Injecting - Dangers of IV pharmacuetical use

[chronicpain247]

Swim is not an IV user so correct him if he is wrong, but isn't it very dangerous to use Pharms intended for Oral ingestion by IV injections, due to the binders and other adulterants being injected directly into the bloodstream?


Of course there are many other dangers involved with IV drug use, dirty needles, infections of the heart lining and other organs, over dose, addiction, increased tolerance, but if one is careful all of these can be avoided. The thing that has always scared me is something I learned about while watching the HBO series Autopsy with Dr. Baden.

There was a case of a man Jaime Lynchard, episode 11, "Justice for Jaime". Basically this man had been sick and lethargic for weeks prior to his death. Upon his initial autopsy the first Dr. ruled that the cause was natural causes. The man's sister was still suspicious and contacted HBO and Dr. Baden. After doing his own autopsy and looking at the microscopic slides of Jaime's lungs, Dr. baden saw that the man had a lung condition commonly attributed to IV drug users who inject pills. After learning that the man was not a drug user, and the discovery of several other pieces of evidence, the Dr. determined that the man's wife had slowly poisoned him with IV injections of Valium and other sedatives.

What tipped Dr. baden off and what concerns Swim about injecting Pharms not intended for IV use, was that the mans lungs had been damaged by binders and other inactive ingredients of the pills being injected. The Dr. explained that the binders in the pills being injected end up settling into the lungs and getting trapped in the Bronchial linning of the lungs and doing serious damage. I am not sure if this is what ended up finally killing Jaime Lynchard but I do think I remember them saying it contributed to his demise.

It has been a while since I have seen this episode, but this was something that has always stuck with me. Swim doesn't think he would ever use IV anyways due to the many other dangers involved but this is the one thing that has always kind of made him ask why anyone would. I mean Swim is not dumb, he knows why people use IV, but he wonders if some of the more naive users realize the dangers involved, aside from ODing.

Like I said I am no expert so there may be ways to prevent the intake of unwanted adulterants. Swim has read some things about filters made out of cotton swabs and micron filters, which I assume are used for these reasons, so please inform me if this is so. But do these get all the unwanted stuff out of the solution?

I just think that some of the less experienced users who are new to opiates and drugs in general, that may be considering using, or already using Pharms intended for Oral ingestion by IV injection, should consider some of the very real dangers involved. I know everyone knows about ODing but I think less people realize the other risks of IVing.

Please comment if you have anything to add or if I am wrong about some topics, please correct me.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good questions and good insight