ODing on meth - avoiding death?

i *think* i can put this here...
Recently, methylamphetamine has been hitching a ride whenever a few certain close friends and me attend our weekly bout of parties/events etc. So far, so good. Aside from one or two 'minor' incidents of sleep dep and letting our immune systems get a little too depleted, and one trip to the ER prompted by request from a friend suffering a little amphetamine psychosis, nothing has gotten too out of hand yet
But this paticular detour to hospital got me thinking... what if this was actually an overdose that prompted this visit. Meth is not something to be fucked around with on a dosage level, as overdose can apparently [according to erowid] occur at even 50milligrams depending on your metabolism, physiology etc.
So what i'm looking for in this thread is for people to come foward with a series of suggestions for how to act in a suspected meth overdose situation. We're always pretty careful, but it never hurts to be armed with that extra little bit of knowledge should someone decide to fuck up on a life threatening level.
I'm aware a danger does exist in that people may well read this thread, try to enact what is suggested and decide not to contact emergency services because of a false sense of security.
So i would like to be the first to say:
if your friend is unconcious, not breathing, not responding to external stimulus (ie you shouting 'johnny! johnny! wake up! in their ear, and slapping them around a little) or having what looks like an epileptic fit, CALL AN AMBULENCE. the alternative you face is the death of a fellow human being.
that being said though, it's always nice to have that extra bit of info to act upon while waiting for the paramedics.
for example, just to get the ball rolling, the drug naloxone is available to prevent or reverse the affects of opioids. Is there a chemical equivilent out there for amphetamines? a kind of amphetamine antagonist?
thanks in advance fof any contributions/suggestions.
-beeb.

Amphetamines very very VERY rarely cause death. What is usually referred to as an overdose is actually a temporary display of psychosis like symptoms. (Not actually a psychosis, which is usually a more permanent condition) Maybe this wil help you out. It was taken from
Crystal myths: Crystal meth and misinformation In case you'd like to read more, which I strongly suggest you do, click that link.
Myth #1: Speed Kills
This slogan, borrowed from the Department of Transportation, was introduced following the 1968 "Summer of Love" in Haight-Ashbury and is perpetuated to this day. In reality, the only correlation between meth and death is the two words happen to rhyme. A closer look at the raw data from which government agencies like the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration derive their "statistics" reveals the truth.
According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), an office of the US Department of Health, there were 1,206 "mentions" of drug deaths attributable to amphetamines in 40 metropolitan areas in 1999. However, this figure includes individuals with chronic and acute diseases of the heart, kidneys, and liver as well as people who mixed amphetamines with other drugs (usually depressants).
Clearly, one cannot objectively blame amphetamines for the death of individuals who used them hap hazardously with pre-existing conditions any more than one can blame a pin prick for causing the death of a haemophiliac. In addition, those few individuals foolish enough to mix meth with other drugs die from the accumulative effect of the depressant family of drugs, or in rare cases, from the synergistic effect of depressants mixed with stimulants. If one subtracts these cases from the total:
21 people died (representing less than 1% of total drug deaths) as the direct result of using amphetamines in 41 metro areas in 1998 and even these numbers appear suspect when one considers that there were only 43 documented speed related deaths in the entire world in the thirty year period between the end of World War II and 1975.
The Merck Manual, one of the most respected medical publications in the world, reports: "Even massive doses are rarely fatal. Long-term users have reportedly injected as much as 15,000 mg. of amphetamines in 24 hours without observable acute illness.
[ 30 August 2002: Message edited by: SteveElektro ]

Diazepam in an emergency lock-box. Only way to go.

try some research with beta blockers. Basically they help stop the cardio system being 'too much affected' by stimulants...
http://www.bluelight.ru/cgi/ultimatebb1.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=54&t=000382&p=
is one thread I managed to find. I'm on my way out, so not much time I can devote to this at present.
Sorry.. Hope this helps though...

