Cocaine From a medical standpoint, what occurrs in the body after IV coke use?

[FayeHarderway]

I've searched online for a study or research paper that might explain what occurs in the body when we shoot up coke? Most users are aware of the common risks and side effects (fucked up veins, easy to OD, etc), but I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of damage to organs, increased risks of other health issues down the line like cancer maybe, stuff like that.
Would be great to hear from a medical professional that has patients dealing with IV coke related issues.

 

[G_Chem]

Pretty sure heart problems being the main health issue to watch for…. The numbing effect it has on your local sinus area isn’t so kind on the heart. I get the impression that while every ROA is bad in this regard, IV takes the cake for heart damage.

@Deru i believe has dealt with IV cocaine related health issues. Hopefully they’ll chime in at some point if they’ve been around lately.

I had a friend die from a cocaine overdose but he’d also had multiple open heart surgeries to fix his heart all while shooting and smoking the stuff any chance he could. His overdose was likely a heart related death.

Not sure there will be a medical professional on here with such niche experience, but I could be wrong.

-GC

 

[FayeHarderway]

Pretty sure heart problems being the main health issue to watch for…. The numbing effect it has on your local sinus area isn’t so kind on the heart. I get the impression that while every ROA is bad in this regard, IV takes the cake for heart damage.

@Deru i believe has dealt with IV cocaine related health issues. Hopefully they’ll chime in at some point if they’ve been around lately.

I had a friend die from a cocaine overdose but he’d also had multiple open heart surgeries to fix his heart all while shooand smoking the stuff any chance he could. His overdose was likely a heart related death.

Not sure there will be a medical professional on here with such niche experience, but I could be wrong.

-GC

Damn, sorry to hear about your friend bro.

 

[G_Chem]

Damn, sorry to hear about your friend bro.

We all make our own choices in life. Thank you tho

-GC

 

[nznity]

I've searched online for a study or research paper that might explain what occurs in the body when we shoot up coke? Most users are aware of the common risks and side effects (fucked up veins, easy to OD, etc), but I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of damage to organs, increased risks of other health issues down the line like cancer maybe, stuff like that.
Would be great to hear from a medical professional that has patients dealing with IV coke related issues.

It literally corrodes everything It touches due to vasoconstriction and since you're putting It up your bloodstream.....it destroys practically everything(your veins, fucks up your circulation, líver lesions, I've infected my right kidney before doing this, bad seizures, but the worst part is taken by your heart. I've abused crack,iv coke slot and smoke shit load of tobacco. All of this will take it's toll sooner or later, my life expectancy is pretty low tbh. Rn dunno if I'll reach 40, lived too fast. Hope u ppl don't fuck up like I did.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Lots of really bad s***. Severe Vasoconstriction, tachycardia, and arrhythmia are probably the worst sequelae.

Those lead to stroke and cardiac arrest.

 

[Deru]

I’m not so sure the actual route of administration itself (in a sterile environment with controlled variables) is worse than smoking crack or sniffing cocaine. As a matter of fact, I’d say crack in this very narrowly defined scope is probably the worst ROA if you’re writing this for a research paper and are controlling for those variables

In reality though, the vasoconstriction makes the veins incredibly hard to hit after the first shot. And the obsessive need to continue to redose creates this horrible environment where riskier and riskier behavior starts with looking for more and more veins as the major ones start to collapse. The veins blow, collapse, eventually you start digging for deep veins. Accidental arterial shots are common and with the numbing effect of the cocaine the pain doesn’t register immediately. This creates an insane cluster fuck in the hands as the capillaries are clogged. Missed shots leads to abscesses. Desperation leads to unsafe techniques. Eventually the body loses the fight and bacteria hits the blood stream. At this point, blood infections, endocarditis, sepsis are possible.

I had three tricuspid valves replaced with open heart surgery cause I just couldn’t stop. Pacemaker for the rest of my life. Chronic venous insufficiency from all the damage to venous and lymphatic system. Venous ulcers you wouldn’t believe how painful they are because of that. I honestly to this day sometimes don’t even know how I managed my way out.

