Lucky for me I get to write this blog with not only plenty of scientific fact but also with plenty of personal experience. My name is Rhea and I am an alcoholic, but what I loved doing more than anything else in the world was cocaine; I am very much an addict too.
I had a serious cocaine addiction back in the day. Out of all the addictions out there, cocaine addiction might be one of the easiest ones to spot in someone. A cocaine addiction is the kind of addiction that requires your full attention all the time; which is true of all addictions, but because of the nature of the substance, cocaine, it is a long process of continually trying to stay high, incapable of doing anything else during that time, because the high never lasts long enough. This kind of necessary repeated use and the attention needed and created to staying high off of cocaine is part of what makes cocaine addiction signs very easy to recognize.
If you are worried youor someone you know might have a cocaine addiction I am going to give you some signs to look for. These signs of cocaine addiction are not only factual but also what I know to be true from being a cocaine addict back in the day.
There are different ways you can use cocaine. You can smoke it, snort it, or shoot it (intravenous use). And for each different method of getting high off of it there are somewhat different signs of cocaine addiction. For the most part the signs of cocaine addiction will be the same though. I am going to make sure to tell you the signs for all routes of administration though.
Here are 5 signs of cocaine addiction:
1. Weight Loss
Regardless if the cocaine addict is smoking, snorting or shooting their cocaine, they will inevitably lose weight. More often than not the cocaine addict will be somewhat unaware of their significant weight loss. If someone has a heavy cocaine addiction the weight loss will be very alarming. The cocaine addict will look sickly; it is not a healthy weight loss. Collar bones will show, the face will be sunken in, the eyes protruding, wrist bones apparent etc. Remember: weight loss could be due to other things and not a cocaine addiction but that’s why we are mentioning 4 other signs of cocaine addiction.
2. Sounding “stuffed up”, a runny nose, constant sniffling, and multiple track marks
Depending on how the cocaine addict is using their cocaine the physical symptoms of a cocaine addiction vary a little bit. Someone who is smoking cocaine will have a pretty bad cough and will sound “stuffed up”, like they have a cold. Someone who is snorting cocaine will also sound stuffed up and have a runny nose or even nosebleeds. For the cocaine addict who is shooting up cocaine they will multiple track marks up and down their arms. Because the cocaine high doesn’t last long the cocaine addict has to shoot up multiple times and this leads to many marks on the arms, possibly feet, hands etc.
3. Irregular sleep patterns
A lot of people who aren’t on drugs sometimes have nights where they are up all night but with a cocaine addiction this will be consistent. A big sign of a cocaine addiction is sleeping all day and staying up all night. Many times cocaine addicts will party hard at night and then crash in the early morning and sleep all day. Remember weird sleep patterns may be due to other things but if you see this sign of cocaine addiction in accordance with the other signs it may be a cocaine addiction you are witnessing.
4. No longer engaging in social activities with family and friends. Can’t hold a job etc.
A person in the midst of a cocaine addiction usually will give up many of the activities they were so heavily involved with before their cocaine addiction began. Because of cocaine’s effects on the body and the irregular sleep patterns, someone with a cocaine addiction will have a hard time being awake at normal times to engage in social activities, much less hold a job. This is especially true for someone who is shooting cocaine because they have the added hindrance of track marks.
5. Dilated pupils, sweating, nervousness, grinding teeth, inability to sit still, talking rapidly, and needing to get up and go “to the bathroom” or bedroom.
Dilated pupils, sweating, nervousness, grinding teeth, the inability to sit still and talking rapidly are all signs of someone who is high on cocaine in the present moment. Cocaine causes all these symptoms in a cocaine addict or anyone who uses cocaine in general. Getting up to go the bathroom frequently or to a secluded room is a huge sign of cocaine addiction too. Because the cocaine high is so short and requires repeated use to stay high the person high on cocaine will need to get up and either snort, smoke or shoot up more cocaine. Usually they try to go somewhere secluded when they do this especially if they are trying to hide it.
These are the 5 signs of cocaine addiction. Also if you happen to find rolled up money into a tube shape, cut straws, tin foil, razors, needles, credit cards with a white residue on the edges, baggies with a white residue, belts, tourniquets, or mirrors; all of these things are paraphernalia in order to get high of off cocaine.
If you or someone you know needs treatment for Cocaine Addiction please call us at 800-951-6135 or visit us online at www.palmpartners.com.