Injecting - Do any cocaine slammers die of old age?

[Beltane]

SWIM snorted cocaine for a few years before he tried slamming it. His motivation for the first time was curiousity. SWIM doesn't move in much of a drug user social circle in real life so his only info re: IV cocaine came from 2 sources: his dealer, and the book 'Seven Percent Solution' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (He wasn't scouring DF for said info as yet.)

SWIM's dealer warned him against trying it but assisted when SWIM said he was determined.

As for the book, its title refers to a 7% solution of cocaine that Sherlock Holmes was fond of injecting. It was a while ago when SWIM read the book, but he can recall vivid descriptions of Mr. Holmes injecting and then taking a cab to the theater to enjoy a live concert Knowing a bit more of the reality, SWIM knows that he himself would have been jonesing for more before he made it to the cab. SWIM's real life experiences were very different from the genteel descriptions found in the book.

Several months ago SWIM stopped everything except a few prescribed ADHD meds. Recently he was talking to a close friend, knowledgeable about the whole drug user scene, and the friend was commenting on how very dangerous a road IV cocaine is, implying that once on that road most users don't last long. SWIM never considered it at the time, but in retrospect he can see that this is very possibly true. With the way SWIM was going, he was lucky to get out in one piece.

This has got SWIM wondering about how true it is that IV coke users are treading an extremely dangerous path that few can manage (or even survive) for very long. So, the question is, are there any oldtimer IV coke users? Are there people that can manage such pursuits and maintain anything like a liveable life over the long haul?

Thanks-

- Beltane

Reputation Comments on this post:

This is a wonderful question for us to ponder and swim looks forward to reading replies.

[JaWill88]

swim himsleft intravenously injects cocaine, although tries to not do it too much anymore as it is quite a dangerous practice. swim mostly tries to smoke crack instead. same kind of rush just not as good. anyways most of the slammers swim knows are much older than swim. like in their 40s. swim lived with a couple in their fourties who slammed coke and heroin every day, as did swim while living their. well the guy is now in prison for at least five years this time, and the woman is living in and out of motels, prostituting herself to support her habit. there was one guy who came by a lot while we lived in a house who was about 50 and shot coke everday. he almost killed swim this guy would buy a ball (3.5 grams) and literally break off 1/3 of it, throw it in the spoon, suck it up and bang it. fucking scary. so swim is saying people do it for long term, but it never is pretty. their life that is. swim realized he doesn't want to do it too much anymore. fuck doing it every day. and swim does it till it's gone. it's just no good, at least for swim. and he's been doing it for years now and he's only 19 so it really can't lead to anywhere good for him. btw these people did start out doing it fairly young as well but look where they are now. prison, or mostly on the street. and that's pretty much all the old timers swim knows of, and he knows of quite a bit. swim has a few friends his age who do it and they aren't going anywhere good either. swim just thought he would give his opinion.

[epote]

everything can be done in moderation, the problem is that iv cocaine enforces anything BUT moderation. And even then for what reason? The rush? The train?

ITs all about the dose. Iv 3-5mg of cocaine and one will have a mild pleasing non addicting raise of the spirit. IV 200mg and the rush will be imense, the crave even worce.

SWIM is against using too much cocaine regardless of the way of administration. But then again given the social status of cocaine (its illegal and expensive you better use as much as possible as fast as possible) and offcource its very biochemistry it has a tendancy to escalate its use over time.

Swim found that he initially was content with 200mg cocaine, then that became 300 then 500 then 600 now he is considering a proper "use session" would be in the region of one gr. It escalates, one must exert control over it. Swim will not be using again until he feels confident that 200-300mg will feel enough (he has done it in the past, usually it takes 6-8 weeks of abstinence)

[Fight Club]

Hey! NIK is turning 48 next month - don't call him an old-timer you . . . old-timer. NIK started slamming coke at the age of 42, and nearly died on the side of the road following overdose, seizure, and cardiac arrest at the age of 43. He has struggled through addiction and recovery for the past 5 years, and currently has 7 months clean time. He knows that if he uses again, he might not get another chance to get clean. He has to remind himself of this everyday, sometimes 1000 times a day when cravings are bad.

NIK is, however, planning to die of old age; with his wife and kids at his side; not alone in a cheap motel with a half-empty syringe and a bag of powder.

FC

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good for you. i hope it goes well for you.

[JaWill88]

even though swim is much, much younger he refuses to go out like that either. fuck that. swim doesn't want to die an IV cocaine user. anything but that.

[epote]

cocaine use, IV cocaine use much more so, is self inhibiting.

you either OD and die or you hit a very very hard and cold floor (thats 20 feet bellow a pile of shit) and quit

it is simply not sustainable like a heroin addiction

Fight Club is a living example of this, and good for him that he fights it. Be strong bro, your kids need you more than anything

[zera]

It's doubtful that most people who IV cocaine die from overdoses. All drug related deaths, including indirect causes like HIV, pneumonia, motor-vehicle deaths, etc. account for 17,000 people a year. This represents 0.7% of deaths. About 5 million people have used cocaine in the past year. If we make the generous assumptions that 2500 of those drug related deaths are IV cocaine overdoses, and that only 1 in 20 cocaine users are IV users then this corresponds to a mortality rate of 1% a year.

This would allow the typical IV coke user to use 100 years before dying from an OD.

[Beltane]

1 in 20 coke users IV is absurd. SWIM would put it at more like 1 in 500 and even that's pushing it IMO.

- Beltane

[old hippie 56]

Well, ever coke user that swim knows IVs and he knows about 15 old timers that still does it. But not a everyday occurence.

[zera]

Well certainly around the turn of the century intravenous cocaine use was somewhat common in society and it didn't seem to be considered that dangerous of an activity.

Cocaine injection kits were popular items in department stores and mail order catalogs. True the legal status meant that cocaine was purer, but today we have much better healthcare and our bodies are much healthier so if anything you would expect the practice to be less dangerous.

[Fight Club]

I wish I could back my anecdotes with facts, but I can't. I read somewhere that the average life expectancy of an IV coke addict (chronic, regular use) is two years . . .

It doesn't surprise me that some people can manage their use and continue indefinitely, however, NIK's experience is that once it grabs hold of you, you either a)quit, or b)the spiral of death begins.

In his experience this would be consistent with the 2-year life expectancy figure. When he quit in March of 2006, he has no doubt that he would be dead now if he hadn't found a way to quit. He knows only one responsible user. He knows lots of IV coke users that fell off the face of the earth.

FC