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Long term cocaine usage

korver

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 3, 2003
Messages
18
Location
Tucson, AZ
I was curious to know what the side effects are of long term use of cocaine. I've read erowid's reports on long term use with symptoms such as restlessness, anxiety, hyperexcitability, paranoia, irritability, insomnia, weight loss, as well as "acute psychological symptoms." (?) I was interested to know if cocaine is neurotoxic in any way and if so how would it effect someone psychologically over a long period of time. Does anyone personally have any symptoms from long term cocaine use and if so, what are they?
 
It's not really that neurotoxic, but it can alter your brain chemistry -- specifically, it can cause downregulation of dopamine and probably also norepinephrine receptors...what this means is that when you are sober, you won't be able to experience pleasure as much, and you most likely be somewhat tired, due to these alterations in you brain. It will take a while completely off the coke for your brain to recover and return to its normal state.
Anxiety is definitely an issue, as well as deterioration of hair/skin/nails and general health, usually due to malnutrition (since cokeheads don't usually eat enough healthy food). Also, I believe coke is quite cardio toxic so you might end up with heart problems, especially if you keep upping your cocaine dosage (ever seen the movie BLOW -- remember the part when Johnny Depp has a heart attack?).
As for psychological stuff...addiction and all the problems that come with it are an obvious problem...furthermore, fatigue and depression can result from the changes in your brain chemistry.
Also, most of the coke addicts I know personally are pretty bitchy and irritable, so I suppose those are also potential psychological side effects.
[ 14 March 2003: Message edited by: Negro-kitty ]
 
You are forgetting a deviated septum, ie holes on your snout, and scarring of your heart.
 
After long-term heavy usage your dopamine and norepineprine systems will _never_ return to normal--they'll improve, but will never be the same. Also paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions ("acute psychological symptoms") will affect the person while they continue to use. Various heart diseases can also be caused/worsened by long-term use.
 
I have a hole in my nose that I can stick my pinky through! Thats with ALMOST daily use of cocaine for 4 years (not very long at all... it's SERIOUS business!)
 
^ Ouch, have you thought of having surgery on it? Does it cause your nose to look un-straight or cause' a slump?
 
Originally posted by inthegame:
^ Ouch, have you thought of having surgery on it? Does it cause your nose to look un-straight or cause' a slump?
you can't really tell... it's the cartilegy area between the 2 nostreals IN my nose. They looked at it looked at once when i was in the hospital for BPD, there really isn't anything to be done... i mean it's a STRUCTURAL damage and i'm actually MISSING cartilage. It's not really a big deal i snore a bit but thats really it. (it's a GREAT party trick tho...lol).
having said all of that i still blow lines every now and then... i'm pretty responsible about it tho, although it it's not really good for my poor lil nose.
 
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Originally posted by Trinity27:

you can't really tell... it's the cartilegy area between the 2 nostreals IN my nose. They looked at it looked at once when i was in the hospital for BPD, there really isn't anything to be done... i mean it's a STRUCTURAL damage and i'm actually MISSING cartilage. It's not really a big deal i snore a bit but thats really it. (it's a GREAT party trick tho...lol).
having said all of that i still blow lines every now and then... i'm pretty responsible about it tho, although it it's not really good for my poor lil nose.

ok this is bad, but . . . how long have you been using coke, at what point was the deviated septum found. . . and were there any symptoms that it was erroding?
what is considered long term use, and does the length of time not depend on the amount and frequency?
 
I had a daily use period that went on for 4 months. 3 months before that it was 3 times a week. Now my left nostril seems normal, but the right one is hallowed out to a point where I can put my finger far down to my nuckle. The left on lags about 3 milimeters and the right one is telling me day-in-and-day-out that I'm headed for much more trouble.
 
