So I have made an unusual discovery over the past few years, one that I've been unable to come up with an explanation for. Basically it's this I'm a long time heroin addict tho I occasionally dabble with other substances. I had a short period a while back where I used methamphetamine for 3-4 days straight binges n then wouldn't do them again for months. Well during these binges I encountered a very unusual side effect. I noticed that after 2bor 3 days of methamphetamine use with little sleep that my tolerance to heroin dropped dramatically. Where I might normally use 3 or 4 bags and barely catch a nod if I used on day 3 of using amphetamines I would only have to use 1 bag and even just this 1 bag would have me utterly tore up. Borderline overdose. At first I took it as a fluke caused by my lack of sleep and poor nutrition during the days of using the stimulant. But over the years this would repeat every time, in some cases dangerously in that doses even i considered miniscule would just have me floored. Another related effect I noticed is that when using methamphetamine I would simply forget that I had to take an opioid to prevent withdrawal. The meth would not conceal the symptoms of WD but flat out increase the amount of time I could go before WD started to kick in and then when I used my tolerance would be unbelievably low.
So here's my best hypothesis. Tolerance and withdrawal are intimately tied together. So it makes sense if it lowered my tolerance that means my physical dependence at least temporarily was lower than usual. My first thought was simply that the lack of sleep and nutrition has weakened my system to where I'm affected much more strongly by the opioid, it makes sense but I still feel there's a lot more going on. Next I started thinking that perhaps the increased metabolism might speed up the receptor upregulation and so they would be replaced faster than normal so when I used I would be using with a receptor load that I haven't had in a long time since my tolerance was low. I keep thinking that there must be some pharmacological action in the brain that for some reason increases the number of opioid receptors that are expressed on the neurons in the synapses. If my understanding is correct the higher the number of opioid receptors expressed on the surface of the neuron the lower the dose of an opioid is required to elicit an effect. Or perhaps there is some other mechanism im unaware of that's causing this effect.
Anyways I decided to come here where there are people much more knowledgeable in the actions of receptors and how they're up/down regulated and the effect on tolerance. I can state 2 things that are absolutely true. 1- methamphetamine does somewhat alleviate opioid withdrawal as counterintuitive as that may sound.
2-using methamphetamine for 72hrs, not necessarily nonstop or in large doses lowers my tolerance to opioid by a staggering 75%+.
Can anyone provide any insight as to why this may be? I've spent a great deal of time on Google scholar as well as medical journals trying to find anything related to this with no success. If there is some previously unforeseen action taking place here then it may lead to some beneficial uses such as a new way to quickly lower opioid tolerance as well as perhaps make the withdrawal a much less painful experience. Thank you.
So here's my best hypothesis. Tolerance and withdrawal are intimately tied together. So it makes sense if it lowered my tolerance that means my physical dependence at least temporarily was lower than usual. My first thought was simply that the lack of sleep and nutrition has weakened my system to where I'm affected much more strongly by the opioid, it makes sense but I still feel there's a lot more going on. Next I started thinking that perhaps the increased metabolism might speed up the receptor upregulation and so they would be replaced faster than normal so when I used I would be using with a receptor load that I haven't had in a long time since my tolerance was low. I keep thinking that there must be some pharmacological action in the brain that for some reason increases the number of opioid receptors that are expressed on the neurons in the synapses. If my understanding is correct the higher the number of opioid receptors expressed on the surface of the neuron the lower the dose of an opioid is required to elicit an effect. Or perhaps there is some other mechanism im unaware of that's causing this effect.
Anyways I decided to come here where there are people much more knowledgeable in the actions of receptors and how they're up/down regulated and the effect on tolerance. I can state 2 things that are absolutely true. 1- methamphetamine does somewhat alleviate opioid withdrawal as counterintuitive as that may sound.
2-using methamphetamine for 72hrs, not necessarily nonstop or in large doses lowers my tolerance to opioid by a staggering 75%+.
Can anyone provide any insight as to why this may be? I've spent a great deal of time on Google scholar as well as medical journals trying to find anything related to this with no success. If there is some previously unforeseen action taking place here then it may lead to some beneficial uses such as a new way to quickly lower opioid tolerance as well as perhaps make the withdrawal a much less painful experience. Thank you.
