Heroin Why does snorting heroin last so much longer than IV?

I know it all goes into the blood stream right away so it can therefore also be eliminated more quickly. But when you snort, it seems to get into the blood stream pretty quick too, like within a few minutes. So how come when I IV, I am sick after 12 hours but when I snort it takes me 20 hours to get sick? That is a big difference.

I also thought I would mention the implications of this because they happen to serve the interests of harm reduction.

Basically, it's a misconception that snorting heroin wastes it. Obviously it is less efficient than IV but if we're talking in terms of IV vs nasal use over time, nasal is cheaper. When you IV, your body will compensate for the more efficient ROA and your tolerance will rise to meet it and then, because it doesn't last as long you will need to shoot up more often than you had to sniff and so you will end up spending more money and going through more heroin using IV than if you just sniff it.

The high from sniffing is also stronger in my opinion, it's heavier and I am more likely to nod and to nod for a while. When I IV, I seldom ever nod for long. It starts wearing off too quickly. The late blueligher, robatussin used to tell me he preferred the high from sniffing to IV and I totally understand why.

Having said all that though, I still use heroin pretty much exclusively IV because of the rush. I got addicted to the rush. But aside from that rush (and the drip) snorting is better in every way, unless you want it to wear off quick if you need to be sober for something. So if you are a nasal user (or you just feel like you can live without the rush) just stick to snorting. It's actually better.

Maybe enough gets stuck in your nasal cavity and is gradually released into your bloodstream to stave off the WD for 8 more hours?

I've come across a write-up on some research that had been done comparing heroin's absorption rate based upon the route of administration. They found that those who snort heroin experience not one but two peaks in plasma concentration. (I'm probably not using the right terminology right now, but what I'm trying to say is that the concentration of morphine, what heroin metabolizes into, peaks not once but twice in the user who snorts his or her heroin as opposed to just once in those who IV.) The first spike is observed shortly after the dose is taken, and the second spike is observed I believe an hour or so later.

The reason, researches speculate, is because the user who snorts heroin will inevitably swallow an amount, and so that bit of heroin is absorbed much, much more slowly. So, in other words, when you sniff heroin... a certain amount is absorbed almost immediately through the mucus membranes in the nose, and later, the amount that you've swallowed will be absorbed into the blood stream.

It makes sense to me, but I've never banged dope and I don't plan to, not because I look down on those who do shoot up, but because it's just not something that I think I can handle. I think the rush is what I would enjoy more than anything, and I'd like to stay away from it if I can. I like snorting dope, anyway, and I don't care what anyone else has to say about it. I've come to enjoy the taste, and I never have to worry about missing a vein. I hit the mark each and every time, right in the ol' shnozz!

That's right. Absorption rate affects duration. Smoking and iv'ing being the shortest, with oral generally leading to the longest duration.

I don't know if I really believe there is that drastic of a difference, before I injected heroin and still sniffed it, the high didn't last that much longer after I started to get a habit. I also don't really think one roa in the end is anymore economical either.

Ive never done heroin myself but do know someone that has done it & I asked her this exact question of which method lasts longer..........she said snorting heroin has always lasted longer for her & if I was thinking of ever doing heroin, to just stick with snorting............

I hate needles anyway & just can not see sticking myself with a needle 5 or 6 times a day........thats just me tho.............

phrozen said:

That's right. Absorption rate affects duration. Smoking and iv'ing being the shortest, with oral generally leading to the longest duration.

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This is pretty much what I was going to type. Cool, don't need to.
Oral heroin is honestly my favorite, but currently heroin costs too much.

phrozen said:

That's right. Absorption rate affects duration. Smoking and iv'ing being the shortest, with oral generally leading to the longest duration.

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Correct.

But in the end I think it all evens out, because if your sniffing heroin, your going to have to do a lot more dope to keep that duration long and not be sick whereas if you shoot it, you'll get sick quicker but use less dope per shot, but have to shoot more often.

i find though that the increase in tolerance leads to me buying and using far more when shooting only.

i highly recommend mixing k with h (if you can get it/enjoy k) for maximum cost effectiveness when snorting it. i dont really like IV'ing that mixture.

Znegative said:

...because if your sniffing heroin, your going to have to do a lot more dope to keep that duration long and not be sick...

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Well, not exactly. In my experience, when I do get sick, which isn't very often, blowing just one bag will do the trick. It won't get me high exactly, but it will take away the sickness.

Although I do have to sniff quite a bit of dope to get high whereas I'm sure I could cut my dose in half if not by more if I were to shoot it. (I need to sniff 4 or 5 bags to get high.)

There is no doubt that the rate of absorption is playing some role here, but I think it may be more indirect than the last amount of the heroin enters the blood stream later so it leaves the blood stream later. Does it really take 2+ hours for all the heroin to be absorbed from the nasal passage?

Besides, even if I blow my nose after snorting something, the duration of effect will still be much, much longer than if I had smoked it.

I think what may be having an affect here besides plasma levels, is rapid tolerance. I think the quick infusion of large amounts of drugs into the system exerts a much more dramatic effect on the receptor systems involved, leading to the bodies rebound effect being much quicker and stronger than it would have been otherwise. The same reason(on top of the dose-response curve) why a large does in the morning can make it where you don't feel your dose later on, or that if you wait 24 hours before dosing you feel it much more.

verso said:

Well, not exactly. In my experience, when I do get sick, which isn't very often, blowing just one bag will do the trick. It won't get me high exactly, but it will take away the sickness.

