LaGaFàNi
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2016
- Messages
- 93
Dry eyes, red / inflammated eye, headache, pain around / in the eyes and blurred vision when taking stimulants -
elevated IOP - intraocular eye pressure - and it's relation to stimulant (ab)use -
If you have blood-shot, very red eyes, great pain coming from under your upper-eyelid and the eye or feel there is "pressure", discomfort coming from your eyes, call an ophtalmologist asap / go to the ER / if you can drink alcohol/vape glycerol (contained in most vape preps)/smoke weed. <= only OTCs that will help.
To get an idea of what it takes to develop bad symptoms:
This week-end I got to meet up with an "old" buddy of mine who I hadn't seen since december 2015. Long story short he had quite a lot of pills, planned on having a good week-end but it didn't all go as planned. On friday we started taking some speed here and there, then we each started off with a 270mg MDMA pill (99.9% sure about it being MDMA) followed 1h30 later by a second one, same dosage. Over the next hour he developped extreme vasoconstriction and had a heartbeat of +-160BPM - which is quite normal for such a dosage associated with amphetamine.
But after some time had passed - he had hydrated correctly- the man developped extreme drought in the eyes ( yellowish substance instead of tears, which spread over his eyelid - he had to remove it manually - made him wash his hands etc) aswell as very pronounced reddening of the eyeball (I've never seen such something - like more red than white, and yellowish where it should have been white) with swelling of all the veins on the eyelid that are normally unseen. At that point I was too intoxicated to realise the gravity of such an occurance, and just told him to apply a few drops of ophtalmic solution every now and then. [I should have called an ambulance at this point, and feel quite stupid]
The next day he still felt like there was a weird pressure around and in his eyes, and at one point it developped into a headache (after +70mg amp. over the course of 2-3 hours) so he layed down for 30mins or so. A hot shower and eyedrops helped, to the point where he just ignored the issue and took 270mg MDMA again, along with a bit of extra speed, followed 2 hours lates by an additional 270mg MDMA. (I dully followed with a bit more speed and no more MD)
Once again, after the 2h mark, only 15mins after the second pill, he felt a painful pressure around the lobes and and his eyes apparently where desert-dry. I checked if it was glaucoma by verifying pupil reaction to light, and it came out as negative; but still it remained quite bothersome.
Sunday, same story. The symptoms were less aggravating than the days before, but still remained a issue. He took the bus back to his town (2h ride) around 1400 and kept msging me he felt like his eyes could just pop out at any second, that the bus ride was hell etc. (and all the usual come-down bs)
He told me he started developping a tic where that consist out of blinking in an excessive manner due to the discomfort coming from underneath the upper eye-lid.
EDIT:Typo // The guy has been using stims for a pretty long time (did my first lines with him, first pill too) and might therefore have constant HBP - high blood pressure, but I myself hadn't ever seen such an issue due to stim use. It's good to take note of the fact that he still considered to have overdone it dosage-wise, and thinks that it was combining so much MD with amp. that caused him to turn devil-eyed. (like litterally)
Anyway, did my research, and it seems to be (IMO) one of the most underestimated dangers of stim use, see why:
___ Researched this whole mess and was astonished that there weren't more reports about this issue; anyway here's what I've gotten out of it:
It seems IOP (intraocular pressure) is regulated by vessels that are susceptible to alteration of their mecanism because of excessive sympathomimetic stimulation and its side effects. => IOP is regulated in the eye by the trabecular meshwork and myofibrillic muscles around it.
The trabecular meshwork expediates excessive fluid directly into the bloodstream. If bloodpressure is too high, and/or that the myofibrillic muscles are so tense they "squeeze" the trabecular meshwork, the pressure inside the eye will become dangerously elevated.(!) Basically when excessive DA/NE/SERT activity keeps you from peeing, the same goes on in your eye.
And this is a semi-guess, but my experience solidates the hypothesis; mixed SERT/DAT/NET releasers/RIs (MDxx) or strong 5-HTx agonists / MAOIs (5-Meo-MiPT) seem to be the most problematic drugs eye-wise, (but also most enjoyable, dilemma) as the eye is known to possess a lot of HT receptors. They're also known to more often cause uncomfortable vasoconstriction / tense muscles etc, basically the more serious side effects that might be the cause of dangerously elevated IOP. Drugs that act as Ca+ ion agonist are also at risk of posing IOP related health issues. People with naturally elevated steroid plasma also seem to be more at risk.
