Fentanyl: Uses, Warnings & Side Effects

Most of the time, the street drug form of fentanyl is added to other drugs, such as fake hydrocodone, heroin, cocaine, or how long does fentanyl stay in your system meth, which will change the form of the drug. Naloxone (Narcan) is a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose. The drug can potentially save a person’s life, although multiple doses may be required for it to work successfully.

How can a person be sure that they’re taking real fentanyl?

These two groups combined made up more than half of all synthetic opioid overdose deaths in 2021, according to preliminary CDC data. The large number of overdose deaths involving fentanyl highlights the need to ensure people most at risk can access care, as well as the need to expand prevention and response activities. Additional harm reduction strategies may also be valuable options considering the growing volatility of the drug market. Strategies of going slowly and using with another person can help to prevent overdose deaths. Overdose prevention sites allow individuals to use previously acquired drugs in a safe and supervised space to prevent overdose fatalities (for more on OPS).

What Is Fentanyl? A Powerful Drug That’s Often Abused

• Also, consider augmenting the dose of fentanyl as needed.
• Beyond government policies and healthcare changes, some of the most effective solutions are happening right in our own neighborhoods.
• While it’s safe for your doctor to give you fentanyl in a medical setting, some people abuse it, which can lead to an overdose.
• What makes fentanyl so addictive is that it’s cheap and it can produce an intense high with just a small amount, even at a much lower dose than heroin.
• The amount that can affect breathing (just two milligrams, looking no larger than a few salt grains) creates a tiny margin between medical use and danger.

Still, anyone concerned about the drug’s warnings or side effects should speak with their healthcare provider before receiving it. Considering fentanyl’s reputation as an illicit drug, its risk of misuse likely won’t come as a surprise. Like other opioids, it can cause dependence, which can lead to abuse. Yet because fentanyl is so much more potent than many other opioids, abuse can quickly turn into overdose. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, more than half of all overdose deaths in the United States involve fentanyl.

Fentanyl and overdose

Treatment will likely require a combination of approaches and long-term follow-up. What makes fentanyl so addictive is that it’s cheap and it can produce an intense high with just a small amount, even at a much lower Sober living home dose than heroin. Abusing fentanyl can build up a tolerance to the drug, which increases the risk of overdosing.