Centers for Ecstasy Rehab

Are you looking for a rehab for Ecstasy? Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, is a psychoactive and synthetic drug, which is chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. The street names for MDMA are Adam, beans, ecstasy, XTC, love drug, and hug drug. It is an illegal drug acting as both a psychedelic and stimulant. It produces an energizing effect and distortions in perception and time, and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences.

If you our someone you love is struggling addiction and using Ecstasy or MDMA, please call and speak with an addiction specialist now 1-714-443-8218

Ecstasy Addiction

This drug has been synthesized first as an appetite suppressant, and then it emerged in the United States when a psychotherapist tried using ecstasy for treatments and therapy such as marriage counseling. While the drug is made illegal in year 1988, it has become famous in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Ecstasy is also known as a club drug, it became plentiful in house parties, raves, college dorms, and other recreational places.

As a psychoactive and synthetic drug, ecstasy is delivering unique effects to the partygoers who are taking it, such as a distortion of time and senses, and euphoria. The NIDA, National Institute on Drug Abuse, has noted that its effect is able to set in around 20-40 minutes after digesting, and it lasts anywhere from 3-6 hours. Several users are taking a second dose as soon as the initial affects start to fade, and hence, increasing the danger and effects of MDMA. On the other hand, others are merging this drug with various substances so as to bring in additional and potentially unknown side effects.

The main use of this drug has started on party scenes and nightclubs with young people, the face of ecstasy users changed through the decades. Even though MDMA has still been oftentimes used by white teens, there are other communities like the urban gay males, who are using this drug. As a result of the users combing this drug with the other club drugs like cocaine and marijuana, there is a link with high-risk sexual behaviors resulting in HIV and STIs. Thus, aside from the prolonged and immediate risk posed by ecstasy to those who abuse it, mostly young white and female partygoers, it is also affecting the reproductive and sexual health from ecstasy addiction.

Furthermore, ecstasy is a DEA-recognized Schedule I drug, and regarded to have a high potential for abuse. It also has no established use as a medical treatment. Hence, thus drug is not prescribed, but usually attained on the streets on an illegal transaction.

Side effects of Ecstasy Addiction

The side effects of ecstasy addiction commonly peak within the first hour up to 1 ½ hour upon taking this drug. These side effects consist of both undesirable and desirable conditions, and it is based on the long term and short term usage.

  1. Short term effects of ecstasy

It has been reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that after taking the drug and as much as one week later, the users could experience desirable effects that eventually diminish, such as:

  • Emotional warmth
  • Decrease in anxiety and worry
  • Relaxation
  • Exhilaration, euphoria
  • Increased empathy toward others
  • An openness to new experiences
  • Reduced inhibitions
  • Mild hallucinations

On the other hand, there are undesirable side effects that may stick around longer, such as:

  • Nausea
  • Chills
  • High blood pressure
  • Heart failure
  • Hyperthermia
  • Sweating
  • Anxiety
  • Restlessness
  • Blurred vision
  • Lack of appetite
  • Intense hallucinations
  • Increased thirst
  • Kidney failure
  • Impulsivity
  • Involuntary teeth-clenching
  • Lessened satisfaction or interest from sexual activity
  • Aggression
  • Arrhythmia
  • Dilated pupils
  • Muscle cramping
  • Dehydration
  • Sleep disturbances

Aside from these potentially dangerous side effects of using ecstasy, the users may frequently be at risk of overdose. The symptoms of overdose consist of panic attacks, hypertension, unconsciousness, feeling faint, and hypertension.

  1. Long term effects of ecstasy

Through a period of time, those heavy ecstasy users could experience all of the effects on the short term side effects of this drug aside from the more lasting changes in the mental and physical health. As a matter of fact that a long term of using this drug could alter brain chemistry. In the studies of animals, those that are treated with this drug have shown damaged serotonin neurons, and their brains had not returned to normal even after 7 years of brief exposure.

When the levels of serotonin has dropped below normal, the users will show impairments in their capabilities to retain and learn information, and thus, regulating their emotions. Additionally, the chronic ecstasy users are exhibiting more visual and verbal memory impairments as compared to those who are not using it. Other than being neurotoxic to the brain, the other long-term side effects of MDMA are:

  • Difficulties in sleep
  • Liver damage
  • Increased risk to contract HIV or sexually transmitted infections, as well as unwanted pregnancy
  • Paranoia
  • Sustained confusion
  • Severe anxiety disorders
  • Depression

Another of the potential results of long-term effects of MDMA use is death. Because a regular effect of this drug is hyperthermia, those who have used the drug heavily and continuously are at a greater risk of dying due to heatstroke from continuous body movements and dancing, which happen for long hours in the hot clubs. This results to heatstroke and dehydration standing as the immediate and largest risks in using ecstasy.

Signs and symptoms of ecstasy addiction

The brain’s neurotransmitters that are targeted by other addictive drugs have also been targeted by MDMA. The drug is producing tolerance effects wherein the serotonin levels of a heavy user are depleted. This will cause the user to take more and more of ecstasy so as to attain the desirable effects. Additionally, continuous users are demonstrating the inability to stop their usage of the drug, even it is introducing essential issues in their life, which include the inability to work without it or handle regular life stressors and other school-related and occupational tasks.

