Methamphetamine Discussion Thread

[puffpuffpass]

Sometimes my ice sticks to the baggy a little, not err glumpy like you say though just little chunks sticking to the side.

 

[drancer]

spread it out on a plate and place it under a desk light for a few hrs to see if it dries up? could be some residual solvents.

 

[oldirtybizza]

I've seen this also when a dryish rock gets crushed , I think that on crushing it releases small amounts of solvent, water or other chemical that is liquid at room temp that either separates out or is trapped within the crystalline matrix on re-crystallization.
I've also seen that it usually dries out by the next day ( if you can wait that long) even if the bag is closed especially if a dehumidifier is running.

 

[Ladyfiend]

I'm going to attempt to abstain from meth for the month of July. This weekend is a last hurrah. I'm going to document my attempt in a blog if anyone is interested:

anunlikelymethaddict.blogspot.com.au

 

[CartoonHead]

Good luck Ladyfiend! I'll be reading your blog with interest. I have found the best thing to keep my mind off a thick shot or a twirl of the glassie is staying busy with music and exercise....although substitute music with whatever a chosen passion of yours is....cooking is also good!

Careful with alcohol and with reading/writing experiences of getting high, I find that stuff can really set me off sometimes.

But you will feel amazing after a month long break, you might even want to extend it a little further by the time you get there ;-)

 

[dlinuc]

I've seen this also when a dryish rock gets crushed , I think that on crushing it releases small amounts of solvent, water or other chemical that is liquid at room temp that either separates out or is trapped within the crystalline matrix on re-crystallization.
I've also seen that it usually dries out by the next day ( if you can wait that long) even if the bag is closed especially if a dehumidifier is running.

So after 3 days of patiently waiting (and dabbling a little bit of course), Vie found this to be the case. It seems to be slowly drying itself, still inside the bag which is closed.

Another odd trait with this product I've found, is the very little amount of residue left in the pipe. Never had any product like this before.

Either way, it does the trick!

 

[Spackeradder]

I'm going to attempt to abstain from meth for the month of July. This weekend is a last hurrah. I'm going to document my attempt in a blog if anyone is interested:

anunlikelymethaddict.blogspot.com.au

I read your blog entry with great interest. Very thoughtful and articulate -- 2 things rare as diamonds among speed freaks. You certainly are very different from the fiends and addicts I know. Very interesting.
I will happily keep reading if you keep writing.

I wish you both the best of luck with your Dry July endeavor.

----

Bloody got on again last night. Scattered yet again today, this post alone has taken about 10 minutes to work out. Starting to see meth as the absolute demon drug it is... getting just a wee bit worried that I'm starting to slide down the hole.

 

[bosman]

Ladyfiend, your blog is quite interesting! You have a lot going for you, don't let meth make you doubt yourself and play tricks on you, just remember you are that same person without meth if you want to be. I hope you find happiness away from meth and good luck with your abstinence.

How come most people on here get on? I always wonder what brings people back to it even though everyone is smart enough to know better.

 

[dlinuc]

Ladyfiend, your blog is quite interesting! You have a lot going for you, don't let meth make you doubt yourself and play tricks on you, just remember you are that same person without meth if you want to be. I hope you find happiness away from meth and good luck with your abstinence.

How come most people on here get on? I always wonder what brings people back to it even though everyone is smart enough to know better.

For me it's the rush

 

[drancer]

I would like to know if there is any danger of taking just a sensible amount of meth on a weekly/fortnightly basis, early in the day, just one pipe (half a point), then sleep at night as per normal.

I happen to come across a small amount of quite pure crystals and find just half a point is needed to keep me buzzing the whole day- yep its one of those that keeps on giving, smokes forever and ever. I don't crave for more (if I smoked more I would get that OD feeling its that strong) and I put myself to sleep at my usual bed time. So basically I get to (forcibly) eat, sleep as normal. So physically I think I'm covered, but what else? Any long term harm/danger from doing this??

 

[Spackeradder]

I would like to know if there is any danger of taking just a sensible amount of meth on a weekly/fortnightly basis, early in the day, just one pipe (half a point), then sleep at night as per normal.

I happen to come across a small amount of quite pure crystals and find just half a point is needed to keep me buzzing the whole day- yep its one of those that keeps on giving, smokes forever and ever. I don't crave for more (if I smoked more I would get that OD feeling its that strong) and I put myself to sleep at my usual bed time. So basically I get to (forcibly) eat, sleep as normal. So physically I think I'm covered, but what else? Any long term harm/danger from doing this??

Sounds very, very similar to my situation and the way I use. I've been one a "once a week" meth diet for about a year now, and for the longest time, it worked just fine thanks. It's only rather recently I've started using more and in larger amounts.

If you're good at sticking to a system and keeping promises to yourself, I think you can pull this kinda shit off without too much harm being done. It just takes an extremely dedicated mind. Don't get careless and callous... that's when the bomb timer starts a-tick-tick-ticking down.

