What is Fentanyl

What Is Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid that's similar to morphine and heroin, except it's 50 times more powerful than the latter and 100 times stronger than the former. Although it's a painkiller and is generally used to help patients with severe pain (or to manage pain after surgery), it's also sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are tolerant to other opioid substances.

As a prescription, fentanyl is known by brand names like Duragesic, Actiq and also Sublimaze. You may have heard of some street names for it, too. These other names can include Apache, China White, Jackpot, Murder 8, TNT and also China Girl.

How do people use fentanyl?

When fentanyl is prescribed by a medical expert, it's often used as an injection, a transdermal patch, or in lozenges. Non-pharmaceutical fentanyl however, is sold as a powder or spiked on blotter paper which is put into the mouth, so that it can be absorbed through the mucous membrane. It can also be mixed with (or substituted for) heroin, or found in tablets that look similar to other opioids that are less powerful.

People are able to swallow, snort, or inject fentanyl, or put it into their mouth.

What are the effects of fentanyl?

Just like heroin and morphine (and also many other kinds opioid drugs), fentanyl functions by binding to the abuser's opioid receptors, which are located in the areas of the brain that control the body's pain and emotions. When an opioid substance binds to these receptors, they can increase dopamine levels in the brain's reward areas - which produces pleasant feelings.

The effects of this opioid are similar to those of heroin, as it can cause happiness, drowsiness, constipation, nausea, depression, confusion and sedation. It can also cause the abuser to fall unconscious sometimes and even lead them to a coma or death.

How to recover from fentanyl abuse

Alone, recovering from an addiction can be difficult, but with the help of a rehabilitation centre it can be much easier. Rehab is often an effective choice for addicts and as they all offer their own treatment and care, making an educated decision on the right centre can be quite straightforward.

Some of the best kinds of treatment available are inpatient and outpatient ones. Inpatient centres offer their patients residential care for a set amount of time, where as an outpatient facility requires their patients to visit the centre at regular times for their treatment.

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