The effects a cocaine user feels appear almost immediately after a single dose. The "problem", however, is that they disappear within minutes or hours resulting in the user wanting more in a fairly short space of time.

In small doses, it makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative and mentally alert with heightened perceptions of sight, sound and touch. It can decrease the desire for food, which makes it worse. Cocaine's effects can be a complete dichotomy in that some will find it simple to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks quicker, while others have the opposite effect.

Short-term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, increased temperature, heart rate and blood vessels. Large amounts intensify the user's "high" which, very often, also leads to bizarre, erratic and violent behavior. They may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia and can even have a toxic reaction similar to amphetamine poisoning.

Cocaine addiction is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly. Some users get very restless, irritable and become anxious. In some instances, it can result in sudden death even in a first time user or, unexpectedly, thereafter. They are usually the result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory failure. As an addict becomes accustomed to the dosage of cocaine, it no longer produces the desired effect so he has to constantly increase the dose, increasing the likelihood of serious consequences so something has to be done about it.

Having a loved one in the throes of cocaine addiction calls for urgent attention and a good cocaine treatment program is the only real solution to this problem. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of "solutions" out there, which can cause a lot of confusion for anyone trying to ravel through the myriad of options.

Some important criteria that must be weighed up when making decisions about any cocaine treatment program include 1) how the withdrawal is undertaken, 2) are drugs (meds) used to do the withdrawal, 3) how does the person get the drug residues out of their body, 4) is the individual himself - not his body - rehabilitated fully.

Another important question to ask is "What are the results"? Any program that does not at least have an 80% success rate is not worth spending another minute on. You're not throwing money at a slot machine; you're trying to save a loved one's life. Putting them through a program only to have them revert within days of completing adds unbelievable additional strain to a family.

Anyone using any drugs - whether it be alcohol, meds or street drugs - experiences the same phenomena of woodenness, inability to think straight, depression, the list goes on and on. These feelings do not go away just because the person somehow or other managed to stop using the substance, hence it is vitally important that you find a program that meets the above requirements. That's the only way you will truly get your loved one back on track. No badgering in the world is going to straighten them up.

Something started them down that road and that something came before the drug was ever used. That makes it even more critical that the right program is found so you can truly have your loved one back and not a shell of their former self.

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Steve Anderson writes online articles to help drug addicts. For more go to Cocaine Treatment see Cocaine Treatment