Can You Overdose on Cocaine?

Get the Risks of Cocaine and Support to Quit at Icarus Nevada

So you’ve come to find answers and want to know: can you overdose on cocaine? A cocaine addiction is all consuming and almost lends itself to flirting with overdose. In my own life, my cocaine abuse led to multiple cocaine overdoses before the time I was 30 years old. I went to Icarus Nevada when I had reached my lowest point. I wasn’t like your typical addict. I had a career and money. I had never been arrested.

Working in a corporate environment actually helped my cocaine addiction spiral out of control. In some parts of the working world, stimulants like cocaine are not only seen as acceptable but sometimes encouraged.

Whether your history sounds like mine, or totally different, if cocaine has become a problem for you or a loved one, keep reading to learn more about the risks of OD’ing, and how to get help at Icarus!

Where Does Cocaine Come From?

Cocaine is derived from the coca plant, which is cultivated in South America. The drug comes in multiple forms, but the most popular form is powder cocaine. Cocaine can be mixed with baking soda and cooked to form what is known as crack cocaine. Crack is a much cheaper version of cocaine.

Snorting cocaine is the most common form of ingestion, but it can also be injected. The euphoria that cocaine produces makes you feel like you can take on the world. It leads to endless nights of partying and brutal mornings where you feel like you got hit by a train.

Developing a Vicious Cocaine Dependence

My cocaine use led to violent outbursts, poor decision-making, and eventually a complete unraveling of my personal life. To overdose on cocaine multiple times means that you have a serious problem. Even after a cocaine overdose, I would go right back to using it like nothing happened.

At one point the hospital fit me with a cardio monitor that was mounted to my wrist and helped let me know if I was in danger of cardiac arrest (again.) And yet I thought of it as an accessory, a testament to the hard-partying life I was living.

That’s how deep in I got with coke, and never really thought there was much hope to change. I figured I would go out with my face numb and my nose caked in white powder, and that was just the way it was going to be for me.

Ultimately, I am here today because I found Icarus Nevada and made the decision to make a positive change in my life. If I can do it, I feel it’s possible for anybody. Keep reading to learn more about a cocaine overdose, and learn how much cocaine or crack cocaine it takes to overdose.

An Adult Life Spent Struggling With Cocaine Addiction

My substance abuse began at a young age. I went to an upscale high school, and drugs like cocaine were very popular. My parents put me in cocaine addiction treatment once or twice, but I always ended up relapsing following long stints of sobriety.

How much cocaine is enough to overdose on? It all depends on a few different factors. The purity of the cocaine that you are using is one of the determining factors. Some cocaine is so pure that a tiny bit can potentially kill you. The level of your addiction comes into play as well. Some can handle more than others.

Even scarier is the fact that a lot of ‘coke,’ these days is not really cocaine, but a mix of substances such as fentanyl and xylazine, that can cause even more immediate overdose.

Acute Cocaine Toxicity: Learning the Term Firsthand

When I overdosed on cocaine the first time, I was seventeen. Cocaine toxicity shows itself in the form of hyperthermia, which is an elevated blood pressure. Severe agitation and sweating are also signs of cocaine toxicity. When I first overdosed, I went back and forth between feeling like I was burning up to being freezing cold.

Cocaine is one of the most infamous drugs because it is often associated with fame and money. We see cocaine abuse glorified in some music and movies. When I was growing up, I viewed my cocaine abuse as a status symbol. I had the money to obtain it and be accepted by the others around me.

Even nearly dying from too much cocaine was like a sick badge of pride. In my mind, it was like: look at me, a few grams might be enough for most cocaine overdoses, but it took me snorting two whole eight balls in a night to get to the ER. That was the kind of cokehead I became.

The Accumulating Physical Effects Of Cocaine

Cocaine addiction has a devastating effect on the central nervous system. If the nervous system is compromised, it can lead to muscle weakness, the inability to think clearly, and paralysis. As you get older, cocaine greatly affects the heart and muscles. Many older cocaine addicts often die of cardiac arrest as a result of their addiction.

Respiratory failure and deadly arrhythmias are other negative side effects associated with cocaine use. Because cocaine is highly addictive, it can result in lifelong medical issues as a result of the toxic levels of cocaine in your blood.

