Safety of mixing opiates and alcohol

[DrMuffy]

I am new here, and i have semi-experience with all sors of drugs. OK ive looked on varios sites (totse erowid) and most were fuzzy and gray, so they didnt help me much, so im gonna prolly make a fool out of myself by asking this dumb question. But anyhow my question is "Can you mix opiates such as hydrocodone, oxydone, and morphs with a good amount of alchohol (4 shots worth) without getting sick or die."

Thanks

Reputation Comments on this post:

self incrimination

[Forthesevenlakes]

i'll assume that you mean that SWIM is mixing the opiates and alcohol. this lab rat says that while many people have mixed the two before and been perfectly fine, there are a few dangers which make this combination not reccomended.

1. many opiate-containing medications also contain the dreaded acetaminophen, which is harmful to the liver in large dosages. whats even more harmful to the liver is combining acetaminophen and alcohol, done repeatedly over time, its asking for liver failure. do a CWE if theres any doubt!
2. opiates suppress respiration, and combined with alcohol, tend to do so even more. this makes overdose a very real possibility. with four shots, it MAY not be a problem. but take note that swim says MAY not be...everyone is different and theres plenty of horror stories in the news of people drinking a bit on oxycontin and dying.
3. both of these substances can impair judgement, making it easier to take more drugs or drink more shots thinking one will be okay. this can be very dangerous when playing with potent drugs like opiates!

so, a couple drinks probably wont kill swiy, but swim does still not think this combination is very safe for the aforementioned reasons. swim also says that opiates are nice enough on their own anyway, so why bother combining them with anything? =]

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for helping me out, for like the third time lol, yeah i am getting the SWIM but i just forgot in that one post

[weekender2]

SWIM often mixes these two, to great effect. The way he does it is more or less the same every time: he takes two Hydrocodone 10/325's, and perhaps, if he's feeling saucy, a T3 or two. He waits about 1/2 hour, or just when he starts feeling a bit heavy in the limbs. He then toddles upstairs and measures out two shots of Absolut, which he powers back with a grimace and watery eyes.

Five minutes later, the Good Lord Himself has touched SWIM on the head and the next three or four hours of his life are a bit hazy.

SWIM finds this a quite effective way of stretching out his stash, which is important since his supply is limited, not having a legitimate reason to have any prescribed.

But SWIM pays close heed to the warnings concerning mixing APAP (Tylenol) and alcohol. He restricts this activity to once a week, however difficult that is. He doesn't otherwise drink, ever, so he thinks he's mitigating his risk.

Hope this helps.

[Forthesevenlakes]

Once a week of mixing APAP and alcohol probably won't kill swiy, but it is still not the best idea to be combining them. If swiy has the time and resources, swim reccomends doing a cold water extraction and saving swiy's busy liver from needless wear and tear! Its easy to do and the yield is good.

While SWIY doesnt think that combining alcohol and opiates is fully safe, SWIM is glad to hear that he uses lower doses and limits his alcohol use. SWIM is guessing that swiy has a moderate tolerance, so 20 mg hydrocodone might do him well, but SWIM must reiterate for other people who havent used opiates that 20 mg is a high dose for the beginner, and to not combine alcohol with them, especially before one knows how their body will react to opioids alone.

SWIY also cautions people who do combine the two not just to start with low doses, but consider hiding their stash and bottle after taking the initial dosages. It can be easy to be intoxicated and misjudge how much more pills or alcohol can be handled, with disastrous results! The above method, while not fully safe, at least stresses some harm reduction by using the same moderate, predetermined amount of alcohol and opiates each time.

SWIM does believe that most people would not harm themselves during this combination if they follow these guidelines, but its too easy to have a tragedy occur by mixing downers, which is why he dissuades the gentle reader from such feats.

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Thanks for the info. Most all your posts are very informative.

[DrMuffy]

Thanks for the advise SWIweekender and yet again SWI7lakes. Yeah i use extreme caution, because one little mistake could be you last. I try not to mix APA and alch. often (like maybe 1 or 2 a month at most). SWIM is just worried about his liver because when he was younger (and dumber) he took many 10/750 hydros alot, and mixed them with almost whatever he could find, but now SWIM is a changed and much more responsible user.

[Klaus]

Swim finds that Alcohol ruins any opiate experience for him.

Swim has also worked in places where he has seen people in big trouble because of mixing the two.

[weekender2]

Klaus, what does SWIY mean when he says alcohol ruins the experience? Does it get too intense? Make him sleepy? Could you ask him to clarify please?

And SWI7Lakes' point is very well taken: mixing downs with downs is never a matter to be taken lightly, but with proper precaution and respect, it's worked for SWIM. SWIM doesn't necessarily recommend it for others, especially those who drink habitually or otherwise pound on their liver.

