Drug Fentanyl in Flint Michigan

The drug fentanyl belongs to the most powerful opioid painkiller group in the world. It is also about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Doctors prescribe fentanyl to treat patients experiencing severe pain or to cope with pain after surgery.

Fentanyl comes in different types like nasal spray, lozenges, tablets and transdermal patches. During operation, doctors use the IV form of fentanyl to eleviate pain.

Branded Market Names

Market brand names of fentanyl sold as Actiq®, Duragesic®, and Sublimaze®.

Street names For Fentanyl

Apache
China girl,
Dance Fever,
Goodfella,
Jackpot
Murder 8.

History of Fentanyl

In 1959, Paul Janssen first developed fentanyl from the structural analogs of pethidine or Demerol. The drug was patented under Janssen’s pharmaceutical company, Janssen Pharmaceutica.

A combination of fentanyl and citric acid called Sublimaze made its way during the 1960s. Sublimaze is the intravenous anesthetic form of fentanyl. Soon after, pharmaceutical companies created several drugs patterned from fentanyl analogs like alfentanil, lofentanil, remifentanil and sufentanil.

How Fentanyl is abused

Because of the powerful effects of fentanyl, it becomes as the most abused prescription in the US. Fentanyl is included to the list of recreational drugs, which caused deaths to thousands of people from 2000 to 2017 because of overdose. Fentanyl deaths amount to 1,000 deaths in the US for the years 2005 to 2007, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration of DEA.

The availability and the cheap cost of fentanyl make it accessible to abuse the drug. Also, the effect of fentanyl to the user is shorter than heroin. Uncontrolled medication and the effects of fentanyl created a deeper craving for the user.

Opioids such as fentanyl affect the body’s receptor that controls emotion and pain, based on the study of NIH. The drug offers relaxation and a state of euphoria which makes it susceptible to abuse. Users seek this experience time and again.

Furthermore, the hospital uses fentanyl regularly and people have can easily buy the drug. In a study of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal or AANA, nurses and anesthesiologist develop an increased chance of the substance abuse. One main reason is that these medical practitioners have an easier access to the drug. Patients can also develop a dependency on fentanyl because doctors prescribed the drug easily.

Signs of fentanyl addiction:

Depression

Dry mouth

Fainting

Headache

Hallucinations

Itching, scratching or hives

Loss of appetite

Muscle Stiffness

Nausea and vomiting

Severe constipation

Shaking

Sleepiness

Strain breathing

Slurred speech

Suppressed breathing

Sweating

Troubled walking

Weight loss

Long term abuse of fentanyl can cause severe complication in both physical and mental health. The signs and symptoms include:

Physical effects of fentanyl

weakened immune system

severe gastrointestinal problems (bowel obstruction and perforation)

seizures

Effects of fentanyl on the mental well-being

lack of motivation/ decreased pleasure in activities

personality changes

socially isolated

paranoia

In serious cases, fentanyl addiction can cause respiratory problems, coma, and death. Substance abuse needs to be addressed immediately.

Treatment for Fentanyl

Detox

Detox is the first step of a long-term treatment and usual take several days. Detoxification process involves the flushing out of all fentanyl traces from the body. Patients who undergo detox may experience withdrawal symptoms. Fentanyl, as a powerful opioid affects several body systems and detox process can be difficult. Call us to get help for fentanyl detox and rehab.

Since withdrawal symptoms can cause severe distress to the patient, health care center may prescribe medication to ease the discomfort. The medication can also shorten the time for the detox process.

As a powerful opioid fentanyl withdrawal symptoms may include:

abdominal pain

anxiety

diarrhea

insomnia

muscle cramps/pain

excessive sweating

Rehabilitation

Health care specialist will assess the source of the substance abuse and the patient’s physical and mental health issues. They can also identify the best course of treatment. Honesty plays a vital role in the assessment as well as in the recovery.

