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Harm Reduction Micron Filtering Mega Thread and FAQ

I was looking for a quick solution. Would I be able to safely put a drop or 2 of isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide in my heroin/water mixture to sterilize it? Both say for external use only but would just a drop or 2 harm you? When injecting would it burn?

Thanks! :)
 
^Neither of those methods would effectively sterilize your shot.

A quick solution and one that actually works are rarely the same. With the many risks involved in injecting street heroin to begin with, taking a little extra time to reduce that risk as much as possible is worth it.
 
I was looking for a quick solution. Would I be able to safely put a drop or 2 of isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide in my heroin/water mixture to sterilize it? Both say for external use only but would just a drop or 2 harm you? When injecting would it burn?

Thanks! :)

No!!! Isopropanol is toxic to ingest/inject; you need benzyl alcohol.
 
How Long will Solution Stay Sterile In Bacteriostatic Solution

Quick question
If pills are micron filtered and stored in a sterile, sealed vial in bacteriostatic water, how long with this solution remain safe for IV use (kept at room temp)?

I know the bacteriostatic water keeps the solution from having bacteria form, but I assume that it does not do this indefinitely. Does anyone know id such a solution would remain sterile and safe for IV use after 1 month? 2 months?
 
It depends on the preservatives used and whether or not sterile technique was used to prevent contamination after the fact.

I would assume 0.5% benzyl alcohol or whatever would stay good for quite a while if it was at a decent concentration and kept out of harsh conditions.
 
It depends on the preservatives used and whether or not sterile technique was used to prevent contamination after the fact.

I would assume 0.5% benzyl alcohol or whatever would stay good for quite a while if it was at a decent concentration and kept out of harsh conditions.

It's 0.9% benzyl alcohol.

Very sterile technique was used. Solution was passed through a 0.22um micron filter and then injected into a sealed, sterile vial and this vial was kept at room temp.

Given these conditions, how long will the solution likely be safe for injection? Would it keep for several months?
 
I would be more worried about degradation of whatever you're putting in the solution. If you're super worried then I see no reason you can't just boil the solution off and re-prepare it in a month or so.
 
28 days is what Abbott guarantees for their 0.9% benzyl alcohol bacteriostatic water vials. I am sure if you store it in the fridge it could last longer, but there are no guarantees there.

-> Micron Filtering Mega Thread
 
Has anyone had any first hand experience with micron filtering black tar heroin? That stuff is so nasty to IV I'd really like to hear how much micron filtering purifies the consistency?

I'd do it myself, but I'm on Bupe now.
 
Anyone had any in finding and buying micro filters in England, UK? I've googled for them but only found a few on the international ebay site costing an arm and a leg as well as just one or two uk medical supply sites that are far too expensive when you have a limited budget...
 
Anyone had any in finding and buying micro filters in England, UK? I've googled for them but only found a few on the international ebay site costing an arm and a leg as well as just one or two uk medical supply sites that are far too expensive when you have a limited budget...

Sterifilts from exchangesupplies would work nicely, although they only filter out above 5 microns.
 
Hi guys. SWIM has been injecting subutex about .5mg, 8 times a day for right around 4 years now, no breaks. SWIM has been using sterifilts for about 2.5 of those years, and they have treated him well, but he still sees white chalky residue on the table from the filtered solution spilling now and then. Not good.

The amount of starch his body has absorbed/filtered is probably obscene, although he feels no ill effects. Based on the amount of filler left on the sterifilt after mixing, he would guess the sterifilts filter out approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the actual pill.

A few months ago he tried micron filters and decided he didn't want to use them because of the strange taste they added to the solution. He used PALL "Supor" .2 micron 25mm filters. Did anyone else here get a strange taste in the solution from the filters?

Also, he's been looking into making the switch from poland spring bottled water to one of the following substitutes: Bacteriostatic water, bacteriostatic saline (if he can find some), or just using the sterile solution from the included spray bottle of "simply saline" found in any major drugstore chain.

He's willing to drop some coin and get this right. Advice for SWIM?

I'm not familiar with the Pall brand. Maybe someone else can fill you in about them?

I also have no idea how to explain what you are tasting either. I suspect that you should be fine to use it, as long as the micron filter hasn't been compromised at all.

Also - we don't use "SWIM" at Bluelight, please check out the links in my signature. There's also no need to bump a thread, just let us get around to answering when we have time. :)
 
It's 0.9% benzyl alcohol.

Very sterile technique was used. Solution was passed through a 0.22um micron filter and then injected into a sealed, sterile vial and this vial was kept at room temp.

Given these conditions, how long will the solution likely be safe for injection? Would it keep for several months?
Although I have yet to actually try it, one idea I've had to limit both the chemical degradation and biological contamination of a solution prepared for multiple injections would be to freeze it. I figure by setting the vial, less than half full, on its side to freeze maybe the expansion won't crack the glass. This is for substances that dissolve easily and completely, and can be easily redissolved if necessary after the thaw.

