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Ok, I know that there have been a lot of posts and questions here on bluelight regarding Cold Water Extraction. What is it? Why do it? How should I do it?
Well, I've been doing it for years, and would like to share my knowledge with you. I'm a high school chemistry teacher, so even if you've been doing CWEs for years, you might learn something new!
First of all:
What is 'Cold Water Extraction'
In it's simplest definition, a cold water extraction (abbreviated CWE heretofore) is a way of separating two or more elements or compounds from a larger compound, using the laws of solubility in cold water. What does this mean? Some things are soluble (able to be 'mixed up' with water, and create a solution) and other things are insoluble in water (they can't mix with water and will always separate) A good example of something that's soluble in water is Chocolate drink powder, Gatorade powder, and other things like that. An example of something that's insoluble in water would be oil. You can stir your way into the Guinness Book of World Records, and the oil will always immediately separate itself from the water.
Ok, what does all of this mean to me?
Well, if you're a chronic pain sufferer like I am, you're probably on a prescription-strength painkiller, such as Norco or Vicodin (the list is endless, really) and many of these base-level painkillers are a compound of an opioid painkiller (such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, etc) and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as Tylenol (a.k.a. Acetaminophen, Paracetemol, or just APAP), Ibuprofen, or Asprin. If you're like me, the over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in these compounds don't help your pain, and only create potential for damage to your liver and kidneys (tylenol is a killer... trust me. It almost killed me by way of renal/liver failure... just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe.)
In low doses, tylenol, ibuprofen, and asprin can be great painkillers, but if taken unnecessarily or in high, daily doses, it can cause serious health risks. That's why CWE is such an indispensible method of removing these dangerous medications from the medicine that actually helps you: the opioid.
So how do I do it?
Well, there are several methods, all of which are very simple and can be done quickly. Everyone has their own favorite method; I'll give you the basics on how it works, and list all of the various methods that I've tried and know of, as well as my personal favorite method. Some people want a quicker extraction, others want a more complete extraction. How much Tylenol, IBU, and Asprin you extract is up to you, but any method will take a bulk of it out.
How it works
Since opioids are soluble in water, and tylenol, ibuprofen, and asprin aren't, water will separate them with little to no action on your part. One thing to be noted is that the level of solubility of tylenol and the like decreases with the temperature of the water, hence "Cold" Water Extraction. Basically, you put crushed or dissolved pills into water, and upon filtering, the opioid/water solution will pass through the filter, and the tylenol, ibuprofen, or asprin won't. Sounds easy, right? Well, it is!
What You'll Need
-Water (as long as it's clean, it doesn't matter what kind. Don't waste that $2 bottle of Fuji Water, tap water works just as well)
-Pills (containing tylenol or other compounds to be extracted, obviously)
-a wide, shallow dish (preferrably glass, though a cup will work just fine. I use a wide, shallow dish in order to expand the surface area of the water, thus making it cool quicker)
-a refrigerator with freezer (not necessary, see "quick method" for a way around this)
-a filter (Everyone has their own favorite filter, ranging from tissue paper, cotton cloth, muslin (cheese cloth), coffee filters... Personally, I have found that the best filter is a semi-large piece of fabric cut from an old dress shirt. Look at the label: I've found that the best material to use for a filter is RAYON. Rayon is very tightly knit, so most of the time, one pass through the filter will catch everything (though I would recommend a second pass, just to make sure that you did get everything. After the second pass, you should only find a few white flakes in the filter, a third pass should show nothing, if you're using Rayon) Try to find something dark in color, so that it's easier to see the white, goopy Tylenol in it.
-a couple of glasses, with wide enough rims to form the filter inside the glass. I use highball cocktail glasses, as they tend to have very wide mouths and are deep enough to prevent any overflow during the filtration process.
-ice cubes (optional)
How It's Done, Step by Step
Step 1.
