If someone exhibits bizarre or harmful behaviors resulting from flakka use, call 911 immediately. Do not engage the individual because he or she may become violent. Flakka is one of the more recent synthetic drugs and research into its effects isn’t extensive. However, research that has been conducted has shown that the drug can be toxic to the kidneys and cause renal failure.
As the high begins to wear off, the steep drop in these “feel-good” chemicals can cause extreme agitation, anxiety, and depression as well as intense cravings for more of the drug. A professional rehab has a team of highly experienced and trained individuals who identify unique circumstances and triggers for addiction and develop individualized plans for each person. These rehabs also provide necessary support and help at various levels of care to address all issues as needed. In the year 2015, several reports mentioned individuals who were running naked in the streets and showing aggressive behavior by attacking those around them or impaling themselves into fences.
- At high doses, Flakka can affect the body’s temperature; it will reach high temperatures and sometimes this extreme change can lead to muscle breakdown and subsequent kidney damage.
- The drug can also raise body temperature dangerously high, leading to kidney damage or failure.
- It is chemically similar to MDPV, also known as Bath Salts, which was blamed for a surge of bizarre cases of intoxication and agitation throughout the US a few years ago [1].
- It is best if an individual finds the underlying cause with the help of a therapist to understand why they are tempted to use substances in the first place.
Synthetic drugs are illicitly created to produce substances that differ slightly from legal drugs. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute found that the potency and addictiveness of alpha-PVP is similar to that of bath salts. Scientists have shown that Flakka is as addictive as bath salts in rodent studies, however. Even after the scientists made the drug difficult for the rats to obtain, they persisted in pushing a lever several times that administered the drug if they failed to get it from the scientists first. The effects of the comedown from Flakka (the period when the drug leaves the body) include fatigue and depression. Flakka users may experience issues with memory, learning, and decision-making abilities despite discontinuing use of the drug.
Overcoming Flakka Addiction With Silver Pines Treatment Center
Addiction is one of the most common and important answers to how does flakka affect your brain. Despite having multiple negative effects, thousands of people continue to put themselves at risk by using the drug consistently. This consistent use, often in high doses, can easily make a person fall prey to addiction. The problem is particularly prevalent in poor populations who cannot afford expensive drugs and may use flakka as an alternative to cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin. Others choose flakka because it produces a longer and more intense high, usually lasting for up to five hours, compared to other drugs like cocaine, whose effects may wind up in as little as half an hour. Historically, synthetic substances with cathinone have been known as bath salts, primarily including methylone, mephedrone, and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).
Usage of this drug can change an individual’s consciousness, memory, and attention span. Like any other drug, the users of Flakka may develop a tolerance to this drug with long-term use. Over a period of time, they may require higher doses of Flakka to feel the same effect that they once got with smaller quantities. While there are no FDA-approved medications for addiction to flakka, there are medicines available for co-occurring mental health conditions. When someone is addicted to flakka, they can experience withdrawal symptoms without it.
How does Flakka affect your brain?
People who use Flakka have also been reported to show unpredictable and violent behaviors that stem out of their paranoia, hallucinations, and the feeling that they have superhuman strength. For this reason, the production, central nervous system cns depression sale, and use of Flakka are illegal. The euphoric high from flakka abuse can last from hours to days, depending on the dosage. Sometimes the effects of flakka can linger for weeks after it has been ingested.
A part of the cathinone class, Flakka is a very addictive substance created in laboratories in order to produce euphoric symptoms in people trying to obtain a cheap, quick high. Cathinones have been found to stimulate the release of dopamine and inhibit the reuptake of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in the central nervous system. Alpha-PVP (alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone), known on the streets as “Flakka,” is a new synthetic drug that has become an epidemic in South Florida. Flakka is the latest in a series of synthetic drugs that have become popular in the United States; included on this list are Ecstasy and Bath Salts. It is chemically similar to MDPV, also known as Bath Salts, which was blamed for a surge of bizarre cases of intoxication and agitation throughout the US a few years ago [1].
It is equally vital to understand ‘How does Flakka affect your brain and other organs’. In the next section, we will simplify the answer to this question. As cathinones are hydrophobic molecules, they can cross cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier. This allows them to interact with the monoamine transporters in the synaptic cleft between neurons.
But no medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat alpha-PVP abuse. The unknown effects of Flakka have many alarmed about its use and popularity, as no one knows what exactly the drug can do to the body and brain in the long term. At high doses, Flakka can affect the body’s dandruff diagnosis and treatment temperature; it will reach high temperatures and sometimes this extreme change can lead to muscle breakdown and subsequent kidney damage. Cathinones are chemicals derived from the khat plant originating in the Middle East and Somalia—where the leaves are frequently chewed for a euphoric buzz.
This is because the « comedown » after drug ingestion causes feelings of depression and being down. Flakka is sometimes referred to as the “zombie drug.” Individuals high on alpha-PVP may experience an altered mental state that induces psychosis. The synthetic substance can also produce unusual physical strength.
Does Smoking Marijuana Kill Brain Cells?
[3] All these potential side effects can ultimately lead to severe brain damage. There are different ways to consume flakka, such as orally, injecting it in veins, snorting it, or vaporizing it with an e-cigarette. Vaporizing the substance is the fastest way to make it enter the bloodstream; hence, people using this method of use are at the highest effects of meth on the body what does meth do to your body risk of overdosing on flakka. As a stimulant of the central nervous system, the active compounds in flakka can cause excitability and paranoia, which is as powerful as cocaine, bath salts, or meth. As Flakka starts to wear off, the individual starts feeling invincible. Such individuals become a danger to themselves and others around them.
How Does Flakka Affect Your Brain: What is Flakka Addiction?
Additionally, Flakka hinders the reuptake of this neurotransmitter by the brain cells, producing an intense feeling of euphoria. One of the newer chemicals in the booming category of synthetic or designer drugs, Flakka is typically made from a synthetic version of an amphetamine-like stimulant in the cathinone class called alpha-PVP. Many users, especially those who have been abusing flakka for a long time, may experience significant brain damage due to prolonged periods of delirium. Additionally, some people may end up having seizures as their brains lose access to oxygen. Others may develop swellings in the brain or experience a stroke.
Mental Health Treatment
Flakka use has been linked with an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, and psychosis. The street drug known as “Flakka” has been the latest plague of the synthetic substances causing havoc on the streets and in hospitals. South Florida is the epicenter of multiple Flakka episodes, with users displaying bizarre and psychotic behaviors [1]. In this case report, the patient’s baseline mental status changed abruptly and drastically from only one use of Flakka.
In this case report, a 17-year-old female with no prior psychiatric diagnosis presents to the hospital under a 72-hour involuntary placement for altered mental status with agitation and psychotic behaviors. After multiple days of symptomatic treatment with benzodiazepines and antipsychotics, the patient became coherent enough to give a history of a “friend” putting Flakka in her food at school as a joke. Although she continues to have residual symptoms including psychomotor agitation and slowing of cognition, she was alert, oriented, and able to be discharged home with proper follow-up. Flakka can have a wide range of long-lasting effects on your body and brain that you did not expect when you first started taking the drug. Physical issues such as muscle damage, kidney failure, liver failure, and heart attacks are some of the most common. From a mental perspective, they can expect severe paranoia, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, and more as a result of prolonged use.