Opioids IV vs. IM Morphine Injectable?

[Eva 33]

My doctor prescribes ten ampules per month of morphine injectable. Of all my meds, the injectable is the most powerful. It's the only med that gets my severe pain down to almost a zero, which is quite an accomplishment, given that my pain is a constant 9 or 10 WITHOUT meds.

I have tried morphine via all other ROA's, except for snorting. Meaning I've taken morphine pills and suppositories. I don't know if there's another ROA that I'm forgetting!

I take the morphine injectable via IM injection, into the upper outer quadrant of the buttocks. I've been doing this for years and have never had a problem with abscesses, etc. This is NOT to get a high; this is strictly to try to get the pain monster under control. I feel very lucky to have found a doctor willing to prescribe injectable morphine.

In all these years of being prescribed morphine injectable, I have NEVER IV'ed it. I've had a few friends joke about or even dare me to try it. I am somewhat curious when it comes to drugs, but I'm also pretty cautious. I also would NEVER want to do anything that could jeopardize my relationship of trust with my wonderful doctor.

My doc doesn't check my arms for any needle marks, so theoretically, I could try IV'ing it. But would this be a stupid or possibly even a dangerous thing to do? (I've read the "Should I IV Heroin?" thread).

Still, I wonder if IV'ing could give me BETTER pain relief? Or is that a road I really don't want to go down? I do worry that IV'ing might work so well that I'd start to do it more often than just once. I certainly don't want to get track marks or do anything that might be dangerous. I've NEVER IV'd drugs before and I suppose I could make a mistake? I am curious, but I don't want to be stupid. I'm not sure how dangerous IV'ing might be.

Is it best to ignore my friends who dare me to IV my morphine? They tell me since it's already in injectable form it would be totally safe, but I AM well aware of the other risks of IV drug use (sores, infection, etc.). And IF I had a problem and needed to go to an E.R., I suppose that could mess up my entire relationship with my doctor. So is it best to just stick with IM morphine, which works extremely well?

I just wondered if there are any other IM drug users here who have never IV'd? If so, what are your reasons for sticking with the IM route of administration? Thanks for any advice.

 

[sekio]

It's a road you don't really want to go down - IVing morphine only makes it more of a "peak and trough" scenario where you'll have the effects hit you mostly all at once, whereas IM injection is "buffered" by the muscle tissue, smoothing out the drug's concentration in the blood. For pain relief you should just IM if you're gonna inject.

IV might feel pretty good initially, (or it could cause irritating side effects, hot flashes etc) but it's an excellent way to fuck your tolerance up (and damage your veins). There is nothing to gain over IM other than an "abusability factor", given that both methods are essentially 100% bioavailibility because you're sticking all the drug directly into your circulation.

 

[brimz]

That histamine realease is a bitch as well i had the 60mg /2ml when i was scripted em . I do often hark back as the 2nd shot is damn near perfect pain relief combine with a lush nod .
I actually prefer Physeptone amps over all oiv OPiaes i had a 50mlgconcentrate n 3 /10mgs a day n access to plenty cyclizine this was 1995

 

[missmeyet?]

Stick to IM, especially if you are taking it for pain relief and not to get high..as was said, it is a bad road to get started on and if you do have something out of the ordinary happen then you have burned that bridge, your doc will no longer prescribe it and you will have a rep as an abuser of pain meds...and so so many things can go wrong IVing it. If you are consistently in that much pain its not worth losing your very effective pain meds over it.

 

[PKPro]

It does feel pretty damn great though. Wish I could get IV morphine ampules.

 

[Whosajiggawaaa]

My doc offered them to me but I said I didn't know how to fkin shoot up lol (ytf would I). In hindsight shoulda maybe should taken the carton of em. Have had IV morphine many, many times in clinical settings.

 

[Whosajiggawaaa]

It's a road you don't really want to go down - IVing morphine only makes it more of a "peak and trough" scenario where you'll have the effects hit you mostly all at once, whereas IM injection is "buffered" by the muscle tissue, smoothing out the drug's concentration in the blood. For pain relief you should just IM if you're gonna inject.

