Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine: Preventing Abuse in Florida

In Florida, more and more people are using fentanyl and xylazine together. These drugs are dangerous even on their own. Even a tiny amount of fentanyl can cause an overdose. Xylazine is a sedative for animals, and it causes harm to people who use it. When you use these two drugs together, the risks are even higher. We Level Up Lake Worth FL will show you the risks of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, the signs of addiction, and the importance of detox and rehab in Lake Worth center. We are here to guide you and give you the support you need to live a sober life.

Drug Abuse Is a Growing Problem in Florida

Mixing fentanyl and xylazine is making the opioid crisis in Florida even worse. This combo can cause more overdoses because it’s very strong and harmful. Specifically, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report death certificate data revealed that in the period from January 2021 to June 2022, there were 261 cases in Florida where deaths involved illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF); and xylazine was also detected. This makes the ongoing opioid crisis even worse.

How Dangerous Is Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine?

Fentanyl is a super strong pain relief medicine. It’s much stronger than morphine, usually used in hospitals for really bad pain like after surgery or from cancer. It works fast and can stay in the body for a bit. Taking too much fentanyl can be deadly because it’s so strong; even a little extra can be too much for the body and can stop breathing.

Xylazine is a different story. It’s meant to calm animals, not people, and vets use it. But, some people are using it wrongly, mixing it with fentanyl. This is dangerous because xylazine can slow down the heart and lower blood pressure, which leads to big health problems like bad skin wounds and infections where it goes into the body.

Fentanyl mixed with xylazine is extra risky. We know fentanyl can cause overdoses easily. Adding xylazine makes things worse and causes longer and deeper unconsciousness. It’s harder to help someone overdosing on this combination because xylazine doesn’t respond to naloxone, which is the usual medicine for opioid overdose. That is why fentanyl mixed with xylazine makes it even tougher to save someone’s life.

Signs of Opioid Addiction

Spotting signs of opioid addiction is very important, especially with risky drugs like fentanyl mixed with xylazine. Here’s what to keep an eye on in yourself or loved ones:

• Strong craving for opioids: Feeling a pressing need to use the drug beyond medical reasons.
• Growing tolerance: Finding you need more of the drug to get the same effect, leading to using more than planned.
• Withdrawal trouble: Facing hard physical and mental signs when not using, like shaking, sweating, feeling sick, anxious, or crabby.
• Ignoring duties: Missing or not bothering with jobs, school, or family tasks due to drug use.
• Less social: Cutting down time with friends and family or dropping hobbies to use drugs.
• Using despite problems: Keeping up drug use even when it causes health, money, legal, or relationship issues.
• Hiding and alone time: Keeping actions secret and pulling away from people to conceal drug use.
• Physical changes: Seeing changes like losing weight, strange sleep habits, poor hygiene, or marks from injections.
• Mood changes: Swinging quickly and without reason from being overly active to very tired.
• Money troubles: Facing financial problems from spending too much on drugs and even stealing for drug money.

How Long Fentanyl Stays In Your Body

You might want to know: How long does fentanyl stay in your system? It varies. If it’s from a pharmacy (pharmaceutical-grade), it takes about 2 to 4 hours for half of it to leave your system. But this kind of fentanyl sometimes comes in slow-release forms, like patches or lozenges. That means it could hang around longer, and its effects don’t start to fade until after the whole dose is in your system.

For fentanyl that’s not from a pharmacy (illicit), it’s harder to say how long it stays in your body. Since we can’t be sure how strong it is or if it’s mixed with something else, it’s riskier and more unpredictable.

Different tests can detect fentanyl in your body for different periods of time:

• Blood test: It can be found in up to 48 hours.
• Urine test: This one can detect it from 24 to 72 hours.
• Hair test: It can show up in this test for up to 3 months.

Several things can change how long fentanyl is found in your body, like how your liver works, how long and how much you’ve used, what you eat and drink, and if you’ve used other drugs.

