Why Fentanyl Users Are Bent Over Addiction
Medical detox allows individuals to withdraw safely under the supervision of healthcare professionals who manage symptoms and prevent complications, including seizures or respiratory distress. The Fenty Fold is both a warning sign and a cry for help, signaling a critical stage of opioid dependence that puts individuals at constant risk of overdose. Bergen County, NJ had 122 confirmed drug overdoses due to fentanyl in the most recent official reporting period, according to the New Jersey Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner in 2025.
- From Xanax to cocaine, drugs or counterfeit pills purchased in nonmedical settings may contain life-threatening amounts of fentanyl.
- From May 2020 to April 2021, more than 100,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, with over 64 percent of these deaths due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl and its analogs.
- An 11-month-old girl swallowed a blue tablet she found while crawling around a new apartment.
- If you have been using this medicine regularly for several weeks or more, do not change your dose or suddenly stop using it without checking with your doctor.
Moreover, fentanyl’s severe impact on respiratory function contributes to this behavior. The drug can cause significant respiratory depression, leading to dizziness and lightheadedness. In an attempt to stabilize themselves and improve breathing, users might bend over involuntarily. Nearly 108,000 persons in the U.S. died from drug-involved overdose in 2022, underscoring the critical need for awareness and effective treatment interventions.
How Do People Take Fentanyl?
- These signs mean their body isn’t getting enough oxygen, which can lead to brain damage or death if not treated promptly.
- There are two types of fentanyl – pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl.
- These effects may include confusion, drowsiness, nausea, visual disturbances, constipation, muscle stiffness, and many others.
- A fentanyl overdose can occur after the drug is injected, swallowed, snorted, or smoked.
Immediate medical attention is crucial in such cases to prevent fatal outcomes. Some observers note that this spectacle—often witnessed on the streets or on public transit—looks like a scene from a dystopian world. It’s a stark reminder of how substance abuse can visually manifest in daily life. If nothing else, it puts into perspective the ongoing crisis where potent substances like fentanyl contribute heavily to overdose deaths. Fentanyl bending over, or “Nodding Off” often also includes “wobbling” or “teetering” which can often appear as a rocking motion. This rocking can range from mild to quite severe as individuals struggle to regain balance as their bodies succumb to the extreme sedative effects of Fentanyl on the central nervous system.
Users who are not accustomed to opioids may experience intense and dangerous side effects, even with small amounts. With fentanyl being found in unexpected places, many people worry, what if you touch something that has fentanyl on it? While casual skin contact is unlikely to cause an overdose, fentanyl exposure through inhalation or mucous membranes poses serious risks.
Residential Treatment
If you have naloxone (Narcan), use it right away by following the instructions on the package. Usually, this means spraying it into their nose or injecting it into their muscle. After giving naloxone, put the person on their side in the recovery position to prevent choking if they vomit. Stay with them and be ready to give another dose of naloxone if they don’t wake up, as fentanyl is so strong that it often requires multiple doses.
Medical Professionals
After you’ve taken an opioid like fentanyl for a long time, your brain gets used to the drug. This means your tolerance goes up and it takes more of it to get the same effect. You also have trouble feeling pleasure from anything besides the drug. Fentanyl patches pose a danger to kids who can stick them on their skin or mouths.
Combat medicine
While more nationwide prevention efforts and reduction strategies are needed to combat the opioid epidemic, prevention can also start in the home. If you or a loved one is struggling with a fentanyl addiction, help is available. Inpatient treatment can provide you with a safe environment where you can detox and learn the tools necessary for a healthy recovery. Contact a treatment provider today to learn more and begin your healing journey. Additionally, doctors and addiction professionals think the fold is also connected to the central nervous depression caused by opioids. After using fentanyl (usually in large amounts), people enter a state of slowed consciousness (nodding out), where their bodies and brains are functioning at a depressed level.
If using fentanyl under a doctor’s care, communicate openly with them about any concerns. If using fentanyl on your own, understand the dangers and seek professional treatment to help you quit. If a patient is taking this drug on a prescription basis, they need to communicate immediately with their physician if they experience any adverse effects. The physical and mental effects of fentanyl vary depending on how it is used. Keep a written list of all of the prescription and fentanyl stance nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines, vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements you are taking.
When People Go All In: Audacious Acts That Shocked and Moved Us
Fentanyl induces extreme muscle relaxation, making it difficult for users to hold themselves upright. This relaxation affects the central nervous system’s signals that control muscle tone. As a result, users may bend over or slump as their muscles lose strength and tone.
Illegally made fentanyl
For instance, there have been reports of purple fentanyl, a form of the drug mixed with various substances that create a distinctive color. This contamination increases overdose risk because users may be unaware of what they are consuming, including potent substances like carfentanil. Understanding what is carfentanil—a substance even more powerful than fentanyl—helps illustrate the lethal danger of opioids. While using fentanyl, you should talk to your doctor about having a rescue medication called naloxone readily available (e.g., home, office). Naloxone is used to reverse the life-threatening effects of https://meganlane.ca/deciding-to-share-your-recovery-story/ an overdose. It works by blocking the effects of opiates to relieve dangerous symptoms caused by high levels of opiates in the blood.
In an emergency? Need treatment?
The rise in use and overdoses are described as well Twelve-step program as some of the reasons for these changes. Implications for overdose prevention and initiating treatment with medications for opioid use disorder are described. In 2020, over 80% of the fentanyl police confiscated with in tablet form. Police evidence that looked like black tar heroin actually was heroin in 95% of cases, suggesting that fentanyl was rarely in “heroin” in 2020. See the impact of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids on drug overdose deaths.
National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse
After you talk with your doctor, you will sign a form acknowledging that you understand the risks of using fentanyl and that you will follow your doctor’s instructions to use the medication safely. Your doctor will give you more information about the program and how to get your medication and will answer any questions you have about the program and your treatment with fentanyl. There are two types of fentanyl – pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl. In a medical setting, people take prescribed fentanyl for severe or chronic pain.
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