• Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Harm Reduction Drug Use and Body Temperature

Captain.Heroin

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
94,868
Hello all, it's been a while since I've posted in Other Drugs so I really wanted to create a quality contribution for once, perhaps in an attempt to make amends for all the derelict things I've done over the years, like shooting buprenorphine, methamphetamine, DMT.... :| A quick note to any new, newer, or new-ish users, I have lost many friends to drug use over the years and still am unsure of how I'm still here. Life is precious, drugs can really be fun but don't let it be the focus of your day or life or anything.

I am inquiring as to the often referenced hypothermia google responses...


If a low body temperature is your only symptom, it is not something to worry about. If a low body temperature occurs with other symptoms, such as chills, shaking, breathing problems, or confusion, then this may be a sign of more serious illness.

Low body temperature usually happens from being out in cold weather. But it may also be caused by alcohol or drug use, going into shock , or certain disorders such as diabetes or low thyroid .

A low body temperature may occur with an infection. This is most common in newborns, older adults, or people who are frail. A very bad infection, such as sepsis , may also cause an abnormal low body temperature.

For the record I am not having chills, shaking, breathing problems or confusion. Assuming I can rule out things like walking around in the cold weather, shock, diabetes, hypothyroidism, infection and sepsis.... then

what drugs cause hypothermia? Is it something like dose-dependent?

I took my temperature about 15 minutes ago and it has read 96.7°F (35.9°C). This is not normal for me. I am used to having a 98.6°F reading (37°C).

For sake of harm reduction, I want to make a list of drugs (and perhaps relative conditions/dosages) that will alter body temperature as part of the covid-19 approach is now temperature measurement (and already was for illness to begin with, etc.) so I will edit this post as information is confirmed.

Specifically finding information on what drugs will do to body temperature has been quite difficult.
 
Specifically finding information on what drugs will do to body temperature has been quite difficult.
For instance, methamphetamine or methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) will raise body temperature, but an overdose can cause hypothermia, correct?

 
Looks like for both addicts and novice heroin users, hypothermia is a result.

5 Body temperature fell after injection of heroin in a similar way in both groups while neither skin temperature nor skin conductance changed. This was interpreted as a drug-induced alteration in thermo-regulatory mechanisms.


KLRBI7i.jpg


Can someone tell me if those are small/weak dosages or whatever for the study?

1 Intravenous heroin (diamorphine) was administered to volunteers, in doses of 2.5 and 5 mg to non-dependent and doses of 1/6, 1/3 and 1/2 of their prescribed daily dose of opiates to dependent subjects, and heart and respiration rates, blood pressure, body and skin temperature and skin conductance were measured before and for 2 h after injection.

If only I had a brain.... like @sekio

8a5abe2ed7c4fdedf2b5e28aac799331.jpg


By the way I am struggling to find an opioid calculator that will include IV heroin to oral morphine dosages (this is a comparison I would like to make).
 
Last edited:
It appears a 5mg IV heroin shot can cause 0.4°C drop to say, 98.2°F.


In this pdf does it really imply some states have different "requirements" for opioid conversion or use ranges, or something? What did that slide mean?

Looking at slide entitled "Example Converting to MEDD", 10mg morphine IV is like 30mg morphine orally.

Is 5mg heroin IV equivalent to 10mg of morphine? This is what I seem to remember (pure heroin, obviously) and then, can I extrapolate to assume my temperature may have dropped 1.9°F due to taking a morphine equivalent of oh, say, 60-75 milligrams? My gut assumption is, no, and that what is implied in the chart cannot be assumed to "continue" or go exponentially down with increased dose.

But if 5mg IV heroin is weak and not truly indicative of what recreational dosages are doing to body temperature, please, someone clue me in.
 
Anxiety can also cause low body temperature. Just throwing it out there. Infection too. I would be more inclined to rule out those before looking to drugs as to why a persons body temp was low.
 
Anxiety can also cause low body temperature. Just throwing it out there. Infection too. I would be more inclined to rule out those before looking to drugs as to why a persons body temp was low.
REALLY? ANXIETY, YOU SAY?

can it push it down that low? omfg.
 
Apparently, tramadol (My DoC) doesn't have much influence on body thermoregulation. Although I personally feel that it raises the temperature, especially in doses below 400 mg. (effect of serotonin?)

 
Good topic CH. I wanted to post about this because I am quite concerned about how hot I get when mething. I’ve not actually taken my temperature properly but it’s obvious I am radiating heat - especially when doing any kind of activity. I’ve wondered whether hitting a certain temp should be considered over-amping even if one does not have psychological or other physiological signs of having pushed it too far. It’s really the only symptom I get.
 
Good topic CH. I wanted to post about this because I am quite concerned about how hot I get when mething. I’ve not actually taken my temperature properly but it’s obvious I am radiating heat - especially when doing any kind of activity. I’ve wondered whether hitting a certain temp should be considered over-amping even if one does not have psychological or other physiological signs of having pushed it too far. It’s really the only symptom I get.
Basically just use less and know that if you get really cold feeling hypothermic that likely means you’ve overdosed in a very bad way and need to get medical attention from what I understand.
 
I’ve never got so hot I’ve felt cold. But I often feel like you could fry an egg on my forehead. When smoking it takes hardly any amount to heat me up. With shooting it was much rarer - even though the amount of meth consumed was actually larger.
 
Do you still use buprenorphine?


I'm going on 5 years now of daily buprenorphine use. I recently went to the doctor for a physical & labs because I have been sweating a lot lately and always feel tired and unmotivated.

Surprisingly, all my labs came back great. No thyroid issues, no diabetes, blood sugar is good, no HIV, no hep c.. This is amazing for somebody who's used drugs for over 20 years.
Have not got my testosterone results back yet tho.

I use to sweat a ton after a meth binges, even for up to 4-5 days after finally crashing, I would have wild temperature fluctuations.

I also have high blood pressure, which I think is from my anxiety + smoking & years of drug use. But it too makes me have hot flashes and sweat. I'm not totally sure if this makes my internal body temperature go up or not, but some times I feel like I'm literally on fire. So could stress / blood pressure affect body temperature too possibly?

How perspiration / tactical feelings translate into body temperature, I'm not sure.

Drugs like Wellbutrin use to make me feel hot and I would sweat a very weird shiny sweat on my face.

Drugs like Ritalin can make me feel cold.

Alcohol use to make me sweat profusely. Even if I didn't feel hot, the arm pits of my shirt would be soaked the entire night of my drinking session.

I also find that if I'm cold or hot and then smoke cannabis, my sense of temperature becomes kind of distorted and I can pull through the cold or hotness much easier. Doesn't cannabis raise blood pressure for up to an hour after smoking though?
 
Last edited:
Top