Crush up the pills, and keep a mental or written note of how many pills and what milligrams they are. This is extremely important! if you forget how many pills you've crushed, or what milligrams they are, you won't know how strong your solution will be at the end! *(crushing the pills is optional; crush up the pills if you're in a hurry, otherwise, you can just put them in the dish and add enough cold water to cover them, and they'll dissolve after about 30-45 minutes) *Remember, crushing pills can be problematic, and again, there are about as many methods of crushing pills as there are types of filters. Personally, I like to keep a dose of pure hydrocodone in the fridge, ready to go, so I'm never in a hurry to do a CWE when my back is screaming at me.
Here are some ways to crush the pills:
-Buy a decent pill crusher from your local pharmacy. I bought one at Walgreens that's blue in color, cylindrical in shape, and has a crusher, cutter, pill storage slots, and even a little drinking cup for swallowing with. It's the best one I've tried (I've had several and broken many... pill crushers work by using a screw system, where tightening the screw will put pressure on the pills until they split and crush. Popping the pills in half at the bisection (or cutting them into smaller pieces with a pill cutter) will always help when crushing up the pills. If you're using a pill crusher, be careful not to try to crush too many at once, or you might break the crusher and send powderized pill stuff all over the place, or worse, the screw will get stuck with your medicine trapped inside.
-If you don't have a pill crusher, a great (but time-consuming) way of powderizing the pills is to take a hose clamp (a metal strip with rectangular cuts in it for a screw to run along, that tightens with a screw bolt... for attaching a hose to a nozzle) You can cut the screw part off of the clamp, bend it at a 90-degree angle on either end of the clamp strip to make little legs (so it makes a sort of low 'table') and then rubbing the pill against the rough screw-cuts, and to make the pill powder 'snow' down beneath it. Just make sure that you have the "rough side" facing UP, as the screw slots are pressed into the clamp from one direction, one side will feel smooth and the other will feel rough... you want the rough side facing up Just remember that this method is very time consuming, especially for a large pill, but the end result will be the finest, most consistent powder of any crushing method. Many of the choices you have in doing a CWE will be based on how much time you want to spend. This is one of them.
-Put the pills into an envelope (as broken up/cut as possible) and cover the envelope with something large and flat that you can hammer on (like a cutting board) and get a hammer or a can of beans and smash smash smash until the pills are thoroughly crushed inside the envelope
-Cigarette celluloid wrapping... I've heard of people putting pills inside the plastic cigarette wrapper and hammering them this way. I've personally never tried it, but knowing the properties of this celluloid tells me that it would be durable enough to withstand smashing the pills. Don't use a ziplock bag, as those bags are prone to cutting open from the sharp edges of a broken pill
-Two spoons. Try to find large spoons, one slightly larger to use as the base, and another slightly smaller to do the crushing. Make sure that the spoons fit well together, and bend the handle of the base spoon so that it fits flat when laid on a table. It'll make things easier.
-Any other method that you personally like that is safe and won't send your pills flying all over your kitchen.
-Personally, I prefer just letting the pills dissolve in a little bit of water. If I must crush them, I use a pill crusher, the hose clamp method, or two large spoons, if the pills are small enough. One thing you might find when using spoons or the pill crusher is that the pill material will begin to stick to the spoons/crusher. This is because little bits of moisture and dirt will get in there... So use a scrubby sponge with a little bit of detergent, and scrub out the crusher, or the spoons, and towel dry... they'll work like new again.
Step 2.
Put the crushed pills into a shallow dish, and add enough ice water to cover them. The amount of water that you use is arbitrary: more water will create a weaker solution, less water will create a stronger solution. Since you'll be filtering this stuff, remember that them ore water you use, the longer it will take to filter.
Stir them up a bit, like you would if you were making instant coffee or hot cocoa. (if you chose to let the pills dissolve, stir them up as well)
-Place the shallow dish in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, to allow the water to cool as much as possible, thus separating the tylenol from the opioid as effectively as possible. Ideally, you want the water to be as cold as it can get before ice begins to form. All freezers are different, so experiment and see what works best for you. (I bypass the freezer altogether and just keep the dish in the fridge for a while, near the exhaust where the cold air comes out)
Step 3.
