Author: Alex Thompson
MDMA Withdrawal Timeline, Symptoms + Detox Treatment Options
Symptoms usually peak within a few days of quitting the drug and last about a week. Severe psychological symptoms, like depression and cravings, may persist for several weeks to several months. Although some users may not think so, ecstasy is psychologically addictive drug. When quitting the hallucinogenic stimulant, users experience intense psychological withdrawal symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and drug cravings. Although ecstasy withdrawal does not typically produce dangerous physical symptoms, the powerful psychological withdrawal can lead many users to relapse.
- When quitting the hallucinogenic stimulant, users experience intense psychological withdrawal symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and drug cravings.
- Withdrawing from Ecstasy is totally dependent upon individual circumstances.
- Genetics and social, emotional, and environmental factors can all play a role.
- Drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine may be mixed into Ecstasy and have a higher potential for addiction and harm than MDMA alone.
- It is typically sold as a semi-synthetic chemical compound and in its purest form, it is a white colored powder.
Ecstasy tablets have been found to contain ketamine, MDA (a designer drug similar to Ecstasy), cocaine, methamphetamine and synthetic cathinones (“bath salts“). Join 40,000+ People Who Receive Our Newsletter Get valuable resources on addiction, recovery, wellness, and our treatments delivered directly to your inbox. Have you been using MDMA for years or just a couple months off and on? Obviously the longer-term basis for which you have turned to this drug, the more difficulties you will have with your withdrawal. Certain factors can make a person more prone to substance misuse. Genetics and social, emotional, and environmental factors can all play a role.
Factors that influence MDMA (“Ecstasy” or “Molly”) withdrawal include:
MDMA, also called molly or ecstasy, is a synthetic psychoactive drug. MDMA is most famous as a party drug on the rave and club scene but has gained wider use in the general population. Users frequently combine ecstasy with other drugs and alcohol. Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp. Although molly is marketed as a purer form of MDMA, there are wide variations from batch to batch.
There are differences between tolerance, dependence, and addiction to a drug. It depends on the person taking it and if they’re using other substances with molly. This means the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers it as having no medical use and high potential for misuse. It’s illegal to sell, buy, or use any form of MDMA — including molly — in the United States.
Treatment Process
If you are withdrawing from ecstasy, the best thing you can do for yourself right now is to engage in healthy activities. Be around supportive people (friends and family), avoid places that may trigger cravings, eat healthy, stay productive, and exercise. Ecstasy is often cut with other drugs, such as heroin, ketamine, amphetamines and other illicit drugs. In many cases, ecstasy is also taken alongside other drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine or LSD.
Our staff at Zinnia Health are committed to your well-being. The safest way to withdraw from ecstasy and overcome addiction is to seek professional help that offers safe medical detox and follow-up treatment programs. Without the proper care, a former user runs the risk of relapsing during the withdrawal process. The “crash” and mood symptoms of MDMA can be very severe, and people withdrawing are at an increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms, which may lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.
Withdrawal symptoms can worsen if you increase your dose and frequency of use. These symptoms may point to an addiction, or substance use disorder. However, a significant portion of what’s sold as molly is either mixed with other substances or contains no MDMA at all. Dosage plays a small role in the severity of withdrawal symptoms because, generally, if someone is addicted to MDMA, they are not taking small doses. When MDMA is actually in the mixture, there are often other drugs mixed in as well.
Ecstasy, also known as MDMA or molly, is a synthetic psychoactive drug that produces a euphoric high in the user. Those addicted to ecstasy will experience withdrawal when they quit using the drug. Withdrawal happens because the user’s brain becomes dependent on ecstasy to function. The physical symptoms related to ecstasy withdrawal end more quickly than psychological symptoms. The strength and duration of ecstasy withdrawal symptoms is concomitant with the user’s level of dependence on the drug. As time passes, most research would suggest that ecstasy users can make full recoveries in regards to brain functioning and physical health.
Someone addicted to multiple drugs will also experience longer and more severe withdrawal symptoms, depending on the combination. Medical detox can also treat symptoms of withdrawal related to other substances that may be happening simultaneously. When MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, first appeared, people dismissed it as a party or club drug with no serious risks or long-term effects. As MDMA use became more widespread, researchers realized that ecstasy abuse causes dependence, lasting chemical changes, and intense and sometimes dangerous withdrawal symptoms. Like the symptoms of ecstasy withdrawal, the duration of the process is different for everyone.
Ecstasy Detox
That makes it hard to predict if a person may develop an addiction. Each person has different needs in a detox center and should consider locations, cost, available programs and long-term support services in their decision. Zinnia Health’s medically supervised MDMA detox has both the comfort and the safety of our clients in mind.
The Recovery Village Palm Beach at Baptist Health Drug and Alcohol Rehab also has treatment facilities located across the country, and resources are available in many states. Also, If any other drugs were present in the Ecstasy pills, these could be identified with drug testing techniques.
There are a number of individual factors that come into play. However, there are also other factors that must be considered including dosage, frequency of usage, as well as overall time span of usage. If you use it frequently, the withdrawal is going to be much tougher. For example if you are popping Ecstasy pills on a daily basis, your brain is going to have a more difficult time readjusting its activity back to normalcy. Our caring and compassionate specialists are eager to help you comfortably navigate this journey to recovery. Our individualized treatment plan, programs, and therapies may be a perfect match for you or your loved one.
Mental Health Complications
Suicide Tuesday refers to an unofficial trend of weekday suicides that experts observed in MDMA users. Depression, anxiety, and agitation are some of the main ecstasy withdrawal symptoms, which peak two to four days after use. Because most people use it as a party drug on the weekends, those feelings were most intense early in the week afterward. People with mental health conditions may be more overwhelmed by the withdrawal symptoms and act impulsively by attempting suicide. A drug treatment center provides a safe, controlled environment in which ecstasy users can work toward recovery. These programs create individualized treatment plans based on each patient’s specific needs.