The ‘Fentanyl Fold’ - What Causes This?

This is horribly sad but…

Fentanyl is extremely potent. 100% Synthetic it is 100 times more powerful than Oxycodone.  And about 50 times stronger than heroin.

Fentanyl is 100% synthetic, whereas heroin, morphine and oxycodone are derived from the poppy plant.

There is another product on the market called ‘carfentanil’ which is said to be about one million times more powerful than oxycodone.

Fentanyl triggers severe nervous system depression.  As a result the user has very rapid loss of muscle tone and muscle control. 

The brain isn’t working properly thus not communicating with the muscles. One can no longer hold himself upright.

Fentanyl also depresses the respiratory system by covering certain receptors in the body.  These receptors tell the body to breathe when there is too much carbon dioxide.  If the receptors are blocked, no signal and one suffocates. 

The main culprit causing the fentanyl fold, though, is the neurological weakening of the musculature.  The muscle tone/strength is gone or lessened and the user ‘folds’.  So, even if the  person was trying to stand or sit straight they would not be able to.

Is Fentanyl Addictive?

Add to this the fact that fentanyl is extremely addictive.

Dependence and addiction can developing within just weeks of regular use.  It significantly alters brain activity to reinforce compulsive drug-seeking behaviour.   This can happen even when properly prescribed by a doctor.

Fentanyl increases dopamine activity in the brain’s reward circuitry, creating intense euphoria while simultaneously causing withdrawal symptoms when the drug wears off.

Because a user quickly develop a tolerance, he will require higher and higher doses to achieve the same effects. Severe withdrawal symptoms combined with this euphoria makes stopping very difficult and impossible for some.  All this increases the risk of overdose, evidenced by the number  of deaths from this drug.