 

[nznity]

I’m not so sure the actual route of administration itself (in a sterile environment with controlled variables) is worse than smoking crack or sniffing cocaine. As a matter of fact, I’d say crack in this very narrowly defined scope is probably the worst ROA if you’re writing this for a research paper and are controlling for those variables

In reality though, the vasoconstriction makes the veins incredibly hard to hit after the first shot. And the obsessive need to continue to redose creates this horrible environment where riskier and riskier behavior starts with looking for more and more veins as the major ones start to collapse. The veins blow, collapse, eventually you start digging for deep veins. Accidental arterial shots are common and with the numbing effect of the cocaine the pain doesn’t register immediately. This creates an insane cluster fuck in the hands as the capillaries are clogged. Missed shots leads to abscesses. Desperation leads to unsafe techniques. Eventually the body loses the fight and bacteria hits the blood stream. At this point, blood infections, endocarditis, sepsis are possible.

I had three tricuspid valves replaced with open heart surgery cause I just couldn’t stop. Pacemaker for the rest of my life. Chronic venous insufficiency from all the damage to venous and lymphatic system. Venous ulcers you wouldn’t believe how painful they are because of that. I honestly to this day sometimes don’t even know how I managed my way out.

Man,
It's been years since last time l did a coke shot and I got pain in my joints.
my arms, hands, etc. Go numb when its too cold or just at random times
I've had a few bad infections in my kidneys
My veins are some of them completely destroyed
For a year my heart had this pain after one of my last benders
Back in 2017 i was developing an ulcer in my knee the size of a golf Ball.
After all of these things you'd think I would hate the shit but just thinking about it makes my heart pound to this day.
The rush is unbelievably strong and pretty euphoric BUT SO NOT WORTH IT.
In retrospect, What a fucking shitty way to throw your life away it is.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I’m not so sure the actual route of administration itself (in a sterile environment with controlled variables) is worse than smoking crack or sniffing cocaine. As a matter of fact, I’d say crack in this very narrowly defined scope is probably the worst ROA if you’re writing this for a research paper and are controlling for those variables

In reality though, the vasoconstriction makes the veins incredibly hard to hit after the first shot. And the obsessive need to continue to redose creates this horrible environment where riskier and riskier behavior starts with looking for more and more veins as the major ones start to collapse. The veins blow, collapse, eventually you start digging for deep veins. Accidental arterial shots are common and with the numbing effect of the cocaine the pain doesn’t register immediately. This creates an insane cluster fuck in the hands as the capillaries are clogged. Missed shots leads to abscesses. Desperation leads to unsafe techniques. Eventually the body loses the fight and bacteria hits the blood stream. At this point, blood infections, endocarditis, sepsis are possible.

I had three tricuspid valves replaced with open heart surgery cause I just couldn’t stop. Pacemaker for the rest of my life. Chronic venous insufficiency from all the damage to venous and lymphatic system. Venous ulcers you wouldn’t believe how painful they are because of that. I honestly to this day sometimes don’t even know how I managed my way out.

If you're a dude, your dick probably doesn't work very well anymore either, does it?

 

[paranoid android]

I hadd a seizure from a minor coke od when i shot a 1/3rd of a gram of awesome coke. my heart rate was jacked the fuck up to

 

[spammie nurse]

I’m not so sure the actual route of administration itself (in a sterile environment with controlled variables) is worse than smoking crack or sniffing cocaine. As a matter of fact, I’d say crack in this very narrowly defined scope is probably the worst ROA if you’re writing this for a research paper and are controlling for those variables

In reality though, the vasoconstriction makes the veins incredibly hard to hit after the first shot. And the obsessive need to continue to redose creates this horrible environment where riskier and riskier behavior starts with looking for more and more veins as the major ones start to collapse. The veins blow, collapse, eventually you start digging for deep veins. Accidental arterial shots are common and with the numbing effect of the cocaine the pain doesn’t register immediately. This creates an insane cluster fuck in the hands as the capillaries are clogged. Missed shots leads to abscesses. Desperation leads to unsafe techniques. Eventually the body loses the fight and bacteria hits the blood stream. At this point, blood infections, endocarditis, sepsis are possible.

I had three tricuspid valves replaced with open heart surgery cause I just couldn’t stop. Pacemaker for the rest of my life. Chronic venous insufficiency from all the damage to venous and lymphatic system. Venous ulcers you wouldn’t believe how painful they are because of that. I honestly to this day sometimes don’t even know how I managed my way out.

Not trying to pry, but the nurse in me is curious if your venous stasis ulcers are healed. They are a bitch to heal.

 

[jasperkent]

I have no medical evidence to present but anytime anyone mentions shooting coke I feel compelled to speak up.

Many years ago I had a relatively brief but devastating IV cocaine habit.

I've suffered many addictions: alcohol, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine, opiates/opioids. Oddly, I never had a serious problem when I snorted coke. And I never liked crack-- to me it's overrated.

