Hello,
Don't know where this belongs but I've been meaning to share this story as an anecdote to add to the relatively small body of data regarding levamisole contamination in cocaine in the interest of harm reduction.
I was a very occasional cocaine user- polydrug but if I bought a gram with a friend for a night out I was likely to bring home half. We obtained from various known sources inside clubs (ie we knew the faces of the guys- didn't know much else). One week we got two- for us and a g for me to bring home to share with 4 other friends later. We got from a guy we don't normally buy from- later that night my friend was feeling off and wondered if the coke was off. When the rest was shared with other friends, no other substances consumed but alcohol, another, experienced friend felt ill and wondered aloud if the powder was off. I didn't notice anything. I took about half a gram home and finished it over the course of a week- very small indulgences. Then I got on a plane. 3 days later when I returned I came down with a fever that did not let up for three weeks, the last two of which I spent in the hospital.
Initial symptom was literally just fever. When it didn't subside the Dr asked me to wait as likely the flu was coming. After one week my urine turned dark and a liver panel came up very irregular and I was admitted. A chest x-ray showed nodules on my lungs- implying a blood-borne infection or inhaled infectious agent. I don't use IV drugs and didn't admit to using insufflated substances. I only mentioned MDMA taken orally. One note on this: as an adult my parents weren't required to be there but my worried mother showed up to the hospital every day. The doctors who came by multiple times a day would tell me I could excuse my mother when I answered personal questions- and she would respect my privacy and leave the room. However- what they considered personal questions were only those of my sexual history then they would freely ask questions about my drug use in front of my mom. In retrospect- I would have been way more likely to answer truthfully without my mother there to hear it! Strange how the only thing to override my survival instinct was my shame and fear of disappointing my mother.
My liver stabilized on its own, but the fever stayed. Bacterial cultures were always negative and every test, from simple blood tests to terrifying, uncomfortable and humiliating tests revealed nothing. Fever finally gave up and I got better and was released. Like an idiot did a little bit of coke after release. Went back for follow-up tests and presented with agranulocytosis. They were worried and thought I must have a parasite. They never considered levamisole because coke was never brought up, and at the time I had no idea about this contaminant and its possible effects. After a few days my blood returned to normal and I was released into society.
Agranulocytosis weakens your immune system and is a result of exposure to levamisole for a portion (~10%) of the population. I believe I was exposed to levamisole, then upon traveling picked up a foreign but weak virus that took advantage of my compromised immune system and made me very sick. Since I waited a week before going to the hospital my blood had regulated so they didn't detect the lack of cells but the virus was already well established. On my next exposure to the (likely tainted) coke I didn't get sick- but the bloodwork clearly showed a change directly after exposure.
I know this isn't a sure shot, but the lack if people reporting drug use and the lack of physicians linking this condition to the intake of levamisole tainted substances means that a ton of experiences like mine have likely gone unreported. If you have used coke recently and come down with a fever tell your Dr what you have been up to! I don't know a solution until this shit disappears from the supply line either. It can't be washed out using typical procedures (acetone wash). I'd rather consume a bunch of meth and sugar than this shit, tbh.
The coke was from the Bay Area, spring 2012 btw. I have good insurance and if I didn't my hospital bills would have come out to nearly 0.5 million USD btw. I still payed a few grand out of pocket. Yay privatized healthcare.
Take care!
Don't know where this belongs but I've been meaning to share this story as an anecdote to add to the relatively small body of data regarding levamisole contamination in cocaine in the interest of harm reduction.
I was a very occasional cocaine user- polydrug but if I bought a gram with a friend for a night out I was likely to bring home half. We obtained from various known sources inside clubs (ie we knew the faces of the guys- didn't know much else). One week we got two- for us and a g for me to bring home to share with 4 other friends later. We got from a guy we don't normally buy from- later that night my friend was feeling off and wondered if the coke was off. When the rest was shared with other friends, no other substances consumed but alcohol, another, experienced friend felt ill and wondered aloud if the powder was off. I didn't notice anything. I took about half a gram home and finished it over the course of a week- very small indulgences. Then I got on a plane. 3 days later when I returned I came down with a fever that did not let up for three weeks, the last two of which I spent in the hospital.
Initial symptom was literally just fever. When it didn't subside the Dr asked me to wait as likely the flu was coming. After one week my urine turned dark and a liver panel came up very irregular and I was admitted. A chest x-ray showed nodules on my lungs- implying a blood-borne infection or inhaled infectious agent. I don't use IV drugs and didn't admit to using insufflated substances. I only mentioned MDMA taken orally. One note on this: as an adult my parents weren't required to be there but my worried mother showed up to the hospital every day. The doctors who came by multiple times a day would tell me I could excuse my mother when I answered personal questions- and she would respect my privacy and leave the room. However- what they considered personal questions were only those of my sexual history then they would freely ask questions about my drug use in front of my mom. In retrospect- I would have been way more likely to answer truthfully without my mother there to hear it! Strange how the only thing to override my survival instinct was my shame and fear of disappointing my mother.
My liver stabilized on its own, but the fever stayed. Bacterial cultures were always negative and every test, from simple blood tests to terrifying, uncomfortable and humiliating tests revealed nothing. Fever finally gave up and I got better and was released. Like an idiot did a little bit of coke after release. Went back for follow-up tests and presented with agranulocytosis. They were worried and thought I must have a parasite. They never considered levamisole because coke was never brought up, and at the time I had no idea about this contaminant and its possible effects. After a few days my blood returned to normal and I was released into society.
Agranulocytosis weakens your immune system and is a result of exposure to levamisole for a portion (~10%) of the population. I believe I was exposed to levamisole, then upon traveling picked up a foreign but weak virus that took advantage of my compromised immune system and made me very sick. Since I waited a week before going to the hospital my blood had regulated so they didn't detect the lack of cells but the virus was already well established. On my next exposure to the (likely tainted) coke I didn't get sick- but the bloodwork clearly showed a change directly after exposure.
I know this isn't a sure shot, but the lack if people reporting drug use and the lack of physicians linking this condition to the intake of levamisole tainted substances means that a ton of experiences like mine have likely gone unreported. If you have used coke recently and come down with a fever tell your Dr what you have been up to! I don't know a solution until this shit disappears from the supply line either. It can't be washed out using typical procedures (acetone wash). I'd rather consume a bunch of meth and sugar than this shit, tbh.
The coke was from the Bay Area, spring 2012 btw. I have good insurance and if I didn't my hospital bills would have come out to nearly 0.5 million USD btw. I still payed a few grand out of pocket. Yay privatized healthcare.
Take care!
