Fairly Urgent - Extreme Edema (Swelling, Water Retention) In Legs Due to Opiate Use

[Fornax55]

Note - wasn't sure where to post this so I x-posted it in both here and OD. Hopefully a mod can make a better decision for me and merge the two threads? Thanks!!


Hey, so I'm writing this post (legit) on behalf of my friend. I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. The dope around here seems to be causing edema, a buildup of fluid in the body. I did a lot of research when I had it and concluded that it wasmostly caused by nodding out/falling asleep in weird positions, as well as standing for most of the time, combined with circulatory and respiratory issues caused by stimulant and opiate use.

so my friend's going through the same thing but his is about ten times worse than mine since he actually lives on the street and wasn't able to just drop his dosage down, get a few good night's rest with his legs elevated, and slam dandelion tinctures and other diuretics (although I will be passing on the rest of my diuretics to him).

I think he's a bit psychotic or paranoid at the moment and refuses to go to the hospital at the moment for reasons I won't bother getting into here. Rest assured I have tried relentlessly to convince him to go.

So far I've just prescribed him with as many diuretics as I can, told him to drop his dosage as much as possible, try and find somewhere to sleep where he won't get robbed so he can put his feet up, and to stay more hydrated so the kidneys work properly.

Anyone else have anything else that might help? It's getting so bad that he can barely get in and out of my car. This is a pretty big, buff, burly type of guy and I had to leave him sitting in the car to come write this because the effort involved in getting out reduced him to whimpering and tears. <---just bolded that because it's the reason that I added "Fairly Urgent" to the title.

Also it should be noted that there's some serious pressure buildup; he claimed last time he went to the hospital when they used a needle on one of his swollen legs, the pressure backfired into the needle and caused it to break. He says he feels like a balloon that's about to explode. I hate seeing people in pain, someone please help me help him.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Disruption of hydrodynamic flow in the body is a recurring physiological theme in sudden death. Nobody here is a doctor. The only thing I can think of is getting some salt and other electrolytes/nutrients in him to prevent possible hyponatremia or other... but this is obviously only biding time and NOT a solution.

If this water pressure gets into the brain they will die or have permanent brain damage, and as soon as his other organs are full that's the only place it can go.

Hospital /doctor only reasonable option here.

I feel like you understand how dire this situation is, you gotta get your buddy to the doctor, call 911 if you have to but they might be pissed, but at least they won't die.

Maybe offer him drugs if he goes to the doctor first? I dunno :/ ... maybe even TAKE his drugs unless he goes?

is your friend urinating properly? even if he is, this doesn't necessarily mean he's urinating out the extra water which is absorbed into his cells and organs.

If he is appearing delusional or paranoid this might be a sign the water is swelling his brain and he can't think right!

You gotta do what you gotta do to save your friends life.

 

[fastandbulbous]

Just to restate the above post. It could be insoluble shit, used to cut smack that's causing it, or the development of clots, preventing veinous return. Either way, the usual treatment would be heparin & diuretics (and I seriously doubt you'd find heparin anywhere other than a hospital).
He may be a pissed off friend, for getting him into hospital, but at least he'd still be here...

 

[deficiT]

OD ------> H&R

Note - wasn't sure where to post this so I x-posted it in both here and OD. Hopefully a mod can make a better decision for me and merge the two threads? Thanks!!


Hey, so I'm writing this post (legit) on behalf of my friend. I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. The dope around here seems to be causing edema, a buildup of fluid in the body. I did a lot of research when I had it and concluded that it wasmostly caused by nodding out/falling asleep in weird positions, as well as standing for most of the time, combined with circulatory and respiratory issues caused by stimulant and opiate use.

so my friend's going through the same thing but his is about ten times worse than mine since he actually lives on the street and wasn't able to just drop his dosage down, get a few good night's rest with his legs elevated, and slam dandelion tinctures and other diuretics (although I will be passing on the rest of my diuretics to him).

