Silk Road forums

Discussion => Drug safety => Topic started by: Arguekitty on April 06, 2012, 05:12 pm

Title: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: Arguekitty on April 06, 2012, 05:12 pm
Can anyone here with a background in health sciences provide information about this?

Things like how to know if you're in danger, how to interpret heart rate (HR) or blood pressure (BP) results, brief description of the most important concepts, factors that augment risks (an educated and documented point of view about upper+downer combinations would be greatly appreciated)
You're strongly encouraged to post sources to support your claims.
 
Everyone is welcome to share their knowledge, but if you're not legally qualified please make it clear.
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: Arguekitty on April 06, 2012, 05:20 pm
Also for Android and iPhone users, I recommend the app Instant Heart Rate which allows you to measure your heart rate by placing your finger in front of the lens. It's quite precise, but works much better if you have a flash.
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: tordemon on April 06, 2012, 08:59 pm
Also for Android and iPhone users, I recommend the app Instant Heart Rate which allows you to measure your heart rate by placing your finger in front of the lens. It's quite precise, but works much better if you have a flash.
Damn, that's crazy. How does that work?
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: Arguekitty on April 06, 2012, 10:48 pm
Also for Android and iPhone users, I recommend the app Instant Heart Rate which allows you to measure your heart rate by placing your finger in front of the lens. It's quite precise, but works much better if you have a flash.
Damn, that's crazy. How does that work?
From the app page:

It uses your phones built-in camera to track color changes on the fingertip that are directly linked to your pulse. This is the same technique that medical pulse oximeters use.

Seems to be a good app according to the reviews. :)
Yes it is, I've used for a year and it's never failed me
Also bump
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: a_blackbird on April 08, 2012, 04:09 am
I am not a doctor.  I do not play one on TV.

However, it is fairly well documented that despite its popularity, cocaine + alcohol is not a good combination for your heart. 

From a PubMed abstract:

"Concurrent use of cocaine and alcohol produces another psychoactive substance known as cocaethylene which has pharmacological properties similar to that of cocaine but which has a plasma half-life three to five times that of cocaine. This slow removal from the body makes it an attractive drug for abuse. However, cocaethylene has been associated with seizures, liver damage, and compromised functioning of the immune system. It also carries an 18- to 25-fold increase over cocaine alone in risk for immediate death."

There's a fair amount of interesting information here: hxxp://emedicine.medscape.com/article/813959-overview

As far as how to know if you're in danger... I don't really know.  There are the obvious signs of a heart attack to watch out for.  A highly-elevated (104F or higher) body temperature can be something to watch out for - even moreso if you are *not* sweating - because that could mean that you're not adequately able to cool yourself. 
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: risky2 on April 08, 2012, 06:33 am
Heh I had a appointment with my personal doctor about 2 weeks ago. Of course I am not going to tell him shit about my drug use. I've been doing a lot of stims from SR so I was at first worried that my blood pressure would be sky high, and my doctor would grill me over asking if I have done anything 'different' lately ("Like illegal drugs? oh no not me Doc'). Hell, he had me at 125 over 80 for blood pressure(still higher than normal I know),but which was much better than last time I saw him. He gave a clean bill of health, and said keep doing what I am doing.  Silk Road= doctor approved!
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: buhbye on April 08, 2012, 09:14 am
Moderation..... okay that is stupid... As I tell the kids "do as I say not as I do."  My wife is a Dr, but she cannot prescribe me meds.  That said, I take addy, and I take a lot of addy.  Do not take your blood pressure when you're high.  It's just going to fuck you up more if you're having anxiety. 

Here is what she told me, the reason you feel numb is because the "fight or flight" somatic reaction.  Your blood retreats from your capillaries (sp?), and protects the organs.  Heart rate is 150, and BP is 190/100 because you're ready to kill - evolutionarily speaking.  Panic attacks are, as much as they such, a part of your will to live.  I don't know.... I've had some fucked up feelings.  She thinks I've just taken a bit too much adderall, when in reality it's about 5x's as much. 

