Are you aware? A safety message for poly-drug users.

[JiveBunny]

Hey bluelighters, longtime lurker ; once before poster here wanting to send out a safety message after one hell of a close call last night.

Firstly, i consider myself an informed, intelligent and safe poly-drug user who is aware of my bodies boundaries after years of drug use and research both personally and via university studies. I have tremendous experience with a large variety of substances including amphetamines, tryptamines, phenethylamines, benzodiazapines, dissociatives and opiates to name a few.

Last night, like most of my enjoyed 'fun' nights I decided to indulge in two of my favourite substance classes in amounts that have been well within my tollerances of late or so i thought...

I dosed initially with 300mg of codiene (CWE of course) followed two or more hours later by 0.5mg of Alprazolam. Approximately 1.5 hours thereafter i dosed with 0.15g of IV Heroin. This is when things went pear shaped for me...

My last memory before waking to my histeric partner and two lovely ambulance officers was that of me floating on cloud nine in my kitchen snuggled into that warm blanket we all know and love....

As it turns out, I am told that I walked from the kitchen into the lounge room, not looking more wrecked than any of the countless other times I have done this combo (note: usually in higher doses due to my tollerance). Apparently i then took a seat on the couch, my head lunged forward into a soothing nod where my partner soon thereafter found me letting out one last croaky, gurggling breath. He tried to rouse me, realised i was not breathing and found i still had a light pulse. He then carefully positioned me on the floor and gave me mouth to mouth which stimulated intermittent short rapid breaths, giving him enough time to call for an ambulance. I was unconcious for some ten to fifteen minutes and I snapped out of my drug induced stupor only seconds after the ambulance officers arrived at my address. Due to my partners first aid training and quick response, I did not require any further medical assisitance once the ambulance arrived on the scene. I feel it was a waste of resources, but you never can be too certain, as, for all my partner knew at the time of calling '000' I could have been getting far worse, not better.

Basically, i know alot of other Australians, bluelighters included, whom are doing this or somewhat of a similar poly-drug combo recreationally - for the purposes of pleasure. Let me tell you that IT IS NOT PLEASURABLE waking to the likes of above, especially when I thought i was well within my tollerances (as I'm sure most of us experienced drug users do when we are indulging in our DOC's). PLEASE be aware of the risks that you are taking when using any CNS depressants, especially when taken in combination. As you can read from my experience, you only have to come unstuck once and the risks far outweigh the benefits.

I know what A lot of people will reply and I can't blame anyone for saying that it is stupid to mix benzos with opiates. Even I know this and did not combine the two for quite some time. However, I do know that there are many people out there mixing these two substances, who have not yet come unstuck and may not be aware of how a dose and mix (small or large) could/CAN trigger such negative effects. This is one of many times that my partner has had to perform first aid on bluelighters from this combo alone and I'm posting today to send out a plea that we all be aware of the side effects. With awareness comes safety.

I thought that i was aware, aware enough to be safe enough to not have this happen to me - until i was struck with THIS curve ball. Are you aware of the risks that you or others around you may be taking? The old 'it won't happen to me' saying just doesn't cut it when you are risking your life for pleasure.

Peace and Love

 

[spacejunk]

A timely message.
Glad you're ok - thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[Jakeperson]

Any one that uses benzos and opiates together will fuck up eventually. It's happened to nearly every one I have known to do so, including myself. Don't be surprised when it does.

 

[the_ketaman]

Yep, Jakeperson is on the money. Its just whether you make it through that eventual fuckup is the question. I am one who has also been through this awful experience. A few weeks ago after many, many years of mixing opiates and benzo's, I managed to fuck up with some xanax and heroin and nearly killed myself in some bushland, it was just my luck that someone happened to walk past at the perfect time and called the Ambulance. I was then Narcanned, woke up in hospital. Freaked out, ran out of the hospital still completely wrecked and caught a bus home where my mum and another BL'er who is a friend was there waiting for me not knowing any different. I was quite obviously confused and didnt quite grasp what had actually happened to me until about 3 days later when a few more memories returned. It was a very, very close call and I will never mix xanax and opiates again, ever! I have been silly and mixed other benzos with heroin since but id like to say now that I will never have to do that again. Not that I ever 'had' to before, I was just desperate and wanted to get a little higher.

