Misc Cotton fever like symptoms (question)

[crzydiamond]

First, let me start off by saying I have used heroin and cocaine IV on and off over a 22 yr stretch.

Let me also say I have experienced "cotton fever" before : the awful, uncontrollable shivering/shaking while feeling like your skin is on fire but you can't get warm. The ice pick headache. The extreme thirst ... etc. ( experienced it with cotton that was sterile also, so I understand it's more like an invader/bacteria in the bloodstream that causes it)

* I have not used drugs ( other than methadone as prescribed) in around 3.5 yrs.
* I have not IV'd anything in that amount of time (@ 3 1/2 yrs)



Now here is my problem/ question : tonight after work I had a " cotton fever" attack. Same symptoms. Maybe a tiny little bit less severe than IV cotton fever. But for like an hour I shivered and was shaking and forced myself to get up for a drink and ibuprofen as that was my only successful remedy in the past


The only odd thing tonight was I had a piece of filling fall out of a tooth, and it was definitely open to the gum-- I could feel it.
I imagine what happened was I got bacteria into the blood stream? Any other theories?

Yeah that was dumb--I touched it without washing my hands (they had been washed maybe an hour ago; not outwardly dirty )



SO--has anyone ever had this happen when it wasn't due to
IV? I was so freaked out at first honestly. Til it felt familiar and I knew it would pass. Still scary and I had my phone next to me in case I needed an ambulance.


I'm fine now, extra thirsty and my face is a bit warm.

I'm just interested if others had a similar experience. I can't exactly call up people from work and ask ...

 

[d1nach]

I am shivering right now causing shaking making this kinda hard to type. After judging my pupils to be in a state of strong constriction I considered it to be excess parasympathetic activity so I put on a jacket and went under the covers after taking some strong sympathetics (diphenhydramine 50 mg per 60 min max 250mg in blood at one time roughly equating to 0.25 mg mg per kg IV max 1.25 mg kg IV equivalent 2.5 mg per kg orally over 8 hours-12hours minus (0.5*total dph in previous 8-12 hours + 0.25* total dph in previous hours of 16-24) and caffeine up to 10 mg per kg orally as fast acting and amphetamine xr not exceeding 0.5 mg per kg .

I had shaking from nicotine not heroin as high doses strongly activate the parasympathetic nervous system making you shake from being unable to regulate temperature.

This is not medical advice I'm just some 21 year old kid. If u take too much heroin where u shiver go to the hospital and they can watch ur vitals and give u drugs iv. Shivering is a sign something is wrong and your at risk of serious injury.

 

[crzydiamond]

Lol but that's the thing... I didn't take any heroin. Or any drug. Didn't IV anything. And had a cotton fever episode

Oh, and I'm normal now, had work and I'm home and all is normal.

Hope you're ok... you're saying you were on an opiate high and you felt
your pupils were overly constricted, so then you took a bunch of stuff that does the opposite (enlarges pupils) and then got major chills/shaking as a reaction?
I've never had anything like that. Of course I'd notice very tiny pupils but I never did anything to balance. THere were times I would IV coke also and pupils would go back and forth. But that was more to do with having an inability to stop cocaine IV once I start. (If I leave it alone I'm good. If I do it once I'll keep going on weeks long nonstop binges. I learned to leave that one alone)


Anyway hope you're ok

I'm fine today. I was just a bit freaked out last night. Having cotton fever when IVing is one thing. Having it when you've been clean is quite another!

 

[Joseole82]

There are definite signs/symptoms a cotton fever episode is coming and the dead giveaway is the cold sensation and uncontrollable shaking. However I learned a long time ago that if you hop in a hot bath or hot shower and let the hot water run over you warming you up it will stop the symptoms from getting very bad and if you stay in bath/shower long enough when you get out after hot water runs out you will be just fine again and wont experience the most intense symptoms of the dreaded fever..

 

[courtweaver1226]

I am in no way a professional but, from experience and some knowledge you didn't have cotton fever you just had a quick rising fever from tooth infection. The reaction our body goes through from cotton fever is due to the fact that technically our fever is rapidly increasing in front of our eyes. Hope this helps and please still do research. This is only an educated guess.

 

[EastCoast]

I experienced cotton fever only once, and I had no clue to what was going on until a friend came over to get high and I was freezing shaking and had the worst nauseouiating headache , and my boy was the one to tell me ur not getting sick u have cotton fever after he asked how long as it been since IV'd
LOL good times smh

but yeah I have to agree w/ courtweaver1226, I'm no MD myself but I'm almost positive u got an infection break out of bacteria from ur gum, I had an infection in my mouth Years ago, and it came with a bad headache and was very cold, but was not really shaking like I did with cotton fever, with my teeth clapping against each other lol

 

[Shaleh]

CrazyD,

Is it possible you could have a tooth abcess/infection instead of cotton fever?

I've had cotton fever twice, last summer...pure misery. It was trashy dope, tho. I always use sterile techniques, which made it weird.

 

[crzydiamond]

Oh it very easily could have been an infection from the tooth. It just really freaked me out when it happened, as it was EXACTLY like when I used to get cotton fever. Having been through it before, it's got its own special footprint, so to speak

I have not had any issues since that. I did also have some low grade body aches that week, so it is also possible my body was fighting off a flu or something. But it was kind of scary in middle of night when you're not even using. And the only people who would ever understand what I mean by feeling "exactly like cotton fever" are people who have IV'd. So this board seemed the best place to ask if anyone ever had it happen when *not* using

But thank you for the input