Recognising The Signs Of Addiction

Recognising the signs of addiction is not an easy as you might think. Even seasoned healthcare professionals have great difficulty on occasions determining who is taking what and blood tests are not always helpful. Forget what you have seen on television and in films.

The signs are not always physical but also in the way someone interacts with others or manages their finances.  Here at Find Me a Rehab, we have a collection of seasoned addictions clinicians with decades of experience in all aspects of addiction, treatment and rehab. If you need 24 rehab advice, 24 addiction help and free clinician drug advice call or email.

Sometimes known as substance misuse disorder, drug and alcohol addiction affects a person’s brain, as well as their behaviour. In essence, it is about losing the ability to control the use of alcohol and drugs: Even prescribed ones.

Despite knowing the dangers, risks and consequences, the person keeps taking it. What, can often, start with experimental use may lead to chronic dependency, medical emergencies and fatality. A prescription for pain killers after a sporting accident can lead to decades of dependency. 

In time, more pain killers will need to have the effect that the original dose provided. Stopping, suddenly, can be incredibly problematic and lead to an acute medical emergency. Severe physical symptoms can appear even just a few hours after you stop taking the drug, alcohol is a prime example. While it may make good television, locking an addict in a room with a bucket and bottle of water can lead to a fatality.  

Recognising The Signs Of Addiction

How to recognise addiction in yourself:

Making certain that you maintain a constant supply of drugs/alcohol 

• Finding sufficient funds to sustain the addiction, even if that means stealing from others 

• Intense urges to use that override all other thoughts 

• Taking time off sick from work or study and social commitments  

• Spending inordinate amounts of time sourcing the drug and/or recovering from using it.  

• Experiencing withdrawals when you cannot use 

How would I spot the signs that someone else is using?  

Again, this is not as easy as you might think. For a younger family member, it can be incredibly difficult to differentiate between normal adolescence and drug use. Some of the signs can be:  

* Financial difficulties: The person asks, constantly, for money and/or money goes missing from the house, business, etc.  

* Appearance: In the grips of active addiction people often loose interest in their appearance, what they wear and how the look.  

* Physical health: Addicts are prone to infection, weight loss (or gain) as well as lack of motivation and energy 

* Not attending work or college/university 

Recognising The Signs Of Addiction

What about intoxication: How would I spot it?  

That all depends on what the person is taking! Someone dependent on cannabis/synthetic cannabis will present very differently to someone dependent on stimulants such as cocaine and crack. Cannabis is, usually, smoked in a rolled-up cigarette, a “bong” or eaten in cookies or cakes.  

Cannabis and associated substances:  

• Feeling “high”: A sense of euphoria 

• Cravings for certain foods, usually at unusual times 

• Paranoia and anxiety 

• Reduced reaction times  

• Red eyes 

• Xerostomia (dry mouth) 

• Difficulties co-ordinating movements  

• Forgetting to complete tasks 

• Pungent smell of cannabis and yellowing of the fingers 

If used long term:  

• Reduced mental focus 

• Poor work performance 

• Lung issues with a persistent cough 

Long-term use is often associated with: 

• Decreased mental sharpness 

• Poor performance at school or at work 

• Ongoing cough and frequent lung infections 

Synthetic cannabinoids (spice) and bath salts/K2 

These can be sprayed on dried herbs and later smoked or put into tea. A liquid form can even be used in an electronic cigarette. They can produce a high, similar to cannabis but are extremely dangerous.

There have been numerous instances of death when users asphyxiate on their own vomit and or experience a heart attack.

Bath salts are imitation cathinones, they alter the way the brain operates in the same way as crack cocaine. They can be injected, inhaled, snorted up the nose and even eaten. These can cause death: very quickly.  

Signs and symptoms of recent use can include: 

• Hallucinations 

• Paranoia 

• Extreme violence, anxiety and agitation  

• Confusion 

• Elated mood  

• A sense of euphoria or feeling “high” 

• Elevated mood 

• Hypertensive crisis (dangerously high blood pressure)  

• Hypersexual arousal  

Barbiturates, benzodiazepines and hypnotics 

While barbiturates are lesser known about, these days, together with benzodiazepines and hypnotics, they continue to be a problem. All three depress the central nervous system. Easy to start using, and incredibly difficult to stop.

