The person should receive immediate medical attention for supportive care and to ensure the emergency has ended. Producers of illicit fentanyl add it to or substitute it for other street drugs to increase profits and the potential for addiction — which keeps their customers coming back for more. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it’s up to 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is not only much stronger than other opioids, but it’s often added to illicit drugs without people knowing. People making illegal fentanyl often do this because it’s less expensive to use fentanyl than other drugs.
Fentanyl can have negative health effects, even when taken as prescribed. These effects may include confusion, drowsiness, nausea, visual disturbances, constipation, muscle stiffness, and many others. Remember, your health and safety should always come first when seeking pain management solutions. But it remains to be seen how many stores will carry it and what the prices will be.
Why Do People Take Fentanyl?
However, in contrast to other opiates, it is less common to find forms of synthetic drugs such as oral tablets or powders. The transdermal patch is for the long-term management of pain. This article focuses on injectable fentanyl; more detailed coverage of the transdermal formulation is available in the StatPearls specific article on transdermal fentanyl. Naloxone (Narcan) now available by request from your pharmacist or by mail.
Fentanyl Overdose
Street names for fentanyl include Apache, China Girl, Goodfellas, Great Bear, and Tango & Cash. Fentanyl is an opioid pain reliever for use in medical treatment. Although healthcare professionals consider fentanyl safe and effective when a person uses it in a monitored medical setting, the drug carries a high potential for misuse, also known as abuse.
It remains one of the most commonly used opioids in controlled medical settings or advanced cancer pain. Fentanyl also can increase feelings of pleasure, often referred to as euphoria. Other effects can include drowsiness, nausea, confusion, constipation and addiction. Its strong potency means it can be used in operating rooms, to control pain after surgery and to alleviate pain for people with advanced cancer.
General Health
In some cases, a person’s chest may become very stiff (called “chest wall rigidity” or “wooden chest”). This can make it harder for the victim to breathe and for a responder to do chest compressions. Fentanyl analogs, which are similar in nature to fentanyl and include substances like acetylfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, and carfentanil, have also been found in the US drug supply. Fentanyl test strips are a low-cost method of helping prevent overdoses. They can be used on a tablet to see whether it contains fentanyl. While this is not a 100% safety net, it is one tool that can help prevent an overdose.
Can You Buy Fentanyl Over The Counter?
It is an effective medication for managing severe pain when properly prescribed and monitored by a clinician. Fentanyl can be illegally mixed into other substances, including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamine (NIDA, 2021). This combination can result in an individual consuming a much stronger substance than they are used to, resulting in overdose and possibly death. The DEA has found an average of 2.4 milligrams of fentanyl in the pills they test (DEA, 2024).
Fentanyl Is Available In A Variety Of Forms
There are many things that can impact intoxication, overdose and bad reactions like feeling tired, being sick, or different emotional states. Drug users can also use fentanyl test strips to determine if a product has been cut with fentanyl. You or your pharmacy will have to contact your doctor for a new prescription if you need this medication refilled. The following list contains some of the key side effects that may occur while taking fentanyl. Fentanyl works in your brain to change how your body feels and responds to pain. For more information on how to use Fentanyl safely, check out these Fentanyl Use & Overdose Prevention Tips.
- In some cases, these illicit formulations of fentanyl are made to look like other prescription opioid tablets.
- It can quickly save the life of someone suffering from an overdose.
- Physical dependence results in withdrawal symptoms when individuals suddenly stop taking the drug.
- While there are fentanyl patches that can be placed on the skin for pain management, this is not the formulation that’s cut into other substances.
- If a person is unconscious and cannot vomit, or if they are having trouble breathing, lay the individual on their side to prevent choking.
How Does Fentanyl Make People Feel?
Complications are more likely to arise when these substances interact with each other. While it would take a much larger amount to overdose on an OTC opioid than on a prescription opioid, it is possible. These medications are never meant to be taken in high doses or long-term. The side effects of OTC opioids will become stronger with higher doses, at which point the individual can develop slow and shallow breathing and potentially lose consciousness. When taken in high enough doses, OTC opioids produce the same euphoric effects that both prescription and illicit opioids are known for. In some ways OTC opioids could be considered even more dangerous than prescription opioids because they are so readily available.
Executive Recovery Center: Effective For Addiction Treatment?
A person who has overdosed and who receives naloxone will usually wake up within 1-3 minutes. Stay with the person, even if they are conscious, until emergency medical help arrives. The clerk claimed the pharmacy did not stock counterfeit pills. Making naloxone available more widely is seen as a key strategy to control a nationwide overdose crisis, which has been linked to more than 100,000 U.S. deaths a year. The majority of those deaths are tied to opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl that can take multiple doses of naloxone to reverse.
People who use drugs might not be aware they are taking fentanyl, yet the reality is that fentanyl-laced drugs are prevalent. In 2022, the DEA seized more than 50 million street pills laced with fentanyl — more than twice as many in 2021. Of the fentanyl-laced street pills analyzed by the DEA in 2022, 60% contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. Fentanyl is increasingly found in street drugs that have been stamped with illegally purchased pill presses to look like other common pharmaceutical-grade drugs, such as oxycodone. It’s one of the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. You can become dependent on fentanyl even if you’re taking it as directed by a doctor.
See the impact of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids on drug overdose deaths. Data sources include Micromedex (updated 4 Feb 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 4 Feb 2024), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2024) and others. This is not all the information you need to know about fentanyl test strips for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your healthcare provider’s advice. Review and follow the full test strip information before use, as directions may vary among tests. Discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider. Look for information on your state or local health department’s website or ask your healthcare provider for treatment and referral services available in your area.
- The name of this drug that you can buy in many states without seeing a doctor is known as Naloxone, or Narcan.
- Dealers may sell it as a standalone drug or as a counterfeit for another drug (like oxycodone).
- As an opioid, fentanyl travels through your blood to attach to opioid receptors in brain cells.
- We receive compensation from Treatment X in exchange for ad placement.
How Is Naloxone Distributed Now?
A person with opioid use disorder has an increased risk of overdose. Carrying naloxone can provide them with an extra layer of protection from overdose. A person with a substance use disorder might obtain fentanyl by misusing prescribed medication or acquiring the drug from an illegal laboratory. Misuse of fentanyl includes taking it orally, smoking it, snorting it, or injecting it. It is important to remember that fentanyl should only be used under the supervision of a healthcare provider and according to their instructions. If you or someone you know is struggling with opioid addiction, seek help from a healthcare professional or addiction treatment center.
But the Postal Service and its foreign counterparts do not. That’s precisely why sellers prefer the US Postal Service over FedEx or UPS. In a time of noise, confusion, and spin, we’re committed to clarity, truth, and depth — even when it’s hard. The National Institute on Drug Abuse supports research to develop new ways to treat OUD and to help people find treatments that are right for them.
Do not let anyone else use your medication, even if he or she has the same symptoms that you have. Selling or giving away this medication may cause severe harm or death to others and is against the law. Keep this medication in the packaging it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children, and in a location that is not easily accessible by others, including visitors to the home. Store fentanyl in a safe place so that no one else can use it accidentally or on purpose. Use the child-resistant locks and other supplies provided by the manufacturer to keep children away from the lozenges. Keep track of how much fentanyl is left so you will know if any is missing.
