Our professional detoxification services are specifically designed to help individuals overcome their addiction to cocaine. With a formal and evidence-based approach, our team of experts provide a safe and supportive environment for your detox journey.
Cocaine Effects And Abuse
Has cocaine taken over your life, evolving from occasionally using the drug recreationally to not being able to live without it? If you feel as if you are out of options and cannot see an escape in sight, Detox Plus UK can assist you. We are right in the heart of the newest treatment for cocaine detox in London, where a full rehabilitation programme can help you conquer cocaine addiction for good.
Cocaine is a strong stimulant which enhances the nervous system, leaving you with a heightened sense of euphoria, energy and invulnerability. It can hasten physiological processes in the human body, delivering a quick, rewarding high. Users wish to repeat the experience and end up taking the drug again and again, leading to cocaine addiction requiring detox.
However, the high is followed by the inevitable comedown, and you should be aware of the risks to your health, both physically or psychologically. If you have only taken cocaine for a short time or have a long-term problem, it can have devastating side effects.
But invariably, the greatest danger of using cocaine is the risk of overdose. If you consume too much at once, or you have built up a tolerance, it may be difficult to measure how much you have taken. If you combine cocaine with alcohol, it also increases the chances of an overdose, possibly leading to cardiac arrest, strokes, respiratory arrest and even sudden death.
You can remove the possibility of overdose, alongside other health problems associated with cocaine, by eradicating the drug from your life altogether. Free yourself from the grip of dependency by undergoing cocaine detox in London as part of an ongoing rehabilitation therapy programme.
You can be assured we at Detox Plus UK are committed to helping you find the perfect site in London to undergo treatment. We will be right by your side as you select the local rehabilitation centre ideally suited to help you live free from cocaine and stay clean after you leave rehab. Experienced medical professionals will supervise every part of your treatment. They will begin by carrying out a complete assessment of your medical history and association with cocaine, as well as spelling out what goes into detox rehab and what it entails. They have highly trained doctors, nurses and psychiatric specialists who will assist you during medical detox, considered a crucial opening phase of a continuing cocaine rehabilitation programme.
Cocaine Detox London – The First Step to Recovery
In the course of a cocaine detox, you will cease taking the drug gradually to wean yourself off cocaine a little at a time while under supervision. You will be monitored throughout the entire process as you experience the signs of withdrawal which come when you stop taking drugs.
You may suffer physical symptoms such as fatigue, exhaustion, chills, tremors, muscle aches and nerve pain, as well as being overwhelmed with cravings for the drug. There is also the possibility of experiencing mental or emotional side effects like memory problems, lack of concentration, insomnia, irritation, loss of appetite, changes in behaviour and even suicidal thoughts.
Side Effects Of Withdrawal
You can initially feel the symptoms of withdrawal around an hour and a half after you stop using cocaine, and they can extend for a period between seven to ten days, although this may vary, depending on your individual circumstances. It can be based on the length and intensity of your addiction and if you have a pre-existing condition, amongst other considerations.
There may be no medication for cocaine addiction, but you can still be prescribed certain drugs to deal with withdrawal. You will generally be given antidepressants to deal with the comedown and change of moods, and you may be treated with sleep aids to help you get some rest.
The medical experts will keep a close eye on you during detox, noting any change in condition, stabilising you if necessary and offering any guidance or support you require through every stage of rehab. When you have completed the detoxification programme, you will then proceed with therapy sessions to deal with any psychological issues lying at the heart of your cocaine addiction.
Therapy sessions are crucial for dealing with the emotional and psychological characteristics of cocaine dependency. You can receive therapy either on an individual or group basis. The former can aid you in your recovery by addressing any underlying issues which may be playing an important role in your addiction. It is not uncommon for people to take cocaine as a method of self-medicating to deal with any problems they may face, be it money, work or relationship worries, or to live with a loss or trauma from their past. Cocaine use could also be a way to cope with an undiagnosed mental illness, anxiety or depression, alongside other issues which could lie at the centre of your cocaine use.
Cocaine Detox London programmes
Group therapy sessions for individuals fighting cocaine help to relate to others, which can let a recovering addict see how people see them. Users can discuss their issues through interpersonal communication, where they can see they are not alone and have support in their battle against cocaine addiction.
It is commonplace to employ behavioural therapy to treat cocaine dependency, often incorporating cognitive-behavioural therapy, which can aid you in identifying and removing negative thoughts and feelings which could drive you to take drugs. Recovering addicts also often use arts and crafts, education, psychiatric care and case management, as well as holistic treatments like mindfulness and meditation and community-based recovery groups such as 12-step programmes to help conquer addiction.
There are various forms of cocaine addiction, requiring a wide range of treatments. They may extend over different periods of time, and vary in severity and the level of care required. The most extensive therapy for cocaine addiction, though, is generally considered to be on an inpatient basis., where you will attend a residential clinic in London.
