Anabolic Steroids

What Are the Common Effects?

For most people, a “hit” of MDMA lasts for 3 to 6 hours. Once the pill is swallowed, it takes only about 15 minutes for MDMA to enter the bloodstream and reach the brain. About 45 minutes later, the person experiences MDMA's “high.” That’s when the drug is at its peak level. People who use MDMA might feel very alert, or “hyper,” at first. At clubs, they can keep on dancing for hours at a time. Some lose a sense of time and experience other changes in perception, such as an enhanced sense of touch. Others experience negative effects right away. They may become anxious and agitated. Sweating or chills may occur, and people may feel faint or dizzy.

MDMA can also cause muscle tension, nausea, blurred vision, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Forceful clenching of the teeth can occur, and individuals at clubs have been known to chew on pacifiers to relieve some of the tension.

But it doesn't stop there. Even if a person takes only one pill, the side effects of MDMA—including feelings of sadness, anxiety, depression, and memory difficulties—can last for several days to a week (or longer in people who use MDMA regularly).

Dangers

People who use MDMA can become dehydrated through vigorous activity in a hot environment. It may not seem like a big deal, but when MDMA interferes with the body's ability to regulate its temperature, it can cause dangerous overheating, called hyperthermia. This, in turn, can lead to serious heart and kidney problems—or, rarely, death. MDMA can be extremely dangerous in high doses or when multiple small doses are taken within a short time period to maintain the high. High levels of the drug in the blood stream can increase the risk of seizures and affect the heart's ability to maintain its normal rhythms.

Risks to the Brain

Messages travel through our brains through nerve cells, or neurons. Researchers that study the brain think that MDMA may affect neurons that use serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays a direct role in controlling our mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. Another bit of bad news—researchers have seen memory loss among regular users of MDMA.

Long-Term Effects

We still don’t know whether MDMA causes long-term brain damage in humans, or whether the effects are reversible when someone stops using the drug. A study of animals showed that exposure to high doses of MDMA for 4 days produced brain damage that could still be seen 6 to 7 years later. The good news is that the researchers found that some of the nerve fibers grew back in the same places where the toxic reactions had occurred. But, we still don’t know if these new neurons work like the old ones. It's like cutting off a branch of a fruit tree: The tree is still alive and can sprout a new limb near the site of the cut, but it may not bear as much fruit as the old one.

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This page was last updated in March 2012.