Understanding how MDMA creates psychological addiction is the first step toward getting help and breaking free from its hold. MDMA’s effects are mostly centered around how it makes users feel emotionally and physically. It increases feelings of happiness, openness, and energy, making relying on those sensations easy when life feels tough.

Ecstasy Withdrawal, Treatment and Next Steps

Depending on the length of time the drug has been misused, the frequency of use, and the specific drug or drug combination used, withdrawal can be uncomfortable to intolerable. MDMA abuse is a likely possibility, and this can ultimately be dangerous. Unlike other substances, ecstasy addiction’s staging is yet to be well classified, which adds to the risk. When faced with an overdose or wanting to stop using a drug, the first thing to do is take an MDMA drug test to determine the level of the drug in the body.

How Does MDMA Work?

Your body can get so hot that it leads to dehydration or even heatstroke, which is life-threatening if not treated quickly. People using MDMA often forget to drink enough water or cool down, increasing the risk of serious health issues. Overheating can cause organ failure in extreme cases, which is why it’s so important to stay hydrated and cool if you’re using the drug. Another reason MDMA can lead to psychological addiction is that people use it as a coping mechanism. When life feels stressful or overwhelming, MDMA can temporarily take those feelings away, replacing them with a sense of euphoria and calm.

Effects & Health Risks of Ecstasy (MDMA) Use

• Healthcare professionals run inpatient drug detox programs in carefully controlled environments and offer several resources to help you remain healthy.
• Some researchers and organizations consider MDMA to be a psychedelic drug because it can also mildly alter visual and time perception.
• It was found recently to protect against MDMA-induced injury via full preservation of 5-HT arbours indicated by imaging (Mercer et al., 2017).
• Here, we systematically examine the effects of 0.01 to 10 mg/kg MDMA on Pavlovian fear conditioning; behavioral sensitization, conditioned place preference, and conditioned responding; and the Porsolt forced swim test in mice.

In addition to memory problems, those who took this drug regularly also suffered greater cognitive deficits, psychiatric disorders and reduced sexual interest.4 These problems often persisted long after ecstasy use ceased. If you or someone you know is using MDMA or struggling with polysubstance use, take the first step toward a drug-free life today. Contact The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper to speak with a Recovery Advocate and learn more about treatment programs that can work well for you.

• Long-term or heavy use of MDMA, including ecstasy, can lead to severe physical consequences.
• The effects of the drug typically last for 3-6 hours, depending on the dose and purity of the drug.
• People who regularly and heavily use it may develop an addiction to it.
• If you or someone you know is addicted to MDMA, consider reaching out to a doctor or an addiction specialist.
• This strategy poses serious health risks, including seizures, heart failure, and fatal overdose.
• If someone you know is exhibiting signs of an MDMA overdose or severe withdrawal symptoms, contact emergency medical help immediately.

• The same phenomenon occurs with the classical hallucinogens, which have not proven to give rise to dependence to nearly the same extent as alcohol, cannabis, benzodiazepines or opioids, for example.
• However, some people can develop a psychological dependence on the drug and may experience cravings and withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop using it.
• A treatment center will attempt to verify your health insurance benefits and/or necessary authorizations on your behalf.

The euphoric effects fade quickly, leaving behind emotional lows, anxiety, and the need to take more. In this guide, we’ll explore how MDMA abuse can take control and why it’s essential to recognize the signs before it’s too late. The immediate impact of ecstasy begins within about 45 minutes of taking a dose.

What Is MDMA? #

Recent clinical studies report both depression symptom improvement as a secondary outcome and depressed mood as a treatment-emergent adverse event following MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (Mithoefer et al. 2019). Using the forced swim test, we detected acute MDMA-induced antidepressant effects at How Long Does MDMA Stay in Your System high, memory-impairing doses of 3 and 10 mg/kg but not at lower doses of 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg. Drugs that induce acute locomotor stimulation can lead to a false positive result in the forced swim test (Porsolt et al. 1978). ±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a widely used recreational drug that shows substantial promise as a psychotherapeutic agent (Feduccia et al. 2018; Sessa and Nutt 2015; UNODC 2020). MDMA is classified chemically as a methamphetamine derivative, but behaviorally it is considered a stimulant-psychedelic by its detractors and an empathogen-entactogen by its proponents (Liechti 2015; Nichols 1986). It occurs when individuals compulsively seek out and use the drug despite the negative consequences it may bring to their lives.

Overdose & Other Risks Of Ecstasy Use

In these controlled experiments, researchers have observed damage to specific types of brain cells, particularly those involved in the serotonin system. While MDMA isn’t as addictive as other drugs, and it’s considered a common drug in nightlife party scenes, it should be taken seriously. MDMA isn’t as addictive as some other drugs in this category, but it still can be addictive for some users. MDMA can lead to a substance use disorder, which should be taken seriously. Those who use MDMA can also have nausea, sweats, or muscle cramps and can clench their teeth. Some people experience other negative effects for up to a week after taking MDMA; these include anxiety, irritability, sleep issues, and lower pleasure from and desire for sex.

Why MDMA?

Enterhealth is the only facility with highly trained on-site addiction specialists, including PhDs, MDs and Master’s Level Therapists, who coordinate care at every stage. Because we understand the science behind addiction, we are best equipped to assess and treat individuals and families. Contact us to see why we’re the only facility with an 84% success rate. Long-term MDMA use can lead to permanent changes in mood and personality. Because MDMA depletes serotonin levels, it can cause lasting emotional instability, depression, or anxiety.

• People can easily fall into the trap of emotional dependence, using the drug to chase the highs it creates or to escape from everyday stress.
• An ecstasy test kit (also called an MDMA test kit or a molly test kit) is a drug testing kit that can help you identify what substances a drug labeled MDMA actually contains.
• MDMA’s effects may include feeling more energetic and alert and having an increased sense of well-being, warmth, and openness toward others.
• Limited research shows that controlled doses of pure MDMA could help treat symptoms of PTSD, depression, and other mental health conditions; the social symptoms of autism spectrum disorder; and anxiety in patients with a terminal illness.
• This data justifies temporal scaling but not dose scaling between rodent and human MDMA studies (for further discussion, see Pantoni and Anagnostaras 2019).
• The nickname “Molly” is short for “molecular.” It often refers to the drug’s powder form, which some people sell as capsules.

Unlocking the Potential of MDMA

While the present study is the first to examine the effects of low-dose MDMA (≤ 1 mg/kg) on the aforementioned tasks, there are a few published dose-ranging studies on MDMA-induced conditioned place preference. Robledo et al. (2004) observed a significant conditioned place preference after repeated MDMA treatment in mice at a dose of 10 mg/kg but not at 0.3, 1, or 3.3 mg/kg. Similarly, Salzmann et al. (2003) observed a significant conditioned place preference after repeated MDMA treatment in mice at a dose of 9 mg/kg but not at 1 or 3 mg/kg. Still, in the present study, we analyze and compare the dose-effect relationship of MDMA across several behavioral tasks, utilizing the same methods as our previous psychostimulant studies (Carmack et al. 2014).