Cocaine Highs Can Lead to Cocaine Lows

As mentioned, cocaine has an immediate high; however, it only lasts 15-30 minutes. This leads to frequent use and can unintentionally lead to an overdose and a sudden low in behaviors as one person is coming off the high. When a person starts to come down from a high, they may experience withdrawal symptoms quickly.

This experience of coming down from a cocaine high is called a cocaine crash. Here are the common symptoms one may experience when they have hit a cocaine crash.

Symptoms of a cocaine crash include: 

• Agitation.
• Irritability.
• Restlessness.
• Increased blood pressure.
• Increased body temperature.
• Intense cravings.
• Mood swings.
• Exhaustion.
• Depression.
• Suicidal thoughts.
• Increased appetite.

There can be severe consequences if continued cocaine use occurs or if a person attempts to detox without medical assistance. If you need help detoxing cocaine from your body, Guardian Recovery can help.

Depression, Sadness, & Guilt

When someone is coming down from cocaine use, they often experience symptoms of depression, sadness, and guilt. These symptoms can be exacerbated if a person has a comorbid mood disorder. This is also a neurobiological reaction when dopamine has been impacted by drug use.

Anxiety

Not only does anxiety occur when using cocaine, but many people may experience anxiety after coming down from a cocaine high. This is because of the chemical reactions occurring in the brain and the stress that occurs when a person may behave with extreme reactions in a social setting.

Sleeplessness

Cocaine decreases a person’s ability to sleep and eat. Sleep disturbances can occur during and even months after a person discontinues cocaine use. Cocaine not only disrupts a person’s ability to sleep but causes restlessness and disrupts and prevented deep sleep from occurring.

Paranoia

Paranoia is a common symptom people may experience when using cocaine. Research has found that it does not depend on the frequency of use but on whether they may have the predisposition to experience paranoia with drug use.

Fatigue

Feeling tired is a natural symptom for people to experience during withdrawal. In addition to the physiological toll, cocaine stresses the body and naturally induces fatigue when someone comes off the substance. Additionally, a person may be up for several hours if using cocaine and may feel the effects of sleep exhaustion.

Hallucinations

Drug-induced hallucinations occur in people who are high from cocaine or withdrawing from the substance. In addition, a person can experience a hallucination from the drug, or it can trigger hallucinations related to schizophrenia if a person is likely to have schizophrenia. The type of hallucination is typically visual but can also occur as an auditory hallucination.

Panic, Agitation, & Anger

A person may experience symptoms of panic, agitation, and anger when increasingly using cocaine throughout the night or if withdrawing from cocaine. In addition, this type of behavior can occur from increased feelings of anxiety and depression. As previously discussed, many people can engage in impulsive and violent behavior when using cocaine.

Duration of Feelings & Effects of a High

A person may experience the feeling of a cocaine high for 15-30 minutes. The most common experiences reported include a rush of euphoria and intense energy. The type of cocaine use can increase the intensity of euphoric sensations but also decrease the duration of symptoms experienced. Because the pleasurable sensations only last minutes, this can lead to increased use and unintentional overdose. It can also cause a more severe crash as a person withdraws from the drug.

Do Methods of Use Affect What Cocaine Feels Like?

The method by which a person uses cocaine does affect a person’s experience and the duration of symptoms. As mentioned previously, snorting is the most common way to use cocaine. This method typically creates sensations instantly and lasts for 15-30 minutes. Other methods include gumming, smoking, and injecting. Gumming cocaine will often have a duration of 15-30 minutes while smoking or injecting only lasts 5 to 15 minutes in duration.

Can Mixing Cocaine Alter the Experience of a High?

Mixing cocaine and other substances can be very dangerous. When alcohol and cocaine are combined, it creates an effect known as cocaethylene. Cocaethylene is produced in the liver after consuming alcohol and cocaine together. It is more potent than the individual substance and stays in the body much longer than if only alcohol or cocaine is used alone. Because of the increased toxicity and slow release from the body, people may be tempted to try this combination. However, there are significant lethal risks involved if mixing alcohol and cocaine.

Unfortunately, the side effects of cocaethylene are fast-acting and deadly. A person has an 18-25 times greater risk of immediate death when cocaethylene is produced. Notably, a person has a greater chance of overdose due to toxicity and cardiotoxicity, which may lead to cardiac arrest.