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Heroin brain damage after heavy nod?

B

burn out

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 11, 2006
Messages
7,925
I did some heroin a couple days ago and it was very potent and my tolerance was low and it put me on a heavy nod. I was concerned because I was not wanting to be that high but I did not seem to be having any serious trouble breathing so I thought I would be ok. I eventually went to sleep, although I stayed awake at least a couple of hours after the shot to make sure I did not get any higher. However, when I woke up the next day I felt like I'd suffered brain damage. I feel foggy headed, poor memory, difficulty concentrating and the general sorts of feelings I usually get when I've damaged my brain.

I'm trying to figure out what the hell happened. Is it possible I stopped breathing during the night and suffered brain damage? Or could the shallow breathing of being on a heavy nod have caused me to get so little oxygen I suffered brain damage?

In prior times of doing too much heroin, I was not conscious and just woke up on the floor hours later but had no problems with brain damage at all. I don't understand why this time I stayed conscious but ended up with brain damage.

I am really concerned about this because I already have major brain damage from a serious benzodiazepine addiction, my memory and cognition were already barely acceptable I really can't afford anymore brain damage at this point.

I have done a little research and it sounds like in most cases this kind of damage resolves itself naturally? Is this true? Has anyone had anything like this happen?
 
Remain sober and allow your body to heal, which after reading these forums it almost definite will. The benzo "brain damage" you describe is common and from what I've read by other users goes away after 6-12 months of sobriety.
 
yeah mine didn't go away, it got a lot better but my memory has never even gotten close to what it was before benzos and i have other issues still as well. Its been way more than 12 months.

anyway, appreciate your response hope youre right that i will heal i am still trying to understand why this happened though if its just lack of oxygen or what.
 
Have you considered it could just be anxiety from withdrawal? You say you have a previous benzo addiction, and I know mine caused a permanent increase in my anxiety. I always felt shitty and out of it the day after doing heroin, regardless of ROA or frequency of use.

Heroin causes brain damage every single time it's shot up because it causes anemia (blood cells cannot take up as much oxygen, even if your lungs are taking in the same amount), not just because of the shallow breathing.

The brain is incredibly elastic, so it'll probably get better over time, but it's best not to take any more chances.
 
no its not anxiety, i don't feel anxious. i didnt know blood cells couldnt take up as much oxygen, maybe thats what happened combined with shallow breathing. i wont be taking anymore chances.

ive been intending to stick to the plant drugs. they dont cause me issues like this. shrooms actually seem to repair my brain and if if I am not better by next week I will definitely be taking some.
 
here is how i feel basically if i am riding my bike down the street i will suddenly feel like "wait, what's going on? What am I doing? then I will realize, oh I am riding my bike down the street" these momentary lapses are potentially dangerous and i have not experienced this before
 
"wait, what's going on? What am I doing? then I will realize, oh I am riding my bike down the street"
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This could easily turn into
"wait, what's going on? what am I doing?" Then waking up in a hospital saying, "Where am I?"
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To answer your question, unless you had an OD and not breathing for a few minutes or more, I doubt any brain damage would ocurr. The potential brain damage doesn't ocurr from the drug itself, it's derived from the lack of oxygen. If you're truly concerned about it, cease use.


- Hopeless Soul
 
ive already ceased use. are you sure you cant have brain damage if you dont stop breathing?
 
It can cause chemical imbalances, this may be the source of your brain fog. Your body will naturally restore healthy levels over time. But it won't cause brain damage directly.


- Hopeless Soul
 
7nos is right in that the chemical imbalance is most likely the cause of your perceived brain damage. After doing a little more research, only a certain kind of anemia causes brain damage. Your heart and kidneys are more at risk in this case. Sorry for the scare.
 
man this is so bad, I must have done some serious damage. i was hoping it would resolve after a couple nights of sleep but no. i did some research on opiate overdoses and brain damage and i guess some people come out a lot worse off, some people lose their hearing, lose their vision, lose ability to walk, become permanently disabled. i guess i am lucky to be alive and still able to do everything but i feel like I have lost at least 20% of my short term memory, my cognition is noticeably worse, my thoughts trail off, i find it difficult to stay focused and my balance and reflexes dont seem as sharp as they used to (i used to have excellent balance and reflexes). to lose these mental abilities after spending years regaining them following benzo withdrawal is just devastating for me. i am so depressed today. my life was just starting to take a turn for the good.

the good news is that each day i have noticed considerable recovery from the previous day and i hope that in the following weeks/months i will regain most of these abilities.

its just so devastating for me because due to the benzo withdrawal i was just barely able to function already, constantly getting in trouble at work for forgetting to do basic things, etc. last night i dreamed i got fired for forgetting to lock the door. its going to be a major challenge for me to function now with this added setback.
 