-While your crushed/dissolved pills are sitting in water in the fridge or freezer, find/make yourself a filter. If you think this is something that you'll do regularly, I'd suggest going to the thrift store (or maybe a yardage store) and finding a cheap Rayon shirt, since that makes the best filter, and is endlessly reusable and easy to wash.
-Soak the filter in cold water, to make filtration easier.
Step 4.
-Once the water is sufficiently cold, form your filter over a cup (I suggest using a highball cocktail glass... being able to see through the sides helps too, to see how much solution has been filtered vs. what's left in the filter.
- carefully pour the pill water into the filter (make sure the filter is deep enough to hold all the water, and that the glass is deep enough to hold all of the solution... if it isn't, pour a little at a time until all is filtered, and find a bigger glass)
Step 5.
-Once the solution stops dripping consistently from the filter into the glass, use a spoon to move the muck/water in the filter from side to side, occasionally pressing down on it to squeeze out as much water as possible.
-carefully pick up the sides of the filter, forming a satchel around the white goop that's sitting in the top of the filter (the white goop is mostly tylenol, but the water that's making it goopy probably has a high concentration of the opioid that you're wanting to keep.)
-Gently squeeze the filter-satchel of goop from top to bottom, until you've gleaned as much liquid from it as you can.
-Gently take the filter out of the cup, open it up so that it lays flat, and wash all the white goop from it. It's all tylenol, so wash it out of the filter and throw it away.
Step 6. (optional but recommended!)
-Get another glass (if you're using a highball glass, you probably have a set of at least two... grab another one)
-With a clean or new filter, soak it again in a bowl if ice water, and gently wring it out. (You want the filter to be wet, but not soaking wet, as this will only weaken the solution)
-Refilter your solution (which should be cloudy white, yet translucent) through the filter, into a new glass. The filtration process should go much quicker this time, as most of the tylenol has already been removed, so the liquid solution should just run right through the filter. Repeat the steps above, but before cleaning the filter, check to see if any white stuff is left in it. If there is, then you've removed that much more tylenol from your solution.
Step 7. (optional)
-Repeat the filtration process a third time, and a fourth, or until there is no more white stuff left in the filter. This is why I use Rayon... after the first filtration stage, pretty much all the tylenol is taken out. When I refilter it, only the tiniest amount of white flakes appear in the filter, and a third filtration shows nothing in the filter at all, meaning that your solution is as pure as it can possibly be, outside of a laboratory.
The "Quick and Easy" Method
This method requires the least amount of work on your end, especially if you aren't in a hurry. If you're not in a hurry, just let the pills dissolve in a glass of cold tap water (of course, you should break them in half with your fingers if they're bisected to help them dissolve quicker. I use a long-handled tea spoon with the cup of the spoon bent at a 90-degree angle, so that when the spoon is in a glass, the convex cup faces down... you can use this to mash up the dissolving pills a bit to quicken the process)
If you are in a hurry, grind/crush the pills using your favorite method, and stir them into cold tap water. Adding an ice cube can help separate the NSAID quicker.
So, here's what you'll need, and how the "quick and easy" method works:
What You'll Need:
-Two Glasses (highball cocktail glasses seem to work best)
-Cold Water (one cup will be plenty)
-Pills (obviously)
-Your Favorite Filter
-(optional) Bent Teaspoon
Step 1.
-Put the split or crushed (or whole) pills into one of the glasses, and add just enough water to cover them completely (the less water you use, the quicker the filtration process will work, so don't be too generous with the water!)
-Use the coldest water you can find. I keep a pitcher of ice water in the fridge at all times (for staying well hydrated... be sure to do that all the time, but especially if you're taking medicines!) so I use that.
Step 2.
-Wet the filter with cold water, and carefully place it over the other glass.
-After the pills are completely dissolved, stir them up a bit, mashing down any big chunks with the bent spoon. Slowly pour the water mix from the first glass into the filter over the second glass, stirring while you pour (if you can, without making a mess)
-Put the empty glass into the sink to be washed.
