Carenotes > Cocaine Abuse

Cocaine Abuse

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is cocaine?

• Cocaine is an illegal drug. It may be made into a white powder that can be snorted (sniffed) into your nose. It may also be mixed with water and injected (given with a needle). The needle is stuck into a vein (blood vessel). The white powder may also be made into "crack" cocaine or "free base" and smoked. Cocaine may also be rubbed on body areas, such as your gums or your vagina (birth canal).
  
  
• The effect of cocaine is a feeling that may be described as a great amount of excitement and joy. You may have this "high" feeling within seconds or minutes of using cocaine. This feeling may only last for a few minutes, or it may last for a few hours. Because of how cocaine makes you feel, you may want to keep using more.

How does cocaine work?

• Your brain produces a substance called dopamine (DOH-pah-meen) when you feel happy. After a time, the dopamine decreases because “transporters” mop up the dopamine. The transporters put the dopamine back in the area in your brain where it is kept until your next happy event. Cocaine works by keeping the transporters from mopping up the dopamine. While the dopamine stays free, you have a feeling of great happiness or well being.
  
  
• The first time you use cocaine you will usually feel a great amount of excitement and joy. If you use cocaine a second time, you will probably not have the same effect. The high feeling may not be as strong, and you may not feel as good. This may happen because your brain will make more transporters to mop up the dopamine. The new transporters work more quickly to mop up dopamine when you have used cocaine before. Cocaine will not affect you as well or as long as it did the first time you used it.

What is cocaine abuse? Cocaine abuse is when ongoing cocaine use leads to problems being around others, doing your job, or new medical problems. When cocaine use is at it's worse, cocaine abusers will have three or more of the following problems:

• Two or more of the following withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms will happen hours or days after using less cocaine:
  
  
  • Feeling anxious.
    
    
  • Feeling restless.
    
    
  • Feeling sick to your stomach, or throwing up.
    
    
  • Having seizures (convulsions).
    
    
  • Increased shaking in your hands.
    
    
  • Seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not really there.
    
    
  • Sweating, or fast heartbeat.
    
    
  • Trouble sleeping.
  
  

• Using more cocaine than you first wanted to. You may use more, or use it over a longer time than you first wanted to.
  
  

• Being unable to decrease or control your use of cocaine. You may want cocaine all of the time. You may feel it is not possible to decrease or control the amount of cocaine you are using.
  
  

• Much of your time is spent using cocaine, or dealing with a hangover after using cocaine. "Hangover" is a word used for how you feel four to six hours after using a drug. You may feel very tired and sick to your stomach.
  
  

• You spend less time around others, at work, or doing activities that you enjoy. You may spend most or all of your time using or searching for cocaine.
  
  

• Even with a physical or mental condition that gets worse when using cocaine, you keep using the drug. For example, after using cocaine, you may get depressed (very sad). Even though you know this will happen, you keep using cocaine.
  
  

What is cocaine dependence?

• You may become dependent on cocaine after only using it a short time. If you become dependent, you will find it harder and harder to not use cocaine whenever it is available. You may need to use cocaine often to get a high feeling, since cocaine effects may wear off quickly. You may quickly spend large amounts of money to buy the drug. You may start stealing, selling sex, or drug dealing for money to buy more cocaine.
  
  
• You may need to stop using cocaine for several days to get more money, or to rest. You may not take care of your family, or go to work. You may also develop mental and physical problems over time. These may include being very sad, angry, or nervous, and losing weight. Most people who are dependent on cocaine also develop tolerance (TOL-er-ans) to the drug. Most people who are dependent on cocaine also go through withdrawal.

What is cocaine tolerance? Tolerance to cocaine means that you need more cocaine to get the high feeling that you want. You will feel less of a high feeling from the same amount of cocaine taken in the past.

What is withdrawal? Cocaine withdrawal will happen if you have taken a lot of cocaine over a long period of time. If you take less cocaine than you usually do, or completely stop taking it, you will go through withdrawal. A few hours after decreasing or stopping cocaine use, you may have feelings of great sadness and anxiety. You may also have two or more of the following signs and symptoms:

• A very tired feeling.
  
  
• Hunger.
  
  
• Moving very slowly, or restlessness.
  
  
• Unable to sleep, or unable to wake up from sleeping.
  
  
• Unpleasant dreams that seem very real.

You may feel a great need for cocaine. You may not enjoy the things you used to, and you may feel very unhappy. You may think about, plan to, or try to kill yourself.

What problems may acute or chronic use of cocaine cause? Acute use of cocaine means snorting, smoking, or injecting a lot of cocaine at one time. Chronic use of cocaine means using cocaine over a long period of time. Acute or chronic use of cocaine may lead to cocaine intoxication (in-tocks-ih-KAY-shun). Cocaine intoxication may cause one or more of the following signs and symptoms:

• Being easily angered, having mood swings, or threatening to hurt other people.
  