Struggling with an addiction can cause serious harm to the user and affects friends and family. If you are struggling with addiction or you have questions about rehab programs, please call and speak with an addiction specialist now 1-714-443-8218

Around 43% of the MDMA users, mostly young adults and adolescents have been dependent on ecstasy, and there are 34% users, who have met the criteria for ecstasy addiction. Moreover, there are 60% of users, who have reported psychological and physiological symptoms of ecstasy addiction withdrawal. Users who are addicted to ecstasy may experience the following:

  • Neglecting friends who are not using and making friends to those who do
  • Failing to show up for class, work, or obligations since they are preoccupied with the drug use
  • Feeling unhappy every time they do not use the drug
  • Using the drug frequently and use more than they once did
  • Spending lots of money in order to attain the drug even to the point of stealing or borrowing money to get more

 

Ecstasy addiction withdrawal

Just as with any other drugs that have addictive potential, the continuous and heavy users of ecstasy may frequently experience withdrawal symptoms when they try quitting their usage of ecstasy. It was stated that ecstasy addiction withdrawal might include depression, fatigue, lethargy, inability to experience pleasure or anhedonia, concentration issues, loss of appetite, intense drug cravings, lack of motivation, sleep difficulties, irritability, and dehydration.

Ecstasy withdrawal comes with mostly psychological signs and symptoms, which is not posing any danger of and in itself. Nevertheless, psychosis and hallucinations may cause the detoxing person to display aggressive, dangerous, or erratic behaviors.

Options on Treatment for ecstasy addiction

Ecstasy is a relatively new drug, so there is not as much information on how addiction and abuse occur or about how you can best treat dependence. There are also no particular treatments for ecstasy addiction. However, because of the fact that the withdrawal symptoms are most commonly caused by a deficiency in neurotransmitters such as serotonin, the drugs working to increase the amount of these chemicals in the brain will be quite helpful with the detox process. You can use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for alleviating the anxiety, depression, and panic attacks, which are common with ecstasy withdrawal.

It is also essential that you keep in mind how common you are using ecstasy alongside the other intoxicants. It will contribute in complicating the process of treatment, because there is a possibility that the user can become addicted to multiple substances at once. In line with this, it is even more essential that you make sure to have a treatment plan for someone who is addicted to ecstasy, which is tailored to the unique situation of the addict.

In addition, ecstasy addiction treatment options are commonly following the same formula as that with the other addictive substance. You can opt for outpatient or inpatient services depending on what works best for your withdrawal process, it should be followed with participation in long term addiction support groups and long term therapy. There are high rates of relapse without having a continuous treatment. It is also greatly important to undergo particular lifestyle changes. Continuing to attend raves and spending time at nightclubs will not be advisable, because they are very likely to include access to the drug again, and so building a high level of temptation. The relapse rates are 40% to 60%.

Ecstasy addiction detox

Because of the undesirable effects of ecstasy addiction withdrawal, lots of users are finding it difficult to abstain from the drug for long periods of time. If you or your friend are trying to quit ecstasy use after taking the drug on a regular basis and heavily, it is recommended that you seek for expert assistance. General treatment for ecstasy addiction requires consistent hydration in order to combat the effects of the dug. Nevertheless, in cases of potential overdose, a user may exhibit impaired sensorium, hyperthermia, fever, and muscle rigidity.

Cases like this demand for immediate medical attention. The user may need medical treatments and IV fluids to prevent hyperthermia and lessen body temperature. There are no current accepted substitute pharmacological treatments for ecstasy dependence. While several drugs have alternatives that are medically acceptable, which you can use for minimizing the withdrawal effects, this drug does not, and so the necessity for professional supervision and support. If you are planning to quit the cold turkey of ecstasy, you will need to be ready to experience many undesirable symptoms. It would always be best that you undergo this process with the guidance and help of a medical provider, who can offer surveillance and moral support of any symptoms.

If the user is trying ecstasy addiction detox without the help of a qualified addiction professional, he/she must otherwise be in a good genera health, have a strong and non-using support system, and not have a current diagnosis of a mental disease, and he/she should be greatly motivated in order to attain success across the unpleasant symptoms and great cravings accompanying detoxification.

Ecstasy addiction rehabilitation

Most addiction problems that influence the teens in the United States occur because of the abuse of cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy. There is an estimated of 24 million people, who are in need of drug addiction intervention and only 2.5 million is going to enroll for ecstasy addiction rehabilitation. In a reputable rehab center, an addict will be given access to a balanced nutrition, psychoeducation, structured environment, psychotherapy, exercise, and support groups.

Many rehab for ecstasy will be put focus on teaching the users with adaptive skills in order to deal with triggers, working to get modifications on their current behaviors and though patterns and developing much better coping mechanisms with the help of the cognitive behavioral therapy. Furthermore, after leaving the ecstasy addiction rehab setting, those who are in the recovery process may establish lasting bonds with experts and the other past ecstasy users to call on during times of distress. It is a great help for people who are in recovery, so as to participate in a continuing care support group and get a long term help to remain free from this drug.

Broadway Treatment Center is one of the best drug rehabs in Huntington Beach California that specializes in all type of substance abuse treatment. The drug rehab facility treats addiction with various methods based on each individuals needs.

Through proper treatment for ecstasy addiction, along with long-term commitment to attending support meetings and regular therapy, anyone will be able to get on and stay on the road to ecstasy addiction recovery, and live a happy and balanced life. Live healthy, live happy, and live misery-free. Get yourself back to reality and fight addiction. Please call 1-714-443-8218 today for help with Addiction.