Step 3.
-Once everything is in the filter, stir and press the mash down into the filter (basically pushing it through quicker)
-Carefully pick up the sides of the filter and pinch it at the top, above the watery mash that's inside, down below.
-Carefully squeeze the mash in the filter from top to bottom (this should create a nice flow of white, cloudy liquid dripping into the second glass that's catching the filtered solution)
-Once you've squeezed every last drop out of the filter, stir the solution in the glass... Now it's ready to ingest... read on...
Now you have a cloudy opioid-water solution, whether you used the long method or the quick one. If you decided to make a "big batch" with several pills, measure the mL of the solution and do some basic math (mL solution / x number of pills = mL solution per pill) and measure out your dose accordingly! If you only extracted the amount of pills that you planned on taking at one time, then simply drink the solution.* It'll taste a little bitter, so you might want some fresh water or a flavourful beverage on hand to use as a chaser. Note that the solution basically multiplies the surface area of the pill exponentially, so the drowsy effects of most of these medications will take effect much quicker and stronger than if you'd simply consumed the pill orally (since your stomach acid doesn't have to dissolve the pill, it will enter the bloodsteam much faster, so be careful and don't drive or operate any machinery until you know how the liquid solution will affect you!
Bioavailability*
Taking medicines orally will always yield the least bioavailability (bioavailability refers to the amount of solution that reaches the bloodstream. Taken orally, most of the pill/solution will be wasted in the digestive tract.) of any route of administration.
Here is a list of all routes of administration:
-oral (swallowed)
-intravenious (IV, injected with a syringe directly into the bloodstream)
-intramuscular (injected using a syringe into the muscle tissue)
-rectal (inserted in the anus as a suppository, or a liquid with a rectal syringe)
-intranasal (otherwise known as insuffilated, or snorted)
-buccal (through the gums; the way nicotine is delivered from chewing tobacco)
-transdermal (through the skin, think nicotine or clonadine patch)
-subcutaneous (injected into the skin with a syringe, colloquially known as "skin pop" among IV users that can't find a vein or solid muscle to inject into)
Bioavailability for an IV injection is always 100%, as all of the solution goes directly into the blood stream, while the oral route will sometimes be as low as 20%... a quick google search will tell you what the bioavailability of the medicine is, using various routes... search [medicine] bioavailability [preferred route of administration] ... See the above for a complete list of routes.
If you want to increase bioavailability of the solution, (usually doubling the bioavailability from an oral administration) you might choose to take it rectally ("plugging it" as it is colloquially referred to here on blue light) ... if you choose the rectal route, make sure you have plenty of latex gloves, a rectal or oral syringe (nothing sharp to poke you down there) and take it like an enema by lying on your right side, and make sure you lay there for a few minutes to allow the solution to absorb, so it doesn't just run right back out. Putting the solution into the microwave to warm it will definitely make it more comfortable. Also, when considering the rectal route, be cognizant of the last time you've had a good bowel movement. If your colon is full of feces and you try to inject the solution rectally, chances are it won't absorb, as the walls of your colon/rectum must be unobstructed for the capillaries on the colon wall to properly absorb the solution. If you haven't had a good bowel movement in a while, your best bet will probably be to drink it.
Last but not least!
Don't wind up wasting your time or medications trying to extract something that isn't there. There are plenty of drugs out there that aren't in a compound with an NSAID, such as benzodiazepines (such as Valium, Xanax, etc) Muscle relaxers (such as Carisoprodol (Soma) or Flexeril) and stronger opioid painkillers (such as Morphine, OxyContin, Dilaudid, etc)
Do a quick google search (or poke around here on Bluelight) to figure out if the pill you have contains anything worth extracting. If you have a pill that gets lost from your prescription labeled bottle, you can always use the Pill Identifier on Drugs.com... by entering the size, shape, color, imprint, or any combination of those bits of info, they'll show you a photo of possible matching pills, as well as what chemicals are in them, and how many milligrams of each chemical are in the pill.
