MDMA and cocaine long term effects?

[2447]

Hi.
I, like many others here, enjoy to take recreational drugs when I am out on the town. MDMA and cocaine(cocaine+alcohol) are my favorites. I try to be safe, educate myself and don't use too regularly. MDMA I use perhaps once every two months, and have had no problems with it. Most of my health thoughts are regarding cocaine, I am trying to educate myself as much as possible about it and even though I like it a lot, if I am certain that my use(maybe 1-2 nights a month) is damaging to my health long term then I will stop using it. I know the risk of a heart attack increases a lot while under the influence, and chronic use can (at least temporarily) damage the serotonin receptors in the brain. The main thing I am wondering is if my use can cause any long term effect on the brain (physical that is) and any long term damage to the heart. The morning after a night of cocaine use is much better for me than the morning after drinking, but I'm not going to be fooled by my feelings if science tells me they are wrong.

I have been google-ing a lot but so many times the answers and articles are influenced by scare tactic or any other motives. So if someone knows the answers to my questions or can point me to a honest scientific location online where I might find those answers I would really appreciate it.

Thank you.

 

[Mysterie]

what are your observations of the effects of these two drugs on your body/mind, with that frequency of use

usually i think you can tell from listening to your body when you need to stop doing certain drugs for your health and future

how much coke do you take on those nights? how much mdma do you take during a night out?

ive got no journal articles to contribute but idk what research your going to find that you want to hear, a lot of the impact of uppers will change with lots of variables such as family medical history, your own physical health and lifestyle etc etc etc

 

[2447]

My observations on the effects are pretty positive. After MDMA it is normally just a happy glow the next day and a mild hangover/lazyness after cocaine. Observations can be misleading though, f.x. for many tobacco users which don't feel it doing any physical harm, but it is doing so slowly.

I am pretty big and athletic and I tend to take a lot when I do, 1g of coke and around 300-350mg of MDMA. I am however getting more pure coke so I am going to try to take much less the next time I go out and also just try to take around 200mg of MDMA.

Otherwise I live a very healthy lifestyle. I exercise daily, eat well and sleep well. There are no known problems in my family medical history. But I understand as you mentioned that getting a decisive answer might be difficult due to the numbers of variables there are between individuals, but I am just trying to be as educated as I can.

 

[Foreigner]

This belongs in OD, or somewhere else.

 

[2447]

Ok, sorry about that.

 

[MagickalKat777]

To be honest, I'd be worried about the cocaine but chances are that you have already irreversibly damaged your heart at this point. I can't remember the study that found that recreational use of a moderate amount of cocaine just once triggers a receptor in the brain that causes permanent heart damage and cocaine users have a tendency to end up with high blood pressure, thick walls in the heart, and stiff arteries compared to those that don't use it.

On the flip side, I would think that any stimulant would carry those risks over the long term but the damage from cocaine is more immediate than most substances because of its triple reuptake inhibition action.

MDMA pales in comparison.

When it comes right down to it, any stimulating drug is going to have a penalty on health so just be safe with them. Everyone is going to go some time, enjoy life and be as safe as you can, practice good eating habits, exercise, etc.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

^ my higher BP was already high to begin with.

 

[MagickalKat777]

^ my higher BP was already high to begin with.

With all the stupid shit I used to do its a miracle that I'm alive yet alone have a very strong cardiovascular system.

I don't really buy into the irreversible damage stuff because the body can regenerate any live organ. I was just posting what I heard. I do know that coke is insanely bad for your system, its one I only ever had once and because of the way it made me feel, I never touched again but I'm sure my 4-MMC benders in the past more than cover what I lack in cocaine experience.

 

[Zerrr]

To be honest, I'd be worried about the cocaine but chances are that you have already irreversibly damaged your heart at this point. I can't remember the study that found that recreational use of a moderate amount of cocaine just once triggers a receptor in the brain that causes permanent heart damage and cocaine users have a tendency to end up with high blood pressure, thick walls in the heart, and stiff arteries compared to those that don't use it.

A single use of cocaine causes this? I like to see that study.

The main thing I am wondering is if my use can cause any long term effect on the brain (physical that is) and any long term damage to the heart.

You can search on here and find all the relevent info. To an extent, the negative impact from cocaine (like other drugs) is dependent on the individual.

Can using cocaine 12-24x a year cause any long term effect on the brain (physical that is) and any long term damage to the heart.

I would say yes it can, I doubt it will though. Would depend on how much, ROA, physiology etc.

Also if you didn't know (cocaine+alcohol=Cocaethylene)

Cocaethylene is formed in vivo by the liver when cocaine and ethanol coexist in the blood

and..
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/forums/155-Neuroscience-and-Pharmacology-Discussion

 

[2447]

I did know about cocaethylene, I am starting to crave coke when I am drinking, and I am aware of the additional risk so I try to do that moderately. I enjoy a few beers with a few lines much more then getting drunk and also feel better the next day.

Irreversible damage from a single moderate use does not make sense to me. Thanks for your input, I will continue to search here on the forum.

 

[MagickalKat777]

I would take it with a grain of salt. If I remember correctly, that assertion came up when mephedrone was taking off in the US and there were harm reduction threads out the ass all over the site urging people to stay away from it and one of the comments was that mephedrone hits some receptor that only cocaine is known to hit that causes immediate and permanent heart damage.

I don't believe that any damage is permanent. Science has finally admitted that the body can replace any cell of any organ in the body when given an ideal environment to do so.

That said, cocaine does kill more of its users faster than any other common drug so I would be careful with it. Sudden cardiac death, seizures, coma, stroke, etc. Cigarettes and alcohol or combination with other stimulants increases that risk obviously.

It comes down to managing your use like anything else. All of these drugs have the potential to come back and haunt us later in life.

 

[F1n1shed]

It's as simple as this, cocaine is gonna have harder effects on your heart while MDMA will have harder long term effects on your brain. Coke is pretty damn harsh on your heart, and liver i guess it depends on the person to what extent. While MDMA is neurotoxic and even if you don't notice it , is messing with your brain for the long term in many areas. Your mood, your cognitive function, perception, word/ memory recall, all sorts of things.

Doesn't seem like you are taking either of them too much, best thing to do is smaller doses in the night. Like i wouldn't do 1 gram of fairly pure coke to my self, instead i'd stop at .5

 

[2447]

I agree that the long term effects of much MDMA use can be substantial on the brain, so I have decided to space out my rolls with at least 3 months inbetween. I am still thinking about how to space out my coke use, I am going to start by doing less at a time and drink max 3 units with it. I'm thinking maybe once or twice every two months.