Diethyl ether half-life

[Synaps3]

I can't seem to find any info on the half-life of diethyl ether. I want to know if someone were to inhale or ingest ether, how long would the effects be and how long will you smell (inhalation vs ingestion)?

 

[RDP89]

I can't find the half-life anywhere right now either, but I know from experience with inhalation of diethyl ether that the high builds up with each "hit" you take but doesn't last too long once you stop inhaling, I would say 20 minutes and you'd be pretty much back at baseline, if memory serves me correctly.

However, the smell is another story, as it can linger long after and as far as I know is basically impossible to get rid of, except with time. I remember when I was a teenager and using the stuff frequently my grandfather smelled it on me a couple hours after I had used. I was well sober by this point and had no idea I still smelled, but ether has a very strong solvent smell that lingers in your throat so that you're constantly exhaling the smell, much like with alcohol, but ether has a stronger odor.
I have no personal experience with drinking the stuff, but from reports I remember reading, the effects do still wear off fast, though almost certainly not as quick as with inhalation, but quite a bit faster than those of alcohol.

If you are planning on using diethyl ether, I would be very careful to make sure what you're using is pure diethyl ether. DO NOT get it from starting fluid or the like as it contains petroleum distillates which are fucking nasty and potentially very harmful. Although it appears to be much safer than other volatile solvents, I would still advise against using it. One thing to remember is it is highly flammable, and it doesn't necessarily need a spark to ignite. It can collect low to the ground and creep pretty far to an ignition source. When mixed with air it can form explosive peroxides.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

Od -> BDD

 

[Deleted member 170540]

Ether has two-phase pharmacokinetics, which means that it is first distributed to your whole body (especially fatty tissues) with some short half-life and after that it's more slowly excreted to your exhaled air (some percentage is also metabolized in the liver). The excretion through the lungs is a bit slower than with many other anaesthetics because ether is not completely water insoluble and therefore a small concentration of ether in your blood doesn't have a huge vapor pressure. If you huff ether for long enough (maybe an hour or two) to have a large concentration accumulated to your subcutaneous fat and similar parts of your body, the full recovery to sober state can take over an hour, which is a lot longer than with something like nitrous oxide.

 

[d1nach]

I just tried this 0/10 so dizzy basically felt like vertigo.

Splitting headache... and I only took two breaths maybe I did it wrong because I had it in a waterbottle then id cracl the cap and inhale the pressured gas then wait for it to pop again. Wouldnt recommend and my mouth is numb

 

[Amml]

I would say this largely influenced by the dosage. Because as far as I know Diethylether is not metabolized (or only in neglecting amounts) and most of it is just breathed out again (this is why you should never smoke after you inhaled diethylether!!).
I heared that ether narcosis was used in the past and the waking up was described as horrible and it took a long time for the patients to get clear again.
I used ether a few times myself, but only until the point where I felt this dissociative effect (about 10-15 deep breaths) and then stopped. It took about 10 minutes to get down and the smell in the breath lasted for about 1-2 hours.

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

Yes it takes a while for a proper concentration to build up in the body, it isn't nearly as potent as the more modern inhalational anaesthetics such as fr.ex sevofluorane, best way in my experience to use it via inhalation is a plastic bottle with a little bit of some sort of absorbent material to act like a wick in the bottom, and filling the bottle to slightly below the level reached by the absorbent, doesn't matter what, fabric, bog roll, anything like that works. Although I'd suggest if bog roll be used, that it should be unused bog roll, and not some thats been used for wiping somebody's chocolate starfish beforehand

Orally it lasts considerably longer, it hits harder too, quite a bit more potent. Best way to use it is to do both IMO, that is to say, an oral dose followed up with inhalation. No need to fart about with unscrewing and screwing the cap back on, if you wish to let the vapor concentration build up, just stick the ball of your thumb over the bottle neck and give it a bit of a shake, then slowly keep breathing in through the nose (pressed to the bottle neck) and out through the mouth.

Oral dosage is about a 5-10ml to start with. Easiest way to consume it is poured onto a shot of spirit (alcoholic) and downed in one, followed up by a chaser of whatever suits your taste, beer, cola, doesn't matter much, its just to wash it down.

Or, a cocktail I came up with, that I call a 'manhattan project'

You need:

Vodka (GOOD vodka mind you, none of that cheapass rough as shit toilet cleaner/paint stripper grade hobo-fuel garbage.
Lime soda, preferably tesco own brand cheap lime fizzy pop.
Codeine linctus, 'bells' or 'care+' are the brands to use if available in your country, these are UK brands, and are flavoured/preserved with chloroform, this is vital IMO for the right taste of the drink.
And of course, diethyl or diisopropyl ether, diethyl tastes better IMO.

Layer the codeine syrup on the bottom and then CAREFULLY poure over a mixture of vodka and lime soda, a squeeze of fresh lime doesn't go amiss either. And get a little plastic measuring cup, like the kind used for dispensing liquid medicines, make sure first that the ether won't melt it, but something that will float on top, fill with ether, and get a couple of lime wedges, stick them on the side of the glass close together to hold the cup of ether between them, add a third if needs be to bridge the first two slices of lime, and prevent the ether spilling or the little shooter glass floating away when you try and drink it, basically the idea is to lock it in place with lime slices.

Then think 'jagerbomb', ether goes down first then gets washed down by the vodka and lime mixture, and finally there is the sweet, thick, sugary codeine syrup with its aromatic chloroform-ey taste and scent to cleanse the palate at the bottom. Lovely. And its got a kick like a cruise missile too. Hence my christening it the manhattan project (after the manhattan cocktail, plus a tongue in cheek reference to the US nuclear program.