Although I do have to sniff quite a bit of dope to get high whereas I'm sure I could cut my dose in half if not by more if I were to shoot it. (I need to sniff 4 or 5 bags to get high.)

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Right, but how long does that one bag keep you straight for? Sorry at this point it's just my curiosity speaking, not trying to sound like a dick, I just havn't sniffed dope in a long time.

As far as tolerance, I feel that tolerance builds slower personally for me when I shoot it. For some reason when I sniffed dope I would have to keep doing way larger amounts to achieve a buzz, but when I shoot it, 2-3 bags will get me feeling pretty good for a long time, when I've had a habit I would be able to maintain on probably six bags a day to stay straight all though I usually did a whole bundle, though it was unnecesairy

My friend used to be an IV user of heroin and i always snorted heroin. He's snorted it before and I've injected it before, but I've always liked and preferred snorting it (more so because its a lot easier to prepare and not a big needle fan etc.). Anyways, when he was a full on addict hooked on it, he needed to shoot up every 4 or 5 hours or so otherwise he'd starting getting sick. For me it was different. I would wake up in the morning, sniff 3 bags and then do it again in the night and i'd be completely fine in between. So YES it does effect duration as noted before. Ive done this comparison on my own with my friend and I.

not sure about this part... (no disrespect though)

DexterMeth said:

This is pretty much what I was going to type. Cool, don't need to.
Oral heroin is honestly my favorite, but currently heroin costs too much.

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I'd have to respectfully disagree. Although, it also depends on the area you live in, which is why I "respectfully" disagree.

As a 15 year addict (whose recently celebrated his 3yr anniversary being clean), Heroin has become the cheapest alterntive to a garenteed high that's stronger than any hydro/oxy/roxicodone.

Where I'm from, in Broome County, NY, the follow list is the typical steps & costs before becoming addicted to H for a much cheaper price (depending on how the H was cut by different dealers)...

<no price discussion>
At this point, unless your financially capable and prefer Roxi's or Opana's, this is usually the point where people I know become curious about H.

Bags of H, depending on the dealer, sell for $-each (while some dealers prefer to sell 3 bags for $50 until the user buys more, eventually lowering the price to $15 per bag)... and then Bundles (of 10 bags) sell for $- to $- (reducing the price per bag to $- to $-).

This is why H tends to become to prefered alternative because of how much cheaper a quick High off 1 bag can be for $- versus the same (or about the same) high from a $40 Opana or $50+ worth of Roxi's, you see what I'm saying?

NOTE:
I'm aware of the fact that painkillers tend to sell for approx. $1 per MG in major cities and areas where painkiller use is at epidemic levels. So, consider me and my friends lucky that we're grateful to have such cheap prices, lol.



But anyways, that's basically why I resorted to H. I've always been good with my money, thankfully, but when I realized how many 10's of thousands of dollars I've spent on drugs over the years, I was absolutely disgusted and even more disappointed, and THAT ALONE helped me quit drugs all together (except for weed, God bless those plants!!)

I hope that all of you involved in this forum/discussion who are current users, and potential users, that you DONT eVER have to resort to H anymore, because it will be the biggest mistake you'll ever make the moment you discover the new form of high it provides you. And unless you have more determination and motivation than anyone can imagine, you're going to be hooked for life!

I also need to quote something another user said... just thought this was brilliant:

May 30, 2005:
"if you can exercise moderation in your recreational drug use, then your method of ingestion doesn't really matter."

^^ lol sorry man but u were getting burned bad. Bundles sell where i live for $-

I get a bundle for no pricesa pop. My main dealer doesn't sell single bags to anyone but me but he has always hooked me up until today. Normally he would front be a bundle at a time if I needed it, I only had 30 dollars today trying to get a bundle and for the first time ever he said no. I'm going into a IOP program tomorrow, can't take anything after 8pm tonight, sicker then I've ever been and have to use today so I test dirty tomorrow. Ive always paid him back that night/next morning and he knows I'm trying to go to rehab so he won't front me. He is scared he will lose money if I get clean. Please I urge everyone still using to try and get help. I understand stand the apeal of H but the risks far out weight the dangers. I just lost 4 close friends to H and they used less then I do. Its not only dangerous to me but it's tearing my family apart. I've been using off and on for 2 years now due to a bad car accident and I don't have insurance so like most people I turned to H so I could continue my normal living/working. The dealers only care about the money. I don't care who it is. I thought this guy was my friend but he isn't. None of them are. Back to the topic, I've snorted, smoked and shoot H. I don't find shooting to be very effective cuz the rush is short (if I get one) most of the time I miss some/all and I need to use more shooting then I do snorting. I can get by snorting about 5-6 bags a day if I space then out enough. But shooting in need 10-20 bags a day. Be safe everyone and please get help before its too late!

I've never shot. Only sniff and I literally can sniff a bag and start feeling the need like 3 hours later so when I read ppl saying twice a day they r good etc! Omg I wish. That's how it is when I took pills. Pills are way stronger then dope in my opinion and I'd prefer to stay on then but they r more expensive!!! A morphine pill I could take one or two in the morning and one or two at night and be good but I need like a bundle a day almost in a 24hr period.

Alright, this is an old thread, and as someone that's done heroin for a number of years, I can say with a good amount of authority that if there is any difference in duration between IV and insufflated heroin, it is pretty negligible. That being said, I don't think one is more economical than the other, tolerance builds up relatively fast with both. If you do enough heroin to be high, it doesn't matter if you shoot it or snort it, you'll be high, for almost the exact same amount of time.

With all that said, I'm going to close this.