You will be living in a private rehab centre during your treatment, where you will be overseen by the highly skilled medical staff. They will keep a close eye on you throughout your stay, managing every aspect of your treatment. Be assured their experts will cater to your specific requirements to bring you the best hands-on care. As an inpatient in residential rehab, you will be carefully evaluated in the course of detoxification, as the withdrawal symptoms must be closely monitored to prevent relapse. Those receiving inpatient care at a residential clinic will benefit from individual or group therapy sessions each day, the foremost psychiatric care and case management to organise the services and care a person in recovery may require following cocaine detox.
When your stay at a residential rehab centre in London has come to an end, you may also profit from an extensive aftercare and follow-up programme. A counsellor or member of staff will follow your progress, providing any advice, guidance, or support you need to help you continue your path of recovery and avoid relapse once you have left the clinic and returned home. This can be particularly of aid during the initial year of recovery when there is a greater chance of falling back into addiction.
If you live in and around the city of London and have fallen under the powerful physical and psychological grip of cocaine addiction, then contact Detox Plus UK. So, why not get in touch and learn more about the life-changing service we provide?
FAQs
Crack faq
Using crack cocaine during pregnancy can impact the health of unborn children in numerous ways.
Maternal cocaine use during pregnancy has the potential to directly and permanently damage the developing central nervous system of a fetus.
This can result in later behavioural issues and learning disabilities. Secondly, the associated health and lifestyle characteristics of the mother who uses cocaine, such as poor nutrition, other drug use, and inadequate prenatal care, also negatively affect fetal development.
For the sake of both you and your unborn child, it is essential to ensure you're getting the facts.
Table of contents
Effects of crack cocaine on babies
How long does cocaine stay in a baby's system?
I took crack when pregnant: what now?
Effects of Crack Cocaine on Fetal Development
Crack cocaine and pregnancy should never mix. Crack's effects on your unborn baby depend on a few factors: how often you use it and how far into the pregnancy you are.
In terms of fetal effects, animal studies indicate that cocaine readily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal circulation. Cocaine also induces constriction of uterine blood vessels, producing acidosis and possible asphyxia, which is further complicated by the contraction of the uterus.
Crack use makes you much more likely to give birth prematurely. This can be detrimental to your child's development and is risky even without drugs in the mix.
Babies that are born prematurely often have immune system issues, failure to meet growth milestones, and other health issues.
The last few weeks of pregnancy are essential to developing your unborn baby's brain. At 35 weeks of pregnancy, your baby's brain is only about two-thirds the size it will be at 40 weeks.
If this final stage of development is disrupted by premature birth, your child's brain could continue to be underdeveloped well after they are born.
Babies that are born prematurely and exposed to crack cocaine in the process face even more issues. Their brains may develop improperly, even compared with the average development of a premature baby's brain.
Risk of Miscarriage After Crack Use
Using crack while pregnant significantly decreases your chance of carrying the pregnancy to term. Drug use during the first six weeks of pregnancy is hazardous.
While this can result in premature birth, it also results in a miscarriage.
Regardless of whether or not your pregnancy was planned, the decision to have a child should be yours and yours alone. When you use crack while pregnant, you run the risk of having that choice made for you.
A developing fetus does not have the proper defences built up to fight off a harmful substance like crack cocaine.
Your risk of miscarriage will be higher if you use crack cocaine habitually while pregnant. Using one time can still harm your unborn baby, but it is less likely to result in a lost pregnancy.
How Long Does Crack Stay in an Unborn Baby?
Cocaine will remain in your unborn baby's system for at least three weeks. That is if you only use crack one time while pregnant.
Crack cocaine is one of the most addictive drugs in existence. It is rare for someone to use crack cocaine only once, or even rarely. Once you use crack cocaine, you will probably seek it out again.
If you are already habitually using crack cocaine when you get pregnant, it is unlikely that you will be able to stop immediately without professional help.
Since crack cocaine will remain in your unborn baby's system for at least three weeks, you would need to abstain from the drug for at least that long to let your unborn baby detox.
The best way to minimise the damage that drug use does to your unborn baby is to stop using. To do that, you may need help from a rehabilitation centre.
Long-Term Effects on Your Child's Health
Crack cocaine exposure in utero can lead to long-term emotional and behavioural problems. Children who have to deal with crack cocaine withdrawal may have trouble recovering from that trauma.
There are a lot of barriers that your child may have to face besides the physical health problems they are already risking.
It's highly likely that pregnant crack cocaine users will need help for severe addiction.
If you do not get that help as soon as possible, your child may have to deal with the adverse effects of your drug use for a long time. They will also run the risk of becoming a drug addict themselves.
Children need to see healthy behaviour modelled by their parents. If you are unable to recover from your crack cocaine addiction, your child will not be able to see you as a role model while they grow up.
Furthermore, your addiction may keep you from being financially stable enough to care for your child properly.
