Like any drug, how it affects you depends on you, what mood you’re in, your sex, your weight, how you’re body reacts to things. With ‘E’ the effects also depend on how strong the pill is and what’s in it. An average pill takes about 20 minutes to an hour to start working and when it does the effects are best described in three stages.

1. Coming Up- You may feel some of the following a bit sick, very hot, have a stiff jaw, tight muscles and a rush leaving you gasping for breathe. Your heart will beat faster; your eyes will have problems focusing, which can lead to confusion and panic. For first time users this can be frightening and someone experienced should look out for them as it can affect the whole trip. It lasts for about 5-20 minutes till you reach the next stage.
2. The Plateau- This is when you feel the stimulant effects of ‘E’ for about 4-6 hours. You’re more active, alert, awake and feel full of energy and have a strong interest in all the people around you. However it’s not the ‘E’ actually giving you energy, it’s merely stimulating you and you’re using up your energy reserves to act this way. It also gives you the feeling everything and everybody is fantastic because it releases Serotonin in your brain, Serotonin causes this mood and is chemical that is released when you’re in love, hence why ‘E’ is sometimes called the ‘love drug’
3. Coming Down- After the plateau, you will feel absolutely shattered, especially if you’ve been dancing. Depression may also set in due to 'E' depleting your Serotonin levels. It’s a very unpleasant experience that can either happen very quickly or take absolutely hours to get over.

Many users think that because of their increased energy, confidence and alertness tasks like driving are not a problem. Well although it doesn’t affect you like alcohol, ecstasy make you take more risks and makes accidents more likely. So taking a taxi is a much better idea.

Most of the problems associated with ‘E’ aren’t due to the random stuff that can turn up in the pills but the MDMA itself. No one is quite sure what the long term effects are and what they will be, so in a way users are like ‘guinea pigs’ for future generations. Drugs we take to heal are tested before used, ‘E’ hasn’t! So any of the following have happened and my happen but no ones knows the full long lasting effects yet.

As it’s a stimulant ‘E’ will make the heartbeat faster and should be avoided if you have heart problems, but only one person in the UK has died due to heart failure because of ecstasy. It has also been associated with kidney and liver problems, fits, headaches, unexplained pain, depleted immune systems, organ damage, eating disorders, plus the possibility of brain of damage and severe depression due to lack of Serotonin.

Not only that but bad trips can leave you in a fragile state as they make you anxious, confused, panicked and give you insomnia, hallucinations and even psychosis.

Where to get help:

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Read:

Puffing the Ganj... Guide to Cannabis

Pills and Powders... Cocaine and Crack

Pills and Powders... Heroin

Pills and Powders... Amphetamines

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Prescription Drugs... Downers

Legal Drugs… Poppers, GBH and Steroids

Caffeine What It Is And What It Does

The Truth About Solvents