If nothing else is on hand, a decent alcoholic drink or two will rapidly calm a person down 80% in most cases, and is especially useful in panic attacks, especially if nothing else is on hand (you'll usually always be able to find a drink or two around somewhere).
As for an actual OD on amphetamines... that's one way I *don't* want to go. I imagine it would be extremely nasty.
[ 31 August 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]

There is no specific amphetamine antagonist. Anti-psychotic drugs block many of the effects of amphetamines, so once a person is in hospital some haloperidol or droperidol may be used. I don't think paramedics carry anti-psychotics. They have their own side-efects, some of which are serious. Benzodiazepines like diazepam and midazolam may be used to reduce agitation, which can then mean blood pressure and heart rate decreases. They can also halt seizures. All these drugs should only be given by professional. I would discourage anyone from trying to treat a suspected drug overdose themselves.
I don't encourage giving diazepam either, for two reasons. The first is you can cause a paradoxical reaction which is increased agitation. The second is that in an emeregency high dose will probably be needed, anywhere from 20 - 60mg or more.
I strongly discourage the use of beta-blockers, for the reasons I outlined in the thread linked above on this topic.
I don't have time to answer this in the detail I would like now, so I will come back to it. Suffice to say, IMHO the only thing you can do to manage this situation is call an ambulance, or not take so many drugs in the first place that you need treatment. Prevention is better than cure. Here's a link on this topic: Toxicity, Amphetamine. Hopefully a mod can turn up some old threads on this topic, as I know we have covered this before.

From RxList.com - Overdosage Information for Amphetamine
I'm pushed for time, so I can't translate this from medical to english... good luck.

Individual patient response to amphetamines varies widely. While toxic symptoms occasionally occur as an idiosyncrasy at doses as low as 2 mg, they are rare with doses of less than 15 mg; 30 mg can produce severe reactions, yet doses of 400 to 500 mg are not necessarily fatal.
In rats, the oral LD50 of dextroamphetamine sulfate is 96.8 mg/kg.
Symptoms: Manifestations of acute overdosage with amphetamines include restlessness, tremor, hyperreflexia, rapid respiration, confusion, assaultiveness, hallucinations, panic states, hyperpyrexia and rhab domyolysis.
Fatigue and depression usually follow the central stimulation.
Cardiovascular effects include arrhythmias, hypertension or hypotension and circulatory collapse.
Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Fatal poisoning is usually preceded by convulsions and coma.
Treatment: Consult with a Certified Poison Control Center for up to date guidance and advice. Management of acute amphetamine intoxication is largely symptomatic and includes gastric lavage, administration of activated charcoal, administration of a cathartic and sedation Experience with hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis is inadequate to permit recommendation in this regard. Acidification of the urine increases amphetamine excretion, but is believed to increase risk of acute renal failure if myoglobinuria is present. It acute, severe hypertension complicates amphetamine overdosage, administration of intravenous phentolamine has been suggested. However, a gradual drop in blood pressure will usually result when sufficient sedation has been achieved. Chlorpromazine antagonizes the central stimulant effects of amphetamines and can be used to treat amphetamine intoxication.
BigTrancer

Click to expand...

The only first aid I would suggest people use for a suspected toxic amphetamine reaction is the following:
1. Try to get the person to lie down as still as possible. Rationale: some conditions like hyperthermia, rhabdomyolysis are aggravated by activity
2. Provide them with reassurance that they will be fine, that help is on the way. Rationale: this can help them feel less agitated - see number 1
3. If they are over heating, help them remove some outer clothes. Take them outdoors if need be. Fan them to assist cooling, or sponge their face with a cold wet face washer. Rationale: hyperthermia responds to cooling measures like these. Ongoing hyperthermia can lead to other potentially fatal conditions like rhabdomyolysis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, kidney failure, liver failure etc.
And that's it. These measures are completely safe - you will not do any harm by doing these interventions. They could be enough to make a difference though.
Administering medications on the other hand, can exacerbate an already serious medical emergency and should be avoided.
Here is a past thread with some good discussion: Who keeps medications to abort an OD or bad experience?

The only OD I heard of was having a heart attack from a massive whack of meth.
I think it would be hard to do it from snorting or eating it.
But, hey, we're all dif.