Opioids Will potentiators improve the anti-tussive qualities of an opioid experience?

[TacoSundae]

Here's the long and short of it: Buddy of mine has been coughing his brains out for 2 weeks. DXM does fuck-all (he drank enough Delsym that he actually started to robotrip and was still hacking and wheezing like an old dying dog).

He ordered several pounds of unwashed poppy seeds, which from prior experience he knows will provide Vicodin-like effects. He also has Tagamet, Klonopin, Benadryl, grapefruit juice, the whole potentiation regimen. Will these help enhance and prolong the anti-tussive (cough-reducing) effects of the poppy seed tea, or do they just keep you "higher" for longer? He's already called off work, so if all it does is keep him buzzed then that's fine, but the main thing he wants is some relief from the coughing so he can sleep. Also, would DXM be safe to use with a mild opium solution like poppy-seed tea? He has been taking shots of whiskey mixed with honey for his throat, is that safe to continue?

Sorry to bother y'all with something so mundane, but this dude can't afford a doctor, so he had me ask you guys.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate any insight you might have.

 

[Ohayou]

All effects of the opiates should be enhanced, including anti-tussive effects.

 

[effie]

The Tagamet, grapefruit juice and diphenhydramine will keep the opioid in his system for longer by inhibiting it's metabolism, so they will work.

Benzos don't actually potentiate opioids in that they don't increase the duration or anything, they just add to the sedation.. so the clonazepam likely won't help much.

Alcohol and opioids (or mixing any CNS depressants) are often a bad idea and can be dangerous. It entirely depends on his tolerance and how much alcohol.. I would go steady, especially with benzos + opioids too - 3 CNS depressants all at once hugely increase the risk of overdosing..

 

[TacoSundae]

Thank you for your responses, I will tell him not to use alcohol. He'll still take Klonopin because he does need a sedative. Any idea if taking DXM along with all the other stuff introduces any additional risks?

 

[Ohayou]

DXM's dissociative properties shouldn't induce any additional physical risk, it could always cause him to have a bad trip though.

 

[ErgicMergic]

DXM potentiates opioids; use 70 percent of normal dosage.

 

[Znegative]

The Tagamet, grapefruit juice and diphenhydramine will keep the opioid in his system for longer by inhibiting it's metabolism, so they will work.

Benzos don't actually potentiate opioids in that they don't increase the duration or anything, they just add to the sedation.. so the clonazepam likely won't help much.

Alcohol and opioids (or mixing any CNS depressants) are often a bad idea and can be dangerous. It entirely depends on his tolerance and how much alcohol.. I would go steady, especially with benzos + opioids too - 3 CNS depressants all at once hugely increase the risk of overdosing..

Diphenhydramine actually inhibits opiate metabolism? That's kind of disturbing, I've been tapering my suboxone down and have stabalized at a low dose for about a month and a half, but for the last three weeks I've been taking quite a lot of diphenhydramine for other purposes. Does this mean that my tolerance is now raised?

 

[Fire&Water]

If he's able to stay on a moderate opiate regimen he may never catch a cold/flu bug ever again (one solution !)

 

[Ohayou]

Hmm, I used to get colds maybe 3-6 times a year when I was sober but when I was on buprenorphine for 4+ years I never got so much as a sniffle, not even once. Why is this exactly? I thought the drug had nothing to do with this?

 

[Fire&Water]

Hmm, I used to get colds maybe 3-6 times a year when I was sober but when I was on buprenorphine for 4+ years I never got so much as a sniffle, not even once. Why is this exactly? I thought the drug had nothing to do with this?

Yeah, nothing proven, but if it works it's def' not a placebo effect...

 

[Ohayou]

You would think most rec drugs would lower your immunity, I remember getting sick a lot more on amphetamines. I really wish I knew why opiates/oids do this. Surely someone out there is researching this?

 

[Fire&Water]

When I was young & still caught the flu-bug the only way I could expell it within 24 hour was to drink a bottle of novahistine containing 10 mg's codeine in each tablespoon Since I have been on a constant moderate dose of opiate
(for chronic crap) Iv'e never caught a cold/flu bug (bout' 12 years) It may not work for everybody but the 8-10 people iv'e discussed this with all agree with me.
There are other discussions on here (search) on this subject

 

[Znegative]

It's true, I'm on buprenorphine and have not had any cold at all for the duration of my maintenance(I've been in and off for three years). The only time I got a cold was when I switched back to suboxone from iv oxymorphone, I got bronchitis during the transition. Same thing with methadone, I was on that for a year, never got a cold. After I quit methadone I got a cold almost instantly, it was weird and it was not withdrawals

 

[Sepher]

Re: colds and flu on opiates, I used to think I never caught them when was I was on opiates myself, but I'm now given to understand that you're just as likely to catch them on opiates as you are off them, probably more so in fact, but because opiates suppress the immune system response, you don't manifest symptoms of cold and flu to the same degree, symptoms which are caused by the body's response to the infection trying to fight it off. On top of that you have the analgesic effects of opiates which would tend to make some symptoms less noticeable still further, and the above mentioned anti-tussive effects suppressing the cough reflex. In short, you still get colds, you just don't notice the symptoms as much.

 

[Fire&Water]

Re: colds and flu on opiates, I used to think I never caught them when was I was on opiates myself, but I'm now given to understand that you're just as likely to catch them on opiates as you are off them, probably more so in fact, but because opiates suppress the immune system response, you don't manifest symptoms of cold and flu to the same degree, symptoms which are caused by the body's response to the infection trying to fight it off. On top of that you have the analgesic effects of opiates which would tend to make some symptoms less noticeable still further, and the above mentioned anti-tussive effects suppressing the cough reflex. In short, you still get colds, you just don't notice the symptoms as much.

You're just one of the exceptions...

 

[Sepher]

Naw, I was on heroin for years and used to swear I never got colds all the time I was on it too. Since come across the above explanation on this Bluelight thread complete with links to studies and it makes perfect sense. Even more so when you think about the reasons why codeine has so often been used as a remedy for colds and flu. Much more sense than the completely counter-intuitive idea that a drug which suppresses the immune system could somehow also ward off infection.

 

[Fire&Water]

Naw, I was on heroin for years and used to swear I never got colds all the time I was on it too. Since come across the above explanation on this Bluelight thread complete with links to studies and it makes perfect sense. Even more so when you think about the reasons why codeine has so often been used as a remedy for colds and flu. Much more sense than the completely counter-intuitive idea that a drug which suppresses the immune system could somehow also ward off infection.

That thread confirms that habitual opiate use suppresses the immune system. but 95% of the posts report not catching flu bugs while using for long periods of time...

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I have been using opiates for about 15 years and I have gotten colds, flus, bronchitis, pneumonia, you name it. And I don't have any other diseases and kept myself in pretty good health for a junkie. I do think that opiates can make you feel better when you do have a cold, but I never found it to actually prevent me from getting one, or anyone I know for that matter.

 

[Sepher]

That thread confirms that habitual opiate use suppresses the immune system. but 95% of the posts report not catching flu bugs while using for long periods of time...

But that's the point, one which you seem to have not understood. Opiate users report that they don't catch colds because they are deceived by the fact that when they do have a cold it is almost entirely symptom free because of the suppressed immuno response coupled with opiate analgesia.

Think about it, how would you know if you'd even had a cold if you'd not experienced typical cold symptoms? You wouldn't, would you?