Good luck, and happy extracting! It might seem like a lot of work, vs. just swallowing a pill, but your liver and renal system will thank you!
Well, I've been doing it for years, and would like to share my knowledge with you. I'm a high school chemistry teacher, so even if you've been doing CWEs for years, you might learn something new!
First of all:
What is 'Cold Water Extraction'
In it's simplest definition, a cold water extraction (abbreviated CWE heretofore) is a way of separating two or more elements or compounds from a larger compound, using the laws of solubility in cold water. What does this mean? Some things are soluble (able to be 'mixed up' with water, and create a solution) and other things are insoluble in water (they can't mix with water and will always separate) A good example of something that's soluble in water is Chocolate drink powder, Gatorade powder, and other things like that. An example of something that's insoluble in water would be oil. You can stir your way into the Guinness Book of World Records, and the oil will always immediately separate itself from the water.
Ok, what does all of this mean to me?
Well, if you're a chronic pain sufferer like I am, you're probably on a prescription-strength painkiller, such as Norco or Vicodin (the list is endless, really) and many of these base-level painkillers are a compound of an opioid painkiller (such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, etc) and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as Tylenol (a.k.a. Acetaminophen, Paracetemol, or just APAP), Ibuprofen, or Asprin. If you're like me, the over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in these compounds don't help your pain, and only create potential for damage to your liver and kidneys (tylenol is a killer... trust me. It almost killed me by way of renal/liver failure... just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe.)
In low doses, tylenol, ibuprofen, and asprin can be great painkillers, but if taken unnecessarily or in high, daily doses, it can cause serious health risks. That's why CWE is such an indispensible method of removing these dangerous medications from the medicine that actually helps you: the opioid.
So how do I do it?
Well, there are several methods, all of which are very simple and can be done quickly. Everyone has their own favorite method; I'll give you the basics on how it works, and list all of the various methods that I've tried and know of, as well as my personal favorite method. Some people want a quicker extraction, others want a more complete extraction. How much Tylenol, IBU, and Asprin you extract is up to you, but any method will take a bulk of it out.
How it works
Since opioids are soluble in water, and tylenol, ibuprofen, and asprin aren't, water will separate them with little to no action on your part. One thing to be noted is that the level of solubility of tylenol and the like decreases with the temperature of the water, hence "Cold" Water Extraction. Basically, you put crushed or dissolved pills into water, and upon filtering, the opioid/water solution will pass through the filter, and the tylenol, ibuprofen, or asprin won't. Sounds easy, right? Well, it is!
What You'll Need
-Water (as long as it's clean, it doesn't matter what kind. Don't waste that $2 bottle of Fuji Water, tap water works just as well)
-Pills (containing tylenol or other compounds to be extracted, obviously)
-a wide, shallow dish (preferrably glass, though a cup will work just fine. I use a wide, shallow dish in order to expand the surface area of the water, thus making it cool quicker)
-a refrigerator with freezer (not necessary, see "quick method" for a way around this)
-a filter (Everyone has their own favorite filter, ranging from tissue paper, cotton cloth, muslin (cheese cloth), coffee filters... Personally, I have found that the best filter is a semi-large piece of fabric cut from an old dress shirt. Look at the label: I've found that the best material to use for a filter is RAYON. Rayon is very tightly knit, so most of the time, one pass through the filter will catch everything (though I would recommend a second pass, just to make sure that you did get everything. After the second pass, you should only find a few white flakes in the filter, a third pass should show nothing, if you're using Rayon) Try to find something dark in color, so that it's easier to see the white, goopy Tylenol in it.
-a couple of glasses, with wide enough rims to form the filter inside the glass. I use highball cocktail glasses, as they tend to have very wide mouths and are deep enough to prevent any overflow during the filtration process.
-ice cubes (optional)
How It's Done, Step by Step
Step 1.
