Medical equipment for at-home use?

[bleh123]

I would like to buy equipment for monitoring a person's vital signs, or anything else from their body that might be useful to measure after the ingestion of drugs.

I am planning to get an oral thermometer, and a blood pressure / pulse meter. What else could be useful to monitor someone? How about an oximeter?

I'd like to keep it under $150, but more importantly, I'd like to hear what you guys think may be helpful.

 

[addictivepersona]

Just a heads up, but I don't think it's possible to keep the total cost under $150. Also, make sure the thermometer is digital.

An oximeter would be handy, no pun intended.

Though not totally reliable, maybe have one of those things you blow into to check lung capacity--See if there was an improvement with that.

Good luck! Keep us updated. :)

 

[Dave]

A spirometer? Those aren't cheap. Ditto pulse oximeters. Neat to have, for sure, but well over $150.

An infrared thermometer would be neat to determine skin temperature fluctuations, especially if compared to instant-read internal temperature readings. Honestly, those will cover the bulk of the vitals that are checked regularly-- short of doing bloodwork or EEGs there's not much else to check.

 

[modern buddha]

OP, other than a baby thermometer, any other medical supplies might be kind of expensive. I doubt there's any way to keep it under $150.

 

[CHiLD-0F-THE-BEAT]

Is there a reason you want this equipment, OP? Even with equipment there is a good chance you will not be able to prevent or detect any harmful medical situations.

If when under the influence of drugs you are concerned enough to want to have vital signs monitored, you should go to ER or avoid the drugs in the first place.

 

[bleh123]

A spirometer? Those aren't cheap. Ditto pulse oximeters. Neat to have, for sure, but well over $150.

An infrared thermometer would be neat to determine skin temperature fluctuations, especially if compared to instant-read internal temperature readings. Honestly, those will cover the bulk of the vitals that are checked regularly-- short of doing bloodwork or EEGs there's not much else to check.

I actually already own an infared thermometer, but I'm not exactly sure how useful it would be. I suppose I should try establishing a baseline and a amphetamine series of measurements around my body, at constant ambient temperature. Would I want a spirometer to measure lung capacity? Would that really vary with substance use?

I see pulse oximeters on Amazon for $35, are these the same as what you were thinking of? http://www.amazon.com/Finger-Pulse-...H3LI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328686377&sr=8-1

What would be the main application of a pulse oximeter? Heart rate is obviously important, but does O2 saturation really vary with drug use? I can see it being useful for someone in borderline respiratory arrest on depressants, or during nitrous administration.

I have some EEG experience from neuroscience research. I wonder if there is an EEG cheap enough and good enough that I might actually be able to monitor my own brain activity? I've always fantasized about a program that guesses what drug I'm on.

Is there a reason you want this equipment, OP? Even with equipment there is a good chance you will not be able to prevent or detect any harmful medical situations.

If when under the influence of drugs you are concerned enough to want to have vital signs monitored, you should go to ER or avoid the drugs in the first place.

I'm hoping to:
1) Measure physiological changes to my body (within safe ranges) that occur to my body with various drugs, to get more in tune with how my body reacts to different chemicals.
2) Be able to watch for unsafe physiological changes (blood pressure / heart rate / blood oxygen?) on myself or on others, so that professional help can be sought if anything is in an unsafe range.

I'd like to become a certified EMT someday and volunteer at concerts/raves. Maybe I could use this stuff if that were to ever happen.

 

[eukaryote]

Electronic sphygmomanometer, digital read out thermometer, stethoscope (So you can listen for wheeze and other breath sounds) and pulse-oximeter, blood-glucose meter and strips, Chemstrip 10 or similar multi-panel urinalysis strips.

Spirometer values can vary with substance use, as an example, essentially all the stimulants act to release epinephrine, which will act as a Ligand at B2 and act to relax bronchial smooth muscle.

Oh and a few books from first year medical school, or nursing school or an EMT-P course so you can actually have an idea what it means.

 

[modern buddha]

I'm hoping to:
1) Measure physiological changes to my body (within safe ranges) that occur to my body with various drugs, to get more in tune with how my body reacts to different chemicals.
2) Be able to watch for unsafe physiological changes (blood pressure / heart rate / blood oxygen?) on myself or on others, so that professional help can be sought if anything is in an unsafe range.

I'd like to become a certified EMT someday and volunteer at concerts/raves. Maybe I could use this stuff if that were to ever happen.

In my honest (and I hope, humble) opinion, you shouldn't have anything to worry about unless you use multiple drugs in high doses every day. I believe you're thinking far too much into this; there's no need for all the equipment. If you feel that nervous about it, just have a sober sitter that you can trust.

How can you enjoy being high if you have all this stuff attached to you?

I'm gonna close this for now because it just seems like you're thinking too much into this. Keep it slow and steady, tiger and good luck with being an EMT.