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Heroin Heroin "hangover".. sign of stopped/depressed breathing during sleep?

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Papagallo

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
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2
Hey guys, new poster here... I've been trying to get as many opinions on this as I can..

I am not a frequent heroin user--never IV'd, always snorted. On Sunday, I decided to get high, and did about a little under .2 of a gram over a 7-8 hour period. I was up until four in the morning, having started my binge 12 hours prior, at 4 pm. I stayed up for this long to a) enjoy my high but b) make sure I didn't fall asleep too fucked up. During my sleep, there was a short period where I woke up four or five times gasping for air. When I got out of bed, I felt groggy, and I had a splitting headache.

Now, I have heard of people getting "hangovers" and many claim that it is just from too much dope.. what I am thinking is that I incurred some sort of brain damage from not breathing adequately, or stopping breathing altogether for short periods, and that these headaches that people experience are a direct result from this damage. I mean, how would dope cause you to have a headache if there wasn't some sort of damage involved? I'm not a neurologist, but it doesn't seem like dope would make you have a headache, unless there was damage or something I'm unaware of involved. I base this mainly on anecdotal/logical evidence: I have done heroin in the past and have never had this problem, and being a casual user with a low tolerance, I should have woken up feeling refreshed and maybe slightly high. Certainly no pain. I still feel slightly dumbed down and lackadaisical.

What does bluelight think?? Agree/disagree?? I like heroin, but I like my brain more.
 
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If you were gasping for breath, it sounds like you definitely did too much. Please lower your dose next time.
However I don't think opiate hangovers necessarily come from taking too much. I mean I still get hungover every time I take a little codeine even now that I have a heroin habit, and by 'hungover' I mean feeling super nauseous and achy all of the next day (not WD related).
I think the headache part is definitely due to dehydration and I remember seeing somewhere that opiates increase intracranial pressure but I don't know if that's true or not. As for the rest of the symptoms I'd speculate it's just the normal side-effects without the high since the drug hasn't completely left your system yet. Or something.

In your case though, if you don't typically get them, it sounds like you just took too much. And indeed, if you were having trouble breathing, that would explain the headache.
 
Pagey said:
If you were gasping for breath, it sounds like you definitely did too much. Please lower your dose next time.
However I don't think opiate hangovers necessarily come from taking too much. I mean I still get hungover every time I take a little codeine even now that I have a heroin habit, and by 'hungover' I mean feeling super nauseous and achy all of the next day (not WD related).
I think the headache part is definitely due to dehydration and I remember seeing somewhere that opiates increase intracranial pressure but I don't know if that's true or not. As for the rest of the symptoms I'd speculate it's just the normal side-effects without the high since the drug hasn't completely left your system yet. Or something.

In your case though, if you don't typically get them, it sounds like you just took too much. And indeed, if you were having trouble breathing, that would explain the headache.
Click to expand...


Would getting checked out by a doctor help? I mean, could I have permanently screwed myself?
 
I used h for quite sometime an recently got clean. I was an iv user and using 1.5-3 grams a day. During detox I went through the exact same thing. I woke Up in the middle of the night and couldnt catch my breath. I had to go outside, into the could to regulate my breathing. But it only happened once. And if I had to guess I would say It could have something to do with the toxins coming out of the body or part of withdraw. But im no expert but I know exactly what your talking about and it scared the hell out of me.
 
This is probably not your issue ore related however recently i noticed an annoying issue with Kratom and codeine use. Just something to take note of maybe.

After reading about the respiratory risks and because i have anxiety I have been experiencing the perception of respiratory issues and getting a bit paranoid. This is because a very common annoying effect of anxiety and panic attack symptoms is breathlessness, gasping etc and being familiar i can identify it as that.

Especially with my Kratom use which is now causing me anxiety at my annoying high tolerance dose, i feel the breathing issues constantly and need to make sure not to freak out.

I know opiates can cause anxiety, they have with me before and that could definite cause the feeling of gasping for air. Its perfectly safe panic effect however.

Lastly I understand being awake and aware and feeling this symptom would indicate anxiety as i believe opiate depression in dangerous levels would be less perceptible as you would be quite high, out of it or unconscious. Correct me if i am wrong since I go by the rule that if i can stay awake easily and feell fully aware, its anxiety acting up again and not real depression.
 
You can definitely get a headache after opiate use...they're called "rebound headaches". I have chronic tension headaches and it was a big concern of my doctor's who were prescribing opiates. Your body gets used to having it's pain receptors all yummy and filled up, when they're suddenly empty your natural endorphins don't cut it and often can't fill them all up anymore. It's weird and it sucks.

If you're waking up gasping for air you definitely need to cut back, that's not safe or healthy at all. As Pagey said, the headache could also just be the rsult of something as simple as dehydration. I know this doesn't apply to you, but I have gotten all sorts of aches from using water instead of saline and doing so many shots it messed up my electrolytes.

It also sounds like you're having a lot of anxiety about it if you think you're causing permanent brain damage...please cut back and only do doses you're comfortable with and that allow you to breathe comfortably. However I find that if I'm overly focused on my breath it becomes hard to breath...even writing this and focusing on my breathing rate I suddenly feel like I can't get air. So don't focus on it too much but you should know when your breathing is too depressed. I often can't sleep after doing heroin because my cns is so depressed it makes me jerk awake because my body thinks I'm dying or something.
 
I dont think you gave yourself brain damage....have you ever done nitrous?? Or hyperventilation?? I think your fine just lower your dose
 
God I just stay awake cuz i get so scared of my breathing when i fall asleep :/
 
You're snorting powder right? When i was snorting tar, it lead me to pneumonia 2 different times. I would wake up unable to catch my breath, because my air sacks were infected / liquidated. It is real scary stuff, but to me it sounds like you just snorted too much. No you do not have permanent damage. I am almost certain of that.
 
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