And if you want to smoke anything, do it BEFORE making and drinking this lil' sucker. And don't use shitty starting fluid either, certainly don't drink it, use the best quality diethyl or diisopropyl ether you can get. No need for spectroscopy grade or anything, but do use good quality ether, that of course goes triply so if your going to drink it.

Drinking lasts longer and needs considerably less than inhalation alone. Also it doesn't give a hangover like ethanol does, at least it never has me, although you can smell/taste it on your breath for a fair while after.

And in case the message about not using starting fluid didn't get through, there is always a small proportion of high-boiling cylinder lubricant in it, plus an aliphatic alkane solvent, usually heptane. But I've seen a list of all sorts, diethyl/diisopropyl ether mixture with acetone, heptane, xylene and denatured alcohol, depending on the brand. It can be distilled with care for a usable solvent but is in no way ever fit for consumption. It does make for a handy spray on lubricant for ground glass joints when fitting lab glass together though, since the ether and alkane quickly evaporate off leaving a thin film of the cylinder oil, requiring much less greasy crap than using say, vaseline or other lubricants.

 

[Amml]

I think the combination of alcohol, ether and opiates is not something to recommend to others, it could actually be deadly, even if you and your friends can stand it. And even 5ml ether orally could be a high dose for some people. Ether is definetly not something to play around with.

Inhalation is the safer way, in the case of an overdose you maybe pass out and so you consume no more ether. But always keep in mind that doses that lead to passing out can also cause cardiac arrest.

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

I wouldn't suggest going overboard with the EtOH. As for the codeine syrup, its hardly an extremely potent opioid, and is relatively slow to act being a prodrug, giving the ether some time to decline from point of peak activity. In any case, at least for that cocktail, its necessary for flavour as much as anything, hence why I specified the brands that work, the hint of chloroform in it provides the perfect sweetness and aromatic flavour to chase it down. And of course, nobody is saying that one need the full 0.5g of codeine (metabolic ceiling past which there is no point taking more)

Inhalation works well enough sure, I think I prefer a mixture of both oral and inhalation personally,

 

[Amml]

Chloroform??

 

[oliveoyl]

Found some air horns, pretty cool there flammable, was goin to put a nozzel on butane can....huffin air horns

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

Yes, chloroform. I was as surprised as you are to see it listed as an ingredient in a medicine intended for internal use in this day and age, but it is present in those two british codeine cough syrups, not sure if it is intended as preservative, flavour, or both, but its in there, and there is enough that if the lime soda is used without a splash of vodka to make up my signature cocktail, it oils out on the bottom of the glass. I don't for a moment suggest using CHCl3 recreationally itself, I.e by inhalation, because it causes the myocardium to become sensitized to (nor/)adrenaline, and induces a propensity towards increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia.

And DON'T go huffing gas fer' shits sake, most inhalants are, quite honestly, the lowest of the low, and are destructive as hell to the body and mind. I confess, I did try both CHCl3 and C2H2Cl2 when I was a kid a few times, way before I knew any better, before I had access to the internet and found out about how dangerous most inhalants are. Stick to ether (diisopropyl ether from my experience also, does not seem to be toxic, I have experienced no side effects from its consumption or inhalation, at any rate), nitrous oxide, xenon I doubt very much would be toxic, other than through hypoxia (xenon is used medicinally as a general inhalational anaesthetic, although IIRC, through closed-circuit breathing equipment that recycles the Xe, since its so expensive and present in small quantities in our atmosphere.)

Not sure what I'd say about use of the medically used volatile general anaesthetics, E.g the likes of sevoflurane, enflurane, desflurane and their relatives. Avoid halothane however, because it is somewhat toxic, and breaks down to release the toxic F- ion in, if memory serves correctly, the kidneys) I wouldn't do it often, but I have tried sevoflurane and in sub-knockout doses I found it very pleasant, similar to diethyl/diisopropyl ether subjectively but FAR more potent. Doesn't take much to cross the line between very, very dissociated and out cold, however.

Certainly avoid the likes of butane, and other alkanes though, as well as aromatics such as toluene, xylene and benzene (benzene is especially nasty as far as such solvents go, because unlike toluene and xylene it is planar enough to intercalate DNA, and it is prone to causing leukaemia, in particular) The rest of those solvents are neurotoxic and like CHCl3 they cause the same kind of sensitization of the heart to (nor/)adrenaline, meaning that a sudden shock or startle, even a relatively minor one, may cause a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

Whilst some otherwise dangerous or risky drugs can be done with a measure of safety given correct care in dosage and manner of use, these inhalants for the most part cannot, and use as a psychoactive is inseparable from organ and neurological damage.

Also, amongst the alkanes, there is one in particular that is significantly more toxic than the rest, n-hexane, because it forms a nasty neurotoxic metabolite, hexan-2,5-dione, which like other alkane γ-diketones, these metabolites are not only acutely, but chronically neurotoxic in a manner distinct from the mode of toxicity exerted by overexposure to other alkanes, interacting with lysine residues within nerve axons and undergoing a cross-linking rxn that interferes with normal neuronal signalling and results in degeneration of the affected nerves. Targeting both peripheral and central nervous systems, and resulting in a sensory neuropathy, ataxia, potentially blindness, potentially paralysis, and degeneration of muscle tissue, presumably to deinnervation and loss of input from the motor nerves, I assume that thus the resultant loss of capacity to use the muscle(s) affected results in the atrophy observed in same.