Mixing hydro and alcohol, how bad am I?

[Threwandthrough]

Earlier this year I used hydrocodone a couple times. Took 15mg, felt a little happy, tended to have a long after glow.

Three months ago I had 2 10/325 hydro for a total of 20mg over a couple hours along with three alcoholic drinks. I am 6'4" and 250lbs. I have no opiod tolerance but drink 5-7 drinks once or twice a week. I took the last drink at about 4pm. I felt a little euphoric. Watched a couple movies and went to bed sometime around midnight to three in the morning. At around 7 am I woke up feeling like I had the worst hangover of my life. Walked upstairs, and my heart started to pound. Felt like I was going to pass out. I held a phone in my hand because I was worried I would lose it if I put it down because I was pretty loopy/confused. The fainting feeling passed, but I felt bad the whole day. I assumed it was a bad hangover.

The next few weeks I struggled with terrible symptoms. My blood pressure and heart rate have been very high, but are better the last few weeks. My mouth has been dry. I have had loud digestion sounds and diarrhea. I get dizzy. Certain colors on my phone and computer screen look like they are in 3d. My eyes hurt and i have trouble seeing things up close even though I see them, if that makes sense. I have extreme fatigue.

Worst of all are the more cognitive symptoms. I feel very stupid, slow, and out of it. I have trouble driving to familiar places. I cannot remember anything. Cooking is a gargantuan task. Even simple tv shows are hard to watch. My spelling and vocabulary are terrible. I had trouble drawing a star and other simple things.

I am a 23yo 4.0 college student but had to take a leave from a prestigious university and program because I cannot handle the math (normally not a problem) in particular, and the fatigue was overwhelming. Sometimes I had trouble finding my classes even though I am familiar with the campus, etc. I have had to relearn certain numbers of basic times tables, like the 7s and 8s which seemed strange to me.

So now I am three months into it, not in school and unable to work. This experience has made me feel that drugs aren't for me and I have decided to quit everything and plan to stay sober from now on.

I am still pretty bad. Only a most basic job is within my capabilities at this point, if the fatigue wears off.

I have been to doctors. Blood test three months ago showed a slightly elevated anion gap, all else normal. Everything normal since. My heart is ok. CT AND MRI negative. I am going for an EEG.

So, what's my problem? I figure either toxic encephalopathy or mild hypoxic brain damage from respiratory suppression. Any other ideas? Any tips to help me recover and get myself back?

I am trying to go for walks when I can. I am meditating, eating well, reading, limiting screen time, playing sudoku and mind puzzles. Trying to stay social with family. And praying I can go back to school in january, but progress has been very slow this far. Any info or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks, and apologies for the lengthy post.

 

[Mafioso]

Do you only drink once or twice a week?

I think it would be highly unlikely that you are experiencing health problems related to using a low dose of opioids on a few occasions, even if combined with alcohol. Although it is not recommended to combine alcohol with opioids, they are both relatively low to moderate doses for your size.

I'd be really doubtful of the possibility of toxic encephalopathy or mild hypoxic brain damage as the result of such low/moderate use. The alcohol consumption would have a higher potential to cause damage than 20mgs of hydrocodone on 2 occasions, but even still I would be surprised if either substance was the root of the problem.

To put things in perspective, I've consumed 100mg of hydrocodone along with 10-20mg of alprazolam on a daily basis for months to years. This was while smoking 3.5g-14g of cannabis flower daily, using amphetamine and cocaine sporadically, heavy use of hallucinogens sporadically, and sporadic use of alcohol. I've experienced psychotic episodes and seizures as the result of my drug use. I'm sure there has been some sort of brain damage as the result of my drug use, but I have not been formally diagnosed with any permanent mental illness or physical illness.

I would think a bigger possibility is the onset of a mental or physical disorder, with a small possibility that it was triggered with drug use. It is common for mental disorders to onset in people in their late teens and early 20's. Have you been evaluated for a mental disorder? Do you have history of mental disorders in your family? Do you have a history of any physical disorders like high blood pressure or diabetes?

Proper nutrition and exercise can go a long way in terms of both mental and physical health. I would suggest abstaining from all drug use, including alcohol, for a minimum of 2-3 months to see if the problems persist. If they continue, worsen, or do no improve over the next few months I would believe that it is unrelated to drug use and symptomatic of a mental or physical disorder.

It's good to get screened if you think there is something wrong, but at the same time worry will not help you recover and will likely lead to more problems. I don't think speculation is really going to help you here. Maybe make a list of physical and mental symptoms on a daily basis while rating the severity 1-10 while tracking your daily activities. That might assist a doctor in a diagnosis if there is one to be made. In all honestly, a lot of the things you mention could be the result of stress and anxiety.