BTW, did it turn out to be safe?
 
i buy my benzyl alc separately so i can make my solutions as potent as i want with it, usually 1-2% but im sure if you used a higher percentage, (that is not dangerous,of course) you could keep in the freezer without it freezing. I'm not sure if that is what the post above me is getting at or what, but im sure putting 1ml in a 50ml solution instead of .5ml wouldn't kill you but *would* or *should* maybe* lol keep from freezing.. i will perform a test after my kids go home tomorrow, if i forget.. someone just remind me. Than again thinking about it.. i would be using just water and benzyl alc.. no drugs. So it might yield different results.
 
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micron filtering

I am exploring different options re filtering, such as increase micron size to .45 and I also found these on Amazon which I have yet to try out, but given I am working with d-amp and there is so much filler, the .22 filters just didn't work for me....this available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FMYDRY
a 5 ML .45 micron filter syringe, with uses the same principle of the luer lock and screw on filters, but I hope will be more effective.
I will update this thread re results. I am also looking at a stericup set up with a hand vacuum as another alternative...
 
I am exploring different options re filtering, such as increase micron size to .45 and I also found these on Amazon which I have yet to try out, but given I am working with d-amp and there is so much filler, the .22 filters just didn't work for me....this available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FMYDRY
a 5 ML .45 micron filter syringe, with uses the same principle of the luer lock and screw on filters, but I hope will be more effective.
I will update this thread re results. I am also looking at a stericup set up with a hand vacuum as another alternative...

Yeah I would strongly recommend a larger pore size if 0.22um by itself isn't cutting it.

The 0.22um filters without a pre-filter built in are probably going to be less effective than the Whatman brand with a pre-filter built in.

They do make 5um, 1um, 0.8um, 0.45um, and 0.22um (as well as 0.1um for the Pall brand) so I would look into the brand of tablets you have, then check the Inactive Ingredients A to Z thread, this will help you figure out the inactive ingredients and their particle sizes.
 
amanitadine,
This is the way I have used suboxone for a long time now...months maybe total of a couple years on and off. (Iv'd some and would prefer this, but veins are shot from years ago) I have had NO adverse effects to date and it's very effective and painless. I used Subutex for 3 months as it was all I could find and could not tell any difference. Hope this helps! Use BS sterile water 90% of the time too. I have had to use boiled distilled water a few times and it's worked but I was concerned about the safety. Tap water hurts the muscle like crap, no telling whats in it. Dont use it!! -Jaz
 
Micron Filtering Suboxone Film Strips

Here's the results and pictures of me micron filtering some Suboxone film strips. In the guide I created, there are 6 steps. The first three pictures are of step 3, and the last is of step 6.
NSFW:
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The results of micron filtering three 8mg Suboxone film strips with a 0.22um Whatman brand PVDF micron filter with GF pre-filter.

It seemed to take ever-so-slightly longer to dissolve in water than the pills. The main difference aside of this was that the strips stuck to the plunger. They eventually detached as they absorbed fully. You can see in the third image that the film strip is doing this because we had it upside down (in the picture it's being held horizontally; I rotated this image to the right 50° so you could see it better), and in this last picture, you can see how much clearer the micron filtered solution is, at an equi-potent concentration compared to a pictures of a vial of Suboxone tablets.

Despite this, the micron filter was just about to clog right as I finished micron filtering just three strips. I don't exactly know why as of right now, but because of whatever concentration of inactive ingredients in the strips, they seem to be no better at being filtered the tablets.

I assume that cotton filtering could help, since I do not cotton filter when micron filtering. When I cotton filtered Suboxone tablets, and cotton filtered, I have gotten as many as 6 to 7 tablets to fit across the one filter (I haven't done this recently and cannot guarantee this is the truth). As I have not cotton filtered and then micron filtered the strips, I cannot tell how many will be able to fit past one filter as of right now - but without cotton filtering first, the answer is three 8mg strips.

My conclusions:

I would not inject a Suboxone film strip without a micron filter.
Micron filtering Suboxone film strips works very well. I believe they (R&B) realized what a colossal failure the Suboxone tablet was in terms of junkies actually believing the lies they perpetrated about Suboxone tablets causing withdrawal being injected (whereas other doctors who told the lie suggested any route of administration other than sublingual would cause withdrawal), so they decided to at least make a formulation that could be filtered slightly better.

I haven't done a full in-depth conclusive examination of the Suboxone film strip to make sure it's safe. The solution appears to be *ever so slightly* colored, whereas there is no question the Suboxone tablet micron filtered solution pictured in the first post of this thread is obviously colored orange to a large degree. However, my gut instincts about what little research I have done is that it should be safe if, and only if, you use a micron filter.

And finally, yes, I have tried this solution out, and the effects are identical to tablets. I am happier with the strips as I do micron filter. :)
 
I was able to fit 8 strips through a filter without a cotton, but with huge resistance once I got to the bottom. It didn't break but I felt like it was about to. I also noticed a ton of stuff left in the filter, and felt mixed emotions about it. On one hand, it was good to know that I was keeping all that leftover nonsense out of my veins, but on the other hand, I felt like filtering that many at once caused a lot of product to go to waste.

And you are certainly right, it takes a mighty vigorous shaking to get it all mixed up, especially with it sticking to the plunger and the sides
 
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