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After Prince Roger Nelson, aka Prince, the legendary musician of the 80s was found dead on April 21, 2016, medical officers and forensic experts finally released an official statement regarding the cause of the death of the singer of "Purple Rain". Prince appears to have died from a fentanyl overdose, according to a report released by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office.
What is fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a synthetic psychoactive drug that is commonly used to control surgical pain and post-surgical pain. Doctors also prescribe fentanyl for cancer and chronic pain patients who are intolerant of other opiates, such as morphine or heroin, or when other painkillers are no longer effective.
First developed around the 1960's, this drug is intended as an alternative to morphine. Doctors will use fentanyl to treat unbearable pain from cancer therapy or post-operative pain. Fentanyl is responsive, crosses the blood-and-brain barrier faster than other drugs, and has been shown to be very efficient at targeting opiate receptors in the body.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), like heroin, morphine, and other types of opiates (opiate drugs), fentanyl works to bind to the body's opiate receptors, which are concentrated in certain areas of the brain where pain and emotions are controlled. When opiate drugs bind to these receptors, they can increase dopamine levels in the reward area of the brain, producing a happy, relaxed mood.
Fentanyl abuse
Opiate drugs will develop dependence, and some patients tend to seek other drugs with stronger doses once the initial dose stops working.
Fentanyl is very easy to abuse, even in accidental cases. The potency and effectiveness of the drug make it an easy target for abuse.
There are many unwanted side effects of fentanyl, whether used medicinally under a doctor's supervision or illegally. Anything?
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
- Dry mouth
- Urine retention
- Respiratory suppression
- Severe constipation
- Red rash or hives
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Lose weight
- Headache
- Trouble seeing
- Depression
- Hallucinations
- Nightmare
- Hard to sleep
- Sweating
- Shaky
- Swollen hands and feet
The release time formulation for fentanyl provides strong pain relief relief over time of use. Fentanyl is generally available in the form of lollipops and patches. It is also available as a film that dissolves in the mouth and in pills that are implanted in the cheek. When prescribed by a doctor, fentanyl will be given to patients by injection. However, nowadays fentanyl strains linked to addiction are produced on the black market and mixed with - or substituted for - heroin in powder form.
Mixing fentanyl with heroin or illegal cocaine has been shown to have double the lethal potential, because the difference between the therapeutic dose and the lethal dose is very small.
As with other opiates, the main symptoms of fentanyl abuse include euphoria (extreme happiness; excitement), drowsiness, lethargy, depression, confusion, drunkenness, loss of consciousness, coma, and addiction.
Quoting Gulf News, Prince was given an overdose antidote a week before the day of his death.
Drugs called opiate receptor antagonists work to block the effects of opiate drugs. Fentanyl overdose should be treated promptly with an opiate antagonist.
Prince's death and the opiate epidemic in the United States
Sources say that Prince was first prescribed fentanyl when he began experiencing lower right leg and hip problems. The medical team's report also noted that there were surgical scars from previous surgeries that may be related to joint pain surgery. Prince is thought to have had chronic joint and knee pain for years as a result of his stage performance.
Prince's death - and fentanyl abuse in general - is part of the opiate epidemic currently raging in the United States; it also occurs thousands of times each year among people with chronic diseases. The death toll was counted in the thousands. In 2014, more than 18,000 Americans died from prescription opiates, and 700 of them were from fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opium that has 80 times the power of morphine and hundreds of times more lethal than heroin, the CDC said. Small doses of this drug can push users into the overdose stage, beyond tolerance. This drug is so strong that the prescription will be written in micrograms; fentanyl in the size and dose of aspirin tablets (80 - 500 grams) will kill you very quickly.
Prince is thought to have died from ongoing fentanyl therapy that led to an overdose, or this fentanyl therapy later led to abuse of opiate drugs.