After the initial assessment and detox process, the patient will begin the proper addiction treatment for fentanyl. The treatment program can last for 30, 60, 90 and in some instances 180 days. Health care specialist may also recommend longer treatment process because of the powerful opioid properties of fentanyl. This treatment will make the most of the support and care the patient need for their overall recovery.

About Flint

Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 81,252, making it the twelfth largest city in Michigan. The Flint metropolitan area is located entirely within Genesee County. It is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Michigan with a population of 406,892 in 2020. The city was incorporated in 1855. Flint was founded as a village by fur trader Jacob Smith in 1819 and became a major lumbering area on the historic Saginaw Trail during the 19th century. From the late 19th century to the mid 20th century, the city was a leading manufacturer of carriages and later automobiles, earning it the nickname "Vehicle City". General Motors (GM) was founded in Flint in 1908, and the city grew into an automobile manufacturing powerhouse for GM's Buick and Chevrolet divisions, especially after World War II up until the early 1980s recession. Flint was also the home of a sit-down strike in 1936–37 that played a vital role in the formation of the United Auto Workers. Since the late 1960s, Flint has faced several crises. The city experienced an economic downturn after GM significantly downsized its workforce in the area from a high of 80,000 in 1978 to under 8,000 by 2010. From 1960 to 2010, the population of the city nearly halved, from 196,940 to 102,434. In the mid-2000s, Flint became known for its comparatively high crime rates and has repeatedly been ranked among the most dangerous cities in the United States according to crime statistics. The city was under a state of financial emergency from 2002 to 2004 and again from 2011 to 2015. From 2014 to 2019, Flint faced a public health emergency due to lead contamination in parts of the local water supply as well as an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. The acute lead crisis has been addressed as the city has secured a new source of clean water, installed modern copper pipes to nearly every home, and distributed filters to all residents who want them. However, a legacy of distrust in public authorities remains.

Source Wikipedia

Rehab Treatments In Flint Michigan

About Michigan

Michigan ( MISH-ig-ən) is a state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It borders Wisconsin to the northwest in the Upper Peninsula, and Indiana and Ohio to the south in the Lower Peninsula; it is also connected by Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie to Minnesota and Illinois, and the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of 96,716 sq mi (250,490 km2), Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit. Metro Detroit is among the nation's most populous and largest metropolitan economies. The name derives from a gallicized variant of the original Ojibwe word ᒥᓯᑲᒥ (mishigami), meaning "large water" or "large lake". Michigan consists of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula resembles the shape of a mitten, and comprises a majority of the state's land area. The Upper Peninsula (often called "the U.P.") is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Mackinac Bridge connects the peninsulas. Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the United States, being bordered by four of the five Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair. It also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds. Michigan has the second-most water area of any state, behind only Alaska. The area was first occupied by a succession of Native American tribes over thousands of years. In the 17th century, French explorers claimed it as part of the New France colony, when it was largely inhabited by indigenous peoples. French and Canadian traders and settlers, Métis, and others migrated to the area, settling largely along the waterways. After France's defeat in the French and Indian War in 1762, the region came under British rule. Britain ceded the territory to the newly independent United States after its defeat in the American Revolutionary War. The area was part of the larger Northwest Territory until 1800, when western Michigan became part of the Indiana Territory. Michigan Territory was formed in 1805, but some of the northern border with Canada was not agreed upon until after the War of 1812. Michigan was admitted into the Union in 1837 as the 26th state, a free one. It soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region, attracting immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from many European countries. Immigrants from Finland, Macedonia, and the Netherlands were especially numerous. Migration from Appalachia and of Black Southerners as part of the Great Migration increased in the 1930s, with many settling in Metro Detroit. Although Michigan has developed a diverse economy, in the early 20th century it became widely known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry, which developed as a major national economic force. It is home to the country's three major automobile companies (whose headquarters are all in Metro Detroit). Once exploited for logging and mining, today the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula is important for tourism because of its abundance of natural resources. The Lower Peninsula is a center of manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, services, and high-tech industry.