If you ever become worried or just know that your IOP is too elevated, drink alcohol (most solvents like ether, ethyl-acetate, isopropanol, 2M2B etc seem fine too, it has to lessen vasoconstriciton and muscle tension) or smoke cannabis, and if you're a saint who doesn't take these, then eat/drink as much glycerol containing stuff as you can, and if you've got some vape-pen, know that most of these contain PG/glycerol! Vape and save your eyes.
Thinking back upon it all, I think the main reason there are no documented reports of people developping glaucoma is because they die/faint etc because of hypertensive crisis before the glaucoma fully develops. Or get ER'd and treated with hypotensives which basically is the treatment for IOhypertension. Still I wonder about long-term use and long-term damage done to the retina.
Sources, in order of understanding:
Wikipedia sources on the main pathology/organs involved:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension#Signs_and_symptoms
["Long term high blood pressure, however, is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, vision loss, and chronic kidney disease."] - ["On physical examination, hypertension may be associated with the presence of changes in the optic fundus seen by ophthalmoscopy.[17] The severity of the changes typical of hypertensive retinopathy is graded from I–IV; grades I and II may be difficult to differentiate.[17] The severity of the retinopathy correlates roughly with the duration or the severity of the hypertension."]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraocular_pressure
["Ocular hypertension is the most important risk factor for glaucoma."] - ["Intraocular pressure laws follow fundamentally from physics."] - ["Intraocular pressure also varies with a number of other factors such as heart rate, respiration, fluid intake, systemic medication and topical drugs. Alcohol and marijuana consumption leads to a transient decrease in intraocular pressure and caffeine may increase intraocular pressure"]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabecular_meshwork
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertensive_retinopathy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_hypertension#Treatment
Some forum threads about amphetamine induced complications of the eye:
https://drugs-forum.com/threads/adderall-induced-eye-complications.80346/
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85066
http://bluelight.org/vb/threads/679...e-Induced-Bloodshot-Eyes-Resistant-to-Visine-!
If a moderator could add this to the appropriate HR thread or make it more available (google search etc) I think it may be of good service.
elevated IOP - intraocular eye pressure - and it's relation to stimulant (ab)use -
If you have blood-shot, very red eyes, great pain coming from under your upper-eyelid and the eye or feel there is "pressure", discomfort coming from your eyes, call an ophtalmologist asap / go to the ER / if you can drink alcohol/vape glycerol (contained in most vape preps)/smoke weed. <= only OTCs that will help.
To get an idea of what it takes to develop bad symptoms:
This week-end I got to meet up with an "old" buddy of mine who I hadn't seen since december 2015. Long story short he had quite a lot of pills, planned on having a good week-end but it didn't all go as planned. On friday we started taking some speed here and there, then we each started off with a 270mg MDMA pill (99.9% sure about it being MDMA) followed 1h30 later by a second one, same dosage. Over the next hour he developped extreme vasoconstriction and had a heartbeat of +-160BPM - which is quite normal for such a dosage associated with amphetamine.
But after some time had passed - he had hydrated correctly- the man developped extreme drought in the eyes ( yellowish substance instead of tears, which spread over his eyelid - he had to remove it manually - made him wash his hands etc) aswell as very pronounced reddening of the eyeball (I've never seen such something - like more red than white, and yellowish where it should have been white) with swelling of all the veins on the eyelid that are normally unseen. At that point I was too intoxicated to realise the gravity of such an occurance, and just told him to apply a few drops of ophtalmic solution every now and then. [I should have called an ambulance at this point, and feel quite stupid]
The next day he still felt like there was a weird pressure around and in his eyes, and at one point it developped into a headache (after +70mg amp. over the course of 2-3 hours) so he layed down for 30mins or so. A hot shower and eyedrops helped, to the point where he just ignored the issue and took 270mg MDMA again, along with a bit of extra speed, followed 2 hours lates by an additional 270mg MDMA. (I dully followed with a bit more speed and no more MD)
Once again, after the 2h mark, only 15mins after the second pill, he felt a painful pressure around the lobes and and his eyes apparently where desert-dry. I checked if it was glaucoma by verifying pupil reaction to light, and it came out as negative; but still it remained quite bothersome.
