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Opioids falling asleep and opiates

L

lolitaofott

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
75
Location
Canada
I was told by a drug counselor that it is incredibly easy, on any dose, for the heart to stop beating after using opiates (specifically, we were talking about oxycontin). I want to know the warning signs. It didn't seem like she was talking about ODing, to me, I believe she meant that during sleep (while high) the heart can slow down considably even though only a 20 oxy was ingested (for example)... I really hope this info is false.. because I have been terrified to go to sleep........................ 8o
 
That doesn't sound right. You mean she said it's possible for your heart to stop beating during your sleep if you only take 20 mg of oxycodone before sleeping?
 
sounds to me like the classic "beginner's anxiety." don't get me wrong, many people OD on oxy daily, and you have the right mindset. however, 20 XR sounds like a good dose for a beginner. minimal harm, nausea, sedation, ect.. please don't drive, and have fun!

... maybe add a little green too %)


edit: LMFAO, i have to admit...i only read the title of this thread.
 
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No your heart won't stop beating. What happens is your respiration slows down and you can die that way, although remember many heroin addicts survive for years taking high doses daily. Of course that doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious but it's your breathing and not your heart that you have to worry about.
 
Opiates are central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and they can cause respiratory depression. As long as you aren't taking much higher doses than usual, or mixing opiates with other CNS depressant, then there isn't any real risk of ODing in your sleep. Most instances of overdose are a result of mixing opiates with benzos or booze, or from taking a much higher dose than usual.

Does the risk of overdose increase if you are taking the pills before going to bed as opposed to earlier in the day? I would think so, but like I said before, it would be due to mixing drugs and/or taking a higher dose.

It seems like your counselor is trying to scare you. Think about all of the people that are prescribed opiates. They all don't just go dieing in their sleeps from them.
 
Tommyboy said:
It seems like your counselor is trying to scare you. Think about all of the people that are prescribed opiates. They all don't just go dieing in their sleeps from them.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I hate when doctors/health care providers resort to scare tactics. I think it causes many people with legitimate pain a lot of grief when dealing with doctors, the general public or even their family.

Opiates cause respiratory depression--which has two extremes and a large, imprecise area in the middle. If you are having trouble breathing, you should walk to the ER. If you can walk there, you probably don't need to go inside for Nalaxone. But that's your choice. If you can't walk there, have your friend call 911.
 
^ Also, don't go to sleep before the peak effects. Wait until it is wearing off and you are coming down, or to be really safe wait until you aren't really high anymore.
 
At that does, I wouldn't be worried at all. Yes, your respiratory system does slow down and that is how some people have died from drug usage but that is at extremely high doses or someone who takes too much with too little of a tolerance. While you are laying down to go to sleep, don't think about it too much if you are breathing slower or if your heart is beating slower. That might actually make you panic more.
 
Huh, it is hard to tell if your counselor was using scare tactics or has been overly influenced by misinformation and/or scare tactics herself. There is some research about the effects of oxycodone on the QTc interval (cardiologist-speak, which I am not- it is heart-related, though!), but everything I've seen in the literature involves multiple drugs or case studies and it seems like people aren't drawing really strong conclusions at this point. Maaayyybe this is what your counselor was talking about?

There's some really good international OD-specific information that might be useful at the Overdose Prevention Alliance. Also, there is a search bar at this website that will tell people the closest OD prevention and Narcan program. It is, only US-based at this point, but there are several programs that might be close-ish to you.
 
im not a beginner ive been using for 1 yr...... the 20 mg thing was an example she gave me.. I use more, but not so much more (80 mg).. shes a bitch if she was trying to scare me.. i truly believed her because she insisted that i could trust her.. anyway, i wont let her fool me again
 
I used to use Oxycodone to help me fall asleep. I did that every night for about a year, I'm still kickin'.

Really, unless you take more than you can handle (which is why nobody can give an exact number), you're fine.

IME and from every piece of literature I've read, Opiates are actually quite safe. They're really only dangerous when you overdo it or mix them with other CNS depressants, and even then, a lot of people get away with it because of tolerance and experience. I've also read, specifically, that your body builds tolerance to the respiratory depression associated with Opiates. I've read it's much easier for an opiate naive person to OD than a dependent user. You get all this hyperbole about the dangers of drugs because people can and do use foolishly and with little regard for safety, so in turn you get the "knee jerk" stigma reaction from DARE types that translates into, "ZOMG IF YOU USE DRUGS YOU DIE FOO'."

Regardless, I'd rather be an Oxy addict than a cocaine addict any day, speaking strictly from a "concerned about my health" standpoint.

You have to remember, millions of people are chronically prescribed Opiates to live their lives and free themselves from severe pain (myself included), if they were that dangerous they wouldn't be the go-to pain meds. If anything, the biggest danger with Opiates is addiction which can severely destroy your willpower and if you're not careful, Opiates become your god, king, and savior.

Sounds like DARE bullshit to me, OP. Just don't use more than you know your body can handle specifically if you're using before bed. Save dose experimentation for your waking hours, and as always, be careful!
 
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i don't know if its just me or my sketchy heart but my heart rate increases while on oxy, and if i take oxy with xanax my heart rate increases further (albeit it being harder to breathe). maybe this is just panic due to the diffuclty to breathe or maybe its the fact your body is processing 2 drugs at once and therefore your metabolic rate increases. i don't know shit about this though as you can probably tell, but i think your counsellor was talking shit.
 
Ksa said:
Typical scare tactics of drug counselors. They give oxy to millions of patients a day in hospitals and nobody dies in their sleep form it or the FDA would remove it.
Click to expand...

actually, people DO die from it, even in hospitals. It's rare though and generally the fault of doctors/nurses for giving too much or not monitoring the patient closely enough. Opiate overdose is a weird thing and not something I understand fully. I have never ODed but I think I came close once, where I took too much and was nodding uncontrollably and my breathing felt noticeably depressed. That was a frightening experience and has never happened since despite lots of excessive heroin binges. This leads me to think that opiates are pretty safe, at least when it comes to snorting. I have never IVed so I cannot comment on that. But with snorting, I would have to pretty careless to accidentally ingest a fatal amount. Generally I get high without even coming close to being as high as I was that one time, so I don't think I am likely at all to OD. But some other people might be more prone to it, especially people who might have certain health conditions.
 
I've had my concerns about his too. I'm prescibed diazepam (valium) daily on a low dose (6-8mg) but when i was on a higher dose back in about june & was drinking opium tea for recreation (i'm also prescibed codeine for pain) when i went to go to sleep it felt like i was breathing very little & if the opium tea was exceptionally strong then i'd try not to sleep until the most heavy effects had dissipated.
However on an opiate alone i'm not worried as i'm tolerant to them. So unless you (op) have little to no tolerance & are using high doses of opiates or have tolerance & are taking other cns depressant i wouldn't worry.
Opiates alone are generally very safe except if you are totally opiate naive & overshoot your dosage.
 
... Just like how the cops told my mom adhd medications can make your heart explode... BULLSHIT, what you shouldve done is slapped that bitch as hard as you can across the face and told her to shut her mouth. Lieing pieces of shit...
 
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