A Resource Guide on Substances That Lead to Throwing Up
Alcohol is known for making people throw up – but what illegal drugs can cause vomiting too?
The reality is that any drug that causes digestive upset has the potential to cause vomiting including stimulants, cannabis, opioids, and hallucinogens.
Our resource from Purpose Healing Center takes a closer look at how each of these substances causes throwing up and the risks of vomiting while under the influence. We’ll also talk about recognizing when substance use is a problem, particularly for people who consistently over-indulge in illegal drugs.
Finally, we’ll outline our programs of treatment and how we help support recovery if you or a loved one is struggling with substances of any kind.
Illegal Drugs That Cause Vomiting
To start with, the way your body processes certain types of drugs depends on how they are ingested. When drugs are consumed nasally or by mouth, they pass directly through the digestive tract. The irritation of your GI tract causes symptoms like nausea and vomiting.
Even when drugs bypass the digestive system by being smoked or injected, however, there’s a risk of nausea. You’re most likely to throw up after high doses of these drugs, especially in cases of over-intoxication or overdose.
In such cases, vomiting can be an important warning sign of the need to get immediate medical help.
Cocaine, Bath Salts, and Other Central Nervous System Stimulants
You likely already are aware that people take stimulants to feel more alert, increase focus, and increase feelings of pleasure and euphoria.
Methamphetamine, cocaine, bath salts, and prescription medications like Adderall are some of the drugs that belong to this class.
Cocaine comes from the natural coca plant but is processed and made much more concentrated, while the other stimulants listed are manmade throughout and created in laboratories. The white powder form of cocaine and meth are typically snorted, while crystal meth and crack cocaine are smoked.
Stimulants and other club drugs such as ketamine and tuci often suppress appetite, making it so you do not want to eat. They are also incredibly addictive. When you are chasing a high, the last thing you are worried about is proper nutrition.
The Most Common Side Effects of Stimulants
Stimulants can over-excite the central nervous system, which is why they cause enlarged pupils. Common problems include weight loss, tooth decay, skin sores, and sleep problems.
High dosages also lead to increased blood pressure and heart rate, cause severe anxiety and paranoia, and may even cause hallucinations or psychosis.
Severe over-intoxication may cause a fever, rapid, shallow breathing, seizures, loss of consciousness, and eventual death. Stimulants also come with a risk of heart attack, especially with the effects on blood vessels and high blood pressure.
While not as closely associated with vomiting as painkillers like heroin and fentanyl are, stimulants often cause vomiting when the dose taken is too high.
Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome and Vomiting
Most people associate marijuana (cannabis sativa) usage with feelings of relaxation, giggling, and reduced pain, thinking the worst side effects might be dry mouth or a little paranoia.
In fact, for individuals who are chronic, long-term, and often daily smokers, there is also a risk of developing cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS).
CHS can lead to bouts of intense stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration. These symptoms are most active in the morning and can occur with weeks in between bouts of sickness. There is no known treatment and evidence shows that quitting weed is the only way to permanently stop symptoms.
Hallucinogens and Throwing Up at the Onset of Effects
Young adults in particular are increasingly using hallucinogenics like LSD (acid), salvia, DMT, and mushrooms to enter a state of altered perceptions. Depending on dosage, body sensations and your interactions with the world around you might change and hallucinogens can also produce mind-altering effects.
Mushrooms contain psilocybin and acid contains LSD, both responsible for altered perception. Ayahuasca is a hallucinogen found in nature, with the active ingredient being mescaline. These and other hallucinogens are known to cause nausea and vomiting, especially with intense doses.
With ayahuasca in particular, though also with some who use mushrooms, the urge to vomit is seen as a precursor to the drug taking full effect.
Prescription Medications for Pain
Many opioid pain medications including codeine, morphine, Percocet, and oxycodone cause nausea and vomiting in some people. Opioids can stimulate the vomiting center of the brain. They also slow the digestive tract and cause constipation, which can cause stomach upset.
In the care of such narcotics, the body considers them a foreign substance, especially the first several times that you use them. Throwing up is a reaction to something your body is not accustomed to, and also to a dose that is higher than one is accustomed to.
Opioids also cause more broad forms of digestive system upset, including heroin, opium, and prescription opioids. Nausea is a common side effect of prescription medication in the opioid family and in some people, nausea is severe enough to cause vomiting.
Long-term use of other opioids including heroin can cause opioid-induced bowel dysfunction. Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, cramps, bloating, and heartburn.
