How to manage crack withdrawal symptoms

Crack cocaine leaves your system very fast, and the high fades within just a few minutes. But crack withdrawal symptoms can run on for weeks once you stop using regularly. Most of what you feel happens in your mind rather than your body, so people close to you may not see how hard it is. While crack cocaine withdrawal can be hard, there are various things you can do to make quitting easier on yourself. It begins with understanding what is happening.

What is crack withdrawal?

Crack cocaine works on the same reward pathway in the brain as powder cocaine, but it hits harder and fades faster. The high lasts around ten minutes but peaks almost immediately. This is compared to snorting cocaine, where the effects last twenty to thirty minutes.

That speed makes crack easy to binge on, but the rapid fade can leave you chasing one hit after another. When you repeat that enough, you start needing crack to feel normal. That is known as crack cocaine dependence, and once it’s set in, stopping brings on crack cocaine withdrawal. A comedown after one heavy session is milder and shorter, and is usually over within a day. Full withdrawal is a more intense set of symptoms that take much longer to end.

What is the crack cocaine crash?

The crack cocaine crash is the first part of withdrawal. When you’re dependent on crack, it starts a few hours after the last hit, and it can take you by surprise and completely overwhelm you.

Exhaustion sets in quickly, and you may sleep most of the first couple of days. Your appetite may come surging back after crack has been suppressing it, and your mood can get very low, very fast. Unlike some other drugs, the pull to use crack again can last longer than a few days, but crack crash symptoms tend to settle down within a week.

What are the symptoms of crack withdrawal?

However, the symptoms of crack withdrawal carry on well beyond the crash itself, and this slower stretch is when many people find it hardest to keep going. Crack withdrawal fatigue can turn everyday tasks and responsibilities into a real effort.

Crack withdrawal anxiety often follows, leaving you restless and easily annoyed. You may find it harder to concentrate or do anything beyond the basics. Your sleep can become really unpredictable, losing some mornings to oversleeping, but spending some nights wide awake.

Powerful crack cravings continue, and most people find this time the hardest part of the whole withdrawal process.

How long does crack withdrawal last?

Nobody can give you an exact crack withdrawal timeline. The middle stage described in the section above this one can last weeks, and cravings can resurface unpredictably for months afterwards. Several things affect how hard this hits, including how much crack you used, how long for, the general condition of your health, and whether you were taking anything else.

In most cases, you are looking at a few weeks, with ups and downs along the way. These are completely normal, and one bad day doesn’t undo a good week.

Is crack withdrawal dangerous?

Stopping crack cocaine doesn’t usually bring the seizure risk or medical crisis that alcohol or sedative withdrawal can. The real pressure is on your mental and emotional state instead. But the mental strain alone can still be very dangerous, and you should get as much help as possible to manage it.

In many cases, people are using crack cocaine with alcohol or other drugs. This can make withdrawal more unpredictable and dangerous, and if you’ve been drinking a lot too, professional assessment and support are absolutely needed.

Is crack withdrawal at home possible?

A crack detox managed at home can work, as long as you go in with a plan. Rest whenever your body needs it, even if that’s most of the day at first. Have proper meals and keep your fluids up, because your body needs fuel to rebuild. A simple routine helps too, with regular meal times and one small daily task to keep yourself a little busy.

Avoid the situations and company that go with using, particularly in these first weeks. Weekends need deliberate planning, because that’s often when the urge to use crack is strongest. Tell someone close to you what you’re doing, so they can check in on you and you can lean on them for support.

How to manage crack cravings?

Crack cravings rarely stay at full strength for long, even though they can feel unbearable while they’re happening. Most peak within 10 or 15 minutes and ease off by themselves, so it’s usually better to wait one out than try to fight against it.

Set a 20-minute timer if that helps, and treat that twenty minutes as a job to be done. During that time, you can:

• Leave the room to break your focus on the urge
• Phone someone who knows what you’re going through
• Keep your hands busy by washing up or tidying a drawer
• Go for a walk outside

You should decide what your plan is long before a craving arrives, because it’s hard to think mid-craving.

What is the risk of self-medicating?

It’s tempting to drink or use something like sleeping pills or a leftover prescription when the crash or the cravings set in hard. Self-medicating can be dangerous and make withdrawal harder in the long run. Another substance won’t fix anything, and it often trades one problem for a new one.

Mixed substances also make it harder for anyone helping you to know what they’re dealing with. If the cravings or other symptoms outweigh what you can cope with, you should get guidance from professionals.

When does crack withdrawal depression need proper support?

Crack withdrawal depression is one of the potentially most dangerous symptoms. For most people, depression settles down bit by bit over the following weeks, but if it stays the same or gets worse, or you’re having thoughts of harming yourself, you need to seek professional support.

You can ring 111 and ask for the mental health team, whatever the hour. If you’re worried about your safety, you should go straight to 999 or A&E instead. The Samaritans are also available any time, day or night, on 116 123. Paranoia, hallucinations, and severe agitation also need medical attention.

Additional Read: Crack cocaine and crime: Breaking the cycle

When is professional crack withdrawal treatment needed?

Crack withdrawal treatment may be needed if you’ve relapsed before, have been using multiple substances, have underlying health problems, or if you feel like you can’t manage the symptoms.

Crack withdrawal has no standard medicine, with the main support at Liberty House coming from a safe place to withdraw, time to rest, medical monitoring, and professionals looking after your physical needs.

After crack detox, you will then begin crack rehab therapy, where you work through why crack took hold over your life and what fed your reliance. You will leave a Liberty House recovery centre with a relapse prevention plan and support already in place to help you return home safely.

Talk to Liberty House today

If you’re already attempting crack withdrawal or you plan to soon, call Liberty House and let us know how things stand. You don’t have to wait until things feel unbearable before getting help for crack addiction, and the right support can make the hard weeks more manageable. As the weeks go by, the cravings ease off, and the crash’s effects fade. Nobody should have to manage that alone.