News / Education
Fentanyl Patch Warning
Painkiller Misused Can Be Deadly
However, when misused, drug abusers can feel the same effects as heroin. Fentanyl is increasingly being manufactured in illegal, unapproved laboratories where its chemical composition and purity are not regulated, making it even more dangerous. This drug is obtainable illegally by extraction from therapeutic pain-relieving patches designed for suffering patients.
After manufacture, fentanyl is sold on the street in powdered form, where it is often combined with cocaine or heroin in varying proportions. Atlanta Recovery Center has issued a warning today that using drugs mixed with fentanyl can be deadly.
The increases of fentanyl abuse is alarming, and emergency room staff across the nation agree that fentanyl related deaths are increasing. Mary Rieser, Executive Director for Atlanta Recovery Center, stated, “An overdose of fentanyl (or other opiates such as heroin, oxycontin, or methadone) can cause fatal hypoventilation; basically, these drugs can cause the user to stop breathing. The line between eliminating pain and causing a person to stop breathing is all too easy to cross. Dosages must be calculated precisely, with allowances made for the patient’s age, weight, general health, and drug history.
When a person overdoses, they can pass out, and can suffocate on food or on his or her own vomit. A person who abuses fentanyl is truly just one breath away from dying. “Used appropriately, opiates like fentanyl are a gift to suffering patients. Used illegally, the fine line between pain relief and death from respiratory arrest is easy to cross—too easy, as is shown by the deaths of hundreds of drug users in just the last few months alone after taking fentanyl.
Where fentanyl is concerned, many drug users are not aware that the “pure” heroin or cocaine that they believe they are using, is not “pure” at all. It actually has been mixed or “cut” with fentanyl. Heroin and cocaine are dangerous enough in themselves and physicians see many deaths each year due to overdoses. When fentanyl is added, though, the risks of overdose and death increase substantially.
The correct action is to get the person into drug rehab so they don’t put their life at risk.
