Teens abusing drugs and alcohol love to feel a sense of euphoria because they want to escape from their realities. Often, they want to relieve pain and relax. Lean is a popular beverage that provides this feeling to its users. What is Lean? Lean, also known as sizzurp, is a mixture of cough syrup and soda.
Young adults drink Lean at parties because it tastes good, makes them relax, and is often mixed with sour gummy worms. However, the side effects of addiction outweigh the immediate feelings young users often feel. If you are concerned that a teen you care about has become addicted, reach out to us about our teen substance treatment programs. Contact Destinations for Teens by calling 877.466.0620.
Drinking Lean and Codeine Addiction
While Lean often makes users feel a sense of relaxation and happiness, those feelings are not long-lasting. Once the euphoria has worn off, users can feel:
- Dizziness
- Slowed heart rate
- Delayed breathing
- Constipation
- Tooth decay
- Weight gain
- Urinary tract infections
- Memory loss
- Hallucinations
- Impaired vision
- Seizures
Over time, abusing codeine can lead to lung infections, sleep disorders, brain damage, and substantial damage to the bowels. In addition, codeine addiction–like other drug addictions–has a strong impact on young adults’ lives. Their ability to achieve academic success while also maintaining healthy relationships often suffers from drug abuse.
How Does Lean Affect the Body?
Cough syrup contains codeine, which gets broken down into morphine when it reaches the liver. Like any opioid, Lean is highly addictive for many people due to its ability to relieve pain and provide a sense of euphoria.
When the codeine in cough syrup becomes morphine, this chemical binds to nerves that sense pain, blocking that pain signal. Morphine also releases chemicals that present a rush of euphoria. When it’s combined with other drugs that prevent the breakdown of feel-good chemicals, that euphoria is amplified. Morphine also binds into the brainstem, controlling your breathing. When oxygen is low in the blood, the brainstem will send the body to breathe deeper and faster to replace oxygen. Drinking enough cough syrup–especially when it’s mixed with other psychoactive chemicals–will cause your body to forget to breathe.
How Long Do Effects of Codeine Last?
Lean gets its name from the user’s loss of balance, which is similar to the behavior of heroin and opioid users. The effects of drinking Lean will appear about an hour after taking the first drink and may last for up to six hours afterward.
Like other opioids, the user will quickly develop a dependency on the drug and an increased tolerance. This means a user must drink more and more to obtain the feeling they desire. In the meantime, the person’s health is being compromised by drinking it. Breathing rates become shallow and slow. The entire body will suffer from reduced oxygen intake, including the brain. Once breathing stops and the brain is no longer receiving life-sustaining oxygen, it only takes six minutes for a person to be declared braindead. A person can quickly go from the occasional drinking of Lean to a daily habit to severe medical consequences, including coma or death in just a few years.
Why is Lean Addiction So Dangerous?
Lean is so dangerous because of the extremely high levels of codeine found in the mixture. People drinking Lean are consuming up to 25 times more codeine than the prescribed dosage recommends. And, the withdrawal from codeine can be complicated, especially during the first two days. Abusers may require Medication-assisted detox and treatment to deal with the effects of withdrawal, which include insomnia, muscle aches, agitation, and anxiety.
How Can Codeine Addiction Treatment Help Your Teen?
If you realize that your teen is using Lean or other drugs, they need help. Destinations for Teens offers excellent treatment programs for teens addressing the following issues:
- Substance abuse
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma
In particular, our codeine addiction treatment program will provide comprehensive support to teens struggling with substance abuse. Our staff of professionals is experienced in working with teenagers to understand the struggles that many adolescents face. Helping young people find tools to cope with stressors in life such as peer pressure, home life, and academic achievement will help them become focused and ready to heal from substance abuse.
Destinations for Teens: California’s Premier Substance Abuse Treatment
Destinations for Teens offers treatment for teens ages 13 and older struggling with substance use and behavioral health issues. Residential addiction treatment provides the support and structure necessary for teens to detox from Lean in a non-hospital setting. We offer a range of therapies that are proven to modify behavior and maladaptive behaviors. These include family therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
Destinations for Teens can also help those that wish to remain home during treatment. Our intensive outpatient programs are tailored to those who are working or attending school. We support all our clients in developing the coping skills necessary to live a clean and sober lifestyle and prevent relapsing. Contact us at 877.466.0620 to learn more.