Addiction makes it very difficult to prioritise, and you may end up sacrificing your child's quality of life to feed your desire for crack cocaine.
Scientific research
Studies conducted on animal models have shown that when fetuses are exposed to cocaine, it can lead to cognitive impairments in terms of memory and learning abilities.
Cocaine acts to prevent reuptake of catecholamines presynaptically, resulting in an increased level of these neurotransmitters. Therefore, alterations in catecholamine levels during fetal gestation may affect the maturation of fetal neurotransmitter systems.
Maternal cocaine use also results in the rise of maternal blood pressure, resulting in the decrease of uterine and placental blood flow. As the baby resides in the uterus and the placenta provides the fetus with oxygen and nutrients, this is why cocaine use during pregnancy is not advised.
Although it is challenging to isolate the effects of drugs on human infants from other factors related to a drug-abusing lifestyle, research indicates that infants who have been exposed to cocaine while still in the womb experience stunted growth, delays in sensory-motor development, difficulties in focusing attention, and reduced responsiveness to social stimuli.
Findings
- In experiments on animals, exposure to cocaine during fetal development leads to alterations at the cellular and genetic level that do not cause obvious heart issues but do increase the likelihood of developing heart disease later in life.
- The discovery that cocaine exposure during pregnancy causes epigenetic changes explains why there are long-term effects on offspring despite the absence or limited presence of noticeable heart problems.
- Although there is no direct proof of long-term programming in humans, research on newborn babies has demonstrated that prenatal exposure to cocaine leads to changes in the heart and the autonomic nervous system.
- The results observed in newborn humans and the lasting impacts observed in animals strongly indicate that exposure to cocaine in the womb can cause heart-related issues in adulthood and is likely to be a significant factor in the risk of illness and death due to reduced blood flow to the heart.
- These findings align with recent studies in humans and animals, which have shown a connection between a hostile environment during pregnancy and a higher likelihood of health issues, such as heart disease, in the later stages of adulthood.
Babies dependent on cocaine
Babies can be born addicted to crack cocaine due to their mother's use while pregnant.
It can take months for a newborn baby to finish detoxing from in-utero crack cocaine exposure. For an infant, going through withdrawal is even more terrifying than it already is for adults.
Babies lack a lot of awareness for the first several months of life. When they are first born, they cannot even see what's going on a few feet away, let alone understand why they are going through the unbearable pain of withdrawal.
When a child is kept in the hospital to go through crack cocaine withdrawal, they are unable to bond with their mothers properly. This can lead to poor emotional and physical health later in life.
When a crack baby has withdrawal symptoms, their emotional and mental development will be stunted by that trauma. These children are also often unable to live with their mothers at all, which further traumatises them.
Babies born to mothers addicted to crack cocaine are also unlikely to develop healthily in a physical sense. They often have immune system problems and are unable to breastfeed.
I took crack cocaine whilst pregnant: now what?
If you have already used crack cocaine while pregnant, it isn't too late to minimise the harm you do to your unborn baby. You should seek professional help immediately so you can detox from crack cocaine and avoid further use.
If you took a drug without realising you were pregnant on a one-off occasion, try not to worry – it's unlikely to have affected your baby.
But if illegal drugs are part of your life, getting help can improve the outlook for you and your baby.
The less crack cocaine you use while pregnant, the better. Don't be ashamed or afraid to seek help as soon as you use the drug.
You may not have known you were pregnant the last time you used crack cocaine. Now that you know about your pregnancy, it is your responsibility to make sure you do not use crack again.
With the right resources, recovery is not only achievable; it is closer than you might think.
Overcoming crack cocaine addiction during pregnancy
What you can do:
- Try to quit drugs as early as possible in your pregnancy
- Discuss your drug use with your midwife or doctor
- Contact your local addiction services
- Attend local support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous
- Seek support from someone close to you who does not take drugs
Everyone deserves to have the family they want, including people who are addicted to crack. However, it is essential to consider your addiction when you are planning to start a family.
Getting pregnant can be an excellent motivator for people who want to get sober. Sometimes, quitting for someone else can be easier than stopping for you.
However, some people are not able to resist the impulse to use when they are pregnant.
If you are planning to get pregnant and recover from your crack cocaine addiction, you should make sure you have a plan in place to keep you from using while your baby develops in your womb.
With the help of local services, you can make a plan that you can turn to when you feel the urge to use crack. Your loved ones should also watch you closely to ensure you are sticking to this plan.
It isn't easy to recover from a crack cocaine addiction, but it is possible. Let your unborn child be your motivation to take control of your life finally.
Don't Let Crack Addiction Harm Your Baby
You now have the answers to some critical questions about crack addiction and pregnancy, such as: how long does crack stay in an unborn baby? What are the effects of crack exposure on a newborn baby?
Now that you know the truth about crack exposure and childhood development, it is time to take your recovery into your own hands.
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