 

[Threwandthrough]

Woops, accidentally deleted my last post.

Anyways, there are some other symptoms that I forgot to include in my first post.

I was running a cold temp (96), I had mild hyperkalemia, my eyes didn't track together, I responded very well to simple IV fluids, my liver enzymes and kidney glucose were outside of normal ranges but were not elevated enough for me to be admitted, and I was very pale. Not typically signs of a psych issue as far as I know. I also have tinnitus since this incident which comes and goes. Overall though, I have been slowly improving.

I have asked the docs if they think this could be psychiatric and they said no, for what that is worth. No history of any psychological issues in me or my family.

Anyways, i appreciate the words of advice. I too found it unlikely that drugs were the source of my problem, but perhaps it is possible I had a bad reaction? Or maybe they exacerbated some other problem I have. I have never used iv drugs and an std would be unlikely too.

I do only drink 5 to 7 drinks each time once or twice a week, but I slam them back within 15 mins and get pretty drunk - for me anyways, I'm sure there are some out there to whom this is nothing. I also have a bad hangover and don't do much the next day. Would this be severe enough to be kindling if I have been drinking like this for a year? Could mild withdrawal symptoms be a contributory cause to my issues, or is this not enough drinking for long enough of a time to cause problems? I intend to ask my pcp these questions as well, but it's a while before I can get in.

I know it may seem like I am perseverating on my symptoms, but my mood is actually ok and I don't think this is causing me any undue anxiety.

Overall my vision is way better today, like something clicked into place, and the brain fog isn't so bad. It has been close to three months though, and it is nice to start being able to remember what I ate earlier in the day.

 

[herbavore]

Did you relate all these symptoms to the doctor? That is a lot going on! I would continue to pursue medical advice but in the meantime why not really try to address a completely healthy lifestyle. Look into cleanses and then make sure your diet has plenty of vegetables and good sources of protein. stay away from junk food and get lots of exercise. Look into mindfulness and conscious breathing techniques to calm your anxiety. When you are suffering a lot of physical symptoms and no one can really tell you what is going on you can really start to cook up anxiety in your mind that feeds the symptoms and actually exacerbates them. And I would stay away from alcohol for a few weeks.

 

[Threwandthrough]

Did you relate all these symptoms to the doctor? That is a lot going on! I would continue to pursue medical advice but in the meantime why not really try to address a completely healthy lifestyle. Look into cleanses and then make sure your diet has plenty of vegetables and good sources of protein. stay away from junk food and get lots of exercise. Look into mindfulness and conscious breathing techniques to calm your anxiety. When you are suffering a lot of physical symptoms and no one can really tell you what is going on you can really start to cook up anxiety in your mind that feeds the symptoms and actually exacerbates them. And I would stay away from alcohol for a few weeks.

Yes, I have told them about the symptoms and they have observed/noticed them themselves.

As for the drugs, three months ago during this incident was the last time I touched anything besides the occasional tylenol. I haven't even had caffeine.

Physical exercise is perhaps the one thing I am lacking, but that is mostly due to the extreme fatigue and dizziness. The last couple days show a little promise though.

I have gotten into mindfulness over the past week and have found it to be another tool in the arsenal to combat whatever I have going on.

Thanks for bringing up cleanses. That reminded me of some healthy things to make.

 

[Mafioso]

Some people are more sensitive to the effects of alcohol and because of the way alcohol is absorbed into the blood, it affects every organ in the body. Even at your size, 5-7 drinks is a lot to consume even over the course of an hour and would result in a spike in BALs. I don't think it would be the source of your problems but maybe it exacerbated an underlying health issue.

From what you report, it sounds like you are doing most everything that can be done. Stay away from drugs/alcohol, eat healthy and get some exercise. Mindfulness and positivity can go a long ways as well.

 

[Threwandthrough]

I thought I would post an update. Weeks ago, before I started to improve, I got myself an occupational therapy appointment. I was worried I was seriously damaged, and I knew jumping into rehab early for a brain injury is important.

I am not 100% yet, but I did consider canceling the appointment based on my progress and the likelihood that most of my problems were caused by anxiety.

I am very glad I went. Basically, I had a minor midline shift where my eyes don't line up. Therapist slapped a piece of scotchtape on a section of my glasses to help train my eyes and I feel like a million bucks, though I do feel a little slow compared to my normal self.

Unfortunately, this is fairly concrete evidence I did suffer some sort of brain injury, be it toxic or an oxygen issue. Fortunately, it was incredibly mild. I passed cognitive tests with flying colors and am performing high even compared to healthy control populations. I am also expected to continue to improve.

Drugs are serious and I am very happy to be sober. I learned the hard way that one needn't take mammoth doses of this stuff to suffer adverse affects. Luckily I got off relatively easily.