What Is An Overdose?
An overdose from drugs and alcohol can be terrifying not only for the person experiencing the overdose but also for that person’s friends and family members. When a person is a drug addict, they will get to a certain point where they are continuously looking to maintain their high, which means that they could turn to potentially dangerous methods. In turn, they may inadvertently trigger an overdose which puts them at risk of dying. Although several thousands of people have overdosed on drugs and alcohol, surviving a drug overdose is possible. While these overdose survivors are grateful to be alive, they do require extended care and may suffer from chronic pain or even brain damage going forward. Regardless of whether that person suffers from an opioid overdose or their overdose results from drinking to excess, there are always risks of dying, which is why you must reach out regarding addiction treatments before you run the possibility of this happening to you.
A drug overdose occurs when you consume too much of an addictive substance that prevents your body from functioning properly. A drug overdose is something that happens at times accidentally for any person that is experiencing substance abuse issues. For instance, if you experience an overdose on opioid drugs, you may have simply lost track of how much of this substance you consumed. Opioid overdose is incredibly common simply because of the highly addictive, which means you can easily forget how much of the substance you may have taken.
What Happens During a Drug Overdose?
To know more about surviving a drug overdose, it’s essential to understand what happens as it occurs. During a drug overdose, certain vital parts of your body simply begin to shut down. This process results in an emergency medical condition that needs to be addressed immediately, so the drug overdose does not result in death. There are several signs and symptoms associated with a drug overdose. For instance, it’s possible that your body may not regulate its temperature, resulting in hyperthermia or hypothermia. Loss of consciousness, irregular heartbeat, and changes in skin color are also examples of drug overdose symptoms.
Drugs That Cause the Most Overdoses
Seemingly any illicit drug can trigger an overdose. Some of the common examples of substances that can cause a drug overdose include:
- Benzodiazepines
- Opioids
- Alcohol
- Ecstasy
- Speed
- Cocaine
Can You Survive an Overdose?
As a result of drug overdose becoming so prevalent, there have been significant developments in medications that can increase the chance of surviving a drug overdose. Unfortunately, people overdose on different substances all the time due to their drug abuse. There are specific vital steps that you can take to ensure that your loved one can survive an overdose. Here are some examples of what you can do if you come across a person that is experiencing a drug overdose:
Call law enforcement immediately
If you suspect that a friend or loved one is experiencing a drug overdose, you should never delay reaching out to law enforcement. Law enforcement officials will have access to specific tools that can help reverse the impact of drug overdose depending on the severity of the overdose. For example, Narcan spray can help stop the overdose’s effect on a person, which saves lives.
Stay with that person until law enforcement arrives
When you call 9-1-1, you may be given a particular set of instructions when it comes to how to best care for your loved one until law enforcement arrives. Although this can be an overwhelming and challenging experience, try to remain as calm as possible.
Talk about drug rehab
If your loved one can survive a drug overdose, once they are stable and feeling better, the subsequent conversation that you may want to have with them will revolve around getting help for their substance use issue. A drug overdose may open their eyes to the fact that they need more help to overcome addiction. Timing is critical when you’re having this type of conversation because your loved one needs to be in a place both physically and psychologically to absorb what you’re saying honestly.
Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to be related to the person experiencing a drug overdose to offer aid. Good Samaritan laws allow you to call for help for that person immediately. Although Good Samaritan laws vary by state, they are helpful and often give people the peace of mind and confidence to know that you can render aid to someone experiencing a drug overdose.
Short-Term Effects of Drug Overdose
An overdose can have an immediate and severe impact on your life. When surviving a drug overdose, it is not an event that you will recover from overnight. Instead, it may take several days or even weeks for you to begin to regain some sense of normalcy. This could impact your professional career in the sense that you will need to miss time from work while you recover. There may be certain physical aspects of your life that you will need to reassess simply because the impact of overdose has had such a lasting effect on you. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for a person to suffer from memory issues or even cognitive impairment for some time.
Long-Term Effects of Drug Overdose
There are several severe long-term effects of a drug overdose. For instance, a person could experience permanent brain damage, which could impact their overall quality of life. Due to the deprivation of oxygen to your brain when you overdosed, you may suffer from coordination issues for different parts of your body or even paralysis. Drug overdose can take the very foundation of your life away if it doesn’t take your life away in general.
Drug Rehab at Muse Treatment Center
At Muse Treatment Center, we offer a comprehensive drug rehab program, but we can also help you establish a detox program that will help you work through the withdrawal symptoms that you may feel as the drugs and alcohol begin to leave your body. One of the best benefits of committing to a drug rehab program is that you will have the peace of mind of knowing you will be surrounded by a group of addiction experts who will provide you with the care you need as you begin to navigate your recovery. We understand that our drug rehab saves lives, so we work quickly to set you up with a program regardless of the type of drugs you may be addicted to.
An important decision you will need to make regarding drug rehab is the type of program you would like to commit to. For instance, our medical center features inpatient and outpatient treatment programs that suit your individual needs. Regardless of whether you have gone through a harrowing experience of surviving a drug overdose or whether this is your first time attempting addiction treatment, you will find the tools and resources you need to truly tackle your addiction once and for all when you come to Muse Treatment Center.
When you’re in addiction treatment, you will develop a better understanding of the root cause of your drug addiction. This is key as specific events in your life likely contributed to your drug addiction. The primary way this is done is by participating in different therapy forms. Although these therapy sessions may be uncomfortable at times, they are essential because they will help you process the traumas you may have experienced in a healthy way so these traumatic events will no longer impact your overall sobriety. Some examples of therapy that you will experience during addiction treatment include behavioral therapy, family therapy, individual therapy, group therapy, and trauma therapy. Your addiction treatment schedule is something that your treatment team will help you to establish in the early stages of your recovery program.
If you’re ready to commit to an addiction treatment plan, the intake team at Muse Treatment Center is available around the clock to provide you with the options that are available to you. For more information on surviving a drug overdose or addiction treatment, we encourage you to get in touch with our medical center today at (800) 426-1818. Our intake team is available around the clock to help you get started on your journey toward sobriety. Remember, we are always happy to speak to friends or family members interested in gathering more information for someone they love, so feel free to reach out at any time.
