What is typically NOT a symptom of opioid overdose?

Excessive energy and alertness is not characteristic of an opioid overdose. Opioids are sedative substances that primarily act on the central nervous system to depress brain activity. Therefore, an individual experiencing an overdose is likely to present with symptoms such as extreme drowsiness, which indicates sedation, slow or difficult breathing, a hallmark of severe respiratory depression associated with opioid toxicity, and unresponsiveness, where the individual may not react to stimuli. These effects are due to opioids binding to specific receptors in the brain that can lead to pronounced sedation and respiratory depression, resulting in the symptoms associated with overdose.