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Oxymetazoline(AFRIN) and Opiates

B

bpayne

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Aug 26, 2008
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For those of us who snort our opiates Oxycodone and Oxymorphone, generally just the oxymorphone as the BA of oxycodone is higher orally, we can get pretty stuffed up noses, the Oxymorphone is in the form of Opana er 20 mg, and as we all know can Gel, I shave mine into a very fine powder and usually haven't had a problem with it clogging my nose, however this latest session it seems to have congested my nose fairly severely, anyways I've read about Afrin(oxymetazoline) was great for clearing out noses with mucus and other debris in them. Now I am aware of the addictive rebound effect and for this reason have only used it Once in my neediest time when I needed to go to sleep and couldn't take the clogged nose any longer. but my question delves deeper into the chemistry of this substance, I read ONE persons post on a forum when researching this substance where they claimed that taking oxymetazoline with opiates could potentially be a lethal combination, and that their brother went into respiratory arrest and almost died from this. after researching it I couldn't find any interactions or anything else to back this claim up or any other material concerning the subject, I did find in a pubmed article some chemistry jargon speaking about how afrins centrally acting on adrenergic A receptors and can possibly mimic opiate toxidrone, and also reading that opiates median of action through the mu receptors effects the adrenergic system in it's causation of analgesia, but that was after a lot of digging and sounds like reaching cause I found nothing else on possible interactions or problems with opiates and oxymetazoline. of course I did the initial research found nothing then took my dose, and immediately after found the aformentioned warning post which had me quite worried and searching form more information most of the night, of which I found none, went to bed and am still here in the morning of course, but You guys who are experts in chemistry could you clarify, was that just some dude who didnt' know what he was talking about? Can Oxymetazoline be dangerous when combined with Opiates?
sorry this is so long, I wanted to explain what I needed to know and why
thanks
B
 
Can anybody assist me with this please? I've read lots of people who snort their opiates have used Oxymetazoline to clear their nasal passages with great success, so that one guys statement sounds to me to be rubbish but if there is any tiny grain of truth to it, then it would be extremely important to know
is there ANY WAY oxymetazoline could react dangerously with Opioids?
 
I've used it just fine, but I wouldn't recommend it. I had a nasty physical addiction, and when I quit my nose was 10 times worse than when I had started taking the afrin.

Stick to phenylephrine/pseudoephedrine, menthol steam and a nasal irrigator (eg, neti pot).
 
yes, I used a homeade neti pot along with homeade saline solution, took me a few tries to get the angle right yet It still did not exit out of the opposite nostril instead came out of the entrance nostril, I just found my daughters small plastic toy teapot, so I may use that as it closely mimics an actual neti pot, I am quite aware of the rebound congestion of oxymetazoline resulting in physical dependence, it is why I have had this stuff for 2 days and only used it once when it was getting at it's worst in the nasal congestion department.

BUT......

Thank you for answering but it really irks me when someone responds but doesn't attempt to answer the ACTUAL question. I mentioned I knew it's physical problems.
I AM NOT LOOKING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO CLEAR OUT CONGESTION

I am simply asking IS OXYMETAZOLINE POSSIBLY DANGEROUS COMBINED WITH AN OPIOID?
 
Sooooooooooooooooooo........

Could i please have some scientific repsonses by someone that knows their chemistry and advanced knowledge of possible drug reactions by oxymetazoline and opiate analgesics? I've searched for hours and hours worried that i may had done something stupid by taking afrin in conjunction with opana
so can someone tell me if i really have nothing to worry about


please?


Thanks





brandon payne
 
There is no interaction that I've ever heard of, nor can I see how there would be one - as I am not aware of any possible contraindication between adrenergic agonists and opiate agonists.
 
You should be safe. The adrenergic system and the opiate system are two different beasts and oxymetazoline casues no interaction. The one case of respiratory arrest was probably due to a strong opiate being used.
 
bpayne said:
cool thats a good one, do u have any knowledge of chemistry?
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Chemistry? My knowledge is pretty limited in that area although I'm hoping to teach myself more.

I have a decent understanding of pharmacology though... certainly enough to know that there is no interaction between adrenergic agonists and opiate agonists. That one post you are referencing could mean anything.... who knows what was involved in that case? If the basic details are true at all, which is hard to know, it could have just been a freak idiosyncratic reaction. However my guess is that it didn't have anything to do with the interaction at all but simply was an overdose of one substance or the other... most likely the opiate. Respiratory arrest is of course the end result of many opiate overdoses.

The fact that you can find nothing else after scouring the internet, and the basic pharmacological fact that the two substances are not contraindicated means... chill, you are okay.

