Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine: How to Avoid Overdose and Get Support
Beat the Odds: Fentanyl Mixed with Xylazine: How to Avoid Overdose and Get Support
How Widespread is the Deadly Threat of Xylazine-Laced Fentanyl?
Fentanyl mixed with xylazine and fentanyl mixtures can lead to an overdose crisis in ways that many people don’t fully realize. Unlike the substance abuse of fentanyl alone, this combination slows breathing while also suppressing pain, which exposes people to life-threatening risks, including overdose death.
Purpose Healing Center assists people who use multiple substances overcome their issues using evidence-based, holistic practices. Our accredited treatment center offers clients recovery options in locations across Arizona, each staffed by experienced and compassionate healthcare professionals.
Those who use fentanyl powder or fentanyl pills frequently don’t know about the presence of xylazine. Having a better understanding of the powerful sedative can help identify the effects of xylazine exposure and know how to seek effective support.
What Is Xylazine and Why Is Mixing It With Fentanyl a Growing Widespread Threat?
Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer. It is a veterinary use muscle relaxant approved for large animals and isn’t approved for human use. It’s not an opioid. In veterinary medicine, it helps to calm animals by slowing the central nervous system depressant response, lowering blood flow, and reducing heart rate.
When xylazine is found mixed with illicit drugs, especially synthetic opioids like fentanyl, the risk of overdose becomes a very real threat. Xylaxine combined with fentanyl intensifies its sedative effects.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains that this combination can lead to heavy sedation, the main reason for overdosing. Street dealers call xylazine combined with fentanyl ‘tranq dope’ due to these effects.
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Public Safety Alert: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Reports Widespread Xylazine Threat Across the USA
According to a warning from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), an increase in xylazine in the illegal drug supply has created a sharp increase in overdose risk across the country.
Through drug seizures and toxicology reporting, the DEA laboratory system has found xylazine in fentanyl powder, counterfeit pills, and other drugs. Fentanyl pills seized and processed by the DEA contained xylazine at an alarming rate.
The xylazine problem isn’t only a national issue. The Arizona Poison and Drug Information System has also warned about drugs contaminated with xylazine in the state’s drug supply. It’s not the seized xylazine that’s a problem – it’s all that’s currently circulating on the streets.
The Effects of Fentanyl Mixed With Non-Opioid Sedatives
Fentanyl is a powerful sedative that leads to opioid overdose. When you add xylazine, the danger multiplies. Xylazine doesn’t respond to naloxone because it’s not an opioid, despite its sedative effects.
Those exposed to these effects can become unconscious quickly, delaying the recognition of an overdose by the person or others. The negative consequences escalate with delayed treatment. A suspected overdose requires medical attention immediately.
What are the Signs of Xylazine and Fentanyl Use?
Some common signs of fentanyl mixed with xylazine use include the following:
- Extremely low heart rate and blood pressure
- Deep sedation
- Confusion or difficulty staying awake
- Reduced euphoric effect, compared to fentanyl alone
- Unresponsive or won’t awaken
- Painful skin wounds that can become necrotic skin ulcerations, especially when injecting drugs
- Withdrawal symptoms become a problem when trying to stop use.
The symptoms can appear gradually or take weeks to develop, worsening without medical care.
Fentanyl and Xylazine Withdrawal Symptoms
Withdrawing from opioid drugs is always complicated, but adding xylazine to the equation makes the addiction even trickier.
Typical Fentanyl (and Other Opioids) Withdrawal Symptoms:
- Anxiety, agitation, or restlessness
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Sweating, chills, or goosebumps
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
- Runny nose and watery eyes
- Insomnia or disrupted sleep
- Rapid heart rate and elevated blood pressure
- Strong drug cravings
Typical Xylazine Withdrawal Symptoms:
- Extreme fatigue or weakness
- Anxiety or irritability
- Depression or low mood
- Tremors or shaking
- Increased heart rate after prior suppression
- Unstable blood pressure
- Sleep disruptions
- Worsening pain or sensitivity
- Delayed healing or worsening of existing skin wounds
Symptoms can be unpredictable, making medical detox the only safe option for stopping these drugs.
What to Do During an Overdose Following Fentanyl and Xylazine Use
Xylazine and fentanyl mixture overdoses are complex because fentanyl is an opioid drug, while xylazine isn’t.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warns that because xylazine is a controlled substance not approved for human use and doesn’t respond to opioid-reversal drugs, the person experiencing an overdose may need several supportive measures until first responders arrive.
Here are the steps the CDC recommends:
- If you can’t awaken the person and you suspect drug use of any kind (including benzodiazepines, methamphetamines, or other substances), assume the person has overdosed and call 911 for help. Give the dispatcher any information you know about any possible drugs used.
- Administer naloxone right away. Naloxone reverses the opioid overdose quickly, even though it won’t reverse the xylazine.
- Start rescue breaths if breathing is slow or stopped. Xylaxine can keep suppressing the breathing, so this supportive measure can save their life until EMS arrives.
- If the person returns to normal breathing, turn them on their side in the recovery position to keep their airway clear of vomit. Stay nearby and watchful.
- If you don’t see a response after 3 minutes, give a second naloxone dose.
- Even if the person seems to be improving, don’t assume the danger has passed. Naloxone sometimes requires multiple doses to work, and xylazine’s sedation continues.
Taking quick action gets the person into the care of health care professionals and helps avoid a fatal overdose.
Harm Reduction Strategies to Lower Overdose Risk and Prevent Complications from Xylazine in Fentanyl
Harm reduction helps minimize danger for people who struggle with substance use disorders. Approaches include:
- Avoid using drugs alone. The buddy system saves lives.
- Use fentanyl test strips or xylazine test strips when possible. These detect xylazine or fentanyl in drug samples before use.
- If injecting drugs, use clean needles; don’t share with others.
- People who use and their loved ones should carry naloxone and know how to use it.
- Seek treatment for skin ulcers or abscesses before they become severe wounds.
These precautions don’t decrease the odds of having an overdose due to tainted fentanyl. But they do increase survivability.
What Xylazine Test Strips Can and Can’t Tell You
Xylazine test strips have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to detect xylazine in a sample. However, they cannot verify the presence of fentanyl or other substances. For safety, experts suggest testing for both substances before use.
Call Purpose for Lasting, Holistic Healing, Including Wound Care
At Purpose Healing Center, our healthcare providers take a whole-person approach to helping clients break free of drug addictions. We use evidence-based mental health strategies to disrupt the cycle of addiction while also ensuring the physical wounds of xylazine use heal.
Our Joint Commission-accredited facilities accept nearly all forms of AHCCCS, as well as many commercial providers in-network.
Call us today with any questions or to learn how we can support your recovery journey. Every call is confidential, so please do not hesitate to reach out for assistance now.
References Cited:
- Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). Public safety alert: DEA reports widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine.
- University of Arizona Health Sciences. (n.d.). Arizona Poison and Drug Information System warns about increased danger of illicit drugs due to xylazine contamination.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). What you should know about xylazine.
- Strategic Multisite Addiction Research and Training (SMART) Center. (n.d.). Are xylazine test strips a feasible strategy?
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