I think he's a bit psychotic or paranoid at the moment and refuses to go to the hospital at the moment for reasons I won't bother getting into here. Rest assured I have tried relentlessly to convince him to go.

So far I've just prescribed him with as many diuretics as I can, told him to drop his dosage as much as possible, try and find somewhere to sleep where he won't get robbed so he can put his feet up, and to stay more hydrated so the kidneys work properly.

Anyone else have anything else that might help? It's getting so bad that he can barely get in and out of my car. This is a pretty big, buff, burly type of guy and I had to leave him sitting in the car to come write this because the effort involved in getting out reduced him to whimpering and tears. <---just bolded that because it's the reason that I added "Fairly Urgent" to the title.

Also it should be noted that there's some serious pressure buildup; he claimed last time he went to the hospital when they used a needle on one of his swollen legs, the pressure backfired into the needle and caused it to break. He says he feels like a balloon that's about to explode. I hate seeing people in pain, someone please help me help him.

Next time, just post it in one place and let the mods move it to where it needs to go, instead of posting it twice.

But I've cleaned it up and moved it to the forum I believe to be most closely related.

 

[mr peabody]

Urge your friend to get seen right away. His condition may well be life threatening.

 

[Synaps3]

Disruption of hydrodynamic flow in the body is a recurring physiological theme in sudden death. Nobody here is a doctor. The only thing I can think of is getting some salt and other electrolytes/nutrients in him to prevent possible hyponatremia or other... but this is obviously only biding time and NOT a solution.

If this water pressure gets into the brain they will die or have permanent brain damage, and as soon as his other organs are full that's the only place it can go.

Considering that I can't seem to post new threads right now, I decided to respond here with my issue even though it's not so extreme as the OP's problem.

Anyway, the last couple years I've been having these pressure headaches that seem to be related to my opioid use (hydromorphone). They actually started when I was using kratom everyday for years, so I switched to hydromorphone and they got better temporarily, but now they are the same again. I've finally figured out that they probably have something to do with my kidneys and fluid retention.
Here's what happens: Once I dose my opioid, I no longer pee for 6-8 hours no matter how much I drink. (Sometimes I pee a tiny amount.) My veins start to pop out a lot. I start looking like a body builder even though my muscles aren't that big and the pressure in my head gets stronger. Then later on (usually in the night), I pee a ton and then when I wake up, I pee a ton again. After that, I'm good until I dose again and the same thing happens.
It hasn't gotten any better or worse for the last year or so, I've just finally made the connection and think I now understand what's causing my head pressure and veins popping out.

I really don't want to see a doctor unless absolutely necessary. I don't have any edema at all. It seems like the excess fluid is staying in my circulatory system.

What's going on here? I'm I having kidney disease? I don't notice any other symptoms. It seems like the opioid clogs up my kidneys temporarily.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

@Synaps3 opioids release vasopressin which causes fluid retention. May not be kidney related.

I have a similar issue with alcohol. In the past when I drank I would urinate, a lot, as one would expect.

But after so many years of alcoholism, now when I drink I hardly urinate at all. My veins also pop out and I'm bloated. I typically drink like 2 liters if water (literally) with the alcohol as well. I do not urinate at all while drinking. I'll wake up maybe once or twice during the night, but only urinate a tiny pathetic amount. It's not until about 12-14 hours after my last drink that I start urinating-- a lot, and the water is released.

Alcohol causes both kidney stress/damage and fluid retention. Considering alcohol is a diuretic, I think my kidneys are beat up. When I quit drinking I lose about 10 lbs of water weight within a week.

Kratom has always acted as a diuretic for me. Makes me pee like crazy for 6 hours after dosing. Kratom gives me headaches as well sometimes, pretty bad ones, but I'm not entirely sure why yet.

(Also, thread creation has been temporarily disabled for everyone, the site has been attacked by a network of spam bots in the last few days.)