Question on heroin withdrawls...

[Roachsucker]

is it true that physical withdrawls intensity is dependant solely on quantity of substance taken, and not on method of administration?
basically meaning that my sticking to solely snorting heroin has proven not only stupid (coz i got addicted in no time anyways) but even counterproductive, coz to get the same high i keep to bump the dose up and up, and taking snorting 1.5gr. a day (if spread out) gives me absolutely NO high... i have to go above 2gr. & mix with weed to tuck in bed feeling like i'm floating on my little opiate cloud...
...in turn, though, the more interesting aspect of this is that it would almost make sense to taper down by switching from snorting to injecting, at least in terms of physical withdrawls this should actually be an improvement? assuming the post-wd depression would be double the nightmare, but for now i haven't even crossed the bridge of physical wds...

 

[Crimson Cloud]

in turn, though, the more interesting aspect of this is that it would almost make sense to taper down by switching from snorting to injecting,
NO. No no no no no no no. If you are really trying to quit, for the love of god do NOT go from sniffing to shooting. You probably wont end up quiting, and you will never go back to sniffing. If you're serious about quiting, check into a detox or go an a Subutex program or something.

 

[Roachsucker]

sorry, maybe i worded my thoughts badly... i was just suggesting that as a hypothesis... i'm certainly NOT considering shooting up in order to quit... it doesn't take a genius to see a contradiction there
...what i am interested is IF IN THEORY this owuld be the case...
BOTTOM LINE: what i'm really interested in is in finding out wether administration plays a role in *physical* addicition, or wether its just about quantity of drug...

 

[ebeneezer_geezer]

of course administration plays a role. When you snort the bioavailability of heroin is reduced by about 20%. When you eat it you lose about 50% in the gut wall. However, when you shoot you get the whole 100%. From what you are saying youre tolerance is increasing, which in turn means you will get w/d's they wouldnt be quite as bad if you IV'd 1.5g compared to snorting 1.5g but they would still be pretty bad. There have been studies done on this:
http://opioids.com/heroin/herodose.html

 

[Roachsucker]

eb, it's obvious that if i IV an EQUAL amount that i snort it would be worst... what i mean is that i wouldnt NEED to do that... because if 1.5g snorted doesnt get me high, i can imagine half of that IV'd would get me bolloxed...
...and because i would be doing half the quantity, my PHYSICAL withdrawls would be lighter... though my psych. ones would be worst...
THAT's what i'm trying to get at...
...maybe i'm just stating the obvious for you, but it has just struck me....
[edit]
though upon reading your link, i read this:

Similar levels of total withdrawal distress were associated with approximately five times higher heroin consumption in chasers than in injectors.
...which actually pretty much wrecks my point... so i probably am better off snorting 1.5g than shooting 1/2g afterall...
[/edit]
[ 05 February 2003: Message edited by: Roachsucker ]

 

[staind rose]

hello-
okay, withdraw is withdraw. it is hell. if you are snorting 1.5 grams of heroin a day, you are gonna have pretty fuckin bad withdraw. i have a couple friends that only snort (2+ years) and share the same symptoms to the same intensity (or close to) as those of us who shoot it. i personally think that if you are going to do heroin, do it right. mainline, save some money, and get the ultimate rush. and i don't care how much you can snort, don't start shooting more then 1/4th a gram. you can always shoot more, if you shoot too much... well... that's a little harder to take back.
have fun, don't die =)
-staind rose

 

[Dr. Dopenstein]

Some people....mainly actors don't mind snorting smack because they have deep pockets and there vanity won't take the track marks......

 

[silverfucked]

I see what your saying and no it wont work...
This is not mathematical fact but just to prove a point..(Im also assuming your shit is cut as 25mg I.V. of heroin would send a nontolerant user to the ER.)
Snort 2 grams - 50mg crosses into your brain
IV 1.2 grams - 50mg crosses in...
Either way of administration your brain is gonna withdraw the same, because in the end, its recieving the same equianalgesic dose...
I can see that one would think.. "Oh since Im only IVing half the dope i was snorting.. I will only have to withdraw half as much." Withdrawl occurs in the brain and in which case, no matter which route of administration, as long as it gives you the same strength of high.. well, its all gonna be the same withdrawl wise.
I actually had fun typin this post up.
[ 06 February 2003: Message edited by: silverfucked ]
[ 06 February 2003: Message edited by: silverfucked ]

 

[GottaRockDoc]

Speaking strictly from experience and not pulling facts out of my butt as I'm tempted to do...The first time I kicked dope I had what was called a "stomach habit" -- meaning I was only snorting it. The second time I kicked I'd been shooting --sometimes IM, and sometimes IV.
And I'll tell you - the second kick was MUCH harder than the first, even though the quantity I was hitting were pretty much the same. It doesn't seem to me that the withdrawal occurs in the brain -- it's the brain and the body.
The second detox was probably harder because I was psychologically addicted to shooting - I loved needles and the feeling of pushing the plunger, and because I was on a longer run than the first time around. As for the physical withdrawal -- the BODY part - both of them SUCKED. The same sensations accompanied both, even though the first time I detoxed on methadone and the second time I detoxed on clonodine. Nausea, gooseflesh, insomnia, tremors, stomach problems, hallucinations, hot flashes, sweats, and on and on.
And FYI - and in case you haven't read my endless posts on this board -- I just kicked again, this time from opiates in pill form...and it was just as bad. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS EVER AGAIN.
GRD
[ 06 February 2003: Message edited by: GottaRockDoc ]