IV might feel pretty good initially, (or it could cause irritating side effects, hot flashes etc) but it's an excellent way to fuck your tolerance up (and damage your veins). There is nothing to gain over IM other than an "abusability factor", given that both methods are essentially 100% bioavailibility because you're sticking all the drug directly into your circulation.

IMing is not fun at all tho. But I agree with your sentiment. If for pain don't IV morphine, terrible Idea. Those 10 will be gone in da first week (optimistically).

 

[Nicholai]

Since the IM morphine is the only thing that adequately addresses your pain, do NOT fuck with it. It's really more difficult than you can imagine to be scripted injectable meds, so you really must have some sort of serious and debilitating pain condition in order for them to do so. So your friends dare you to? So what. Would you drink bong water if they told you it would get you high? I hope not.

The only things you have to gain from messing with your current and prescribed regime are possible loss of scripts, vein scarring, possibly tracks, and the ever-so-much-fun needle addiction.

Peer pressure gets teens to start smoking, and look how great that turns out. Seriously redic.

 

[missmeyet?]

Your comment OP was "I also would NEVER want to do anything that could jeopardize my relationship of trust with my wonderful doctor." but just trying it would definitely be putting that relationship in jeopardy...all it takes is one tiny thing to go wrong..and you should really realize how lucky you are to get something that is strong enough to help your pain..most people do not.

You alsoo said it is the only thing that gets your pain down from a 9 or 10....so why does it matter to see if it is even better with IV..and are you really willing to have to possibly give that up out of some curiousity or because your friends dared you? I would be personally so thankful to be legally given something that helps my pain that much everday that I would be on my knees daily giving thanks to the heavens above..and im serious.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

If IM'ing it is already helping so much with your pain, then I don't see why you want to get into the risky and addictive act of IV'ing, (unless you're looking to get high of course, and justifying it to yourself by saying it'll ease your pain even more.) This is a very common justification for IV'ing and abusing more drugs to get high for people on pain management.

Will it feel better? Yes. But, "better" is a relative term. It will provide a rush, which is really the only difference. The effects will also be a shorter duration.

I say stick with what is working for you. You don't want to get caught up with shooting morphine, because chances are you're gonna love the way it feels, and be chasing that rush. It wont be about your pain anymore, it'll be about getting high. Your tolerance will skyrocket, and you'll need a much higher dose to control your pain, causing you to run out of your meds early, go into withdrawal plus your normal pain.

Bad cycle. Also, any "friends" that would dare you to shoot morphine are not what I would consider friends.. they sound like idiots who clearly don't give a shit about you at all or whats in your best interest.

 

[adder]

When I was addicted to i.v.'ed opioids, morphine was my drug of choice. The intravenous route provides a euphoric rush in 10-20 seconds, but it doesn't offer much increase in pain relief. The risk with injecting intravenously is that you start feeling like taking another dose faster than you need it now with intramuscular injection. So I agree with sekio that you will only mess up with your tolerance, and thus you will start needing more and more. I can understand why you value your honest relation with your doctor, because these days i.v. morphine is most often the drug reserved for cancer pain when substitutes fail. I honestly don't believe getting to know what's all the fuss about is worth the possibility of losing the drug that takes almost all your pain away. Because when you become psychologically addicted and develop addiction, then it's 100% that in the end your pain will be worse and it will take more than it takes now to control it. I'm now having problems with every goddamned headache as I'm on Suboxone, it doesn't kill all the pain, and NSAIDs don't always do the job, and paracetamol doesn't cut it.

Getting psychologically addicted to the peace of mind morphine gives is a definite problem in a couple of years at best that will change your life for worse, unless you safely live in a hideout in Afghanistan with a steady supply of opium to ease your nerves.

 

[Eva 33]

Thanks, everyone. It was really just a curiosity question. I'm way too smart to ever do anything to jeopardize my relationship of trust with my doctor. And yes, I do have a very debilitating chronic pain condition, so I realize it would be moronic of me to ever do anything that might mess things up.

I will tell my "friends" that I have no interest in abusing my meds. I think it's just a stupid dare on their part; they probably don't think I'd ever actually do it. And I really would not ever IV meds. Thanks again.

 

[missmeyet?]

That is so good to hear..but if it becomes tempting again, please just remember all these facts!