Substance use disorder is a dangerous condition that’s worsened by the use of multiple substances. When you use more than one drug, or when you mix drugs such as opioids with alcohol or synthetic marijuana, you stand the risk of severe illness or even death. Here’s what you need to know about the many dangers of polysubstance abuse. Reach out to Atlantic Recovery Center for drug or alcohol addiction help.
Polysubstance Abuse May Magnify The Properties of All Drugs
Did you know that mixing certain drugs intensifies their effects? This can make it easy to use too much of one or more drugs. Because it makes the drug more potent, your usual dose may hit you much harder than you anticipated. This is especially true when you mix substances such as benzos and alcohol or cocaine and heroin. Many accidental drug overdose deaths occur every year because users combined two or more drugs to form a lethal cocktail.
Polysubstance Abuse May Cause Dangerous Side-Effects
Taking two or more depressants together may have fatal consequences. For instance, alcohol and opioid drugs both depress the respiratory system. This means they both work to slow your breathing and respiration — in effect, they slow the beating of your heart. But if you take these drugs together, they can slow your heart to dangerous levels or stop it from beating entirely.
Similarly, when you mix alcohol with cocaine, a new compound, called coca-ethylene, forms. Side effects of coca-ethylene include violent behavior and heightened aggression. Coca-ethylene is also toxic to your heart, which can cause an increased risk of a heart attack.
Polysubstance Abuse and Overdoses
It’s also important to note that when you take two or more drugs at the same time, it may make emergencies more difficult to treat. Because drugs interact with each other in unexpected ways, doctors in an emergency room or EMTs in an ambulance may have a harder time figuring out what’s wrong with you or how to treat it. This can waste precious moments that could very well cause complications or even death.
Choosing the Right Addiction Treatment Program
With polysubstance abuse, finding the right addiction treatment program is vital. Not every drug and alcohol addiction treatment center can treat multiple forms of addiction. If this is your current situation, recovery may be more difficult to achieve. Talk with the admissions representative of any care center you’re considering and ask about treatment for addiction that concerns more than one substance. Or talk with your family physician for a referral to the appropriate facility.
Matching your needs to the type of care provided plays an important role in the success of your sobriety. Polysubstance abuse requires a specialized level of care that not all facilities can provide. Don’t make recovery more difficult than it needs to be. Instead, vet the treatment centers in your area before committing to any program of treatment.
Addiction Treatment for Substance Abuse at Atlantic Recovery Center
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction of any kind, Atlantic Recovery Center in South Florida may be the solution. Unlike sprawling, commercial addiction treatment facilities, Atlantic Recovery Center is small and family-oriented. We treat clients like family, coaching them on healthy recovery behaviors and guiding them gently through group and individual therapy sessions. As a result, clients learn more about why and how they struggle with substance abuse.
Our treatment programs can address polysubstance abuse, including alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and prescription drug addictions.
When you’re ready for answers and solutions to a drug-free life, visit Atlantic Recovery Center online or call us today at 1-866-824-5193. Our warm, caring atmosphere and cozy environment will feel just like home. And there’s no better place to recover than among supportive family and friends.