Experimenting with alcohol and drugs is a very slippery slope. Though the effects and experience of addiction tend to vary from one person to the next, it tends to begin in much the same way: A user enjoys the feeling he or she gets after administering a drug, wanting to experience that feeling more and more until becoming physically and physiologically dependent on alcohol or drugs. What began as recreational fun will promptly spiral out of control, rendering an individual helpless to the addictive power of one or more mind-altering substances.
Every mind-altering substance comes with a certain addictive potential and, therefore, a risk of using the substance. Even alcohol, which can be purchased legally in the United States and virtually everywhere else around the world, can turn a social drinker into an alcoholic who is unable to control the amount he or she drinks and their resultant behaviors when intoxicated. Of the many drugs that exist, some of the most addictive drugs include narcotics, which include opiate painkillers and heroin, and powerful stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine. Cocaine is considered to be especially addictive because of the effect it has on the mesolimbic or dopaminergic pathway in the brain, which is casually referred to as the brain’s reward center. As such, cocaine addicts often require very specific and specialized treatment in order to recovery from addiction to cocaine, but in order to understand why certain treatments are more effective in treating cocaine addiction, one must first understand the effects of cocaine as a mind-altering drug.
Effects of Cocaine Use
Cocaine is an organic and naturally-occurring stimulant that has historically been used as an appetite suppressant and as a topical anesthetic. What’s more, the primary effects of cocaine are on the body’s nervous system. When administered in high quantities as a recreational drug, cocaine functions as a powerful and stimulating antidepressant, or a triple reuptake inhibitor that affects the body’s levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. It’s also known for its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier much faster and more efficiently than many other psychoactive drugs, which accounts for the tendency of cocaine to produce effects only a short period of time after its ingestion. Upon administering cocaine, users feels its effects for between fifteen minutes and an hour depending on the size of the dose. The freebase form of cocaine, known as crack cocaine or just “crack” for short, comes in the form of smaller opaque rocks that make cracking and popping sounds when heated and smoked, giving the drug its namesake. Crack cocaine is considered even more addictive than cocaine, from which it’s derived, due to the fact that the effects are amplified and felt almost instantaneously.
Users of cocaine enjoy the drug’s stimulant properties, which increase alertness and awareness, provide a unique euphoria and feelings of well-being, improve motor activity, make users feel more competent, and yield an increase in libido. Since cocaine and its derivatives will often prevent users from sleeping for days at a time as they “binge” on cocaine, most cocaine addicts will also abuse other drugs—particularly depressants like marijuana, alcohol, or even opiates such as heroin and painkillers—to offset the stimulant properties of cocaine and be able to sleep or eat. As users continue their chronic cocaine consumption, the brain begins to produce less and less dopamine and serotonin naturally, causing a deficit that manifests strong cravings for more of the drug. What’s more, users will require more and more of the drug over time in order to achieve the same level of desired effects due to an increasing tolerance to the drug. However, higher doses of cocaine put users at risk for a variety of heart and circulatory dangers such as cardiac arrest, stroke, and even death.
Recovery from Cocaine Addiction
According to statistics, roughly 13 percent of individuals admitted to recovery programs in 2007 were addicted to cocaine with 72 percent of those cocaine addicts being polydrug addicts, which refers to individuals who are addicted to more than one drug at the same time. When an individual suffering from a substance abuse disorder is addicted to cocaine and possible other drugs, he or she will require a treatment program that is comprehensive, able to address a multitude of needs while potentially helping the individual to recover from addiction to more than one substance. However, there are other important considerations before even choosing a treatment program.
Individuals who are addicted to cocaine will require a medically supervised detox program. Over the course of cocaine addiction, the brain of a cocaine addict will have altered its production of essential hormones and chemicals to compensate for the effects of continuous cocaine administration. As such, when cocaine addicts abruptly cease cocaine use, he or she will experience powerful cravings as the brain adjusts to having suddenly lost a primary source of dopamine and serotonin. During a medically supervised detox, physicians who specialize in cocaine addiction can assist individuals through the detox process, which might include intervention with medications or other treatments that will help to balance the body’s natural chemical levels or to help alleviate the unpleasantness of withdrawal. Additionally, supervised detox allows an individual to be monitored for signs that withdrawal is putting the patient’s health at risk and to take steps to make the experience safer.
Therapies for Cocaine Addiction
In terms of medical intervention for cocaine addiction and detox, there are many tests being conducted in order to find ways to treatment cocaine addiction and withdrawal similarly to how methadone and buprenorphine (Suboxone) treat opiate addiction. While there has been promising results with several substances, there’s not an official medication that is currently prescribed singularly for the treatment of cocaine. However, there are other medications that have been used to treat other primary conditions or symptoms and that have had a positive effect on cocaine withdrawal symptoms. For example, due to the effects of cocaine as a triple reuptake inhibitor, some cocaine addicts have responded to being prescribed antidepressants, which help to restore chemical balance to the brain in the absence of cocaine as well as treating symptoms of anxiety and depression. What’s more, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxers, medications that have a tranquilizing effect on the body, have proven to be helpful in alleviating withdrawal symptoms in cocaine addicts as well as reducing cravings.
When it comes to treatment programs for cocaine addiction, addicts have been the most responsible to intensive inpatient programs at residential facilities. In inpatient programs, addict live on-site at the residential facility for the duration of treatment—as little as a month, but oftentimes as long as several months for more severe cases—while participating in a variety of daily therapies. Prior to beginning treatment, the individual will often have to complete an initial detox period in which he or she is stabilized before moving into the recovery treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven to be very effective in treating cocaine addiction; as individuals learn and become conditioned to addiction over the course of their cocaine use, cognitive behavioral therapy allows them to essentially “unlearn” their addiction by learning alternative, healthier skills, ways to cope, and learning some of the underlying processes that are related and contribute to each individual’s addiction. For individuals who suffer from comorbid, or co-occurring, afflictions, support for a dual-diagnosis is essential in order to address all variables that could cause a relapse in the future.
Additionally, emotional and spiritual therapies have proven very effective for cocaine users. Most cocaine addicts in recovery feel a sudden surge of guilt and shame as a result of their addiction and their behavior over the course of active addiction. As such, emotional support can have an uplifting effect on cocaine addicts, helping to fortify their early recovery efforts. Both individual and group counseling can offer this emotional and spiritual support as well as support groups and twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous.
Choose Recovery from Cocaine Addiction Today
If you or someone you love is suffering from addiction to cocaine or another mind-altering substance, Drug Treatment Center is here to help. Our team of recovery specialists have succeeded in helping countless addicts jumpstart their recoveries by matching them to the best addiction treatment programs that meet their individual needs. Don’t wait; call us today.