Many cocaine users never reach a point where they seek help. Luckily for me, I wasn’t one of those people. (And if you’re reading this, you can be one of the lucky ones too!)

Recognizing the Cocaine Overdose Symptoms

Cocaine overdose symptoms can include dehydration, intense headaches, paranoia, and hallucinations. A cocaine overdose can also lead to heart attack and death. It’s more likely you will overdose on cocaine if you are using other drugs as well. I used to abuse cocaine and alcohol constantly, which led to another one of my overdoses.

It’s important to be able to recognize cocaine overdose symptoms because there is a mortality rate associated with cocaine overdose. My heart stopped once and luckily the paramedics had just arrived. Oftentimes people who overdose on cocaine will die because the people around them don’t call for help out of fear of getting in trouble.

Can You Overdose on Cocaine: The Reality of a Coke OD Hits Home

All substance use disorders are potentially deadly, but a cocaine overdose is unlike any other. Beyond the physical symptoms associated with cocaine use, there are psychological symptoms that can greatly affect your mental health. Cocaine users deal with a lot of paranoia and fear.

Because coke is a highly addictive stimulant drug, it’s easy to stay awake for multiple days at a time on a binge. This can cause intense delusions and hallucinations because you begin to dream while you are awake. This has happened to me more times than I can even count. My preferred way of ingestion was powder cocaine, but I would also inject cocaine occasionally, which caused the worst of my overdoses.

Cocaine’s Mortality Rate and Rising Overdose Deaths

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, fifteen thousand people died of cocaine overdose in 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, these deaths rose by more than fifty percent. Cocaine overdose is much more common than people think. When we think of other drugs like heroin and prescription drugs, we often associate them more with overdose.

It’s very easy to overdose on cocaine. First of all, you never really know what you are ingesting when you snort or inject cocaine. Cocaine is often cut with many other drugs, and unfortunately, the rise of fentanyl has led to more overdose deaths. You gamble with your life every time you ingest cocaine.

Surviving Cocaine Overdose

Even though my cocaine use led to multiple overdoses, I still felt like I was invincible. I thought that because I had survived them, I was immune from death. I continued this way for many years before I overdosed and almost died. I ended up in the hospital for over a week because my heart was so damaged.

By that point, the physical and psychological symptoms of my cocaine addiction were obvious to everyone around me. My family was suffering greatly as a result of my behavior, and I finally felt shame for what I had put them through. It was at that point that I gave in and decided to give treatment an actual chance.

Going to Treatment Programs For Cocaine Addiction

I didn’t know where to start when I started looking for treatment programs. I was told about Icarus Nevada, a treatment facility located in a quiet, upscale area of Las Vegas. The first few days in detox were rough, but after a short period there, I began to feel normal for the first time in my life. People don’t always realize you need detox for cocaine, but in my case, the depression that came along with quitting was really dark and difficult to deal with. The treatment program that they put me through literally gave me my life back.

It was hard to admit all the pain that I had caused. It was hard to admit that I had a problem and I had no control over it. I had been rewarded for so long because of my addiction that it was hard to rewire my thinking. The one thing I committed to was riding it out and understanding that it would take time to get better.

Getting the Support I Needed for Lasting Recovery

A lot of individual therapy, as well as group therapy, has so far kept me from going back to my addiction. I understand now that it takes a lot of personal responsibility and honesty to get ahead in life. You can have financial success, but if you don’t have a good head on your shoulders, you are going to slip up.

Sobriety is my main priority, and I work hard to keep it that way day in and day out.

You Can Overcome Cocaine Too: Reach Out to Icarus Today!

I know that slipping up and relapsing is an option, but I try not to let that thought enter my mind. I am clean today, and I know that I will do everything to remain clean tomorrow. An addiction to cocaine is a wild ride, and it seems fun for a while.

Regardless, it will always lead to a negative outcome. Take it from someone who suffered multiple cocaine overdoses and survived to tell the tale. It is not worth it.

Reach out to Icarus in Nevada and get options to support a life without cocaine. Looking back, it was a single phone call that made so much difference in my life. And it can be for you too, so why not give yourself a chance at a new life now?