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Stimulants and premature aging

jackie jones

jackie jones

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Research has proven substances such as methamphetamine and cocaine to age the heart.

What about stimulants in general? Would long-term, smoke free, nicotine use cause accelerated aging? How about caffine use? Ephedra? Ritalin? Anti-histamines? Theobromine?

Is an increased heart rate equivalent to living on borrowed time?
 
Methamphetamine ages the heart by causing cardiac fibrosis. Cocaine moreso increases risk of cardiac death about 20 fold when you're under the influence of the drug, or can cause permanent damage through more minor infarcts.

Many Japanese who live into their hundreds are avid tea drinkers, so I don't think caffeine is necessarily a problem, at least in small doses.

Pretty much anything that causes vasoconstriction and elevates heart rate will make you more likely to die if you use it chronically because you'd be prone to sudden cardiovascular death (eg ephedrine).
 
Good question!

It seems logical that anything that speeds up the metabolism/heart rate could also be speeding up the dying process, but I have no hard data on the subject. I would think that, with the proper intake of nutrients and heart-healthy minerals like calcium/magnesium, antioxidants that reduce free radical damage, and supplements like CoQ10, a person would be able to counteract whatever hypothetical damage stimulants and other unhealthy lifestyle choices have done.
 
^^^Totally agree! The built up of inner stress which misses a bit here and there-is different to the release as you go for a run as in raised heart beat evenly.
 
Methamphetamine ages the heart by causing cardiac fibrosis. Cocaine moreso increases risk of cardiac death about 20 fold when you're under the influence of the drug, or can cause permanent damage through more minor infarcts.
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Actually I was under the impression that serotonergic chemicals like MDMA might lead to fibrosis (no mechanisms known), whereas cocaine carries an increased risk of heart attack while the drug is active, due to coronary artery vasospasm combined with increased oxygen demand.

The greatest risk factors are diet and exercise. If just having an increased heart rate was the basis for the risk, then sedentary people should have healthy hearts, yet they don't.
 
The mechanism by which cardiovascular fibrosis occurs is by 5HT2B receptor agonism which stimulates abnormal proliferation of fibroblasts. The coronary artery vasospasm occurs as a result of voltage gated sodium ion channel blockade by cocaine. Not only this, but due to increased blood pressure (and oxygen demand) caused by elevated levels of norepiphedrine, the risk of myocardial infarct/cerebral ischemia is also strongly elevated.
 
I have noticed that when I go on meth binges my fingernails and facial hair grows a lot quicker than normal. I could cut my fingernails, do meth for a few days and my fingrnails have grown back fully and I usually only have to shave once a week but after using meth I need to shave much more often which I find weird but obviously shows that meth does age you significantly.

I know know about any other parts of your body but just the fact that my fingernails and facial hair grows alot quicker tells me that it does make you grow in certain ways a lot quicker.
 
the_ketaman said:
I have noticed that when I go on meth binges my fingernails and facial hair grows a lot quicker than normal. I could cut my fingernails, do meth for a few days and my fingrnails have grown back fully and I usually only have to shave once a week but after using meth I need to shave much more often which I find weird but obviously shows that meth does age you significantly.

I know know about any other parts of your body but just the fact that my fingernails and facial hair grows alot quicker tells me that it does make you grow in certain ways a lot quicker.
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That was so true for me as well. When I was addicted to meth many years ago my hair and fingernails would grow SUPER FAST...I had to keep plucking my eyebrows every other day, it was insane. Me and a couple of my friends noticed this too....

Despite that, I've always looked young for my years, so I dont think meth made me age physically...but inside who knows. I was in pretty bad shape after I quit, and it took a couple of years to get back into the pink of health...
 
Stimulants speed up metabolism, abusing coke or meth may speed your metabolism up to make you "look older" but some of this may be reversed by ending use.

low dose stimulants or caffeine use would probably not cause anything that could be positively linked to them. Also as far as aging, some people just look older, that doesn't mean that physically they are unhealthy.
 
pr0d1gy said:
Stimulants speed up metabolism, abusing coke or meth may speed your metabolism up to make you "look older" but some of this may be reversed by ending use.

low dose stimulants or caffeine use would probably not cause anything that could be positively linked to them. Also as far as aging, some people just look older, that doesn't mean that physically they are unhealthy.
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Definately, its much more likely than the unhealthy lifestyle of heavy stimulant users will cause them to 'look older' and not the stimulant itself
 
Cocaine & aging

I'm curious. 'They' say that the coca leaf contains vits & minerals... wait;

*The Analysis for 100 grams of coca leaf show that it contains high volume of potassium, calcium, Magnesium, Iron, vitamins and all elements necessary in a daily diet. Coca has 14 Alkaloids - Cocaine- Egnonin- Pectin- Papaine- Hygrine- Globuline- Pyridine- Quinoline- Conine- Cocamine- Reserpine- Benzoyne- Inuline- Atropine.

Cool. Supposedly a little coca is good for the skin too, so why contrarily, are we always hearing it causes premature aging??? I mean, i can see how methamphetamine would cause aging, we've seen the pictures. But is this just propogangda about cocaine from the war on drugs? Or is it perhaps a common filler its cut with.

My best guess is that moderate intake of COCA could be beneficial, maybe coke too, who knows lol! However after years of chronic use any stimulant must take its toll on the inside, no matter how one looks on the suface.
 
It's because all the other stuff in coca offset the negative effects of cocaine. Give me coca over cocaine any day. Nature is syngergistic.

Another example is opium vs individual opioids. Read this.
 
I've been curious about drugs/aging lately. I've noticed that heavy drinkers seem to lose their hair earlier, get flabby and have more defined wrinkles and wanted to see whether the relationship was causal. It appears to be, at least somewhat.

Aging (the body, not just heart) is caused by free radical damage. As for stimulants, my guess is that they cause aging by overworking the heart and causing free radical damage while preventing sleep and proper nutrition, which further compounds the effects. Cigarette smoking obviously has an aging effect and we've all seen those Faces of Meth pics...

I'm currently on mephedrone....forgive me if I'm babbling :)
 
LivingInTheMoment said:
^^^Totally agree! The built up of inner stress which misses a bit here and there-is different to the release as you go for a run as in raised heart beat evenly.
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I have read in a few places some vague articles about how the increased uptake of blood into muscles during exercise has some kind of effect that prevents damage the way long term hypertension does for instance.

I suspect that raising your heartrate with stimulents generally is going to lack the protective effective of taking additional blood supply into your muscles making some damage possible.

Apologies for such a vague post. I have no idea if that is actually true of not but it seems reasonable. Perhaps someone more knowledge than me could confirm/deny.
 
moonyham said:
lol high heart rate isnt bad for you.... think when you run!
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Erm I don't think it works that way unless you were being sarcastic? when you exercise your heart is working with the rest of your body and taking in more oxygen and the exercise strengthens it because your heart rate will be lower when you are resting or doing other less strenuous tasks etc. stimulants just raise it for no reason therefore tiring it out and making it age, stimulants just put stress on the heart and when off them your heart has a harder time doing physical tasks.
 
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