Be On Guard: Recognizing Symptoms of Being Roofied and Preventing Drink Spiking

If you don’t receive a consent form to sign before starting treatment, ask for one. “I want to say to survivors that this is not your fault,” Ashley Slay, SARP assistant director of interpersonal violence prevention, shared in BU Today. The hospitals nearest to campus include Boston Medical Center on the Medical Campus, St. Elizabeth’s in Brighton, Brigham and Women’s in Longwood, and Beth Israel Deaconess in Longwood. Cambridge hospitals include Cambridge Health Alliance in Inman Square and Mount Auburn Hospital in West Cambridge. For additional peace of mind, you can always purchase reusable cup covers (like these Nightcap scrunchies) to take with you on nights out.

Psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD, explains what roofies are, how to spot them in action and what to do if you or somebody you know is drugged. These substances are particularly dangerous when combined with alcohol, increasing the risk of overdose, unconsciousness, and assault. These substances are sometimes used to incapacitate a victim, making them vulnerable to sexual assault. The only sure way to tell if you have been roofied is by seeking medical help and getting tested for any drugs in your system.

Rohypnol also makes it harder to think clearly or make decisions, which can put users in dangerous situations. It also slows breathing, which can be dangerous or even fatal, especially if combined with alcohol or other sedatives. Sometimes, a bitter or salty taste to your drink can be a sign that someone has added something to your drink without your consent. It is also important to go out with people you trust and ensure everyone looks out for each other. Other people abuse Rohypnol as a way to get “high” or combine it with alcohol to become highly intoxicated, which can be very dangerous. Once intoxication sets in—roughly minutes after ingestion—a person will pass out and remain unconscious for at least a few hours.

Be On Guard: Recognizing Symptoms of Being Roofied and Preventing Drink Spiking

• It works by slowing down brain activity, which can cause extreme sedation, memory loss, and confusion.
• These effects can last for several hours, leaving the individual vulnerable during that time.
• Certain drugs can be used to render a person unconscious, unable to resist physical contact, and even to make them violently ill or die.
• Rohypnol is tasteless and odorless, which makes it very difficult to detect.

This is one of the reasons why it is so important to get help from someone you trust and to get to a safe space if you have been roofied. If you have been roofied, you should have someone trustworthy with you throughout the night to make sure you are okay. Roofies can also cause a person to become incapacitated, which can put them in very dangerous situations. If you think you or a friend has been spiked, it is important to call the police or go to the hospital. Other benzodiazepines and date rape drugs can also show up on a blood test panel.

“It’s scary how fast you can be drugged unknowingly, even when you think you’re being alert and aware of your surroundings,” she said. Also, try to save the beverage you were drinking; it could potentially be tested to see what you were drugged with. “These drugs can also dull your sense of hearing, making it more difficult to know what is happening around you or what is being said to you,” she explained.

More About Live Free Recovery

Drink spiking can occur within seconds, so it is essential to be observant and careful any time you are out drinking. Since it can be so hard to tell if a drink has been roofied, it is important to keep your own drinks close to you when you are going out and to not accept drinks from strangers. Other commonly used street names of Rohypnol include roche, ruffied, ruffles, and forget-me drug. Detection of Rohypnol is possible up to 60 hours after the drug is ingested. A roofie is a central nervous system depressant that, much like the prescription medicine Valium (diazepam), slows down the brain and relaxes the body. The important difference is that a roofie is much stronger than Valium.

Rohypnol is a date rape drug that gave spiking the nickname roofieing. It’s one of the brand names for a group of benzodiazepines symptoms of being drugged at a bar called flunitrazepams, known for their ability to treat severe insomnia. The effects of GHB can kick in within 10 minutes and last for up to 7 hours. The drug can be detected in saliva 6 hours after it’s first taken, while a blood test can show its presence 8 hours after the fact.

