Yesterdays blackout - could it be fatal?

[Farmand]

Hi all.

Not really sure if this is the right place to post this but I`ll give it a shot.

Yesterday I had a blackout, due to a combination of drugs. It was not that I was taking these in large amounts at all but it was way to much for me anyways. I´m used to taking these drugs but I only use them for medicinal purposes and not everyday at all.
I drink alcohol like, maybe one glass of wine a few times a year so my tolerance to this is very low and my benzo tolerance is also very low even though I use it regulary.

I remember how much I took and when, as I wrote it down as I was beginning to feel fucked up. I know that benzos and alcohol can make people redose in a compulsive way, partially due to people forgetting that they already redosed. This has never been a problem for me as I don´t use benzos recreationally but yesterday I kind of did without it being my intention at all.

So, here is how my night went:

11:20 pm: 22,5 mg Oxazepam taken sublingualy

midnight: some wine

00:20 am: 7,5 mg Oxazepam taken sublingualy + more wine

01:15 am: 2 mg Melatonin taken orally

01:30 am: 5 mg Zolpidem taken orally

02:30 am: 4xN2O (8 grams) taken as fast as possible.


I only remember to the point where I just slammed the first 2 and is about to reload the siphon while thinking somthing along the lines of "hmm, I was expecting to get hit harder than this".
Next thing that happens, from my conscious minds point of view, is me waking up on the couch (not where I usually sleep) with all 4 cannisters being empty. I dont remember anything, at all, about my N2O experience and I must have went out cold from the last 2, only to go from the peak and straight into sleep mode.

What I want to know is, if this could have been fatal? I know that benzos and alcohol can be fatal, but surely not in these dosages. The total amount of alcohol was somthing like 40% of a bottle of white wine.
I must admint that I dont know how N2O would affect the respiratory system under these conditions so that is why I ask.

I also took 12,5 mg of dexamphetamine for my ADHD but that was many hours before the above mentioned stuff.

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

There is always the possibility of combining benzos and alcohol being fatal, and you should be extremely careful with the combination.

I, too, am unsure of the effects of N2O on top of that but, again, be very cautious.

 

[stardust.hero]

I'm going to move this over to Basic Drug Discussion.

TDS --> BDD

 

[bunge]

N20 is pretty safe due to its elimination time of around 5-10mins however the blackout you describe is likely caused by GABA a interaction.
Alcohol, bezodiazepines and N20 affect the GABA a receptor complex. Mixing drugs that hit the same receptors lead to increased effects from these receptors.
In the case of the GABA receptor complex, these effects arent usually increased by just 2x or 3x as expected but by much much more. This is one of the reasons blackout episodes usually involve both benzos and alcohol...the nitrous was probably just enough to tip the balance.
In future, dont mix three drugs that hit theaame receptors and think seriously before doing two!.
Oh, and I dont think your blackout will be fatal and I doubt you will experience any future problems from it, just treat this like a life lesson.lol

 

[Farmand]

N20 is pretty safe due to its elimination time of around 5-10mins however the blackout you describe is likely caused by GABA a interaction.
Alcohol, bezodiazepines and N20 affect the GABA a receptor complex. Mixing drugs that hit the same receptors lead to increased effects from these receptors.
In the case of the GABA receptor complex, these effects arent usually increased by just 2x or 3x as expected but by much much more. This is one of the reasons blackout episodes usually involve both benzos and alcohol...the nitrous was probably just enough to tip the balance.
In future, dont mix three drugs that hit theaame receptors and think seriously before doing two!.
Oh, and I dont think your blackout will be fatal and I doubt you will experience any future problems from it, just treat this like a life lesson.lol

I´m 100 % sure that it was due to the heavy stimulation of the GABA-A receptor. I have mixed benzodiazepines and alcohol quite a few times and never had any problems with doing so, until yesterday. What I diden´t know is that N2O also affects the GABA-A receptors.
I used to think of N2O as a pure NMDA antagonist, but alas, stuff like this tend to be a lot more complicated than they might seem at first.
I know that I wont die from it now and I have felt just fine all day. Well, not fine really, but that has nothing to do with yesterdays blackout
Just wanted to know if I might have been in risk of never waking up again due to the strong depressant effect on the respiratory system.

Yeah, I have learned my lesson. Do your fucking research thoroughly and then you think that you are done, then you should do it again!
After that it will be time to take some drugs!

 

[bunge]

Good stuff! Its sounds like you know the BL mantra perfectly now.lol
In dont think you were in any real danger of death by respiratory depression as N20 leaves the system in minutes as long as your breathing (respiratory excretion) and has a very weak effect on GABA a.

 

[Farmand]

All righty then! Thanks for your replies, I appreciate it.

 

[TheLostBoys]

The main culprit here is mixing alcohol with other drugs. I stopped drinking about 13 years ago & don't miss it.

I take pain meds & it wouldn't be a good idea to mix alcohol with it.

Mixing a lot of alcohol with benzos can put you in a bad spot.

Be careful in the future but you seem fine & don't have any cognitive problems so you will be fine. Like others have mentioned, a lesson learned.

 

[blight12]

Yeah mixing booze and benzos can be ok if done responsibly for sure. I would say in this specific example the biggest culprid to the blackout would be the Zolpidem. I mean thats what its know for if not treated carefully along with alcohol or other bezos, especially if there is not tolerance.

Ive had blackout type sleep driving, sleepwalking episoides many many times with its use and alcohol where similar amounts of alcohol and benzos would result in nothing near that type of effect.

I still love and respect zolpidem/ambien far nore then any benzo as it works very well for for me for pretty much any benzo type benefit purpose, even if carefully used with alcohol recreationally, however its still dangerous and has a far far lower margin of error in these situations.

 

[pasha]

even though the dosage of the benzodiazepine is relatively low, and the alcohol as well, i think the combination of all 3 said drugs played a part in your black out. the n20 just topped things off.

as mentioned, use caution in the future when practicing this combination. and perhaps stay away from then n20 while already practicing a dangerous combination.