Acetyl Fentanyl - The New Drug

WATCH OUT FOR THIS NEW DRUG: Acetyl Fentanyl

     Acetyl fentanyl is a powerful prescription painkiller called fentanyl.  This drug is being mixed with heroin as a painkiller.  Studies have shown that fentanyl is 15 times more potent than morphine.

     Some of the side effects of this drug include:  Mood Changes, Breathing Issues, Problems to Swallow and that makes it easier to Choke since you are Unable to Cough.

     Emergency room doctors may soon see larger numbers of patients who appear to have overdosed on heroin, but have actually taken the drug acetyl fentanyl.  Our emergency staff, which include, Firemen, EMS, and Emergency Room at the hospital use an anti-dote called, Naloxone.  Naloxone is given to those who over dose on heroin.  But, if a person takes the street drug fentanyl, the dosage of naloxone would have to be doubled in order to work as an anti-dote.  Unfortunately, this double dosage does not always work because fentanyl is so strong.

Legally, acetyl fentanyl is in a gray area, because it is packaged and labeled, “Not for Human Consumption”, which with this particular labeling, it is not regulated. This presents legal loopholes that drug distributors use to make a profit by mixing a highly regulated drug, such as heroin, with a less-regulated one, such as acetyl fentanyl. 

     So, how and why do people use this drug??

     For many people, opiate addiction happens when a person is injured or hurt badly and needs something to kill the pain.  Opiates are used as pain relievers that our doctors give to those who maybe have broken their leg or arm, maybe injured their spine or other parts of their bodies. Then, they begin to realize that these prescription pain killers make them feel good and relaxed.  But, when they can no longer get the drug from their doctor, they turn to the streets for this relaxed and no guilt feeling it gives. At this point, they are now hooked on these opiate drugs.

     How sad it is that so many of us cannot handle the stresses of today’s world that we just want to escape somehow.  Once we are addicted to opiates of any form, it is very difficult to break ourselves from them.  Withdrawing from opiates can be very hard because the symptoms can last for many weeks.  Some of the withdrawal symptoms include: agitation-having no patients with circumstances of life or people, insomnia-not being able to sleep well, muscle aches and pains, stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and other flulike symptoms.  So, with all this going on in your body, you only just want to feel good again and so you go back to the drug that makes you feel better.

Many drug treatment centers specialize in providing medications to improve the comfort of those who are going through withdrawal related to opiate addiction.  If a person is more comfortable, there is a much more chance they will succeed in withdrawing from opiates.