Lean Drinkers: Understanding Risks and Recovery Paths

A mixture called lean is becoming popular amongst young people today. Made popular through social media and music, it’s perceived as a harmless alternative to drugs. But behind its trendy appearance is a combination of prescription-grade medications and several lean drug risks that few know about. This guide explores more.

What Is Lean?

Lean is a homemade drink that mixes prescription-strength cough syrup with a soft drink, usually lemon-flavoured fizzy drinks, and hard-boiled sweets. While it might appear to be a semi-harmless drink, cough syrup contains two active ingredients to be wary of:

• Codeine: A mild opioid that’s used to treat pain and suppress severe coughing
• Promethazine: An antihistamine with sedative properties commonly used to treat allergies, nausea and motion sickness.

Despite its colourful look and casual framing in pop culture, lean is unregulated and potentially potent and has the ability to cause serious harm.

Why People Drink Lean

People don’t typically choose to drink lean because they want to harm themselves. Instead, it’s a combination of the below:

• Social trends and media influence: Online groups have normalised the drink which has created curiosity among a younger crowd. More music artists and certain influencers have also begun speaking about the drink in their content.
• Relaxation and stress relief: The combination of an opioid and an antihistamine produces a feeling of euphoria, physical relaxation and heaviness. Some people find this effect appealing to combat stress, anxiety and depression.
• Perceived safety: Because the ingredients are available over-the-counter, many people wrongly assume lean is safer than traditional street drugs and alcohol. However, the drink comes with many risks.
• Escapism: Lean can be used as a coping mechanism for managing social anxiety, depression, stress and trauma. It is said to relax the mind and body, and the name lean even comes from the body leaning over.

The Health Risks of Drinking Lean

Lean combines two central nervous system depressants. Together, they create a powerful synergistic effect and amplify each other’s sedative properties. Individually, they have their own potential risks too.

Codeine-related Risks

Codeine is an opioid and regular consumption of it comes with the following risks:

• Dependence: Regular use quickly builds tolerance, which means higher doses are required to achieve the same effect. This quickly leads to severe withdrawal symptoms when someone tries to stop taking the drug.
• Respiratory depression: Opioids slow down the central nervous system which can decrease breathing rates and oxygen levels in the brain.
• Gastrointestinal complications: Chronic opioid use causes severe constipation, bowel blockages and abdominal pain.

Promethazine-related Risks

Promethazine is an antihistamine, but taking high doses of it does bring serious risks including:

• Central nervous system sedation: Promethazine causes severe drowsiness and confusion which can impact coordination and motor skills as well as reaction times.
• Cardiac and neurological strain: Excess use of it can trigger cardiac arrhythmias, rapid heart rate, seizures and hallucinations.
• Anticholinergic toxicity: High doses can cause dry mouth, blurred vision, urinary retention and dangerous spikes in body temperature.

The Risk of Overdose

The most dangerous risk associated with lean is the unpredictable and unregulated nature of its preparation. DIY drinks lack dosing and consistency, and therefore the chance of overdose is high. This is most likely caused by:

• Unmeasured dosing: Pouring directly from the bottle means it’s hard to calculate measurements of active ingredients.
• Purity and counterfeits: Illicitly obtained cough medicine often contains toxic additives or synthetic opioids rather than real codeine.
• Polysubstance misuse: Mixing lean with alcohol, benzodiazepines or other depressants increases the chance of fatal respiratory failure.

Some of the most common signs of an overdose include pinpoint pupils, blue or pale lips, loss of consciousness, and shallow or stopped breathing. An overdose is a medical emergency, so if you are concerned that someone may be experiencing one, get emergency help quickly.

Signs of Lean Addiction

Recognising when casual or experimental use of lean has shifted into dependence or addiction can be challenging. This is because warning signs often change and develop over time. However, some of the red flags to look out for include:

• Frequent lethargy, slurred speech, dropping eyelids, constant itching, unexplained weight changes and frequent constipation.
• Changes in behaviour, more secrecy, neglect of responsibilities and the presence of empty cough syrup bottles.
• Mood swings, heightened anxiety, irritability when the drink is unavailable, emotional detachment and intense cravings to consume the drink.

Recovery Paths for Lean Addiction

Overcoming a lean habit requires a multi-faceted approach. This is because lean combines an opioid and sedative antihistamine and stopping it cold turkey could trigger challenging withdrawal symptoms and a higher rate of relapse. The following strategies can help:

Medically Supervised Detox

The first phase of treatment often involves safely clearing your system of drugs and alcohol. At Asana Lodge, our drug detox offers 24/7 supervision to manage physical withdrawal symptoms and uses non-addictive medications to maintain comfort and safety.

Therapy and Counselling

A range of therapies can help individuals to understand and treat the root cause of their drug use. This includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, relapse prevention education and individual and group therapy.

Aftercare and Relapse Prevention

Long-term recovery relies on sustained support, which is why we offer ongoing outpatient therapy, referrals to support groups and family counselling to help individuals successfully maintain sobriety and reintegrate into daily life.

Contact Asana Lodge

At Asana Lodge, our professional and non-judgemental team is here for you – whether you are concerned about your own use of lean, suspect a loved one may need help, or simply have a question about our services and the treatment available in your area.

If it’s lean advice you’re after, just remember you don’t have to handle it alone, and you don’t need to wait until it gets any worse before getting in touch. Contact the team today for a confidential chat. In doing so, you’re taking that all-important first step towards a healthier lifestyle and just know that our specialists are ready to offer supportive advice.