Prescribed, with good intention, when they were first developed, their addictive qualities were not known at their inception.  A common example of a barbiturate is Phenobarbital. Benzodiazepines include diazepam, clonazepam and lorazepam.

Hypnotics include familiar names such as Zopiclone and Zolpiderm. Sudden stoppage of these drugs can be incredibly dangerous and can lead to death. A supervised reduction, in a rehab centre is essential.  

Signs of recent use can include:  

• Falling over 

• Low blood pressure and shallow breathing 

• Difficulties thinking and remembering 

• Poor co-ordination  

• Slurred speech 

• Drowsiness 

Here at Find Me a Rehab, we have a collection of seasoned addictions clinicians with decades of experience in all aspects of addiction, treatment and rehab. If you need 24 rehab advice, 24 addiction help and free clinician drug advice call or email.

Stimulants (cocaine/MDMA/crystal meth)  

These have been around for decades and were used, widely, in World War 2 to help keep troops awake for days on end. An early weight loss drug, users often take them in search of a high to perform at work, in the gym or in the bedroom.  

Indications of recent use:  

• Aggressive behaviour 

• Over confidence 

• Hyper alertness 

• Rambling, incoherent speech 

• Fluctuations in heart rate, blood pressure and rapid changes in body temperature 

• Weight loss 

• Vomiting 

• Nasal damage 

• Nasal congestion and damage to the mucous membrane of the nose (if snorting drugs) 

• Chronic insomnia 

• Mouth damage with tooth decay and chronic gum disease  

• Mouth sores, gum disease and tooth decay from smoking drugs (“meth mouth”) 

• Insomnia 

• Rapid low mood as drug wears off 

Chemsex drugs 

Once confined to parties where men had sex with multiple partners, these are now common among straight users. These include drugs such as GHB, GBL, MDMA and Ketamine.  

Recent use can lead to:  

• Large pupils 

• Profuse sweating 

• Paranoia 

• Hallucinations 

• Extreme muscle cramps 

• Confusion  

• Unconsciousness 

• Rapid changes in blood pressure  

Hallucinogens 

Once the preserve of the flower power generation, drugs such as LSD are still used. Someone who uses a hallucinogenic can experience, among other things:  

• Intense flashbacks 

• Marked tremors 

• Dangerous shifts in blood pressure and heart rate 

• Impulsivity 

• Loss of contact with reality 

Phencyclidine (PCP), also known as Angel dust can induce the following:  

• Absence of pain  

• Rapid elevation in blood pressure 

• Violent behaviour 

• Acute intolerance to loud noise  

• Seizures 

• Coma 

• Death  

Recognising The Signs Of Addiction

Inhalants 

Glue sniffing was big in the 80’s but remains a problem along with inhaling other commonly found substances such as petrol, paint thinners, felt tip pens, etc. These substances are extremely toxic, and use can lead to death: Instantaneously.  

Someone who has been sniffing an inhalant may show the following:  

• Appearing as if they are drunk 

• Vomiting 

• Nausea 

• Wanting to fight  

• Rash around mouth and nose 

• Rapid eye movement without control  

• Irregular heartbeat 

• Slurred speech 

Opioids 

Prescribed for pain, it is easy to become dependent. Used, long term, they become redundant in their use, but the user is dependent, and sudden stoppage produces extreme withdrawal, sometimes death. Forget films where users are locked in a room with a bucket and a bottle of water: It is not unknown for users to die from dehydration in these situations.  

Sustained opioid use can lead to:  

• Deep depression  

• Euphoria 

• Reduced sense of pain  

• Drowsiness 

• Slurred speech  

• Poor memory  

• Constipation  

• Needle marks (for those injecting)  

• Sores around the nose and constant streaming  

• Small pupils in the eye 

Recognising The Signs Of Addiction

Here at Find Me a Rehab, we have a collection of seasoned addictions clinicians with decades of experience in all aspects of addiction, treatment and rehab. If you need 24 rehab advice, 24 addiction help and free clinician drug advice call or email. If you are concerned about your own use or someone else’s call for free, confidential and impartial advice.

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