Naloxone and naltrexone are https://ecosoberhouse.com/ opioid antagonists that reverse the effects of fentanyl. Seeing someone in a “fentanyl slump” is a significant medical emergency. It indicates a dangerously high level of opioid intoxication, often accompanied by severe respiratory depression.

Doctors and Users Explain Why Fentanyl Users Are Hunched Over So Often

Thus, the therapeutic approach should continue until a normal respiratory rate coincides with appropriate oxygen saturation levels. Texas has experienced a dramatic surge in fentanyl-related deaths in recent years. The drug’s potency means that even tiny amounts — equivalent to just a few grains of salt — can cause fatal overdoses. Many people unknowingly consume fentanyl when it’s mixed with other substances or sold as counterfeit prescription medications. The phenomenon of fentanyl users bending over is a visible manifestation of the drug’s powerful effects on the body. Understanding why this occurs sheds light on the severe impact of fentanyl on the central nervous system and highlights the urgent need for effective treatment and prevention strategies.

What is fentanyl’s role in the overdose and addiction crisis?

Fentanyl affects people differently, depending on an individual’s size and overall health condition. From teens to seniors, no one is immune to the devastating impact of fentanyl. All of the information on this page has been reviewed and verified by a certified addiction professional. Dr. Kathryn Taylor is a physician and addiction specialist who works with those experiencing homelessness as part of a street fentanyl fold medicine team in San Francisco. If you have walked through the Tenderloin, you have seen the spine that fentanyl wrought—twisted at unfathomable angles on sidewalks, bellies heavy on legs.

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Moreover, fentanyl’s severe impact on respiratory function contributes to this behavior. The drug can cause significant respiratory depression, leading to dizziness and lightheadedness. In an attempt to stabilize themselves and improve breathing, users might bend over involuntarily. Nearly 108,000 persons in the U.S. died from drug-involved overdose in 2022, underscoring the critical need for awareness and effective treatment interventions. Additionally, doctors and addiction professionals think the fold is also connected to the central nervous depression caused by opioids. After using fentanyl (usually in large amounts), people enter a state of slowed consciousness (nodding out), where their bodies and brains are functioning at a depressed level.

In San Francisco, for example, over 800 people died from overdoses in 2023 alone. Many of these cases involved fentanyl, and many of the victims were seen folding or slumping before collapsing completely. Why can’t a trunk bend in the wind, when as a sapling, it could arc to the ground?

This overdose rate has continued to rise in part because fentanyl is often mixed into or sold as other drugs. Because fentanyl is so strong, it takes only a small dose of the drug to cause death. While it’s safe for your doctor to give you fentanyl in a medical setting, some people abuse it, which can lead to an overdose. Other drugs may interact with fentanyl, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. If you are using fentanyl patches, tell your doctor if you have been sick with a fever.

What is fentanyl nasal spray?

• These people were prescribed opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone for legitimate pain and turned to fentanyl when they could no longer obtain their prescriptions.
• This affects everything from breathing to muscle control, creating the conditions for the fent fold to occur.
• Some stand doubled over, legs stalwart, spine in a hairpin curve, arching back down to a slack torso and arms, head rolling, sunburnt skin pulled taut over vertebrae.

Repeated fentanyl use can lead to dependence, which means that the person’s body gets used to the presence of the drug. They may be available through state and local health departments, syringe services programs, or drug stores and online retailers. In its liquid form, IMF can be found in nasal sprays, eye drops, and dropped onto paper or small candies.

• The person’s unresponsiveness to normal stimuli indicates that their brain is severely impacted by the drug’s effects.
• One of the most important things you can do is learn how to recognize an overdose and how to use naloxone (Narcan).
• Discover the shocking truth behind the ‘fentanyl fold’ and its implications on drug use.

When addicts have access to these resources their risk for overdose related injury or death is greatly drug addiction reduced. It’s important to identify warning signs that could indicate a fentanyl overdose. Physical indicators like extended periods of nodding off or folding over, especially when the person is unresponsive or difficult to rouse, are red flags that demand urgent medical intervention.