Opioids Using Epinephrine (Adrenaline) in case of an opiate overdose?

[Amadeus]

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to use a shot of Epinephrine in the event of an opiate overdose. I have been shooting heroin for about two months now and while I have never come close to overdosing the thought has crossed my mind, especially now that my girlfriend has decided to join me in shooting instead of smoking.

I have tried researching the plausibility but haven't come to any of my own conclusions as I am not well versed in the specific interactions and pharmacology of opiates and adrenaline. I have plenty of EpiPen brand Epinephrine auto-injectors as I have an extreme allergy to bee stings and, in the even I'm ever stung, need to get one of them jabbed into my leg to mitigate the anaphylactic shock I would go into. The auto-injectors contain 0.3mg of Epinephrine.

So, anyone have any idea if using Epinephrine would help in the event of an opiate overdose? I have no illusions about NOT calling 911 if I or anyone I know overdoses in my presence; better caught red-handed than dead, in my opinion.

 

[dokomo]

In short, no. If you're overdosing, epinephrine alone is not going to save (or really even help) you.

You really need naloxone to effectively treat an opioid overdose. Epinephrine and atropine are often used along with naloxone to raise heart rate in an opioid overdose, but alone epinephrine would not really help at all.

 

[happyland]

in the movie Pulp Fiction(based off of memory, havent seen in it in a while), Uma Thurman mistakes a bag of heroin for a bag of coke, she make her self a hefty line..thinking its coke..John Turvolta comes out of the bathroom to find her ODing, nose bleeding and some foaming at the mouth. he takes her to his frens house, there they have what looks like a EpiPen and they punch it into her heart(i remember them saying it was adrenaline). instantly she comes to life with a big gasp. i understand this is a movie and isnt accurate but i thought id point it out, also i highly reccomend you see it if you havent

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^yeah, that scene is total bullshit. It doesn't work like that. It was presented that way for dramatic effect.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ +1. The epinephrine will briefly raise your heart rate, but without something to remove the opioid from the receptors and block them, it won't help very much at all.

 

[robatussin]

+2 Shoot some suboxone (orange) or get a vial of naloxone (best bet)

 

[acie_ardeat]

I personally have received an injection of narcan...people who didn’t know me called 911 thinking I was overdosing and the paramedics gave me narcan (only, nothing else with it)...the most painful experience I have ever had. I was passed out but waking up randomly in the ambulance. When they gave me the narcan, I didn’t wake up because it wasn’t the opiates that were causing me to pass out, it was the somas. The paramedics were pretty young guys and did not know what to do. Since I am an addict, once that narcan put me into immediate withdrawals I felt like I was on fire and the pain was unbearable. I don't remember everything that happened, just bits and pieces but I remember screaming, having the worst anxiety I have ever experienced and trying to run out of the hospital with the IV and heart monitor connected and everything. They had to hold me down so I wouldn’t rip the IV's out of my arm. Not to mention the fact that if you are an addict and are put into instant and immediate withdrawal you could die. Right after I signed myself out of the ER, I took a fist full of pills and felt better in about 45 min.

Has anyone else been given narcan that is an addict? Was it super painful? A friend of mine who is a "topper" claimed that she had been given narcan and didn’t understand why I said it was so painful. And we are about the same size, with similar tolerance levels, both addicts, so curious if I had an abnormal reaction...Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience!

I was always extremely careful after that experience...I would never want to have to go through that again!! As far as the epipen, like the others had said, that is not going to do the trick, we always had narcan on hand in case something terrible were to happen...you can get it some places if you are concerned.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ How would being put into instant, immediate WD kill you? The few people who do die from opioid WD usually die as a result of fluid loss and lack of proper rehydration therapy.

 

[amapola]

I read somewhere on BL recently (can't remember where though) that back when morphine was still distributed in tonics for anxiety it used to have overdose instructions which listed a coffee enema. Caffeine, Epinephrine any stimulant would probably help if you are alone and need to prevent a potentially dangerous deep nod but not in a full blown OD situation.

Opiate OD is characterized by reduced and eventually stopped breathing. An epi-pen is not going to help with that and artificial respiration would be the best treatment. If they aren't breathing and their heart is flat lining (not fibrillating where you would cardiovert... so you also happen to have an AED kicking around) then CPR followed by epinephrine (and ummm something to speed it up) would be delivered.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

I couldn't help but chime in here mainly because that scene in Pulp Fiction (although it's probably Tarantino's best, or second-best film) really irks me, mainly because a lot of people believe you can treat an opiate OD with adrenaline. The other posters are correct, you can't. Narcan and professional medical assistance are what you need.

 

[Amadeus]

Wow! Thank you guys for all of your helpful replies. Hopefully I can find some Suboxone or Naloxone so that I can keep it around in case of emergencies.

I had totally forgotten about that scene in Pulp Fiction and didn't base any of my assumptions on it, but watching it again it is a pretty intense scene!

I'll be shooting up my girlfriend with some H for the first time tomorrow so I'm pretty excited but I'll be sure to start her with a fairly low dose to gauge her reaction. I assume the best place to get Naloxone would be a needle exchange, right?

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

I'm not sure of the availability of naloxone in your area, that's something a Google search or maybe another BL'er with needle exchange experience can chime in on. However, the method you're using (start with a low dose and work your way up) is always the best way to go, in the interest of harm reduction and in the interest in not getting sick. I've never done H before but I know a few people who got turned off of it because they took too much (snorting) their first time and got really sick, not OD, but ended up spending the next few hours puking.

Everybody reacts to substances differently, low dose to start out is ALWAYS the best policy.

 

[Mr Blonde]

Some needle exchanges in the states carry naloxone I believe, here in Australia we don't get it unfortunately.