Cocaine overdose?!?

[Indica Child]

Hello, I was just contemplating the outcome (long term and short term effects) of a cocaine overdose? The amount consumed by this particular individual exceeded about 1/2 gram in one sitting ( he/she has done this amount before the 1st couple times and never had this reaction). This person is about 140 pounds, and rarely eats (maybe once a day if that) or exercizes. This person is sensitive to drugs, has a slow motabolism (a pill takes about 2 hours to digest and work on this person) and I took this persons BPM it was 160 after 25 minutes of the use. They told me they did another 1/4 of a gram about 45 minutes after the 1st dose. with thier age and weight and gender, I calculated thier maximum heart rate which is 198.5. They continued to have that heart rate (160 bpm) after about another 30 minutes later. and maybe did this twice in the same day...They were flushed, zinginging around the place, shallow hard breathing as if they were having a panic attack (in which they were paranoid and panicy) they were thinking fucked up thoughts and acted stranger. The fact that this person is inexperienced, over does things impulsively and is careless with a low drug tolerance and a slow metabolism, it scares me deeply. So I appreciate any information any of you can provide me with. I am afraid to tell a doctor about this persons delimma since it never will create anything good, but the person ended up having a massive head ache on the top near back of thier head, a numb nose and they complained thier two front teeth hurt. they ended up depressed and crying later that day which I knew was because they were crashing. they also mentioned poorer eyesight since they already have a stigmatism in each eye, they used to be able to go with out glasses but now they can not focus and are sensitiv to light more so now. This happened yesterday and I was wondering if that person will be ok? I am worried because It is someone close to me but they wont listen to me. So evidence of its distrution is needed to prove thier ignorance.

Im sorry for the novel, but thank you all greatly for your time to read and respond!

[Hippie3]

your friend sounds like he was having a hypertensive crisis,
i.e. very high blood pressure
caused by the stimulant.
he may have damaged his eyes permanently.
he should seek immediate medical attention.

[Indica Child]

You sure medical attention is necissary? I dont them to ruin thier life because they decided to be stupid. They get financial aid for college and all that , thier apartment, and pretty much thier career would be ruuined at such a young age. where, If you seek medical attention, they are going to want to know what was abused when why and where? I failed to mention a month or two ago they had a bad mushroom trip on a 5 gram mushroom tea and ate the mushrooms thereafter, and ended the trip with a muscle relaxer. ever since october (whether it was the coke the concusion the mushroom trip), in the left eye, they continue to complain about a singl e blue pixel like dot just floating in the exact same spot. it comes and goes and stays breifly and only comes on when they are in fatigue or tired or stressed?

[Hippie3]

if his eyesight problem persists
then most definitely he needs to visit the doctor.
the blood vessels in the eye are quite small
and excessively high blood pressure can damage them,
altering the flow of needed blood
he may need surgery
to prevent blindness.

[golly]

You can get those same symptoms from Caffiene and yohimbe Which are legal stimulants ..So he could tell the Dock that he took too many pills..
I had a similar crisis once from taking those yellow jackets they sell over the counter at 7/11 stores for staying awake while driving..The medic gave me a vallium which helped alot to slow me down..
Your friend should def get checked out if he's still having problems..

[Leary's Ghost]

unfortunately, i think a very common outcome of a cocaine overdose is cardiac arrest followed by death. wouldnt be worth my eyesight or health. sounds like your friend dosn't exercise very sound judgement when it comes to drug use. perhaps a drug with no lethal dose would be a better choice? fungus and MJ are good.

i wouldnt garantee this, but i think it is safe to tell a doctor that you have taken cocaine. i told my doc that i had taken cocaine and extacy and planed to continue to take extacy in the future. it never occured to me that he might rat me out. dont they have some kind of ethical duty not to do so except under very limited circumstances?

[Psily o' Cybin]

Yea I think it's by law they can't say anything because of Doctor/patient confidentiality. I think your friend would be fine as long as he didn't go to the doctor with any drugs on him, because he already took them it's to late to get into any trouble now. His main concern should be his own safety and health. Tell him to go see a doctor as soon as he can.

[Sky Rayven]

I seriously doubt that the doctor is going to be able to get them into trouble. The only time doctor/patient cofidentiality is broken is in suicidal cases or if they think you are going to hurt your self or someone else.

Get that person into the er asap. Don't be afraid. If you don't have your health you don't have anything.

Further more. I find myself in the er quite often. When the doc/paramedics/nurses or whomever asks what I take I tell them. I am on quite a few perscription meds pluss I tell them I smoke MJ and drink prety heavily. I would tell them that I eat mushies once in a while but that is too much info because it really doesn't ever play into my medical problems.

But if I were tripping and had a problem and called the Paramedics I would make no bones about letting them know.

Their job is to make sure that you are physically well and that is it. Never be afraid of the docs. They are there to help you phisically! They are your friends.

[dbzeroone]

A very close friend of mine is an ER doctor in a big city. He sees overdoses every day.

I asked him about this very thing once and he said "Even if I COULD call the police on someone for using an illegal drug, I wouldn't do it. I have enough to do without answering a bunch of questions from cops for their paperwork."

It's really really stupid to go to an ER with a drug problem (overdose or otherwise) and LIE! You're not the first person to show up thinking you're dying and all they really want to do is stabilize you and get you out of there. For that they need good information. Help them help you. At worst you'll get a little lecture.

Oh, and by the way, Leary's Ghost is right. Cocaine overdose is usually a pretty quick and sometimes ugly death. At least with opiates, if you can keep the user breathing until you get to the ER, they can administer Narcan (Naloxone) which will sober them up right away. Nothing of the sort exists for cocaine. They'll try to slow your heart and lower your BP and hope for the best.