When you're stomach starts doing backflips and your body starts pissing sweat at the thought of a good taste, I recommend you give it a rest for a bit.

 

[oldirtybizza]

I would like to know if there is any danger of taking just a sensible amount of meth on a weekly/fortnightly basis, early in the day, just one pipe (half a point), then sleep at night as per normal.

Probably the biggest danger would be this is the way a lot of people become dependent on meth, starts as fortnightly then weekly at some point becomes a daily pip for breakfast.
After that would be damage to your dopaminergic system, there's a lot of info about meth neuro-toxicity and other associated harms on this and other sites, well worth doing a bit of self research.
Of course the less you do the less harm occurs. Eating well, hydrating, sleeping properly when you use will help to reduce the indirect negative side effects of meth and some of the direct neuronal damage by providing the dietary precursors required to replenish neurotransmitters.
A lot of the studies are based on frequent high doses rather than lower dose infrequent use, however a few studies point to some long-term effects with even a single dose of 50mg, Maybe the high price here is somewhat of a blessing, by keeping doses low and by giving the dopamine system time to recover between uses will greatly reduce the neurotoxic effects.
There have been some promising studies into the antioxidant effect of widely available selenium and ascorbic acid on the oxidative stress caused by meth, something you may want to look into, if you want to reduce potential damage.

 

[footscrazy]

^ When I was puffing I took b vitamins and magnesium daily after hearing of their potential benefit in preventing tolerance increase and helping reduce other meth related damage. This was a couple years back now so I can't remember the exact mechanism through which they're theorised to help, but they might be worth looking into as well.

 

[drancer]

I load with R-ALA, Magnesium (I find the effervescent tablets that dissolve in watre works a charm), vitamin C, multi vits and loads of water during and after the puffin'. Then benzos to guarantee sleep at night. I don't feel much of a comedown at all, maybe a bit tired the second day after but nothing a bit of caffeine can't fix.
I guess what I am concerned with is whether low dose, semi-regular meth use will have any effect on neurotransmitters and other neuro related damage I am not aware of...

 

[popeyes mate]

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced issues with swollen ankles? It was mainly my right, but now my left too. I have also started experiencing what I can only explain as internal tremors. Feels local to about the chest up, and happening for a few days after use.

Ashamed to say have not abstained long enough to see if it does stop all together. Only started probably 8 weeks ago.

Ive been to the Dr when my ankle was huge and had some blood tests taken, but did not mention my use.

Just wondering, do you think the Dr would have tested for drugs without advising me? I go back in the morning. A part of me thinks I should come clean in an effort to take giving up more seriously. And as a real way to assess the damage I am doing / have done. However I do live and work in a small community and my employer would be well known to Him so that scares me a bit. But I am def leaning to being totally honest.

 

[bunnymunro]

Have you googled cellulitus?
A looong term meth mate of mine would get swollen legs from time to time that became very painful, and it was said to be this. Just looking, it would appear that its mostly with shooting, I don't know what your favourite ROA is

 

[CartoonHead]

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced issues with swollen ankles? It was mainly my right, but now my left too. I have also started experiencing what I can only explain as internal tremors. Feels local to about the chest up, and happening for a few days after use.

I have had what looked like swollen calves before, from sitting in one spot/position for 12+ hours tweaking out.....very silly, I always try to remember to get up and move about every hour or 2 now. It's easy to lose track of time if you're absorbed in a task.

I definitely get the "chest" tremors too. It has happened after my last few times using, where I have been injecting and been through about half a gram in 4 days. Lasted for a couple of days afterwards and I will admit had me worried. This year I have generally only been using every 3-4 weeks. The "tremors" which I initially thought were heart palpitations were not painful but did seem to make my head feel a little weird. This could have been psychosomatic though, my head may have been getting a little panicky because a small part of me was wondering if I was about to have a heart attack.

After I realised that wasn't the case I was thinking it was probably the muscles in the chest area, again from sitting at a computer for too long. You know how if you really tire your arms out from lifting stuff or the like, the muscles sometimes do that twitchy thing? Sorta feels like it is going like a hummingbird's wing, haha. Also possibly indigestion if you haven't eaten much?

My last usage was about 4 weeks ago, didn't shoot, just smoked a couple of points with a mate. So less gear and a more gradual method of administration. Was also using MDMA. Didn't have the chest flutters at all afterwards.

 

[oldirtybizza]

I have also started experiencing what I can only explain as internal tremors. Feels local to about the chest up, and happening for a few days after use.
A part of me thinks I should come clean in an effort to take giving up more seriously. And as a real way to assess the damage I am doing / have done. However I do live and work in a small community and my employer would be well known to Him so that scares me a bit. But I am def leaning to being totally honest.

Tightness in the chest, palpitations etc are pretty common side effects from meth and given the half life could be expected days after use. If you are really worried that your use is seriously effecting your health you should let your GP know. If you think it's causing these symptoms and you still can't abstain, quitting asap and getting proper support to help you through is probably a good idea.