Crush up the pills, and keep a mental or written note of how many pills and what milligrams they are. This is extremely important! if you forget how many pills you've crushed, or what milligrams they are, you won't know how strong your solution will be at the end! *(crushing the pills is optional; crush up the pills if you're in a hurry, otherwise, you can just put them in the dish and add enough cold water to cover them, and they'll dissolve after about 30-45 minutes) *Remember, crushing pills can be problematic, and again, there are about as many methods of crushing pills as there are types of filters. Personally, I like to keep a dose of pure hydrocodone in the fridge, ready to go, so I'm never in a hurry to do a CWE when my back is screaming at me.
Here are some ways to crush the pills:
-Buy a decent pill crusher from your local pharmacy. I bought one at Walgreens that's blue in color, cylindrical in shape, and has a crusher, cutter, pill storage slots, and even a little drinking cup for swallowing with. It's the best one I've tried (I've had several and broken many... pill crushers work by using a screw system, where tightening the screw will put pressure on the pills until they split and crush. Popping the pills in half at the bisection (or cutting them into smaller pieces with a pill cutter) will always help when crushing up the pills. If you're using a pill crusher, be careful not to try to crush too many at once, or you might break the crusher and send powderized pill stuff all over the place, or worse, the screw will get stuck with your medicine trapped inside.
-If you don't have a pill crusher, a great (but time-consuming) way of powderizing the pills is to take a hose clamp (a metal strip with rectangular cuts in it for a screw to run along, that tightens with a screw bolt... for attaching a hose to a nozzle) You can cut the screw part off of the clamp, bend it at a 90-degree angle on either end of the clamp strip to make little legs (so it makes a sort of low 'table') and then rubbing the pill against the rough screw-cuts, and to make the pill powder 'snow' down beneath it. Just make sure that you have the "rough side" facing UP, as the screw slots are pressed into the clamp from one direction, one side will feel smooth and the other will feel rough... you want the rough side facing up Just remember that this method is very time consuming, especially for a large pill, but the end result will be the finest, most consistent powder of any crushing method. Many of the choices you have in doing a CWE will be based on how much time you want to spend. This is one of them.
-Put the pills into an envelope (as broken up/cut as possible) and cover the envelope with something large and flat that you can hammer on (like a cutting board) and get a hammer or a can of beans and smash smash smash until the pills are thoroughly crushed inside the envelope
-Cigarette celluloid wrapping... I've heard of people putting pills inside the plastic cigarette wrapper and hammering them this way. I've personally never tried it, but knowing the properties of this celluloid tells me that it would be durable enough to withstand smashing the pills. Don't use a ziplock bag, as those bags are prone to cutting open from the sharp edges of a broken pill
-Two spoons. Try to find large spoons, one slightly larger to use as the base, and another slightly smaller to do the crushing. Make sure that the spoons fit well together, and bend the handle of the base spoon so that it fits flat when laid on a table. It'll make things easier.
-Any other method that you personally like that is safe and won't send your pills flying all over your kitchen.
-Personally, I prefer just letting the pills dissolve in a little bit of water. If I must crush them, I use a pill crusher, the hose clamp method, or two large spoons, if the pills are small enough. One thing you might find when using spoons or the pill crusher is that the pill material will begin to stick to the spoons/crusher. This is because little bits of moisture and dirt will get in there... So use a scrubby sponge with a little bit of detergent, and scrub out the crusher, or the spoons, and towel dry... they'll work like new again.
Step 2.
Put the crushed pills into a shallow dish, and add enough ice water to cover them. The amount of water that you use is arbitrary: more water will create a weaker solution, less water will create a stronger solution. Since you'll be filtering this stuff, remember that them ore water you use, the longer it will take to filter.
Stir them up a bit, like you would if you were making instant coffee or hot cocoa. (if you chose to let the pills dissolve, stir them up as well)
-Place the shallow dish in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, to allow the water to cool as much as possible, thus separating the tylenol from the opioid as effectively as possible. Ideally, you want the water to be as cold as it can get before ice begins to form. All freezers are different, so experiment and see what works best for you. (I bypass the freezer altogether and just keep the dish in the fridge for a while, near the exhaust where the cold air comes out)
Step 3.