• Roofies usually don’t have a taste, which can make it difficult to tell if a drug may have slipped into your drink.
• The only sure way to tell if you have been roofied is by seeking medical help and getting tested for any drugs in your system.
• Victims also experience disorientation, difficulty focusing and concentrating, loss of muscle control, the sensation of paralysis and a feeling of extreme drunkenness.
• This rapid progression of symptoms, including disorientation, slurred speech, nausea, visual disturbances, and muscle weakness, is consistent with the effects of a fast-acting sedative or hypnotic drug.
• While alcohol can cause sleepiness, the level of sedation from drugs like Rohypnol is much more intense, often leading to complete unconsciousness for several hours.

The timeline highlights the speed at which these symptoms can develop, emphasizing the need for immediate medical attention in such cases. A mental health provider can not only support you in the weeks and months following your assault, but they can also help you begin to find peace again after a traumatic event. Know that you will get through this, and there are people out there who want to help you heal and feel like your best self again. Symptoms of being roofied can be confused with the feelings of being drunk, but the lack of proper judgment and loss of concentration usually worsen over time.

What Is a Roofie?

Yes, some people describe the feeling after being roofied as an extreme hangover. The length of time a roofie can stay in y our system depends on the type of drug used to spike the drink. If you think you may have been roofied, it is best to get medical attention as soon as you can to make sure you are okay and to get tests as soon as possible. A date rape panel drug test can test for substances like GHB, ketamine, and different benzodiazepines like Rohypnol. Its effects, like sedation and memory loss, usually last 6 to 12 hours.

Once taken, roofie drugs can cause effects that put someone in danger very quickly. It is also important to seek medical help, especially since you don’t know what you have been given and how your body may react to it. This is why it is so essential to pay close attention to drinks and to never let a stranger have access to the drink for even short periods of time.

GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy or scoop, is a tasteless and odorless white pill, powder or colorless liquid that can quickly dissolve in a drink. The drug is a depressant that, when taken, produces a sedative effect that slows your bodily functions and lowers your defenses. GHB can also make you black out and forget what happens while under its influence. But there are protective measures you, your friends and the places you go can take to (1) reduce the likelihood of being dosed and (2) feel more confident when you’re out on the town.

What Are Other Names for Roofied?

However, when a person is roofied, they likely only had 1 or 2 drinks and don’t remember very much after that point until they have woken up. If you suspect that your drink has been spiked, let someone know immediately and get somewhere safe with people you trust. It is also important to notify workers or managers if you are in a club or bar so that they can take proper action.

Getting involved with therapy and support groups can help victims recover faster and more fully from the trauma of their experience. If someone has been roofied, they should get medical care to be monitored to make sure they are okay. The half-life of a drug refers to the amount of time it takes for the active substance of a drug in your body to reduce by half. Going to a hospital can help ensure a person gets proper care and monitoring to make sure they are safe. It does this by increasing the effects of a chemical called GABA, which makes you feel very relaxed and sleepy.

The aftereffects of being roofied can be similar to a bad hangover. Victims may experience headaches, muscle aches, sensitivity to light, and an upset stomach. Survivors who were raped or assaulted may feel sore or experience a sense that they have had sexual intercourse. GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) is a central nervous system depressant that is sometimes prescribed to treat narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.

Get them to a Safe Place

In blood, it can be found for about a day, and in urine for a few days. Often, a person who has been roofied doesn’t remember what happened to them. Roofies usually don’t have a taste, which can make it difficult to tell if a drug may have slipped into your drink. “Roofies” contain Rohypnol or other common date-rape drugs such as gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) or ketamine. If you believe you’ve been roofied, it’s important to seek help immediately.

Victims may experience nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal symptoms. These effects can occur suddenly and with little warning, differentiating them from the slower onset of alcohol-related nausea. Drugs used to roofie individuals significantly impair motor skills. Victims often experience difficulty walking, an inability to stand and a sense of heavy limbs.