BUT intravenous cocaine use took me down the fastest and hardest of any other addiction by far. It got really horrible really quick. It's primarily a psychological addiction but it's a very very powerful one-- there's no comparison.

These days I snort a little coke every now and then-- maybe 2 or 3 times a year. But I will NEVER shoot coke again, that's for certain.
Hell, I probably couldn't IV coke even if I wanted to. My veins are all wrecked-- and from a habit that only lasted a little more than a year.

Take it from somebody who loves to get high:
It ain't worth it.

 

[Deru]

If you're a dude, your dick probably doesn't work very well anymore either, does it?

Real talk, for years it didn't work well at all. It's been over two years now and I exercise daily and eat super healthy so can happily report everything is functioning well in that department now. It's absolutely insane how much the body can heal with exercise and proper nutrition. My ejection fraction of my left ventricle is back up to 65% (about as healthy as you can get) which is amazing considering I was in heart failure just a few years ago. Time goes on. The body heals. Life is truly amazing.

 

[Deru]

Not trying to pry, but the nurse in me is curious if your venous stasis ulcers are healed. They are a bitch to heal.

Yeah they did eventually. There is significant scaring on my lower right inner ankle where they were the worst from the saphenous vein leaking really bad. I had my greater saphenous vein removed in right leg which ultimately helped them heal. Two years ago my feet were brown/black and legs were brown from the leakage. They told me it would never change. After exercising pretty heavily 7 days a week for the past two years it's pretty insane the amount of healing that has happened. I'm gaining some color back in my lower legs, and a lot of the ulcers that ran up my legs is getting better but the scarring on that ankle still is the worst. Another interesting thing is for years the scar from the sternotomy never healed from open heart surgery and surgeons all told me if it didn't heal by that point it never would. Today, it's almost completely invisible. It's insane what pumping nutrient filled oxygenated blood into the tissues can do during exercise.

Side note: those damn ulcers were easily more painful that all of my open heart surgeries combined. those things are literally torturous hell

 

[spammie nurse]

Yeah they did eventually. There is significant scaring on my lower right inner ankle where they were the worst from the saphenous vein leaking really bad. I had my greater saphenous vein removed in right leg which ultimately helped them heal. Two years ago my feet were brown/black and legs were brown from the leakage. They told me it would never change. After exercising pretty heavily 7 days a week for the past two years it's pretty insane the amount of healing that has happened. I'm gaining some color back in my lower legs, and a lot of the ulcers that ran up my legs is getting better but the scarring on that ankle still is the worst. Another interesting thing is for years the scar from the sternotomy never healed from open heart surgery and surgeons all told me if it didn't heal by that point it never would. Today, it's almost completely invisible. It's insane what pumping nutrient filled oxygenated blood into the tissues can do during exercise.

Side note: those damn ulcers were easily more painful that all of my open heart surgeries combined. those things are literally torturous hell

It's pretty miraculous that you healed that well. Sounds like yours were severe. And you're right about the pain. Many patients begged for amputations. Stay well my friend.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I agree with @G_Chem

I don't know if we have an actual physician "on staff" here, but we do our very best to pretend like we are.

Everything that happens when Cocaine is insufflated happen at a faster rate when injected and that's pretty much all you need to know. Users often describe the "rush" of injecting Cocaine as being incredibly addictive. The first time I injected Cocaine, I didn't expect much. Well, by the time the Cocaine ran out hours earlier, I was focused on nothing other than getting more Cocaine. I'm not even a habitual user. If you had given me unlimited Cocaine that night, I could easily see myself using it until I died.

The common issue of sinus damage among insufflating users is well-known. When Cocaine is injected, it goes directly into circulation, so it's not as damaging to tissue than had it been sitting around in the sinus for 20 minutes. However, I'm pretty certain it's going to cause tissue damage regardless of the ROA, but I think this risk is actually significantly lower than using the drug via insufflation.

The most obvious risk is cardiovascular. Cocaine by any route is demonstrated to be severely cardiotoxic,. Even folks who quit successively are at much greater risk of cardiovascular problems later in life.

 

[Deru]

Not trying to down play the amazingness and dedication it takes to become an NP, PA, DO or MD, but so many things discussed here are so narrow in scope I'd imagine most of them wouldn't be able to comment in a professional capacity. Their opinions on a lot of these topics would amount to conjecture just like the rest of us. And if you knew some of the NPs and MDs I do...honestly... idk how they made it through medical school beyond having very good resources from good families and support structures to allow them to do it. Some are amazing. Some not so much. Honestly my favorite are all the NPs out there.