Reasons People Use Xylazine Mixed with Fentanyl

You might turn to fentanyl mixed with xylazine for several reasons:

• Seeking a more intense experience: Fentanyl is already known for its potency, significantly stronger than many alternatives. Xylazine mixed with fentanyl, for some, is an attempt to amplify this effect.
• Unaware of the mixture: Often, the real danger lies in ignorance. Users might not be aware that what they’re consuming is a mix of fentanyl and xylazine, as dealers may not disclose the actual contents. This ignorance significantly heightens the risk involved.
• Pain relief pursuit: For those battling severe pain, fentanyl offers a powerful respite. In their quest for relief, they may use xylazine mixed with fentanyl, hoping for an enhanced painkilling effect.
• The grip of addiction: Opioid addiction drives a continuous search for more potent substances, leading some to experiment with dangerous combinations like fentanyl mixed with xylazine in pursuit of a stronger effect.
• Influence and curiosity: Peer pressure or simple curiosity can also play a role in why a person might try xylazine mixed with fentanyl.

Moreover, turning to fentanyl mixed with xylazine and such combinations can be a misguided attempt to cope with mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety. However, the temporary escape or relief sought through these substances can worsen mental health issues and put you in a vicious cycle of worsening mental health and deepening addiction.

Some people go further and add alcohol to the mix to cope with their problems. Alcohol, like fentanyl, depresses the central nervous system, and combining it with these drugs can dangerously amplify this effect. This just adds to the dangers of fentanyl and alcohol in addition to xylazine.

The use of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, seen by some as a momentary solution to emotional or physical pain, neglects the long-term repercussions. Far from a remedy, this combination can deteriorate one’s mental health and trap them in a relentless cycle that is incredibly challenging to escape from. Recognizing and addressing the underlying reasons for using xylazine mixed with fentanyl is crucial in providing effective support and interventions.

Treatment and Rehabilitation

At We Level Up Lake Worth FL we know how dangerous fentanyl is and how quickly an overdose can happen. Fentanyl is very strong and can make breathing much slower or even stop it, which might cause coma, brain damage, or death.

It’s important to notice early signs of fentanyl use and the risk of overdose, such as feeling very sleepy and breathing slowly. Stopping fentanyl use is hard because of strong cravings and other tough symptoms, but we’re here to help.

We offer 24/7 medical care in a comfortable and wellness-focused place for recovery. Our high-end facilities for opioid detox Florida patients visit are set up to make your recovery as easy as possible and provide a safe space for you to concentrate on getting better. We help with the hard parts by providing medication to ease withdrawal symptoms and nutritional supplements to help your body heal. We also have different detox methods for a full approach to recovery.

We Use Medical Assisted Treatment

If you are fighting fentanyl addiction in Florida, we have a complete program using medicines to help you with withdrawal and cravings. We use medicines like Subutex (buprenorphine) to stop withdrawal symptoms under our watch. For a longer detox, we might use methadone or Suboxone to slowly reduce opioid use, lowering overdose risk and making recovery easier. These medicines are carefully chosen for each person.

We understand that the same treatment won’t work for everyone. That’s why we also have different treatments for those who might not want or can’t have the usual medicine treatments. We want to support your recovery in every way, not just with medicine. We’re here to offer a caring place focused on helping you heal.

Seek Treatment and Take Control Over Your Life

Fentanyl stands out as a particularly strong pain reliever, and xylazine, originally intended to calm animals, can be quite dangerous for people. With fentanyl mixed with xylazine, the danger increases significantly, making overdoses more likely and harder to deal with because xylazine doesn’t respond well to the drugs usually given to reverse overdoses. It’s important to watch for signs like an overwhelming desire for opioids, experiencing withdrawal, or letting daily duties slide. If these signs appear, seek help. At We Level Up Lake Worth FL we will give you round-the-clock medical attention, detox, and rehabilitation programs designed to help you and guide you toward a life free from drugs.