It’s no secret that cocaine is a dangerous, highly addictive drug that can ruin a user’s mental and physical health and take over their future. What might not be as widely understood is how this substance can cause severe and more immediate consequences, including cocaine seizures that can be extremely dangerous. If you are struggling with abusing this drug or even casually experimenting with it, you need to understand just how dangerous this substance really is and how it can lead to things like seizures and even heart attacks due to the way it amplifies normal processes in your body.
Los Angeles cocaine addiction rehab programs are available at Muse Treatment’s drug addiction facility. Our compassionate, expert team of professionals has experience helping people from all walks of life address the mental and physical aspects of drug abuse and learn the skills and new strength they need to get to long-lasting recovery, and no longer need cocaine in their lives. Before we explain how Muse Treatment can help, let’s get to the bottom of how cocaine use can cause seizures and other immediate and long-term health risks of this illegal drug.
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How Does Cocaine Use Lead to Seizures?
If you’re wondering why cocaine can cause seizures or make users more predisposed to them, it’s crucial to understand how this drug acts on the body and why it can lead to this serious health risk. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that affects the sympathetic nervous system and can actually lower the so-called seizure threshold, or the amount of stimulation that can be handled by your brain before suffering a seizure. In addition, the way it changes the user’s brain, including affecting the release and reception of neurotransmitter glutamate, can make the brain more predisposed and on the verge of having a seizure.
Because of these short- and long-term effects on the brain, people who use cocaine and have an existing seizure disorder like epilepsy can be at a higher risk of suffering seizures. Another potential problem is suffering a stroke from cocaine use, and that can then cause seizures as well. Because cocaine seizures can turn serious very suddenly, they are considered one of the worst health effects of using stimulants like this drug or methamphetamine.
A study of animals that was published in 2024 looked specifically at the effects of inhaling crack cocaine on seizure risk. In the study, researchers gave rats a dose of pilocarpine, a medication that can trigger seizures, and some rats were then also exposed to crack cocaine.
The combination of the two drugs caused much more frequent and severe seizures, with researchers hypothesizing that it was lowering their brains’ resistance to seizures. The study found that crack reduced the activity of an important brain enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, which helps send nerve signals. Because it wasn’t broken down as effectively, the rats were more likely to suffer seizures or other nervous system problems.
What Are the Immediate Health Risks of Using Cocaine?
In the short term, there are many potential problems and even life-threatening conditions beyond cocaine seizures that this powerful drug can cause. Consider the risk of suffering a cocaine overdose or reaction to a toxic amount of stimulants, which kills thousands of Americans each year. Another growing problem is the amount of cocaine that is laced with fentanyl. This potent opioid is cheap and powerful but can quickly cause fatal overdoses in people who don’t even know they’re taking it with the other drugs they purchased.
Beyond overdoses and seizures, there are plenty of other potential immediate health risks that can be caused by cocaine, including psychological things like bizarre or violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, and irritability. Cardiovascular problems are a major area of concern, with things like heart rhythm changes or heart attacks a serious potential complication of how your body reacts to cocaine. Stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and other symptoms are also possible, with severe health problems like seizures, cardiac arrest, strokes, coma, or even sudden death all a risk when using cocaine.
What Are the Long-Term Health Effects of Chronic Cocaine Use?
The immediate health risks are scary enough, but it’s essential to also understand what happens after repeated abuse of cocaine over more extended periods. Several long-term health effects are possible, including negative moods and taking less pleasure in things you used to enjoy. It’s not uncommon for cocaine abusers to isolate and withdraw from family and friends, instead focusing their energy on getting and taking more of the drug.
Someone who is addicted to cocaine is very likely to experience unpleasant and uncomfortable cocaine withdrawal symptoms if they try to quit the drug, and they’ll also suffer powerful and intense cravings and urges to use more of the drug. Research has found that cognitive functions in general are affected by using cocaine for a long time, such as making it difficult for users to make decisions, control impulses, or pay attention and learn new things.
For people who take a lot of cocaine repeatedly, known as a cocaine binge, they’re at high risk of things like paranoia, irritability, restlessness, panic attacks, or psychosis, and they could start to experience hallucinations and lose touch with reality.
Another thing to keep in mind is how cocaine damages the body, especially the nasal tissue in people who snort the drug, damage to skin tissue, and the risk of contracting infectious diseases in those who inject it. Smoking crack cocaine causes lung damage. No matter how it is ingested, cocaine can also damage organs throughout the body. Another thing to worry about is that using stimulants like cocaine tends to decrease the appetite, and, over time, people who abuse cocaine will likely lose weight and could even become malnourished.
How Can Cocaine Users Reduce the Risk of Seizures?
Now that you understand how cocaine seizures can happen and why the drug is dangerous in many other ways as well, you might wonder how cocaine users could reduce the risk of seizures. The short answer is there’s one thing that works best – quitting cocaine once and for all. People who have epilepsy or other seizure disorders can significantly increase their risk of suffering severe seizures if they use stimulants like cocaine.
Even someone who has never had a seizure can become predisposed to suffering them if they start using this drug. Rather than trying to reduce the risk of a bad outcome from a dangerous drug, users need to find help and recovery at a cocaine rehab in Los Angeles, where they can learn how to live their lives without cocaine.
Avoid Cocaine Seizures and Health Problems by Getting Help from Muse Treatment
Cocaine seizures are a major consequence of using cocaine, and people who suffer from these seizures can experience significant distress and even die from this problem. Cocaine causes so many issues, including psychological distress, cognitive impairment, and physical damage throughout the body. That’s why it’s crucial that you quit using cocaine today and get the help you need to achieve a healthier future in recovery. Get started by calling Muse Treatment at 800-426-1818 today.
External Sources
- Healthline – The Link Between Cocaine Use and Seizures
- ScienceDirect – Crack Cocaine Inhalation Increases Seizure Susceptibility by Reducing Acetylcholinesterase Activity
- National Institute on Drug Abuse – Cocaine
