Opioid Intoxication

• drowsiness/sedation (‘nodding off’)
• impaired thinking
• impaired behavior
• dulled responses
• pin-point and non-reactive pupils
• low blood pressure
• nausea/vomiting
• shallow/slow breathing
• itchiness
• coma and respiratory depression

Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms

With lower doses:

• dilated pupils
• tear production
• yawning
• hot and cold flushes
• perspiration
• runny nose
• goose bumps
• increasing restlessness

With higher doses:

• anxiety

• irritability

• nausea

• vomiting

• abdominal

• muscle cramps

• backache
• diarrhea
• insomnia
• drug seeking behavior

Opiates stimulate the reward/pleasure centers of our brains and release a neurotransmitter called Dopamine which can create analgesia (pain relief) and feelings of euphoria or a sense of “well-being.” Most drugs either stimulates dopamine release or enhances it’s activity, directly or indirectly.

When you take opiates for an extended period of time (10 days or longer), your brain begins to build tolerance to the drug and subsequently alters the pleasure pathways which become more accustomed to higher levels of dopamine. I other words, your brain becomes use to being stimulated by the opiates and steadily needs more drugs for you to feel that “sense of well-being.”

When you take away the substance that produces these euphoric feelings, your brain begins to rebel and that rebellion is the beginning of the withdrawal process. The withdrawal process in your brain is a complicated series of events. Your body is craving more of the medicine that you were feeding it and now that it doesn’t have it, you have (or will) become sick.

Alcohol Intoxification

• poor motor coordination

• slurred/incoherent speech

• poor concentration

• mood instability

• impulsivity

• impaired judgment

• sedation

• blackouts

• stupor and coma

Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

Mild Withdrawal

• tremor
• increased
• temperature

• hypertension
• anxiety
• depressed mood
• malaise agitation
• irritability
• nausea
• vomiting
• insomnia

Benzodiazepine Intoxication

• slurred/incoherent speech

• impaired thinking

• rapid fluctuations of mood

• aggressive behavior

• sluggish pupils

• stupor

• forgetfulness

• coma at very high doses

The shocking vast array of

Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Symptoms

Cocaine Intoxication

• hyperactivity
• excitability
• tremor
• perspiration
• rapid heart rate
• abnormal heart rhythm
• high blood pressure
• facial ticks
• convulsive jerks
• convulsions
• coma
• psychosis

Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms

Phase 1 : “Crash” (9 hrs-4 days)

Phase 2 : Withdrawal (1-10 wks)

Phase 3 : Extinction (indefinite duration)