Cocaine Percentage Chance of Accidental Overdose (Sudden Cardiac Arrest)

[allaround1]

Hi all, I know I've read similar threads to this one but I suppose I wanted to see if there were any answers to a more specific question. My question isn't one of "how much cocaine is safe to take," as my research has led me to the answer of "none." I am interested in attempting to roughly calculate the risk inherent for an individual snorting small amounts of cocaine. Specifically, I usually stick to about 20-30 mg bumps with cocaine of average purity (50-60 percent), and 10-20 mg bumps for cocaine of high purity (~80 percent). I stick to about one of these per hour, sometimes two an hour, but never more than that.

Also, a few years ago, I used to use weekly for about six months in higher amounts than this (200-300 mg/night, once or twice a week) but was able to drop the habit. Now that I have gotten out of the habit, I find it much easier to do small amounts and be content with simply the energy provided, and am no longer chasing the intense euphoria that originally attracted me.

Now I have read reports of a woman who died from 20 mg administered medically, but I suspect there was some underlying heart condition or an allergic reaction responsible. From what I have read, coca leaf tea or chewing coca leaves usually provides about 5 mg of cocaine per cup/mouthful, so I would think it rare that anyone would experience adverse reactions from anything under 20-30 mg/hour (pure).

I have been doing a lot of research lately, attempting to discern if I was at any measurable risk staying to these small amounts, and I came across this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2967031/?tool=pubmed

I realize that the sample size number of addicts is pretty small, but it says the the risk of mortality for the cocaine addicts they selected was only 1% over ten years, which led me to believe my habit was not all that bad, considering addicts would be using much more than I am and also much more frequently. Then I read news articles like this one: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...k-cocaine-addicts-feel-perfectly-healthy.html, and they freak me out a bit, as I have a tendency towards hypochondria. I am also aware that most of the product I've ever had has probably had levamisole in it, but from what I understand, the risk for the "chemically-induced AIDS" type symptoms it can cause is mostly a concern for binge users.

My main question is, can anyone give me a rough idea of the percentage chance of suffering Sudden Cardiac Arrest/seizures/heart attack/stroke (any serious complications) from using cocaine once every two weeks in the amounts described above? Assuming there are no underlying heart defects/genetic predisposition to an overdose, and assuming the cuts are harmless. Also, I'm a 24 year old male, if that information helps. I guesstimated that it would be less than 1%, but I am unsure if this is simply wishful thinking. Since I hate feeling the pull of the drug, I stick to low doses as stated above, about 20-30 mg per hour, and I usually re-dose the next hour, sometimes for about 2-3 hours after the initial dose. Even if you can't give me a rough estimate, I would be grateful for whatever information or advice you have. Thanks!

 

[sekio]

It's impossible to tell.

The cuts in cocaine in general are never harmless. Stuff like phenacetin and levamisole can shut your immune system off if you overdo it....

 

[Whosajiggawaaa]

Is this restricted to the U.S and UK ? Cos I've never heard of any cases of levamisole in Africa. Then again there'd be less reporting here.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Depends if you're sensitive to stimulants........I am.sensitive to stimulants big time & a 10mg line of coca of good quality will have you right while it will have me tweaking & paranoid.

Stimulants for some is not good. The woman that died from it could have been super sensitive to coca.

Have a friend that could snort it like I drank water, it was insane & his gf was the same way. Its not for everyone.......just be careful because you can go broke snorting that garbage.

Forgot to mention the garbage that coca is cut with.......coca is a terrible drug!

 

[Screaming_Skull]

Ya, it is a terrible drug. I've only had good coke one time in my life(maybe twice.) Last time I did it I got half a gram and it was gone in like 2 hours...I'm one of the ones that can do line after line(sometimes wonder if this comes from when I would abuse my Focalin in my early twenties, a 40mg line of that would have me goin for 2 hours then redose,bottle gone in 2-3days). And last time I did coke at a party it was horrible, got a terrible headache, was vomiting, had someone Screaming at me for I'ving pills after they locked themselves in the bathroom and did all the coke...I dunno, it just makes me feel sick, unless it's semi-decent/good, which is rare. If I do uppers I much prefer amphetimens(adderal, meth, vvynase, dexedrine). Coke just sucks for me for some reason and gives me the most awful comedowns, while I never get any of this from different amphetimines...but not much of an upper person anyway thank god, enjoy my sleep & food, plus I'm already an anxoius person, so I really do not like to use any kind of uppers for fun unless I have a small dose of benzo's around to get rid of that...

 

[allaround1]

Thanks for the feedback. Like I mentioned earlier, used to have a bit of a weekly problem with it but it seems to have mostly dissipated. My friends, however, still love to do coke so I usually end up doing small amounts whenever they have it. They haven't slowed down one bit, in fact, they seem to be doing more than when I had my "love affair" with the drug. They also drink and smoke cigarettes with it, but rarely do you find anyone doing coke without alcohol and tobacco.

I don't think I'm overly sensitive to stimulants unless I really overdo it, although my tolerance is definitely lower than some of my friends. If I'm going to take adderall or dexedrine, I usually stick to about 20 mg. Anything over that seems to send me into a sleepless nightmare, if taken past 2 PM. While I thoroughly enjoy dexedrine, I prefer cocaine at night because I am able to sleep afterwards, and don't require benzos for the comedown.

However, there have been a few times where I've found my heart racing after doing blow; these events happened a few years ago during the honeymoon phase. This happened to me maybe 3 or 4 times, and ever since I have been careful to limit my intake of substances as the feeling of your heart pounding out of your chest is not a fun one, not to mention the anxiety that comes with it. Not sure if that means I'm sensitive to stimulants or not, but these were relatively large lines mixed with alcohol and tobacco for the most part. I've only gotten really good blow twice, maybe three times (about 80 percent), and one of those freak outs was from railing 100 mg of fish scale. Big mistake.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Yeah, been there with really good coca & if you do too much, you can freak out.

Alcohol & cigs go hand in hand with coca & I'm not even a drinker & CIG smoker. Although its been over 11 years since I've tried any, I always needed a bottle of wine to level me off.

It was like a seesaw, back & fourth between it & a half glass of wine.

A great movie about coca to watch is "Bright Lights, Big City" starring Michael J. Fox as a serious coke head. Shows you the ups & downs of that lifestyle as a user.

As for the chest pounding do hard, I hated that the worst & stopped taking it for that reason. Thankfully only did it like a handful of times while I know people that did it for several years daily.

I tell young people now a days to stay clear away from coca, its just a very nasty drug!

 

[allaround1]

I have mixed feelings about it, but I am certainly averse to the larger amounts I used to sniff. I feel like the small amounts I do now are relatively safe, but like everyone has said, it's very hard to know. I mostly try and stay away from it and it sounds lame but when other people are doing it I want to as well. I have no desire to use it alone or in excess, though.

As to Whosajiggawaaa's question, 70%+ of all cocaine that enters the U.S. is cut with levamisole at the source, usually in Colombia, so I don't imagine that would excuse African coke from being tainted, but it's hard to tell. It would depend on the source country/supplier.