Combinations - Drug combos & safety: what should be avoided ?

[genaro]

It appears to me that many people seem to know next to nothing about how to mix drugs in a safe way, so...


Drug combos, some advice:

next time you wanna try a combo, make researches about the pharmacology of each substance, here are questions you must ask yourself:


Is it a depressant (alcohol, kava, sedatives, trankilizers, anxiolitics, analgesics, anaesthesics, benzos, sedative antihistamines, opiates, heroine, ketamine, pcp, dxm, ghb & gbl, ether, lsa, anything that might make you feel drowsy/sleepy/sedated)

Does it induce low heart beat, slowing down the heart (many depressants can do so such as K, heroin..)

Does it produce hypotension (for instance dimenhydrinate, sinicuichi...)
Note that hypotensive substance can lead to periferal vasoconstriction.

Is it a stimulant (cocaine, XTC, amphet, meth, phenethylamines, ephedra & ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, herbal XTC)

Does it produce hypertension and/or accelerated heart beat (amphets, meth, XTC and phenethylamines, coke, datura & tropanes, fly agaric, ephedra & ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, herbal XTC, and a few tryptamines RCs such as 5-meo-dmt)

Does it produce vasoconstriction (pseudoephedrine, ephedra & ephedrine -and therefore some herbal XTC mixes-, LSAs, ergot alkaloids, dimenhydrinate, coke, adrenaline)

Does it produce overheating (many phenethylamines such as 2Cs do so, dxm, amphets, XTC, datura & tropanes, fly agaric)

Is it an MAOI (moclobemide, harmala, caapi, harmine & harmaline)




then the rule is:

mixing alcohol (or alcohol like substances) with depressants is very dangerous (for instance ghb + a single beer have been known to put people in coma)

mixing alcohol with IMAOs is very dangerous

mixing MAOIs with stimulants, vasoconstrictors, substances accelerating or significantly slowing down heart beat or hypertensive/hypotensive substances is very dangerous

mixing MAOIs with depressants is very dangerous

mixing aspirin with high doses of stimulants (or substances producing hypertension, hypotension, fast heart beat or vasoconstriction) can be really dangerous. For this reason if you've been taking stimulants (amphets, coke) and you have a headache much better take acetaminophen (aka paracetamol) rather than aspirin to stop it.

mixing substances that produce the same effect is dangerous (for instance depressant+depressant or stimulant+stimulant or overheating substance+overheating substance or substance slowing down the heart+substance slowing down the heart) as the mentionned effect might be multiplicated exponentially (especially with depressants)
For instance many overdoses at raves have been known to be caused by mixing ketamine+alcohol or ketamine+heroin (= mixing two depressants and low heart beat inducing substances), leading to respiratory depression, coma and possibly death.

mixing substances that have an opposite effect, meaning stimulant+depressant, can also be dangerous in a different way: the effects will cancel themselves, leading you to redose because you don't feel much effect, which could easily end up in an overdose from multiple excessive redosing.

Also mixing depressant with stimulant should be avoided, it can be extremely unpleasant: you body might start doing sudden "up & downs", meaning continuous nervous swinging from rush of energy & tension to depressive phases (weakness/slow motion/drowsy) which can be psychologically difficult but can also be hard on your heart and therefore possibly dangerous: if too much of each was taken, you heart will go "fast-slow-fast-slow" which can cause serious problems in the most extreme cases.

Also important, keep in mind that vomiting in one's lungs is a common cause of fatal overdose, generally this is caused by mixing drugs with lots of alcohol: the individual fall deeply unconscious, laying on his back or his stomach, then vomit, and suffocate in his own vomit (by breathing it while still comatose).
That's why people that are found unconscious (from drugs) should be turned on their side in 'safety position':
http://www.medecine-et-sante.com/gim...animation5.jpg
if you try it you will notice that such positioning prevents the unconscious individual from turning on his stomach or on his back, so if he does vomit while unconscious, this would happen as he's laying on his side so he shouldn't suffocate from vomit in his respiratory tract.

As said, mixing substances that might induce unconsciousness (dxm, opiates, K, dmt, 5-meo-dmt..) with substances that can cause vomiting (opiates, alcohol) can be dangerous as one might vomit in his lungs while unconscious and die from suffocation (if there's no trip sitter/friends to watch over him while he's unconscious)

DXM should not be mixed with stimulants, amphets, meth, phenethylamines, ephedrine, alcohol, depressants, MAOIs, substances producing overheating, vasoconstrictors, substances accelerating or significantly slowing down heart beat or hypertensive/hypotensive substances. Be careful as some DXM containing medecines contain other active ingredients that can be extremely dangerous with dxm when taken in high dose (such as acetaminophen, Chlorpheniramine Maleate, pseudoephedrine or aspirin), that's why one should always use dxm-only medecines with no other active ingredient in it.


At last, some guy told me that giving oxygen (the rescue team do so) to someone near-coma from drugs can be dangerous, I don't know wheter or not this is true...this would need medical confirmation from a doctor that knows specifically about treating different drugs ODs (in case of overdose from mixing alcohol with either K, XTC, opiates or ampets, is there any risk if oxygen is given?).


To conclude, if you ever choose to try a potentially dangerous combo, start with very low dosages of each compound and do not redose (and increase dosage quite progressively from one attempt to another) and get a sitter. Also think about drinking (water) regularly to avoid dehydratation (which is also a common cause of OD from drug mixes)
Note that some dangerous combos should be absolutely avoided (ex: alcohol+ghb) while some might be ok as long that you stick to low doses (ex: stimulant+stimulant).
If you have any doubts about how risky a combo is, just ask!

Reputation Comments on this post:

	good post
	Good, informative and useful post
	Very useful and informative post, could prevent an OD.