Effects on your body may include:

• your heart beats faster
• your blood pressure rises
• your body temperature rises
• you sweat more
• your body loses moisture (dehydration)
• you grind your teeth or clench your jaw
• you feel sick in the stomach (nausea).

Large amounts
If you take a large amount of ecstasy you might:

• see, smell, hear or feel things that are not there (have hallucinations)
• feel as though you are floating
• behave strangely – do or say things you normally would not
• have a fit
• vomit.

There is some evidence that you can have a ‘hangover’ effect after the effects of ecstasy have worn off. Symptoms of this include:

• not being hungry
• sleep problems
• feeling depressed
• muscle aches
• finding it hard to concentrate.

Longer term effects
Not much is known about the effects of using ecstasy often for a long time. Long term effects may include damage to some of the body’s major organs (liver, heart, brain).

If you use ecstasy often for a long time you may also develop a ‘tolerance’ to the drug.

Tolerance means that you must take more of the drug to get the same effects you used to have with smaller amounts. It appears that the more ecstasy you use, the more unpleasant effects and fewer pleasant effects you feel.

Overdose and bad reactions
Overdose of ecstasy, or a bad reaction to ecstasy, can happen to anyone.
When a person overdoses, it may cause:

• very high blood pressure
• fast heartbeat
• very high body temperature.

Some people have died after having a very bad reaction to ecstasy. These deaths are often caused by the body overheating and losing moisture (dehydrating). To prevent dehydration it is important to keep sipping water.

Doctors recommend that you drink 500ml per hour if you are moving around (eg dancing), and 250ml per hour if you are not moving around.