Coke sucks. It's just not worth it.

[Sky Rayven]

Originally Posted by dbzeroone

Coke sucks. It's just not worth it.

No doubt. It is a waste of time and life.

you could call me a hipocrit (sp?) bcause I enjoy a cocopuf every once in a while. It has been about 6 years since the last time i did that tho.

[TVCasualty]

Earlier this year a good friend's boyfriend snuck out of their apartment and he partied with his buddies in the usual way- coke. He was a coke vacuum, having done large amounts over a long time (years). This night he took a relatively small dose and immediately had his heart attack, dead and not yet 40. A heart can take only so much before it get wrecked, and that threshold is different for everyone. Too risky, at least to me, to play with that shit.

Sounds to me like your friend's problems are much deeper than this coke episode. Just because someone OD's once don't mean they'll never hit it again. This person needs comprehensive professional help, for mind and body. Soon. Watching someone we love grow cold on a slab is no time to realize how little it matters what the doctors think of drugs or if the person might get defensive or offended when we try to talk to them about it. Ultimately, though, it is their life and they have the power to wreck it if they choose, and sometimes loved ones just need to accept this sad fact and not let someone else's self-destruction trip take our lives down with them. It's a hard path to walk no matter what.

[Indica Child]

thanks, but I dont think they went to the ER. I made it their decision where as if I was going to bring them or not. They didn't want to go because of the fact a small town and such an episode would sure go around. Career cautious? well, maybe they have other issues, but for now they're alive.

Well we can try and show them alternative ways to spend life other than a slow suicide. but do you think if they ultamately went to the hospital or family physician or counselor (past "issues are already known") - (because of small hick town rumor reasons) that will harm any more ( socially) than what already did (physically)?

[Hippie3]

drive a few miles to another town, another hospital

[grace]

Hope your friend received the medical help needed.

I used to really like the effect of coke but realized very early on that there is a fine line from feeling the high/rush to experiencing the symptomology (including physiological, psychological and emotional) of a coke induced anxiety and panic episode/disorder. Been there, done that. Not fun, to say the least. Not to mention the detrimental to long term health. If your friend is over using, you might want to step in.

As far as talking with a doctor, the scope of doctor/patient confidentiality, as well as the existence of a doctor/patient legal privilege, varies from state to state. Not only should you take into account the state's idea of privilege but also the institutions (hospital, clinic etc) guidelines for reporting as they have to at least meet the states minimum but and can elect to go beyond them.

[Indica Child]

The thing is confidentiality laws are here, they just arent enforced really. I had this issue with a confidentiality break of my own and now it lingers...

So I think my friend said they'd rather live in angst than to have anyone know what they tried.

Honestly, I can say if it were my situation, I'd do the same. I'd deal with the eye problems and head aches over a reputation.

[Indica Child]

Originally Posted by Sky Rayven

I seriously doubt that the doctor is going to be able to get them into trouble. The only time doctor/patient cofidentiality is broken is in suicidal cases or if they think you are going to hurt your self or someone else.

Don't be afraid of the docs. They are there to help you phisically! They are your friends.

Thats the thing. His doctor knows his past.. suicidal history b.s . and so shit would hiit the fan. and no doctors here fuck you up worse. they treat everything with a pill or two

[Hippie3]

i dunno,
i'd rather be suspected of being a drug-crazed fool
over going blind and proving them right...

[PsychoDrogue]

yeah man. whats so wrong with being a suspected drug user compared to having serious long term health defects. if its that big of a worry, go to the next town, or move after treatment.

[Indica Child]

Originally Posted by Hippie3

i dunno,
i'd rather be suspected of being a drug-crazed fool
over going blind and proving them right...

Prove who right and how?


and by the way, does coke, crack, opiates like percocet oxycodone/contin make you age quicker if you dont keep hydrated and or cause brain damage as you get older?

In a sense, the DEA won with me. Dare has made me afraid to try anything bigger than mere hallucinogens and percs.

But is coke worse than crack? Because crack doesnt eat your septum, but its the same stimulant as coke.

[dbzeroone]

Originally Posted by Indica Child

But is coke worse than crack? Because crack doesnt eat your septum, but its the same stimulant as coke.

If you're smoking freebase, things like your septum are the least of your worries. You should be worrying about things like a fatal cardiac arrhythmia!

You're messing with a dangerous drug. Plain and simple. There's a lot of misinformation going around about illegal drugs, but I doubt ANYONE would dispute the fact that cocaine is dangerous. Do yourself a favor and just don't F with it!

[TwistedNinja]

I enjoy a good bump or two at parties but being previously hooked on that shit I generally try to keep my distance. I had a very bad panic attack and cold sweats my vision went blurry and back and forth for a day when I went through about an 8ball from 7am to lunchtime. I wasn't right for a few days after but things are pretty much back to normal.
I am not saying don't see a Dr. but if the shit doesn't go away after a few days then I would be seeing somebody. I would def. drive to another town esp. if your friend thinks they need medical advise. If you told them it was experimental I am sure they are not going to look down on you like they are a junkie.
There are several Dr. that like candy themselves.
I don't like coke
I just like the way it smells.

Your friend would be better off smoking weed. Cheaper too...

[Hippie3]

most stimulants do seem to increase aging
might be pissing out all yer minerals, etc.
cellular damage too.
but booze will do it, too.

[Jetson]

Coke use caused my uncle to have a stroke - now he can't live on his own, can hardly even talk It puts so much stress on the body.
Your friends def need to see a doctor for a diagnosis and lay off the coke.
What are you doing living in a small town anyway??
I love it in the city! So much better, IMO