They come out a lot worse because they actually experience brain damage from overdosing. This sounds more like acute WD or a sort of rebound effect. If you damaged your brain from stopping in your sleep you would be dead, or you wouldn't be getting better each day.

Also depression can cause problems with memory and cognition
 
i'm thinking my breathing probably didnt stop but just slowed down enough to cause enough oxygen deprivation to cause some damage to my brain.
 
burn out said:
I did some heroin a couple days ago and it was very potent and my tolerance was low and it put me on a heavy nod. I was concerned because I was not wanting to be that high but I did not seem to be having any serious trouble breathing so I thought I would be ok. I eventually went to sleep, although I stayed awake at least a couple of hours after the shot to make sure I did not get any higher. However, when I woke up the next day I felt like I'd suffered brain damage. I feel foggy headed, poor memory, difficulty concentrating and the general sorts of feelings I usually get when I've damaged my brain.

I'm trying to figure out what the hell happened. Is it possible I stopped breathing during the night and suffered brain damage? Or could the shallow breathing of being on a heavy nod have caused me to get so little oxygen I suffered brain damage?

In prior times of doing too much heroin, I was not conscious and just woke up on the floor hours later but had no problems with brain damage at all. I don't understand why this time I stayed conscious but ended up with brain damage.

I am really concerned about this because I already have major brain damage from a serious benzodiazepine addiction, my memory and cognition were already barely acceptable I really can't afford anymore brain damage at this point.

I have done a little research and it sounds like in most cases this kind of damage resolves itself naturally? Is this true? Has anyone had anything like this happen?
Click to expand...

The problem is that you're wanting 2 opposite things, it's like you're on a plane in the middle of the Atlantic ocean trying to get to both France and Canada, the more you approach France, the more you go like OMG I'm getting further from Canada, how am I going to get to Canada and vice versa.

Sure, developing a benzo/opioid addiction is going to affect your memory and cognitive function, but do you ever wonder why it affects these? It's because your memory and cognitive function actually is what's standing in the way of the high, it's what's dulling the pleasure. Think about it, memory makes things boring because no matter what experience you have in your life you go like oh! I remember this, I've done this a day ago, a week ago, a month ago pff...when you listen to a tune it's good the first time, the 100th time doesn't do anything cause you remember it all. Cognitive function is the same, there's a reason why grey matter is not located in nucleus accumbens, because it's boring as fuck. There's nothing more boring then a head filled with knowledge.

You gotta decide where you want to go...do you want to evolve professionally and have a rich career...then you gotta stop doing drugs in order to be sharp. Do you want to get high? Well then, you gotta get rid of your memory and cognitive function because these 2 are your worst enemy if you wana experience anything special in your life. Don't call it brain damage. It's just you shaping your reality in a certain way. It looks like brain damage to a stock broker having coffee every morning, but it's not.
 
when you listen to a tune it's good the first time, the 100th time doesn't do anything cause you remember it all.
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Couldn't disagree with this statement anymore than I do..
 
First and foremost, that H could've been cut with any number of substances.....some of which could just make you 'feel' braindead, while some could actually damage you're brain. A known unknown.

The only real risk that pure heroin or morphine could run concerning causing brain damage would most likely be from Hypoxia, if you stop breathing, or you're respiration is slowed signifigantly.

Use of Opiates can & probably do more often than many realize, worsen sleep apnea, that's a known known.