Pax,
Weekender

[Alicia]

Alcohol should not really be mixed with opiates specially stronger opiates as it increases the risks associated with respiratory depression which can kill. all it would do is add to the sedation feeling and could also ruin the warm glow opiates tend to bring.

[Overdoze]

It's sureley couldnt be advised for you to mix opiates with alcohol! So many people die from this combo it aint even funny! However swim did experience this combo 2 weeks ago. 40 mg oxy up the nose and about 4 to 5 drinks of vodka. I must say it did fuck swim up. Swim did nod exceptionally hard. But at the same time it was a big risk. Swim would rather the strong opiate experience..

[mickenator]

In swims experience they haven't enjoyed the experience as they spent the majority of there time nodding off and would much prefer to take either one or the other.

[Forthesevenlakes]

SWIM has also never understood the appeal behind mixing the two. He'd rather have one or the other rather than the oddly dopey feeling of combining both, it leads to alot more loss of inhibition and is very dangerous for the reasons stated above.

SWIM's theory is that most people who are well-accustomed to opiates do not enjoy combining them with alcohol, and that people who prefer to combine the two are usually people who have not used opiates very often at all (which makes the combo even more dangerous since theyre less likely to know their limits). This is just going off the lab rats SWIM has observed. What does everyone think, does this fit with SWIY's observations and experiences?

[weekender2]

Interesting observation, SWI7. My friend can't speak for the larger community, of course, and can only speak for himself - and is starting to not want to express his opinion in favor of the combination because of the safety issues that have been raised.

SWIM wasn't completely opiate-naive when he hit upon his formula, but it's safe to say that it did transform the experience from "mildly disappointing" to "life-changing." SWIM's experience was that of drastic potentiation, not of any sort of transition from one type of high to another. It doesn't make him nod off until about 5 hours after initial dosage.

Again, and he apologizes for repeating himself, but SWIM feels the need to mention that he never, EVER drinks outside this experience, CWE's when his stash is poorly proportioned (luckily he's hit upon a steady supply of 10/325 HC so he doesn't have to often), and limits his alcohol intake to roughly 3 oz (2 shots), thus limiting risk to his grateful liver. Also, he never does this more than once a week.

Is it for everybody? Probably not. My pal has the discipline to not go over the deep end, and a fortunate aversion to alcohol under other circumstances. It works for him, though. If SWIY is a drinker by nature he wouldn't recommend it. If SWIY doesn't know his way around opies and his body in general he wouldn't recommend it either.

Pax,
Weekender

[Forthesevenlakes]

Interesting, weekender! SWIM has never felt much of a real potentiation from the combination, mostly an amplification of being sleepy and/or irresponsible. Good to point out the CWE and knowing one's limits too. If one is going to mix the two SWIM finds it best if he encourages them to determine their dose of the opiates and alcohol ahead of time, so that later on they don't feel the urge to keep the buzz going and up the dosage of one or the other. Once someone is already disinhibited from alcohol (and to a lesser degree, opiates), it can be easy to make a rash decision like "hey, why not take another shot?" Ideally if one has put away their drugs and booze at this time, it will be less of a temptation.

So SWIY only uses alcohol in this setting? Interesting...does SWIY use opiates outside of this combination? Also SWIM is interested in hearing about the "life changing" aspect of it...how so? SWIM has had some pretty momentous experiences with opiates alone, one of which is in this thread, but never with an opiate combination.

[weekender2]

No, he doesn't drink at all in any other scenario. SWIM despises alcohol and everything it does to his body (flush, dry mouth, headache) and society in general. He used to give his long-suffering and understanding wife dirty looks when she ordered a second marguerita at their local mexican restaurant (a practice he only recently curtailed when she started calling him "Junkie." Point taken, said he, and the dirty looks ceased). There's just nothing fun about John Barleycorn and what it does, according to my friend, and he avoids it assiduously.

So yes, SWIM only drinks for the specific purpose of "potentiating" the opiate.

When he said "life-changing," I guess what he meant was this: before, if he were to come across a few vikes or whatever, he'd pop them and feel a little loose-limbed and mildly euphoric. When he decided to try adding alcohol, it changed the experience so profoundly, made the euphoria and body high so intense, that opiates went from a decidedly peripheral aspect of his life to a rather more central one. All he wants to do is sit there with that grin on his face and swoon. If the TV is on in the background sometimes he'll shut it off, and some minutes later register confusion that the TV is still on - at which point he'll dimly realize that he only shut the TV off in his head, and that he really didn't move a single muscle. Ah, someone is going to find it hard to wait for the weekend this week!

Sorry to run on so. Just taking dictation from my pal SWIM. Hope that answered your questions.

Pax,
Weekender

Reputation Comments on this post:

good input, thanks for the detailed answer!