Foreigner
Bluelighter
A friend of mine called me in tears today asking for my harm reduction advice about their situation. They are in extreme terror due to multiple really important, intense, life-altering things they are faced with. A "perfect storm" kind of situation. They are coping with tobacco, cannabis, caffeine and 10mg oxycodone pills (Supeudol) which are split into two for 1-2 times daily dosing. This person has a history of "light" addictions that prove harmful over the long-term, such as loss of cognitive function. However, I would otherwise call this person the most intelligent and functional addict I have ever known, and their current use of multiple substances is totally reasonable given their life situation. They can also drop their addictions instantly when life gets better.
They are doing a lot of neurological support like choline, tyrosine (sometimes L-dopa), tryptophan around bedtime, etc. The problem is that their limited oxy supply will eventually run out and they are extremely worried about this. They have no interest in switching to other pharmaceuticals like anti-depressants, anxiolytics, benzos, etc., but they are wondering if there is anything realistic that could be used to substitute some of these things.
I just want to make it clear: I SUPPORT 100% what they are doing, but the problem is that they are going to run out of opiates, and even the tobacco is not sustainable... yet there is no backup. I have seen this person get neurological burn out from smoking for too long a time, with consequences that almost look dementia-like. Fortunately, they got better.
For example... they say that they feel an upwelling terror in their body, like a rush of energy from their core up to their head, whenever they get a flash of terror. The only thing that seems to stop this physical intensity is opiates. They also describe themselves as being under so much stress that they are neurochemically depleted and don't have any reserves left to handle more "shocks", which is probably the reason why they are using substances. The opiate provides the feel-good endorphins, the caffeine and tobacco provide the thinking power, and the cannabis provides the come-down. I thought that maybe supplying precursors and nutrients would help, but they are already doing all that. Their life is just dishing out more than they can handle right now and they need drugs that provide euphoria and neural stimulation to cope.
Are there natural substances, or even synthetics, that could be useful for achieving these ends, so that this substances could be replaced? They are also open to non-druggy methods, but they have to really work and not just guesses.
They are doing a lot of neurological support like choline, tyrosine (sometimes L-dopa), tryptophan around bedtime, etc. The problem is that their limited oxy supply will eventually run out and they are extremely worried about this. They have no interest in switching to other pharmaceuticals like anti-depressants, anxiolytics, benzos, etc., but they are wondering if there is anything realistic that could be used to substitute some of these things.
I just want to make it clear: I SUPPORT 100% what they are doing, but the problem is that they are going to run out of opiates, and even the tobacco is not sustainable... yet there is no backup. I have seen this person get neurological burn out from smoking for too long a time, with consequences that almost look dementia-like. Fortunately, they got better.
For example... they say that they feel an upwelling terror in their body, like a rush of energy from their core up to their head, whenever they get a flash of terror. The only thing that seems to stop this physical intensity is opiates. They also describe themselves as being under so much stress that they are neurochemically depleted and don't have any reserves left to handle more "shocks", which is probably the reason why they are using substances. The opiate provides the feel-good endorphins, the caffeine and tobacco provide the thinking power, and the cannabis provides the come-down. I thought that maybe supplying precursors and nutrients would help, but they are already doing all that. Their life is just dishing out more than they can handle right now and they need drugs that provide euphoria and neural stimulation to cope.
Are there natural substances, or even synthetics, that could be useful for achieving these ends, so that this substances could be replaced? They are also open to non-druggy methods, but they have to really work and not just guesses.
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