I suggest to anyone who is going to do this combo regardless of the advice were giving here, then please especially if your IV'ing, have your shot of opiates before you have the benzo's so you roughly know how much benzo you can handle because the varying purity of heroin obviously this is the one to be more careful with and out of most of the OD's ive had the unfortune of hearing about have been from someone being benzo'd out or drun and having a shot, not the other way around. Better yet just stay clear of the combo fullstop :/

 

[mostly-human]

Yes, easily done. You just never know with opiates. My fiancee dropped a few nights ago, after a usual dose of heroin after a night of drinking (quite a lot of alcohol). Luckily CPR + Ambos saved the day. I've dropped myself a couple times, both times involved a regular dose of heroin + benzos. And I've seen it countless other times as well.

IMHO - People who don't take heroin tend to over think the risks and people that do take heroin tend to down-play the risks. In the end- it can be a relatively safe drug, if you're using it on it's own and know your dose. But as soon as you start to mix CNS depressants, you're taking a chance, obviously it usually ends up OK - generally even if you pass out, you'll probably keep breathing. But not always. My advice to everyone is if you're mixing your gear with other alcohol, benzos, etc - then it really pays to have another person around.

Generally speaking - if somebody calls you an ambulance as soon as you drop and applies CPR until they arrive, you should be fine. But if you got no one around to do those two things, well then you may just not wake up.

 

[mostly-human]

I'll just add actually - last time I dropped, I had been using xanax, quite a bit earlier in the day actually - about 3mg. Then maybe 6-8hrs later I took a pretty small dose of heroin, didn't really feel very stoned and about the last thing I remember saying is "I don't feel much, I'm going to have a tiny bit more". I then dosed the same amount, once again - really quite a small dose and I really didn't feel very stoned - apparently I lasted about 30 seconds after the 2nd dose then hit the deck. So yes - benzos - particularly the strong short-acting ones like xanax, can really mess with your ability to stay conscious / breathing when taking opiates. Even if you think you're being careful - taking small doses and such, it really really doesn't take much at all to do the trick.

 

[acidprime]

I've had friends randomly score oxy,xanax etc over the last year... I'm always on the high horse telling them to be careful, mixing with alcohol and whatever else they score.. I'm paranoid about opiates and benzos, i wish they were too. I feel the poly-drug use message has fallen to the way side in the last few years, people really need to be fully educated, especially with the amount of unknown chemicals floating around these days.

 

[smokemctoke420]

I was more paranoid. I usually don't have benzos to much but when I do I only take like 20 mgs of oxy which gets me nice and high plus like 1-1.5 of Ativan or Xanax and if I drink with it I'm usually not having more then a mg of Ativan and I don't drink as much as I usually would. I've never really had a problem, I actually like opiates and alcohol instead of opiates, alcohol, and benzos cuz I don't get super sloppy. But for the most part it's just one or the other but I prefer it be more then 1

 

[drw]

A friend was in a coma and now has a severe dispersed brain injury because he took heroin and benzodiazapines at the same time, which lead to his heart not beating for at least 4 minutes. Don't do it.

 

[tentram]

thanks for the warning and advice. you're a lucky person having a partner who has experience and knowledge of first aid and made the right calls! glad to hear you're a-ok, mate. stay safe!

it's always a great idea to have company or someone on standby, like on the phone for example, when using several CNS depressants in a session, and is always a great idea for those who are regular opioid and benzo users to get themselves trained and acquire a first aid certificate to help facilitate any persons they're with who may experience something of similar nature.

again, great to hear you're still around to tell your story and share your advice.