-While your crushed/dissolved pills are sitting in water in the fridge or freezer, find/make yourself a filter. If you think this is something that you'll do regularly, I'd suggest going to the thrift store (or maybe a yardage store) and finding a cheap Rayon shirt, since that makes the best filter, and is endlessly reusable and easy to wash.
-Soak the filter in cold water, to make filtration easier.
Step 4.
-Once the water is sufficiently cold, form your filter over a cup (I suggest using a highball cocktail glass... being able to see through the sides helps too, to see how much solution has been filtered vs. what's left in the filter.
- carefully pour the pill water into the filter (make sure the filter is deep enough to hold all the water, and that the glass is deep enough to hold all of the solution... if it isn't, pour a little at a time until all is filtered, and find a bigger glass)
Step 5.
-Once the solution stops dripping consistently from the filter into the glass, use a spoon to move the muck/water in the filter from side to side, occasionally pressing down on it to squeeze out as much water as possible.
-carefully pick up the sides of the filter, forming a satchel around the white goop that's sitting in the top of the filter (the white goop is mostly tylenol, but the water that's making it goopy probably has a high concentration of the opioid that you're wanting to keep.)
-Gently squeeze the filter-satchel of goop from top to bottom, until you've gleaned as much liquid from it as you can.
-Gently take the filter out of the cup, open it up so that it lays flat, and wash all the white goop from it. It's all tylenol, so wash it out of the filter and throw it away.
Step 6. (optional but recommended!)
-Get another glass (if you're using a highball glass, you probably have a set of at least two... grab another one)
-With a clean or new filter, soak it again in a bowl if ice water, and gently wring it out. (You want the filter to be wet, but not soaking wet, as this will only weaken the solution)
-Refilter your solution (which should be cloudy white, yet translucent) through the filter, into a new glass. The filtration process should go much quicker this time, as most of the tylenol has already been removed, so the liquid solution should just run right through the filter. Repeat the steps above, but before cleaning the filter, check to see if any white stuff is left in it. If there is, then you've removed that much more tylenol from your solution.
Step 7. (optional)
-Repeat the filtration process a third time, and a fourth, or until there is no more white stuff left in the filter. This is why I use Rayon... after the first filtration stage, pretty much all the tylenol is taken out. When I refilter it, only the tiniest amount of white flakes appear in the filter, and a third filtration shows nothing in the filter at all, meaning that your solution is as pure as it can possibly be, outside of a laboratory.
The "Quick and Easy" Method
This method requires the least amount of work on your end, especially if you aren't in a hurry. If you're not in a hurry, just let the pills dissolve in a glass of cold tap water (of course, you should break them in half with your fingers if they're bisected to help them dissolve quicker. I use a long-handled tea spoon with the cup of the spoon bent at a 90-degree angle, so that when the spoon is in a glass, the convex cup faces down... you can use this to mash up the dissolving pills a bit to quicken the process)
If you are in a hurry, grind/crush the pills using your favorite method, and stir them into cold tap water. Adding an ice cube can help separate the NSAID quicker.
So, here's what you'll need, and how the "quick and easy" method works:
What You'll Need:
-Two Glasses (highball cocktail glasses seem to work best)
-Cold Water (one cup will be plenty)
-Pills (obviously)
-Your Favorite Filter
-(optional) Bent Teaspoon
Step 1.
-Put the split or crushed (or whole) pills into one of the glasses, and add just enough water to cover them completely (the less water you use, the quicker the filtration process will work, so don't be too generous with the water!)
-Use the coldest water you can find. I keep a pitcher of ice water in the fridge at all times (for staying well hydrated... be sure to do that all the time, but especially if you're taking medicines!) so I use that.
Step 2.
-Wet the filter with cold water, and carefully place it over the other glass.
-After the pills are completely dissolved, stir them up a bit, mashing down any big chunks with the bent spoon. Slowly pour the water mix from the first glass into the filter over the second glass, stirring while you pour (if you can, without making a mess)
-Put the empty glass into the sink to be washed.
Step 3.