On the other hand... I can tell you that snorting pills is damn bad for your nose. But I'm not exactly one to talk... I do it myself. Still, try and take it easy on that.
 
I just used oxymetazoline nose spray about 30 mins ago, and then did a normal line of oxymorphone, am I am not feeling anything. By now I am normally starting to feel the high. It's been about 15mins since I have insufflated the oxymorphone. Do you think that the nasal spray did something to my sinuses to where the oxy isn't being absorbed?
 
sulryn said:
I just used oxymetazoline nose spray about 30 mins ago, and then did a normal line of oxymorphone, am I am not feeling anything. By now I am normally starting to feel the high. It's been about 15mins since I have insufflated the oxymorphone. Do you think that the nasal spray did something to my sinuses to where the oxy isn't being absorbed?
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Unlikely, perhaps it is paranoia or the stimulant effect of oxymetazoline feeling like its canceling out the oxymorphone. I wouldn't worry, you should definitely start to feel it, I doubt that the oxymetazoline had anything to do with it.
 
sulryn said:
I just used oxymetazoline nose spray about 30 mins ago, and then did a normal line of oxymorphone, am I am not feeling anything. By now I am normally starting to feel the high. It's been about 15mins since I have insufflated the oxymorphone. Do you think that the nasal spray did something to my sinuses to where the oxy isn't being absorbed?
Click to expand...


As an alpha1 adrenoceptor agonist oxymetazoline causes vasoconstriction where applied. That means you'll have less blood flow in your nasal passage, which will slow and reduce the amount of drug absorbed through the nose.

The oxymorphone should slowly drip out of your nose into your stomach, so you should still get an oral effect.
 
The afrin probably significantly lowered the insufflated BA, but I'd wager that the availability of the oxymorphone in his nose is still higher than whatever else drips down... In fact he should still be experiencing something akin to normal insufflation. Maybe the oxymorphone that gets absorbed through nose will cause a histamine release in the nose, dilating the blood vessels and returning the BA to normal levels... Perhaps the afrin just delays the effect? That would be pretty neat, but I guess you would have a histamine release afrin or not, so it probably doesn't quite balance out the BA, but I bet to some extent it may return it after a moment. This complex and near ridiculous theory would explain why it took him longer to feel it, please report back OP!
 
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Just thought I'd throw this in here: Afrin is addictive. Not psychologically, obviously, but physically it is. It causes rebound effects in your nose that are horrendous upon cessation. I never again use it daily, only for emergency purposes.
 
pinpoint said:
Just thought I'd throw this in here: Afrin is addictive. Not psychologically, obviously, but physically it is. It causes rebound effects in your nose that are horrendous upon cessation. I never again use it daily, only for emergency purposes.
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OP already mentioned this.
 
I used afrin and opiates together every single day for three years straight. Quit the opiates about a year ago but still use afrin daily. There is no chemical reaction to be concerned about whatsoever, your body can easily handle this combination and you will not suffer any damage to your organs because of the combo. The afrin is no joke tho, that shit is SERIOUSLY addictive. I mean dude I've been taking it for like 6 or 7 years....I've been addicted to 3 or 4 hardcore drugs and managed to quit them, and still can't get off the afrin....so take it or leave it, but I would find another way to clear your nose up for snorting. I'm not a chemist just very experienced with both....good luck.
 
Raspy Dylan said:
I used afrin and opiates together every single day for three years straight. Quit the opiates about a year ago but still use afrin daily. There is no chemical reaction to be concerned about whatsoever, your body can easily handle this combination and you will not suffer any damage to your organs because of the combo. The afrin is no joke tho, that shit is SERIOUSLY addictive. I mean dude I've been taking it for like 6 or 7 years....I've been addicted to 3 or 4 hardcore drugs and managed to quit them, and still can't get off the afrin....so take it or leave it, but I would find another way to clear your nose up for snorting. I'm not a chemist just very experienced with both....good luck.
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If you are just physically addicted you can try using phenylephrine or pseudoephedrine as a replacement, and those drugs are a lot less physically addicting. You could even try levomethamphetamine
 
It's easy to quit afrin, just use it in only one nostril for a week or so while the other recovers, then stop altogether. Just gotta live with only being able to breath through one nostril for a little while.
 
Raspy Dylan said:
I used afrin and opiates together every single day for three years straight. Quit the opiates about a year ago but still use afrin daily. There is no chemical reaction to be concerned about whatsoever, your body can easily handle this combination and you will not suffer any damage to your organs because of the combo...
Click to expand...

I think you misread the OP. No one is worried about "chemical reactions" or organ damage.

We are just discussing how the decongestant properties (vasoconstriction) of Afrin lower the amount of drug absorbed in the nose.
 
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