Using cocaine may change how people’s brains work and increase their risk for many serious medical issues. Finding the next high may seem like the most important thing in their lives. But the impact of cocaine use can last for months, years or a lifetime.
Cocaine is a potent and addictive stimulant drug derived from the coca leaf. It can be snorted, injected or smoked to achieve a euphoric high — a result of the drug’s hyper-stimulating effect on the brain’s dopamine levels. When used repeatedly, cocaine side effects can cause severe health problems in addition to the development of physical and mental dependence. This neurotransmitter regulates a person’s sense of reward and pleasure. These feelings are incredibly reinforced at these high amounts, leading a person to crave more of this highly addictive drug quickly. This is why professional help is critical for recovery from crack addiction, and why continued therapy and peer support meetings are essential for long term success.
But the most significant effect is how cocaine use changes people’s brains, setting the stage for cocaine addiction (cocaine use disorder). When people take cocaine, their blood pressure goes up and their heart races. They may lose their inhibitions about doing things like spending lots of money on stuff they alcohol detox and rehab programs don’t really need. Sometimes a health event, such as a seizure or stroke, will prompt a doctor to bring up the possibility of cocaine addiction to you if you also have other symptoms. There’s currently no medication that treats cocaine addiction, but sometimes doctors prescribe drugs off-label to treat it.
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It can also damage other vital organs, including your cardiovascular system. If a health event prompted your visit to your doctor, they’ll recommend treatment options and help supervise your withdrawal once you’re stable. Cognitive behavioral therapy, outpatient and inpatient treatment, barbiturates: uses side effects and risks drug-free communities, and 12-step programs (such as Cocaine Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous) are all options. It can also starve your brain of the blood it needs, which kills brain cells. Over time, flooding your brain with dopamine can damage the structure of the brain.
Cocaine use disorder (addiction) can affect your personal relationships. Cognitive behavioral therapy may help people recover from cocaine use disorder. Cocaine is an addictive stimulant drug that can change lives and be life-threatening.
Psychological effects
Crack cocaine is so addictive that a person can become tolerant after using it only once. One of the most dangerous long-term effects of crack cocaine abuse is severe physical dependence and addiction. Additional long-term risks and dangers of use include cardiovascular complications, mental health problems, and organ damage. Choosing a program that uses evidence-based treatments to treat an addiction to crack can help a person’s brain and body to stabilize after using this harmful stimulant drug. These programs will teach a person coping and relapse prevention skills so that they’re better equipped to maintain a drug-free life. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.
- This is why professional help is critical for recovery from crack addiction, and why continued therapy and peer support meetings are essential for long term success.
- Can it lead to the development of neurological disease later on in life?
- Studies suggest that the heritability risk for cocaine use disorder is 65% in women and 79% in men.
- It can also starve your brain of the blood it needs, which kills brain cells.
- However, 2020 research on monkeys suggests that another neurotransmitter called glutamate may also play a role in the reward system and addiction.
- Sometimes, the long-term side effects of cocaine use are a sign of brain damage.
Effects of crack include hyperstimulation, euphoria, fever, and increased heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure. The unnatural increases in heart rate and blood pressure put enormous strain on the cardiovascular system, leading to heart and blood vessel damage. Crack also damages the immune system, making the user more vulnerable to disease. Research suggests that the progression from use to addiction is strongly influenced by genetics. Studies suggest that the heritability risk for cocaine use disorder is 65% in women and 79% in men. Having a co-occurring mental health condition and exposure to environmental factors can also increase the risk of developing a crack addiction.
Does Using Cocaine Kill Brain Cells?
Cocaine is a powerful drug that can cause serious side effects that can happen very quickly after you start using the drug. The 2021 (U.S.) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) concludes 4.8 million people age 12 and older used cocaine in 2020. In comparison, the same survey results show 52.8 million people age 12 and older used marijuana and 1.1 million people used heroin. We don’t completely understand who can regain that function, why, and to what extent.
Cocaine is a strong stimulant that has dramatic cocaine side effects on the central nervous system. Cocaine is abused in different ways including taking orally, sorting, smoking and injecting, all of which cause the drug to enter the bloodstream and take effect within seconds. Short-term cocaine use can increase the risk of stroke, seizures, headaches, and coma. As a person ages, their brain experiences a gradual reduction in gray matter. Over time, the loss of gray matter in the brain, brainstem and spinal cord can lead to natural complications related to aging, such as changes in memory and cognition. In general, research suggests that many cognitive functions can be adversely affected by cocaine use in the long term.
And a 2014 review suggests many of the long-term cognitive effects of cocaine use are actually connected to withdrawal from cocaine. This seemed to imply that 5 months without cocaine would restore much of what was lost in terms of brain function. Cocaine can also affect how the brain reacts to stress, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction and negative moods. It may also make a person more likely to relapse if they try to stop using the drug. However, people with a cocaine use disorder can lose a significantly greater amount of gray matter, and at a more rapid pace, than someone with no history of a substance use disorder.
How do doctors diagnose cocaine addiction?
More studies are needed to know what the best practices are for restoring neurological stability after consistent cocaine use. It’s also possible to recover some of the impaired cognitive function from cocaine use. Cocaine withdrawal should always be supervised by a medical professional. People should call 911 immediately if they think they or someone else is experiencing a cocaine overdose.
Sometimes, the long-term side effects of cocaine use are a sign of brain damage. Repeated use of cocaine may cause the brain to be more sensitive to the negative or toxic effects of cocaine, such as anxiety, at lower doses. Using cocaine can cause changes to the brain, such as in the reward system, resulting in a buildup of dopamine and making it difficult for someone to stop using the substance. In the short term, people often use cocaine for the high it produces, causing feelings of euphoria, boosts in energy and mental alertness, and sensitivity to light and sound. Irritability, paranoia or violent behavior may also occur in the short term.
By cutting drugs with other substances, drug dealers can make more money by selling smaller amounts of the intended drug and larger amounts of “filler”. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Approximately 1.3 million people in the United States over the age of 12 have a cocaine use disorder, which means they use cocaine or crack. Once a person is addicted to crack, they may experience withdrawal should they quit cold turkey or if they take a much smaller dose than they’re used to.