Heroin, Fentanyl, and Tranq
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid but it also stimulates opioid receptors in the brain. It can also stimulate the nausea center and cause gastrointestinal distress, resulting in vomiting.
Tranq-laced fentanyl, also called “tranq dope,” can also cause throwing up. Fentanyl and heroin are being laced with xylazine, a powerful veterinary tranquilizer not regulated for use in humans.
Xylazine is a powerful sedative, whose effects cannot be reversed by naloxone (Narcan). It can lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, and cause respiratory depression. Tranq’s ability to sedate can also put you at greater risk of asphyxiation after vomiting if you are unable to sit up or roll over on your side, particularly when combined with fentanyl.
Lastly, heroin is a powerful opioid with the side effects of nausea and vomiting. Black tar heroin, a black sticky substance, is especially potent and dangerous. In recent years, the Drug Enforcement Administration has detected increasing amounts of fentanyl and xylazine in seized drug samples, making heroin use even more dangerous.
Is Throwing Up a Sign of Overdose?
Throwing up can be a sign of overdose or taking too much of a substance. However, nausea and vomiting can also happen from irritation of the stomach lining.
Stimulants like cocaine, for example, decrease appetite. They can damage the GI tract as they move through your body and cause ulcers or bleeding with frequent use, especially when you are not eating. Other common GI symptoms include constipation, diarrhea, and dehydration.
Being aware of other symptoms of an overdose lets you know when to seek help for vomiting. Signs of a stimulant overdose include rigid muscles or muscle spasms, increased heart rate, sweating and fever, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and seizures. You may also experience mental symptoms like severe agitation or anxiety, disorientation, confusion, and paranoia.
You’ll experience different symptoms when overdosing on heroin, opioid medications, and other substances classified as depressants. Slowed breathing rate, cool, clammy skin, decreased body temperature, slowed heart rate, and loss of consciousness are all signs of overdose.
If you or someone you know is experiencing such symptoms, you will want to call 911 and see the attending physician at the nearest emergency room.
Is Vomiting from Drug Use Dangerous?
Vomiting after illicit drug use can be dangerous. It can be a sign of over-intoxication or indicate overdose. Some people even asphyxiate after vomiting, caused by falling asleep or being sedated while throwing up.
Without intervention or prompt medical attention, this can result in death.
High Blood Pressure, Kidney Failure, and Other Symptoms of Long-Term Addiction
The risk of nausea and vomiting can get worse with some drugs and better with others. With prolonged heroin use, for example, symptoms of nausea fade with time. Even so, long-term addiction causes several other conditions to occur that can have a serious impact on overall health.
Prolonged drug and alcohol use can lead to changes in the way the brain functions. There’s a risk of brain damage, kidney damage, kidney disease, weakened immunity, problems with the liver, and damage to other organs. People who are chronic drug users also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.
Recognizing When Vomiting is a Sign You Need Help
Unpleasant symptoms like GI distress and vomiting make using illegal drugs seem less glamorous. When you are willing to overlook these symptoms and the risks of drug use to chase a high, it could be a sign to reach out for help.
Have you ever thought about quitting, but ultimately failed? Do you keep using drugs no matter how much harm they cause, both to your health and your life? These are common signs of addiction.
In some cases, mostly for opioid users, vomiting can also occur due to withdrawal symptoms.
Sometimes, you need assistance to get your footing on the road to recovery from substance use disorder. Entering an addiction treatment program can be the critical first step in reversing the harm that addiction has caused in your life as well as providing a safe and supportive setting to overcome drug withdrawal effects.
Get Help Overcoming Addiction at Purpose
Our resource has broken down how nausea and vomiting are unpleasant symptoms that can accompany many types of drugs. Stimulants like meth and cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, and opioids including morphine, oxycodone, and heroin can (and often do) cause stomach upset.
If you or a loved one are struggling with any form of drug abuse, reach out for more information about our treatment programs at Purpose Healing Center today. We offer different levels of care, including inpatient and outpatient treatment options.
Our Joint-Commission accredited facility offers customized, evidence-based treatment plans that give our clients the best chance at lasting recovery. Please make the confidential call to get our support today.
References
- https://ufhealth.org/conditions-and-treatments/cocaine-intoxication
- https://www.overdoseday.com/wp-content/uploads/IOAD-Factsheets_A4-4.pdf
- https://portal.ct.gov/cannabis/knowledge-base/articles/education-and-prevention/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome?language=en_US
- https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-reports-widespread-threat-fentanyl-mixed-xylazine
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