I have the iPad BP cuff, and I constantly take my BP when I'm high.... guess what, it's high... shocking! It only exacerbates the psychosomatic problems.  I wish I could like to journals, but I'm too high right now too do so!  Check PubMed... it's esy to find.  I've had BP of 210/120 and she still was not worried.  But, that is meaningless... wish I could help.
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: a_blackbird on April 08, 2012, 09:21 am
Heh I had a appointment with my personal doctor about 2 weeks ago. Of course I am not going to tell him shit about my drug use. I've been doing a lot of stims from SR so I was at first worried that my blood pressure would be sky high, and my doctor would grill me over asking if I have done anything 'different' lately ("Like illegal drugs? oh no not me Doc'). Hell, he had me at 125 over 80 for blood pressure(still higher than normal I know),but which was much better than last time I saw him. He gave a clean bill of health, and said keep doing what I am doing.  Silk Road= doctor approved!

I mentioned my chemical adventures to my doc once, expecting to get the "drugs are bad, mmmkay" speech - and was really surprised when he said flat out that he wasn't going to tell me drugs are bad -  he said "you're the captain of your own ship" and we talked about various things for like the next 15-20 minutes.  There's something to be said for having a doc that's not going to get all preachy about stuff, because then you can ask legit questions and get real answers, not just a canned "don't do it."
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: jochem on April 08, 2012, 05:46 pm
I'm no doctor, but this is what I know: I once got very paranoid after being up very long and combining a few uppers (got afraid of an heart attack specifically). I phoned my doctor, who informed me that I should do some calming shit (drink tea and what not) and he informed me that I would have to call him again if my heart rate would go over 120bpm.

So when I'm using stimulants I check my rate every now and then (yep, using the app) and feel confident when it's still below 120bpm. If it would go over and I would feel physical pain, I'd probably get paranoid as hell again ;).

While we're on this subject: any proven ways of measuring your blood pressure yourself at home? Heart rate is easy (a watch + finger on your wrist is enough - the heart rate apps are equally as good), but blood pressure... no idea.
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: risky2 on April 08, 2012, 08:36 pm
I'm no doctor, but this is what I know: I once got very paranoid after being up very long and combining a few uppers (got afraid of an heart attack specifically). I phoned my doctor, who informed me that I should do some calming shit (drink tea and what not) and he informed me that I would have to call him again if my heart rate would go over 120bpm.

So when I'm using stimulants I check my rate every now and then (yep, using the app) and feel confident when it's still below 120bpm. If it would go over and I would feel physical pain, I'd probably get paranoid as hell again ;).

While we're on this subject: any proven ways of measuring your blood pressure yourself at home? Heart rate is easy (a watch + finger on your wrist is enough - the heart rate apps are equally as good), but blood pressure... no idea.


there is BP home kits,(places like cvs or walgreens can sell them) some are wrist straps with a display on top, the cheaper ones are like a cuff that you pump up yourself attached to electronic display. Either one is easy to use.
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: workforit69 on April 13, 2012, 11:47 pm
all good tips on here so far... when i go on meth binges i keep my bp machine nearby and take my pulse every few hours or before i am going to re-dose. since everyone's heart is different it's a bit hard to give a specific range that can be used by everyone but generally speaking my research has shown anything over a 120-130 resting pulse is high. if my blood pressure gets over 200/120 i will stop dosing and start taking steps to come down from being high.

one thing that hasn't been  mentioned here but is a good window into how well your body is running ( or isn't ) is the size of your pupils. that's one of the first things a doctor or paramedic will check on a new patient and it's something you can do pretty easily. just make sure the lights are on in the room where you check them!
Title: Re: Stimulants and your heart & circulatory system : Things you should know
Post by: winterjacket1 on April 15, 2012, 12:34 am
There are two types of risk with cocaine: dose dependent - the more you take, the more of a risk it becomes - and those are; seizures, heart attacks, and anursyms (blood vessels in your brain exploding). Best way to avoid this is to not use too much cocaine ie. Moderation. Changes in your vision, a stabbing pain in your chest, nausea /vomitting, numbness and tingling are generally signs you should stop and take a long break.

Dose independent - doesn't matter how much you do, the first line could be your last. Coronary vasospasms are when your hearts blood vessels start contract and relaxing so fast blood does flow properly and you have a heart attack. This is normally in people with some underlying heart problem or blood vessel disease. That's why it's best to start slow and see how your body reacts.

Heart rate and BP are always going to be elevated when doing cocaine, so they are non-specific indicators of something is going wrong. HR >120 in a health person isn't good nor is BP >180/110

from what i know they don't teach you what to tell your cocaine buddies to watch out for in med school. i'm not a doc