Opioids are Opiates lost when performing a cold water extraction?

My question is how much opiate is lost during a CWE. Because i feel like it's alot. I barely get a buzz when doing a CWE compared to popping them.

my procedure:

1) crush up pills to a fine powder
2) pour powder into 3oz luke warm water.
3) Stir 3 min. or so.
4) put in freezer until really cold.
5) get a coffee filter, wet the filter and filter the water and substance through the coffee filter.

I do push the water through it doesnt seem to make a difference either way really. if there is still some APAP remaining in the glass that can be filter I just filter again

end product= fairly cloudy water, taste pretty bitter and a ball of sludge in the filter.

I crush up 4-5 10/325 pills at a time. I do this like 3 times a day, aside from taking 4 regular a day also through-out the day. I take so much through CWE cause idont feel it that much and I feel like im wasting my pills. Am i doing something wrong? or are opiates getting lost? I researched and seen answers such as, just redo the process on the access sludge etc. ive done it doesnt make a differnence and I also get left over with less APAP. I dont like that. Does anyone really know? than kyou.

thats always the result I have and the water seems to have a sparkle to it if i remember correctly but its been awhile since my last cwe and lastly do you squeeze the coffee filter? when done or leave it how it is? Because thats always made a huge difference for me weather or not if actually makes a difference I'm not sure

Cold water extraction will generally completely extract all the common opioids. For hydrocodone bitartrate, Aldrich says it has a solubility of 60 mg/mL which means that for every 10/325 pill you only need about 0.2mL of water per pill... probably a little more to make it an amount you can actually work with. If you use something like 2-3 mL per pill you will ensure maximum extraction.

The key thing to doing a good cold water extraction are: ensure your pills are finely powdered before you add water to them, and use ice-cold water (e.g. make a mixture of ice and water, let it sit in your freezer for a bit, then pour the really cold water off the ice and use that. To ensure you get the maximum recovery, make sure to rinse the filter two or three times with ice cold water - you will get the maximum amount of opioid out while minimizing the other stuff like APAP.

A strong bitter taste in the liquid is good; opioids are quite bitter in liquid form.

I think that it's simply common sense that a CWE will result in a certain amount of opiate loss. Any procedure requiring multiple steps and filtering essentially all but precludes 100% yield. Even expert chemists can't do it with high level equipment. It probably depends mostly on your technique and whether or not you wash the filter as was pointed out above. Keep in mind that I'm just completely guessing here, but I would imagine that you would likely lose at least 5-10% of the original opiate concentration at the very least, assuming perfect technique.

Personally I despise CWE's. I had to do it all the time for years when available and suffering from terrible withdrawals. However I find that for stronger pills like lortabs or percs, you're better off simply swallowing them as long as you don't have to consume a ridiculous amount of APAP in the process. The only time I found it absolutely necessary was with Tylenol 1's (8 mg codeine, 15 mg caffeine and 30 mg APAP) however even with a perfect extraction, the sheer amount of caffeine remaining in solution made me very jittery and nauseated and pretty much countered any effect from the codeine. This is especially true when withdrawing from strong opioids (codeine will never work very well in that case, even if pure). Then there were times my filters kept puncturing and I had to refilter over and over, it tastes so bad it's making me slightly sick even now just remembering it, and you need to usually be somewhere alone so nobody sees you hammering pills. Not worth it at all, IMO. If you're desperate enough from withdrawal to do anything to mitigate it, there are other easy and legal ways to do so. Personally, my favorite is poppy seed tea; go to the cheapest grocery store or bulk food store you can, find seeds that are least washed as possible and then do your rinse (guides all over the place). If you have good seeds, I guarantee you will get MUCH higher than you would from a CWE - sans caffeine or dangerous levels of APAP contamination. It's very important you start off with a small amount however, if you are unfamiliar with your seed strength. People HAVE died this way.

Failing that, high dose Imodium takes away nearly 100% of withdrawal symptoms. I was amazed how well it works when I first tried it. My point is, there are really NO situations in which a CWE is worth it or makes you feel very good. I suppose if you have a huge Perc or Vicodin habit and can't safely swallow enough without APAP danger, that would qualify. Otherwise don't bother.

One tip: using a simple tight woven button down cotton shirt as a filter seems to work MUCH better than a coffee filter. Waste should always be below 5% with a solid procedure; definitely worth the potential ruin to your liver.