  
• Being unable to focus on one thing, or talking when your words do not make sense to other people.
  
  
• Feeling that you are the center of everyone's attention, or thinking that people are following you.
  
  
• Having a headache, or hearing ringing in your ears.
  
  
• Hearing or feeling things that you know are not there ("coke bugs").
  
  
• Not enjoying the things you used to enjoy, or thinking about, planning to, or trying to kill yourself.

Severe (very bad) cocaine intoxication may cause:

• Seizures (convulsions).
  
  
• Heart attack.
  
  
• Your heartbeat to be irregular.
  
  
• Your body temperature to rise very high.
  
  
• Death.

How does using cocaine affect your body over time?

• Cocaine decreases the size of your blood vessels. This makes your heart beat faster, and raises your blood pressure. Less blood and oxygen is able to reach your organs. Cocaine also raises your body temperature. Snorting cocaine into your nose or rubbing cocaine on body areas makes the area constrict (get smaller). The areas may become damaged and scarred. The cartilage that separates the two sides of your nose may bleed, or a hole may develop.
  
  
• Long-term cocaine use may affect your brain, heart, lungs, stomach, and bowels. Cocaine may cause seizures (convulsions), a stroke, or movements that you cannot control. These may include head jerking, constant chewing, and frequent eye blinking. If you have fast, jerky movements, and are unable to sit still, this may be called "crack dancing". Cocaine may cause an increased heart rate and blood pressure, and an irregular heartbeat. You may also develop a heart infection (in-FECK-shun), or have a heart attack.
  
  
• Cocaine may cause ulcers (sores) and scarring in your mouth and throat. You may have symptoms of asthma (AZ-muh) including coughing and spitting up mucus. Your lungs may bleed, or you may get "crack lung". This is a condition causing fever, painful breathing, and coughing. You may develop holes in your bowel, or a stomach ulcer. If there is not enough blood, oxygen and nutrition reaching part of your bowel, you may get gangrene (gang-GREEN). You may need to be treated with medicine or surgery for these conditions. These conditions may be very serious, and you may die.
  
  
• People who try to hide cocaine in their bodies are called "body packers" or "mules". This may lead to severe medical problems including bowel obstruction (plugging) that may need surgery. If the cocaine packet in the body breaks, it may cause cocaine intoxication, a large stomach ulcer, and death.

What happens to you and your baby if you use cocaine while you are pregnant?

• Using cocaine while pregnant may cause many medical problems for your unborn baby. Your baby's brain, heart, stomach and bowels may not grow or develop correctly. Pregnant women who use cocaine are more likely to miscarry (lose) their baby, or have their baby too early. Their baby may be born with many medical problems, or be born dead. There may be other problems during pregnancy that are very dangerous for both mother and baby.
  
  
• Babies born to women who use cocaine may go through withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms in newborns may include seizures, or problems waking and feeding the baby. The babies may overreact to sounds or movement by violently jerking or jumping. They may vomit (throw up), or have diarrhea (loose BM's). As these children grow, they are often slow learners and have other behavior problems.

Do you want to stop using cocaine? If you want to stop using cocaine, talk to your caregiver. Your caregiver will help you find a program for people with cocaine dependence. Your treatment will depend on how much and how long you used cocaine. You may be treated in the hospital, or as an outpatient. Treatments may include medicines to help you cope with withdrawal symptoms. They may also include talking therapy in groups, or one-to-one with a counselor. Treatment may include learning ways to deal with the people you knew when you were using cocaine. You may learn lifestyle changes that help you manage your life after cocaine. You may contact the following organizations for help and support:

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  PO Box 42557
  Washington, DC 20015
  Web Address: http://www.samhsa.gov
  

• National Institute on Drug Abuse
  6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213
  Bethesda, MD 20892-9561
  Phone: 1-301-443-1124
  Web Address: www.nida.nih.gov
  

• Cocaine Anonymous
  3740 Overland Avenue Suite C
  Los Angeles, CA 90034
  P.O. Box 2000
  Los Angeles, CA 90049-8000
  Phone: 1-310-559-5833
  Web Address: www.ca.org
  

Where can you go for help when someone you know abuses cocaine? Having a friend or family member who abuses cocaine can be very difficult. You may keep thinking of the way the person was before using cocaine, and wish the cocaine use would stop. You may want to help. You may not understand why your friend or family member is abusing cocaine. You may be frustrated because the person will not, or cannot, stop abusing cocaine. These are all normal feelings. For more information about cocaine abuse, you may contact the following:

• Co-Anon
  PO Box 12722
  Tucson, AZ 85732-2722
  Phone: 1-520-5135028
  Phone: 1-800-8989985
  Web Address: www.co-anon.org
  

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

Copyright © 2008 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.

The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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