On the other hand another side effect is paranoia and if you think your doc is secretly testing your blood for drugs (highly fckn unlikely), then your ankle situ could also be unrelated, really though maybe try stop smoking meth and see if your symptoms resolve.

If you do tell your gp it's safe to say it would be kept confidential unless you allow an employer,sports group etc. access to your medical history, the real problem would be having drug use in your med history , which means there is a significant chance of being denied adequate psychoactive (pain-relief, benzos etc.) medication if you happen to need them for whatever reason in the future.

 

[opi8]

Ive been to the Dr when my ankle was huge and had some blood tests taken, but did not mention my use.

Just wondering, do you think the Dr would have tested for drugs without advising me? I go back in the morning. A part of me thinks I should come clean in an effort to take giving up more seriously. And as a real way to assess the damage I am doing / have done. However I do live and work in a small community and my employer would be well known to Him so that scares me a bit. But I am def leaning to being totally honest.

I am really conflicted with my response here. Did you inject into a vein in your ankle or snort/smoke/eat whatever the gear?

Firstly, in the interest of harm reduction, if you believe you have a serious medical situation on your hands (or ankles in this case) - of course you should tell your medical provider the truth although understand that this will go on file, forever, and you will be treated as a sub-human forever afterwards.

If your ankles are something completely unrelated to your drug use, unfortunately in our current society, it's definitely best not to mention anything to do with recreational drug use to a GP, or any entity which keeps records for that matter.

The reason I feel so conflicted should be obvious. Telling the truth is not something a member of a technologically advanced, civilized society in the 21st century should be worrying about. Telling the truth to a doctor about recreational drug use in order to potentially help diagnose a medical problem should not ruin our chances of being treated like human beings for the rest of our lives, but it does.

On a semi-related note I took way too much really strong ice once years ago when I was into it. I remember first noticing an irregular heart-beat, then half of my head went numb and tingly and while I was really fucking euphorically high, I also started to get scared - I'm sure you could imagine what a majorly tweaked out person with a numb brain and an irregular heart-beat would be thinking. When I tried to lie down to calm myself down let it pass, I noticed my abnormal heart more and more, which obviously made me focus on it more and more which made the whole situation a shit load worse. While I'm sure being scared/anxious/paranoid played a large part in that panic attack, I also believe I had too much and my body was on the brink. I was also burning up and had to have a cold shower after the people I was with wondered why I was lying down when they were all yakking their fucking heads off in the other room.

Anyway, the point is, be careful what you tell those who keep the records because it will come back to bite you later on. Also, if you think it's necessary for your health, then tell those who keep the records because your health is more important than being judged for the rest of your life.

 

[popeyes mate]

I really do appreciate everyones input on this. As I sat in the waiting room this morning I was spewing I didnt have my phone to read any given advise. I have never experienced anxiety or had an anxiety attack, but sitting there this morning I was a bit bloody nervous for sure.

Just to clarify, Im a smoker of meth. The internal tremors Ive felt are from the chest up but I cant quite pinpoint it. Not my heart, Ive had an irregular heart beat ever since I can remember as a kid. I kind of think it could be related in some way to either, a tensed weird neck muscle, my ears are fucked, and then trying not to be totally paranoid.. My brain!! But for some reason I just know its directly related to my use.

3 months ago was MEANT to be my time to really stop. That was the goal. Financial circumstances changed and with that surplus of cash came using more than possibly ever before. Still working a full time job, going to all the crap a person my age goes to, but also averaging about a gram easily a week.

After a 3 or 4 day binge I would notice my ankles, never both at the same time, usually one would be swollen. I just knew it was from the meth.

CartoonHead the point about remembering to move is very valid. I guess I do stand infront of my laptop (conected to TV) picking 'the perfect' movie to download, watching it download etc etc etc.

The tremors.. They are new and scary, but still I think connected to my use.

Having said ALL that!! I saw the Dr. He read all my results to me.

Oldirtybizza.. Wondering if they'd drug test, why is that so paranoid? Found out Im not pregnant today.. I had no idea they were testing for that since I have an IUD inplace. They just ran the test.

So after being told everything is working great (thank fuck) the Dr said he thought my ankles were some unpronouncable condition which could be confirmed with further testing if I wanted it.

Thats when I just said, I actually think there is a chance it could be related to my amphetamine use. He said, could well be. How long had I used, told him Id used for about 8 but been on the 'Ive gotta stop this shit' merry-go-round for about 4 years, and he wrote me a referral for a local.. Yep LOCAL Psychologist. Her office is approx 400m from mine, however never heard of her or knew we had one right there.

He said get some clean weeks under my belt and then lets see how the tremors/ankles go.

I didnt feel judged, I think he was a bit taken back, and agreed that my opening up and seeking help was an important first step in seeking help. He did like to use the term 'toxic substance' a lot however.