Fentanyl Withdrawal Timeline Fentanyl (also known as Subsys, Onsolis, Lazanda, Fentora, Duragesic, and Abstral) is one of the strongest synthetic opiate painkillers available. In fact, the drug is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Due to its strength and effectiveness as a painkiller, nurses and physicians often use fentanyl to treat chronic pain, manage discomfort after surgery, and help patients who have developed a tolerance to other medications for pain. Additionally, fentanyl can be used to help cancer patients who experience breakthrough pain while taking another opioid painkiller.
Fentanyl is available in multiple forms, because some patients may be unable to swallow a pill or a liquid. As a result, fentanyl comes in the form of a lollipop, a transdermal patch, a piece of film that dissolves under the tongue, a pill that dissolves in the cheek, a nasal spray, and an injection. Regardless of its form, fentanyl binds to opioid receptors in the brain very quickly, providing powerful pain relief within minutes. Since fentanyl is so fast-acting and strong, medical professionals need to take great care in administering it to avoid unpleasant and dangerous side effects, as well as accidental overdoses.
The potency of fentanyl also presents another problem – addiction. Fentanyl is in the same class of drugs as heroin, because both are synthetized from the poppy plant. Drugs that are derived from this plant produce an addictive high that is described as euphoric and relaxing. As such, people who abuse fentanyl are very likely to develop a tolerance and dependence to the drug, resulting in a fentanyl addiction. It can be very difficult for someone with a fentanyl addiction to get sober, but it is possible with the appropriate combination of medical detoxification, counseling, and support.
The first step in this journey is detoxification, or detox, but it can be very difficult, due to withdrawal symptoms. To prepare yourself for fentanyl detox and treatment, it’s important to understand the withdrawal symptoms and the fentanyl withdrawal timeline. Understanding Fentanyl Addiction When someone abuses fentanyl, they may experience feelings of euphoria and sedation. Since these feelings are pleasant, people continue to use fentanyl. Over time, people who abuse fentanyl develop changes in their brains that impact the central nervous system and neurotransmitters.
These changes result in two conditions known as dependence and tolerance. • Dependence means that a person needs to keep taking fentanyl to prevent the onset of uncomfortable and painful withdrawal symptoms. When someone is dependent on a drug, their body can’t function normally without it. • Tolerance means that a person needs to take more fentanyl over time to achieve the same effect. With fentanyl, someone can develop a tolerance to high doses of fentanyl in just a few days. For example, a person might need more fentanyl on a Friday than they needed to get high on a Monday.
Both dependence and tolerance work together to maintain the vicious cycle of addiction. Dependence motivates the person to continue taking fentanyl in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms, while tolerance forces them to take more and more of the drug as time goes on. Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms When a person with an addiction tries to stop abusing fentanyl, they will experience what are known as withdrawal symptoms. Since fentanyl is an opiate, it shares withdrawal symptoms with other drugs in this class.
However, fentanyl is much stronger than other related drugs like heroin and morphine. As a result, the symptoms of fentanyl withdrawal can be much stronger. The most common symptoms of fentanyl withdrawal include: • Anxiety • Chills • Cognitive Issues · Coughing • Cravings for Fentanyl • Diarrhea • Exhaustion • High Blood Pressure • Insomnia • Irritability • Mood Swings • Muscle Pain • Nausea and vomiting • Restlessness • Runny Rose • Stomach Cramps • Sweating • Watery Eyes • Weakness • Yawning It’s important to note that not everyone will experience all of these symptoms.
The severity and type of withdrawal symptoms that someone experiences vary based on certain factors, including their overall health, age, length of fentanyl use, amount of fentanyl used, and presence of co-occurring psychological disorders and addictions. Fentanyl Withdrawal Timeline Withdrawal symptoms occur when a person’s body and brain tries to restore equilibrium after they stop taking a substance that they have become dependent on. While the symptoms of fentanyl withdrawal are unpleasant, they are rarely lifethreatening.
The biggest risk is generally dehydration due to diarrhea and vomiting, but these symptoms can be managed with medication. Although fentanyl withdrawal symptoms are not dangerous, they can cause enough discomfort to make a person relapse and begin taking fentanyl again. A relapse can be very dangerous, because it can lead to an overdose. When someone stops taking a drug like fentanyl, their tolerance for the substance decreases. If a person starts taking the drug again, they may not realize that they don’t have the same tolerance. As a result, they can easily take too much of the drug, resulting in an overdose and potentially death.
To avoid this potentially lifethreatening situation, patients should undergo medicallysupervised detox when they are trying to stop taking fentanyl. The severity and length of the withdrawal process tends to vary among patients. A number of factors, including the age, overall health, and fentanyl use of each patients, influence how withdrawal process manifests. For example, someone who has abused fentanyl for an extended period of time or in large quantities will likely experience stronger withdrawal symptoms that last for a longer period of time.
Although there is variation among patients, the fentanyl withdrawal timeline has three stages: • Early Stage: It can take several hours for someone to feel fentanyl withdrawal symptoms. As such, mild symptoms tend to start 12 to 30 hours after the last dose of fentanyl. When a patient begins to experience symptoms depends on the amount of the last dose and whether it was in a time-release form like a transdermal patch. This first stage tends to last no more than two to three days, and it peaks with symptoms like agitation, insomnia, muscle aches, runny nose, and sweating.
Due to these symptoms, many patients describe the first stage as feeling like a mild flu. • The Peak: Patients will experience the worst physical symptoms on days three through five. These unpleasant symptoms include gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, as well as muscle and bone pain, runny nose, and watery eyes. Patients also start to feel intense psychological symptoms at this point, including anxiety, depression, and mood swings. Luckily, these symptoms will start to decrease after the fifth day.
At this point, the brain is beginning to restore balance. • Long-Term: After one to two weeks, the physical symptoms of fentanyl withdrawal should dissipate. However, some psychological symptoms, including cravings and depression, can still remain. At this point, the risk of relapse is high and patients should continue to seek medical support to manage their remaining symptoms. The Risk of PAWS When a person is addicted to alcohol, benzodiazepines, or opiates like fentanyl for a long period of time, they can experience post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS).
PAWS refers to intensified and protracted withdrawal symptoms that last for weeks or months. Cravings, depression, mood swings, and sleep problems are among the most common symptoms, while some people may also experience seizures. The length and nature of PAWS make it more likely that patients will relapse in an attempt to avoid the unpleasantness and discomfort of the symptoms. However, as mentioned above, relapse is very dangerous, so it’s critical to find an addiction treatment program that can provide medically-supervised detox.