TeddybearKoRn said:
ok this is bad, but . . . how long have you been using coke, at what point was the deviated septum found. . . and were there any symptoms that it was erroding?
what is considered long term use, and does the length of time not depend on the amount and frequency? [/B]

almost every day (sometimes several times a day) for almost 4 years (i don'g even know if thats really all that long term. It was found about 2 years ago... sure there were symptoms. Nose bleeds, irritation... but i rarely stuck my finger up there quite frankly. It wan't until i had some ENT problems for somthing else that they looked up there and my doctor ACTUALLY said "woah...gross"
 
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coke damage

how about 3 lines a day and major partying on the weekends for a about a year and like regular friday and saturday night wirings?? ussually about a ball on fri. and sat. then everyonce in a while a half ounce? how much and what kind of damage would that bring??
 
^^^ haha ... once u start getting bloody snot i think its time to either find a new route of administration or take a break cuz those amounts dont look too good
 
I just simply don't understand how coke is so appealing to you all. I have done it a few times and all the times it was high quality. I blow a few lines and i'm left gagging all night from the drip and feeling much too hot/jittery to really enjoy myself. Sure the stimulation is sort of nice, but it's just too much for me when combined with horrible gagging.

This also includes shaking. Do I just have a bad reaction to it ? My other friends who were blowing lines too were just fine. After using it only 3 or 4 times I found myself blowing out bloody snot in the shower - not something I want to repeat.

Psychetool
 
I'm having to cut back myself...been doing it on/off for the last year and a half. Lately though for many days afterward my sinuses are totally stopped up and I have to use nasal spray just to be able to breathe. It's just not worth it for me anymore.
 
I just simply don't understand how coke is so appealing to you all. I have done it a few times and all the times it was high quality. I blow a few lines and i'm left gagging all night from the drip and feeling much too hot/jittery to really enjoy myself. Sure the stimulation is sort of nice, but it's just too much for me when combined with horrible gagging.

I guess this is just one of those drugs that effects different people differently. I have friends that, like you, don't like coke at all because they just get too jittery. Although,

When I started, I tried to use coke has hard and as fast as I could to get an ecstasy-like euphoria (I can get extremely euphoric off ecstasy - extremely). After using (decent quality I realise now) two grams in around 6-7 hours, I wouldn't be as euphoric as I was jittery and uncomfortable. The gag wasn't very nice either. I thought I must be one of those people that just doesn't get off on coke (as I have read here).

After a while, I found a method that suited me. Instead of jumping in with massive lines, I started off small and built myself up over a couple of hours. Once I started to feel good from the coke alone - without feeling jittery because I didn't jump in head first - I'd start drinking some lager (has to be Foster's!) and as you've read, the drink accentuated the coke into quite a euphoric feeling. I can get quite euphoric off half a gram if I have enough lager, and I can get very euphoric off a gram (all from the same dealer - and yes, his quality has been quite consistant).

I still misjudge how much coke to use and get uncomfortably jittery, or start drinking too soon and also get too jittrey - it's like a balancing act - but if I judge it right, the euphoria can be as satisfying, if not as forceful as an ecstasy high.

Just my experience. I'd love to hear from anyone who finds this familiar.
 
Yikes. I'm always really careful to keep my usage relatively low. (Usually one night a week, three or four time that night)
I also have found that this trick helps. Get a glass of warm distilled water. After you do a line, get a drop of water or two on your finger and snort it up. It helps clean it out of there, and feels good. I have found this minimalizes "nose-burn" well, and I've never had a nosebleed. But then again, my level of usage is pretty low, so I'm not sure if that would help someone who does it a lot.
Be safe!
-andi
 
i get real jittery after a ball its probably cus once i start i just cant stop and i go crazy,but now im cutting back alot but what i do is i just start with a nice 2 fairly sized lines enuff to get me GOOD then i just wait til i come down completely then another 2 and just keep it going like that come down more come down more then by the end of the nite im fine. I take an allergy pill to relax me and get all the coke down cus ussually im still uppity and just chill and watch tv or something. i also like to have a J when im getting wired so at the end of the nite after i do my last line i smoke it and it gets me chill i wont be fiending or anything and i just crash.
 
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