental way as other powerful stimulants. These substances make your central nervous system go much faster than expected. This increases your heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
Your ability to withstand these kinds of increases is limited. Overdose occurs when that ability is exceeded. In people overdosing on cocaine, potential signs of an overloaded system include:
- Headache
- Paranoia
- Extreme agitation or confusion
- Aggressive behavior
- Blurred vision
- High blood pressure
- Irregular breathing
- Heartbeat irregularities
You may also experience more dire effects. For example, you may go into a coma or experience a loss of heart or lung function.
Increased Sensitivity and Cocaine Overdose Risk
Most people who use cocaine repeatedly become more and more tolerant of its effects. To feel those effects, they must increase their intake of the drug. This is a pattern familiar to essentially all addictive substances.
However, in some people who keep using cocaine, that pattern is reversed. Instead of becoming more tolerant of the drug’s effects, they grow more sensitive to them. There are several potential consequences of this increased sensitivity. That includes an increased risk of cocaine overdose.
What does this mean in practical terms? A dose of cocaine that you tolerated well one day can be too much for your system to handle the next day. That’s true no matter how long you’ve used the drug. For this reason, your potential overdose risk for cocaine use never goes away, regardless of how much you take.
The Sudden Overdose Risk of Cocaine Abuse
In most circumstances, a cocaine overdose occurs in stages. This means you can tell what’s happening to you and take steps to avoid further harm. However, that’s not always the case. Instead of moving through stages, you can go into total overdose without warning.
If this happens, you may suddenly face some of the most severe possible overdose effects. Such effects include:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Dangerously high body temperature
- Bleeding on the surface of your brain
The increased risk of cocaine overdose is linked to sudden heart attack in multiple ways. For example, your cardiac blood vessels may go into severe spasms. Your heart may also lose its average ability to hold a stable rhythm. In addition, you may experience a rapid acceleration of any hardening in your arteries. Two forms of stroke are possible. First, you may develop a blockage in one of the vessels supplying blood to your brain. These vessels can also burst open.
Connect with Northpoint Recovery to Start Cocaine Rehab Today
The increased risk of cocaine overdose is confirmed. Every day, people who use this powerful drug experience some form of serious harm. Why? Not only can you become more sensitive to cocaine over time. You can also overdose without warning and suffer potentially fatal health changes.
Want to know more about the risks of using cocaine? Northpoint Recovery is here to provide the timely information you need. You can also turn to Northpoint for cocaine treatment that helps keep you safe and overdose-free. Just call us today at 888.296.8976 or contact us through our online message form.