Barbiturates Addiction

What are barbiturates?

Barbiturates are a form of depressant classified as sedative-hypnotics. These are known for slowing down brain activity, resulting in a decrease in anxiety and sleep-inducing drowsiness. As such, they’re most commonly used to treat:

• insomnia
• headaches, anxiety, and tension
• seizure disorders

Barbiturates became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as painkillers. People eventually started using them as recreational drugs for their calming and relaxing effects. At one point, there were more than 2,500 variations of barbiturates in circulation – so widespread was their use.

The potential for misuse combined with the dangers of abuse led to the development of barbiturate alternatives intended to be less addictive. Today, there are only about 10 different varieties of barbiturates still being prescribed. Benzodiazepines have replaced them almost entirely. However, this has caused other problems – benzodiazepines are actually more addictive than most barbiturates, and benzo rehab centers in WV have a lot more patients today than barbiturate treatment facilities.

Types of barbiturates

Although all barbiturates virtually serve the same purpose, there are still slight differences. For example, a barbiturate can be ultrashort, short, intermediate, or long-acting. This will also determine what it is used for. Some of the most common varieties abused by people in barbiturates rehab include:

• Amobarbital (also known as blue heaven, downers, blue devils, and blue velvet): A white crystalline powder also available as an injection, it has a slightly bitter taste and no smell. Sodium amobarbital has also been used as a truth serum.
• Mephobarbital: This barbiturate comes in a tablet form and is an anticonvulsant used for seizures.
• Pentobarbital (yellow jackets, Mexican yellows, nembies, abbots): Discontinued in 1999, this drug was available in the US as Nembutal. Its main use has been for executing convicted criminals. You can easily overdose on pentobarbital since it causes respiratory arrest.
• Phenobarbital (goof balls, purple hearts): Created in 1912, this is the oldest anti-seizure medication that’s still used today. It is commonly used as an injection or tablet for controlling seizures in young children. However, it’s also known to increase the risk of suicide in users.
• Secobarbital (reds, red devils, red birds, pinks, pink ladies, seggy, lilly, F-40s): Commonly known as a sleeping pill Seconal, this is a highly abused barbiturate
• Tuinal (rainbows, tooies, double trouble, reds and blues, F-66s, gorilla pills): Discontinued in the late 1990s, it has been replaced by benzodiazepines.

How are barbiturates used?

As opposed to stimulants like methamphetamine, which speed up your body’s functions, barbiturates slow these down. This is why they have the nickname “downers.” People who use barbiturates for medical reasons do so to deal with insomnia, anxiety, and seizures as these are often the consequence of heightened brain activity. People in barbiturates rehab usually abused them to achieve a highly relaxed and calm state or mitigate the effects of stimulants.

For both purposes, barbiturates are usually taken in pill form or, less commonly, injected into muscles or veins. However, barbiturate pills are so much more common that the different barbiturates have street names attached to them based on the markings and colors of the tablet. But the illegal trade of barbiturates has declined along with their medical use. In 2015, about 452,000 people used barbiturates. In comparison, there were almost 30 million benzodiazepine users. This shows the extent to which beznos have replaced barbiturates.

As sedative-hypnotics, barbiturates slow down the central nervous system, which includes the brain. By reducing nerve activity, they induce feelings of relaxation. As a result, they reduce blood pressure and heart rate, help with symptoms of anxiety and restlessness, and can cause you to feel drowsy and sleepy. The effects are similar to benzodiazepines and Ambien. Consequently, people who abuse barbiturates report side effects similar to those who are in benzo and Ambien rehab, such as:

• nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting
• headaches and dizziness
• slurred speech
• shallow or slow breathing
• poor memory and attention

Why are barbiturates addictive?

Used under the guidance of a medical professional, barbiturates can be highly effective. However, continued use can lead to dependence which requires treatment in barbiturates rehab. Over time, users gradually build up a tolerance to barbiturates. They then need to administer increasingly higher doses to achieve the same effects. Once you have a tolerance, you’re in danger of forming an addiction as well. Your body will become dependent, and your mind will follow.

People can also develop an addiction to barbiturates before they become dependent – simply because they crave the effects that barbiturates induce. In most people, barbiturate intoxication looks and feels a lot like being drunk. However, the right barbiturates will achieve this state a lot faster. This is why many people choose them over alcohol or even combine the two. Among them are many celebrities who suffered from barbiturates addiction or died from a barbiturate overdose in the 1960s and 1970s. These include Judy Garland, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, and Edie Sedgewick.

Just because you have a prescription for the barbiturates you’re using doesn’t mean you don’t need barbiturates rehab. It is entirely possible to develop an addiction even to medication that you need for medical reasons. So if you are taking barbiturates, you should be mindful of physical, mental, and behavioral signs of addiction to barbiturates, such as:

• persistent symptoms of intoxication (staggering, slurred speech, lack of coordination, confusion)
• constantly feeling drowsy and tired
• low inhibition and impulse control
• struggling to keep up at work or school due to a lack of focus and fatigue
• a change in interests or a lack of interest in activities you previously enjoyed
• using barbiturates at a higher dose or more frequently than intended
• combining barbiturates with other drugs like alcohol
• crushing and snorting barbiturate pills to achieve the effects faster
• needing increasingly higher doses of barbiturates to achieve the same effects