 

[Standup]

From a medical point of view, combining benzos and opiates is a great way to drastically lower the doses and side effects of all required drugs while still getting optimum effectiveness. Benzos and opiates by themselves are not even considered sedative, only anti anxiety until you hit the high dose ranges (and then keep going some). The combination of these drugs is considered sedative at all doses. The amount of sedation it takes to anaesthetise you is very much dependant on your brain activity at that time (mood, energy levels) and your general health. If your sick, your body will be far far less able to stop that same dose from ODing you. Tolerance and mixing will both increase the chance that you can OD from a dose you could normally handle.

I can barely have an enjoyable dose of opiates without getting seriously sick for hours. If i have a much lower dose and add in some valium its a far far more enjoyable experience, and for me the only way opiates are worth it + a shitload cheaper. Tramadols my opiate of choice (without benzos) because its the only one I dont get really sick from. I have 0 tolerance though and dont mix alcohol in.

This is more medical theory, dont know if that's actually useful HR to anyone.

very high dose SSRI + first ever e (and drug apart from weed) was not a fun experience and it wasn't till awhile later that I even found out that is not what is supposed to happen. Had a J and got a nice rush for about 20min. Was shaking, disoriented, lights blurred and enhanced and on the verge of an anxiety attack for about 3 hours which is a horrible death like feeling when your thoughts are relatively calm and collected. Had several friends say they want to try E while on antidepressants. None of them have had any idea that it could be dangerous

 

[mostly-human]

a great idea for those who are regular opioid and benzo users to get themselves trained and acquire a first aid certificate to help facilitate any persons they're with who may experience something of similar nature.

Whilst I obviously agree that would be ideal. I must say - performing CPR is not actually difficult, even if you've never done it before. As soon as you call 000 they will guide you through the process, it's not a hard thing to do, basically lie someone flat on their back on a hard surface (not a bed, couch etc), tilt their head back - then do 3 deep breaths followed by 30 chest compressions. They'll stay with you on the phone the whole way until the ambulance arrives.


The most important thing is, if you're ever in a situation where somebody 'drops' - don't hesitate, as soon as someone loses consciousness after a dose, see if you can wake them - if not - call an ambulance immediately. The reality is, in a lot of cases they'll probably keep breathing enough (even if shallow breaths) to not actually die as a result. But it's never worth the risk. On the other hand, if you call an ambulance immediately not only will you almost guarantee their survival but you'll minimise the risk of brain damage.. If somebody stops breathing for long enough and the brain starts starving of oxygen, it doesn't take long for brain damage to a occur, a few minutes is all.

So the most important thing, goes for any drug really, is to never hesitate - if you think an ambulance may be needed, just call it. They don't involve police - in fact, police are waaaay more likely to be involved if you don't call an ambulance, since they will become involved if somebody dies or becomes seriously injured, especially if it's a result of those around them being negligent to get help.

 

[Minion]

Any one that uses benzos and opiates together will fuck up eventually. It's happened to nearly every one I have known to do so, including myself. Don't be surprised when it does.

I haven't. That I can remember.

 

[mostly-human]

I haven't. That I can remember.

This "That I can remember." is quite ambiguous and I'm not sure exactly what you're implying here and whether you're being serious or immature (no offense 0 but it's a hell of a thing if you're serious that you're qualifying your claim to not having Over-Dosing by same 'that I can remember' as though maybe you have over-dosed but are so degenerate you're not even sure, which just seems incredibly unlikely).

Anyhow - not sure what your opiate use is exactly - but if you're regularly injecting a strong opiate, like heroin - then statistically it's pretty likely at some point you'll have an over-dose of some kind, either due to something within your control - like being silly and mixing CNS depressents, taking a hero-sized dose, or ever something out of your control, like a sudden spike in quality.

At any rate - if you are a serious opiate user, don't ever think it won't happen to you because it really is the nature of the beast and it happens surprisingly easy.. one thing you're feeling OK (good even) next moment you're waking up to an ambo jabbing you in the arm with a shot of narcan.