Ecstasy Effects

Ecstasy is a potent drug that contains a diversity of adulterants these days. You never know precisely what you’re batch will contain, which makes the use of this drug even more dangerous and risky. Unfortunately Ecstasy is regarded as less harmful than other drugs, even drugs that it is a lot more harmful than. The reasons behind this aren’t fully cleared, but it’s somehow gotten popularized and glamorized to an extent that the danger of taking it isn’t questioned as much as it should be amongst the scenes of young adults.

Ecstasy effects will hit you anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour after it’s taken. The effects might last up to eight whole hours, it’s a very strong drug. The effects are a bit different if taken moderately versus taken a higher dose. Moderate doses will induce the following effects right away:

Feelings of well-being
Heightened confidence
Increased energy
Heightened empathy
Increase in body temperature
Tingling in the skin
Dilated pupils
Heightened sense of touch and other sensations

The effects of taking a high dose of ecstasy are:

Vomiting
A floating sensation
High body temperature
Increased heart beat and high blood pressure
Hallucinations
Irrational and bizarre behavior
Convulsions

The Low From Using

The crash which comes after using ecstasy is just as intense, if not more intense as the high. This crash usually includes physical exhaustion, depression, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, paranoia and difficulty focusing or concentrating. A lot of times people describe this period as having the life sucked out of them. This is a vile set of symptoms. It can last up to a few days. Depression from this has gotten really bad for some individuals, leading them to seek professional help.

Short And Long Term Effects From Ecstasy

The negative short term effects from using this drug are unfortunately circumstantial and not a pleasant experience, to say the least. These short term effects include:

Nausea
Confusion
Depression
Muscle aches
Poor muscle control
Increased heartbeat and blood pressure
Muscle tension
Blurred vision
Faintness and chills
Jaw clenching
Sweating
Moving in an unsteady way
Teeth grinding
Paranoia and severe anxiety
Impaired judgement
Psychosis
Aggression
Lessened inhibitions

The long term effects from using ecstasy are depression, loss of appetite, reduced energy levels, getting the common flu or cold often, being very exhausted, anxiety, damage to portions of the brain, bad memory, kidney failure, sometimes memory loss, psychosis, cardiovascular collapse, hemorrhaging and having difficulties with sleep. This can go on for a very long time. There’s really no telling how long. Many doctors these days that come across this particular set of symptoms, give or take a symptom, can recognize what it’s attributed to because of how common an ecstasy habit is.

Ecstasy And The Brain

Ecstasy can take its toll on the brain. Let’s look at it this way: the high is triggered precisely by the drug releasing the storage of serotonin and dopamine. The ratio is simply a lot more serotonin to dopamine when compared to a drug like meth. Serotonin is responsible for controlling your mood, sleep, pain and appetite. In other words, serotonin is a big deal in regards to these functions and using the drug is robbing you of some of it. This is why the symptoms listed above (insomnia, loss of appetite, depression, anxiety, etc) can occur even a long time after having done the drug. Your brain is therefore unbalanced of this, it doesn’t have enough of it, it’s depleted by a long shot. This is not good shape for the brain to be in and it could take a long time for someone to recover from this brain damage. It’s unfortunate that some people are actually oblivious to this, blinded by how popular the drug has gotten over the years through famous pop music.

Ecstasy And The Nervous System

Ecstasy is a stimulant and it affects the nervous system. It speeds up the central nervous system and releases adrenaline as well as other stress hormones. This isn’t naturally what your body would be doing had you not taken the drug. This isn’t good for your nervous system and contributes to the major fatigue and aching muscles that come after the high. It also speeds up your heart rate and blood pressure which can be a dangerous situation.

The Dangerous Effects of Ecstasy

There are several dangers that using ecstasy can cause, such as:

Seizures
Strokes
Cardiovascular failure
Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia comes about from overheating and can easily cause death. The drug interferes with the body’s regulation of temperature. Due to the fact that the person is high and under the influence of this drug they easily avoid the warning signs of overheating. This is compounded by the fact that the environment where ecstasy is usually taken is at night clubs or raves, where the user is dancing in a crowd of tons of people for hours. To make matters worse alcohol is commonly taken with ecstasy which also helps to overheat the body resulting in this chaotic situation.

Water poisoning, also known as “hyponatraemia”, is another severe situation that an ecstasy user might find themselves in. This can happen because the person overcompensates for the inevitable dehydration from ecstasy by drinking way too much water. The organs can swell from this and the situation can lead to coma or death.

Overdosing on Ecstasy

The signs from overdosing on this drug include:

Heightened body temperature
High blood pressure
Increased heartbeat
Hallucinations

Immediate medical attention should be sought out if the person experiences this or is becoming unresponsive or having difficulty breathing.

Other Effects From Ecstasy

Ecstasy is a potent substance and the high can escalate causing the user to act in peculiar ways at times. Their coordination can be off because they might feel like they are floating. There’s a chance the user can become manic, or act very strange. While under an episode like this the person might have racing thoughts and might even end up hallucinating, which is a dangerous place to be. There’s no telling where the hallucinations will take them. They basically aren’t living in the reality of people who aren’t hallucinating on the drug which could lead to a dangerous situation. This could go so far as to lead the user into a psychotic episode.

Since ecstasy these days is cut with different substances in order to increase volume and profit, it’s a risk that can lead to unexpected effects while on the drug. This means that the user can get effects which they didn’t get from their last batch, resulting in physical or mental disturbances they weren’t prepared for. They could end up in a delusive state, especially if the MDMA potency is a lot higher than they are used to, etc. In conclusion, the effects definitely have potential to be significantly different than what was endured on their last “rolling” session and this makes it one of the more higher risks street drugs out there. People regard the drug as somewhat safe because it’s popular, but don’t know the first thing about what impact it can truly have on their mental and/or physical health.