Sunday, same story. The symptoms were less aggravating than the days before, but still remained a issue. He took the bus back to his town (2h ride) around 1400 and kept msging me he felt like his eyes could just pop out at any second, that the bus ride was hell etc. (and all the usual come-down bs)
He told me he started developping a tic where that consist out of blinking in an excessive manner due to the discomfort coming from underneath the upper eye-lid.
EDIT:Typo // The guy has been using stims for a pretty long time (did my first lines with him, first pill too) and might therefore have constant HBP - high blood pressure, but I myself hadn't ever seen such an issue due to stim use. It's good to take note of the fact that he still considered to have overdone it dosage-wise, and thinks that it was combining so much MD with amp. that caused him to turn devil-eyed. (like litterally)
Anyway, did my research, and it seems to be (IMO) one of the most underestimated dangers of stim use, see why:
___ Researched this whole mess and was astonished that there weren't more reports about this issue; anyway here's what I've gotten out of it:
It seems IOP (intraocular pressure) is regulated by vessels that are susceptible to alteration of their mecanism because of excessive sympathomimetic stimulation and its side effects. => IOP is regulated in the eye by the trabecular meshwork and myofibrillic muscles around it.
The trabecular meshwork expediates excessive fluid directly into the bloodstream. If bloodpressure is too high, and/or that the myofibrillic muscles are so tense they "squeeze" the trabecular meshwork, the pressure inside the eye will become dangerously elevated.(!) Basically when excessive DA/NE/SERT activity keeps you from peeing, the same goes on in your eye.
And this is a semi-guess, but my experience solidates the hypothesis; mixed SERT/DAT/NET releasers/RIs (MDxx) or strong 5-HTx agonists / MAOIs (5-Meo-MiPT) seem to be the most problematic drugs eye-wise, (but also most enjoyable, dilemma) as the eye is known to possess a lot of HT receptors. They're also known to more often cause uncomfortable vasoconstriction / tense muscles etc, basically the more serious side effects that might be the cause of dangerously elevated IOP. Drugs that act as Ca+ ion agonist are also at risk of posing IOP related health issues. People with naturally elevated steroid plasma also seem to be more at risk.
If you ever become worried or just know that your IOP is too elevated, drink alcohol (most solvents like ether, ethyl-acetate, isopropanol, 2M2B etc seem fine too, it has to lessen vasoconstriciton and muscle tension) or smoke cannabis, and if you're a saint who doesn't take these, then eat/drink as much glycerol containing stuff as you can, and if you've got some vape-pen, know that most of these contain PG/glycerol! Vape and save your eyes.
Thinking back upon it all, I think the main reason there are no documented reports of people developping glaucoma is because they die/faint etc because of hypertensive crisis before the glaucoma fully develops. Or get ER'd and treated with hypotensives which basically is the treatment for IOhypertension. Still I wonder about long-term use and long-term damage done to the retina.
Sources, in order of understanding:
Wikipedia sources on the main pathology/organs involved:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension#Signs_and_symptoms
["Long term high blood pressure, however, is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, vision loss, and chronic kidney disease."] - ["On physical examination, hypertension may be associated with the presence of changes in the optic fundus seen by ophthalmoscopy.[17] The severity of the changes typical of hypertensive retinopathy is graded from I–IV; grades I and II may be difficult to differentiate.[17] The severity of the retinopathy correlates roughly with the duration or the severity of the hypertension."]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraocular_pressure
["Ocular hypertension is the most important risk factor for glaucoma."] - ["Intraocular pressure laws follow fundamentally from physics."] - ["Intraocular pressure also varies with a number of other factors such as heart rate, respiration, fluid intake, systemic medication and topical drugs. Alcohol and marijuana consumption leads to a transient decrease in intraocular pressure and caffeine may increase intraocular pressure"]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabecular_meshwork
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertensive_retinopathy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_hypertension#Treatment
Some forum threads about amphetamine induced complications of the eye:
https://drugs-forum.com/threads/adderall-induced-eye-complications.80346/
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85066
http://bluelight.org/vb/threads/679...e-Induced-Bloodshot-Eyes-Resistant-to-Visine-!
If a moderator could add this to the appropriate HR thread or make it more available (google search etc) I think it may be of good service.
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