-Once everything is in the filter, stir and press the mash down into the filter (basically pushing it through quicker)
-Carefully pick up the sides of the filter and pinch it at the top, above the watery mash that's inside, down below.
-Carefully squeeze the mash in the filter from top to bottom (this should create a nice flow of white, cloudy liquid dripping into the second glass that's catching the filtered solution)
-Once you've squeezed every last drop out of the filter, stir the solution in the glass... Now it's ready to ingest... read on...
Now you have a cloudy opioid-water solution, whether you used the long method or the quick one. If you decided to make a "big batch" with several pills, measure the mL of the solution and do some basic math (mL solution / x number of pills = mL solution per pill) and measure out your dose accordingly! If you only extracted the amount of pills that you planned on taking at one time, then simply drink the solution.* It'll taste a little bitter, so you might want some fresh water or a flavourful beverage on hand to use as a chaser. Note that the solution basically multiplies the surface area of the pill exponentially, so the drowsy effects of most of these medications will take effect much quicker and stronger than if you'd simply consumed the pill orally (since your stomach acid doesn't have to dissolve the pill, it will enter the bloodsteam much faster, so be careful and don't drive or operate any machinery until you know how the liquid solution will affect you!
Bioavailability*
Taking medicines orally will always yield the least bioavailability (bioavailability refers to the amount of solution that reaches the bloodstream. Taken orally, most of the pill/solution will be wasted in the digestive tract.) of any route of administration.
Here is a list of all routes of administration:
-oral (swallowed)
-intravenious (IV, injected with a syringe directly into the bloodstream)
-intramuscular (injected using a syringe into the muscle tissue)
-rectal (inserted in the anus as a suppository, or a liquid with a rectal syringe)
-intranasal (otherwise known as insuffilated, or snorted)
-buccal (through the gums; the way nicotine is delivered from chewing tobacco)
-transdermal (through the skin, think nicotine or clonadine patch)
-subcutaneous (injected into the skin with a syringe, colloquially known as "skin pop" among IV users that can't find a vein or solid muscle to inject into)
Bioavailability for an IV injection is always 100%, as all of the solution goes directly into the blood stream, while the oral route will sometimes be as low as 20%... a quick google search will tell you what the bioavailability of the medicine is, using various routes... search [medicine] bioavailability [preferred route of administration] ... See the above for a complete list of routes.
If you want to increase bioavailability of the solution, (usually doubling the bioavailability from an oral administration) you might choose to take it rectally ("plugging it" as it is colloquially referred to here on blue light) ... if you choose the rectal route, make sure you have plenty of latex gloves, a rectal or oral syringe (nothing sharp to poke you down there) and take it like an enema by lying on your right side, and make sure you lay there for a few minutes to allow the solution to absorb, so it doesn't just run right back out. Putting the solution into the microwave to warm it will definitely make it more comfortable. Also, when considering the rectal route, be cognizant of the last time you've had a good bowel movement. If your colon is full of feces and you try to inject the solution rectally, chances are it won't absorb, as the walls of your colon/rectum must be unobstructed for the capillaries on the colon wall to properly absorb the solution. If you haven't had a good bowel movement in a while, your best bet will probably be to drink it.
Last but not least!
Don't wind up wasting your time or medications trying to extract something that isn't there. There are plenty of drugs out there that aren't in a compound with an NSAID, such as benzodiazepines (such as Valium, Xanax, etc) Muscle relaxers (such as Carisoprodol (Soma) or Flexeril) and stronger opioid painkillers (such as Morphine, OxyContin, Dilaudid, etc)
Do a quick google search (or poke around here on Bluelight) to figure out if the pill you have contains anything worth extracting. If you have a pill that gets lost from your prescription labeled bottle, you can always use the Pill Identifier on Drugs.com... by entering the size, shape, color, imprint, or any combination of those bits of info, they'll show you a photo of possible matching pills, as well as what chemicals are in them, and how many milligrams of each chemical are in the pill.
Good luck, and happy extracting! It might seem like a lot of work, vs. just swallowing a pill, but your liver and renal system will thank you!