So the potential causes of Opioid-induced brain-damage(which I assure you, is not that common, save using in gross excess, overdosing etc..) would be;
-Active Cutting agents in the dope, or even entirely bunk dope comprised of God-only-knows what active ingredients.
-Hypoxia (low grade overdose, practically)
-Withdrawal or some related phenomenon

Aside from that, no pun intended, but it's all in your head. Nevertheless, the human body is incredibly resilient and has an amazing ability to heal itself, and most all of it's organs.

As far as the benzos, that really is another animal, ESPECIALLY when it comes to memory, cognition, etc...and if you're brain really is damaged, I assure you that taking shrooms will not help you're brain heal, or repair itself in ANY way, shape, or form.

The only Harm-reduction advice I can really give you, OP, is to avoid all substances for a while, if possible, to give your mind & body time to recover from your past. Also, if you do insisit on using narcotics in the future, I recommend avoiding street drugs like Heroin, that are cut with a plethora of substances...if you must use opoids, use pharmaceuticals. If, or when poorly made pharmaceuticals(improper dosage, impurities, manufacturing defects, etc) hurt people, you can hold someone accountable. Thanks to the FDA, and the PureFood&DrugAct.
And last, but not least....if you're using enough to catch a "nod" then you're using way, way too much...a nod is practically a low-grade overdose IMHO, and IME.
The more reinforcing properties of opiates are triggered by a standard therapeutic dose of most opiates....especially if you're not tolerant.

So if Johnny Grumble says to take 50mg to get "real fucked up", maybe you should start with 25mg or 15mg. It's not a fucking race, you know...there is a right way to take drugs, and there's a wrong way. A lot of people do things the wrong way.

Good luck, OP, let that brain heal...work some crosswords & Sudoku, avoid substances, eat well & take vitamins (in appropriate dosages!), jog, excersice some... and you'll be sharp as a 30gauge needle in no time!
 
yes youre correct treefa and I agree with you that a nod is basically a low grade over dose and that's what happened to me, I wasn't intending to nod I actually dont like it. so i dont think I stopped breathing, I think I hit a heavy nod, my breathing probably slowed down a lot and my brain was deprived of oxygen and incurred some damage.

The good news is I have been researching this kind of damage and it sounds like in mild to moderate cases like mine it is reversible and the further good news is I have noticed a lot of improvement already over the past 48 hours, so I am hoping over the next several weeks/months I will return either to normal, or near normal.

As far as the benzos, that really is another animal, ESPECIALLY when it comes to memory, cognition, etc...and if you're brain really is damaged, I assure you that taking shrooms will not help you're brain heal, or repair itself in ANY way, shape, or form.
Click to expand...

Have you researched the healing potential of psilocybin? have you attempted to use mushrooms for brain healing? Sceince has already shown mushrooms are useful in brain healing: http://naturalsociety.com/research-suggests-psychedelic-mushrooms-offer-valuable-brain-treatments/

I had to spend years rehabilitating myself after coming off benzos and mushrooms were an invaluable tool in this regard. when I would take mushrooms it felt like they were actually waking up and re-activating parts of my brain that had been dormant for years. They are an amazing medicine and how dare you say they wont help in any way shape or form without posting a shred of supporting evidence?

Am I saying that because they helped me with benzo related damage that automatically means they will help with hypoxic related damage? Of course not. I don't know whether they work for this type of damage or not, but they are something I will try if I don't get better on my own.
 
Burn out, apparently your actual brain damage, you're born with it and it's called your IQ. What you refer to as damage is not actual damage, it's withdrawal symptoms. Listen to the smarter people in this topic.
 
Ksa said:
Burn out, apparently your actual brain damage, you're born with it and it's called your IQ. What you refer to as damage is not actual damage, it's withdrawal symptoms. Listen to the smarter people in this topic.
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No need to be condescending towards him. He had a serious concern, it was addressed, no need to belittle him.


-hs
 
yeah I am amazed the hostility of some of these remarks, this is definitely not withdrawal.

I'm looking for more over dose recovery stories. Did you go all the way back to normal and how long did it take? My speech, cognition and memory have all improved a lot but I still dont feel anhedonia and the inability to enjoy things. It seems like I am going to learn to function again but will I be able to feel joy again? Enjoy music? Life? THis overdose did something to my mind, everything feels duller somehow, this is very frightening.
 
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