H questions?

[Chaos_In_MyHead]

Can someone explain to me the scientific reason you get so sick from H withdrawal? I am a fairly new IV user and I don't think I had a good teacher or something in regards to many things but I don't understand why you get so sick. Is it dopamine and serotonin or something like that? I wasn't informed about using a new needle every time and my veins are already unusable in less than a year of using. Do they ever heal or become useable again??? I am worried if I need an IV really quickly it wouldn't happen I am beyond frustrated to be where I am at and have no idea how to maintain or to go through the stages of withdrawal. I think I could very much be a high functioning H addict. It's just too expensive. Or maybe I am lying to myself. I mean at some point I have to kick again and I do have some sub the doc gave me but it still renders me useless for the minimum of three days up to 10.. I just always think of Trainspotting when he takes a trip into the toilet. Pretty much sums up my feelings. Thank you and sorry If I was supposed to post somewhere else.

 

[MeAnddTheMoon]

Hey there- Opiate/oid withdrawals are caused by the effects of the drug on the reward center in your brain. When you use an opiate, your brain releases large amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This reward system exists in order to keep us alive, by rewarding the performance of certain necessary tasks (such as eating) that keep us alive. Through repeated use, your brain starts to expect this release of dopamine, and when it does not come, your body will go into overdrive. As far as your veins are concerned, scarring and vein collapse is an unfortunate but common issue amongst IV drug users. I had small veins to begin with, and over time injecting myself became a nightmare. My veins xollapsed, they would not rise to the surface anymore, they developed lots of scar tissue, and it became near impossible for either I or medical professionals to hit a vein. It has been 2.5 years since I stopped using , and I have noticed that my veins have improved. Where old veins were scarred or collapsed, it appears that newer but smaller veins have grown over the same areas. While I can tell there is still scar tissue, it really does appear to me that my vascular system, albeit slowly, is repairing itself. It is best to not keep hitting the same area over and over again, and heat can help make veins pop up better (such as sitting in a warm bath or cranking the AC) .

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Extended use of opioids causes a phenomenon known as receptor desensitization. I'll try to keep it relatively simple, but opioid receptors are G-protein coupled receptor, and their activation results in downstream signaling that causes the pleasant opioid "high", but it also causes beta-arrestin recruitment to the intracellular portion of the receptor. Beta-arrestin reduces receptor activity and signals for receptor internalization. Your body is employing a broad range of biochemical regulatory mechanisms to adjust to the unusual influx of opioids. When you cease using opioids, your body has to adjust to the new, relative lack of opioid signaling. To my knowledge, the specific molecular mechanisms for opioid tolerance are a matter of debate.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I think you can delve very deeply into the systems of the body that are effected by Opioid use, but I've always left it as "Every action, has an equal and opposite reaction".