What is Fentanyl and How Addictive is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is an incredibly powerful prescription opioid drug that is between 80 and 100 times stronger than morphine. In 2017, there were more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States, with the highest increases in overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl.

Fentanyl patches, shots, and lozenges are used to treat severe pain from cancer, surgical recovery, or the drug is given to patients with chronic pain that other synthetic painkillers cannot treat. The drug is incredibly addictive, and dealers will sometimes mix heroin with fentanyl to create a potent chemical that gets people hooked quickly. Unfortunately, heroin combined with fentanyl is deadly, and “bad batches” of heroin laced with fentanyl have caused many deaths.

How does someone become addicted to fentanyl?

The human brain is full of natural opioid receptors that play a role in controlling pain and regulating a person’s emotions. When someone takes an opioid drug like fentanyl, these receptors are activated. Because the human body possesses these receptors, drugs like fentanyl are incredibly addictive. The tolerance window for opioid drugs is tiny, and it doesn’t take much of the substance or a long period of time for someone to build up a tolerance and become both physically and emotionally addicted to fentanyl. This process by which the opioid receptors become activated is one of the reasons why medications like methadone can help people maintain sobriety once they initially recover from a fentanyl addiction. Methadone and medicines like it bind to the opioid receptors and block them.

What are the signs of fentanyl addiction?

If a person starts taking too much of their prescription fentanyl, they are abusing the drug. People who are addicted to fentanyl may try to “doctor shop,” or tell their doctor that they lost or accidentally threw away their prescription in the hopes of obtaining more drugs. They may also try to steal a friend or a family member’s fentanyl prescription. Anytime a person uses a prescription drug in a way that it was not intended for use or they do not follow their doctor’s directions for the correct dose, they are abusing the drug and are exhibiting definite signs of addiction.

Signs of Opioid Use Disorder

When a person develops an addiction to an opioid drug like fentanyl, a doctor will diagnose an opioid use disorder, which is the clinical term for addiction. The diagnostic criteria for this disorder, which are also signs of fentanyl addiction, are as follows:

Keep in mind that someone who has a fentanyl addiction may actually believe they are using heroin since fentanyl mixed with heroin provides a stronger high at low doses, making it an attractive option for drug dealers looking to make the most profit. Heroin users may be unknowingly ingesting fentanyl that dealers are mixing with other drugs.

What are the symptoms of fentanyl withdrawal?

Because of the way fentanyl and opioid drugs like it interact with the brain, it is an incredibly addictive drug that is difficult to quit. Once someone has developed a tolerance and a physical and emotional addiction to fentanyl, withdrawal symptoms will start as soon as they miss a dose of the drug. While fentanyl withdrawal symptoms usually aren’t fatal, they are extremely unpleasant and painful. Also, prescription opioid drugs like fentanyl and street heroin will induce long-lasting, extreme cravings in a recovering user. These extreme cravings, characteristic of opioid drugs, are one of the reasons why it is so hard for people to quit without ongoing outside intervention and help.

For most people, withdrawal symptoms will start between twelve and twenty-four hours after last use. The physical symptoms of withdrawal and detox will peak around 48 hours after previous use and will last for about a week before tapering off. When the physical symptoms begin to taper off, intense psychological symptoms will manifest. In some cases, these symptoms can last for months or years after cessation.