Effects - Swim wants to know more abut the effects of Cocaine

[malik]

Hi!

Let's get hypothetical here!

So, there is Swim. He is in his 20's and tied Cocaine during the Christmas holidays. He did it 4 times, and never felt hooked even once. Just really liked it.



Swim really liked it. He doesn't think he's addicted because he just started. But he really liked doing it.

Swim smokes cigarettes and doesn't really regret it. Sure it is an addiction that can sometimes be in a pain, but as long as Swim has his cigs he is happy.

Swim doesn't want to get addicted to cocaine because he doesn't know what kind of side effects it can have. Like, when do you crave it? How often? Does it affect a personality and character of a person?

Swim doesn't want to get addicted, but he really likes cocaine! I mean, it gives him a great feeling. He feels more confident and happy.

But Swim doesn't know what Cocaine could do to him. Swim is in University majoring in Social Work. Swim wants to be able to have a good job and he wants to be pretty healthy and happy.

Swim knows the short term effects of cocaine.. And he loves it.

But what about the long terms? Will if possibly affect his grades? Will he spend a ton on it? Will his personality be different? How often would he desire cocaine, and what happens if he doesn't have it for a few days?

Swim has really good friends that have used cocaine for years and they turn out to be just fine. He never even know they did cocaine until recently!

Basically, Swim doesn't want to one day end up in a rehab center where his parents have to cater to him because he is so addicted.

And Swim is conflicted. He has another good friend who did cocaine for 3 years and stopped cold turkey. She turns out just fine! She doesn't have major cravings or anything. Another one of his friends went 5 months without it and was ok. But then Swim knows this guy who was in rehab for months because of drugs.(not sure what kinds.) And Swim feels sad because this man wasted his life when he could have had prosperity. And Swim just doesn't know.

Swim knows that the safest thing to do would be to just not pursue cocaine. It would be and best way to deter any type of addiction that could come. But at this point in time, Swim just doesn't want that as an option. He knows that sounds weird. He wants to, but doesn't.

Ok, so this is hypothetical and I want to know the answers to these questions! Please help finish my hypothetical situation, thanks!

[100mg Methylphenidate]

Addiction to psychostimulants generally isn't that 'bad' in the sense of "Omg I'm going to prostitute myself out for *insert drug* so I don't spend all day going through terrible opiate-like withdrawals!"

Swim knows people who steal and have sex with random people for coke....Although, he and a lot of his other friends don't and personally never would. I think part of it might be that the addictive qualities of cocaine are exaggerated in DARE and in life in general. But cocaine really isn't THAT addictive...physically.

Once you do it regularly, even once a month, the high sorta goes away. And you just chase a high that isn't there, like any drug. Even marijuana. Eventually, you get your tolerance to the point where a euphoric dose is the same as a lethal dose and boom, you're going through seizures or on the verge of a heart attack, and no matter what, you better hope somebody's with you because you won't be remotely capable of helping yourself.

For swim. He only gets his stimulants a couple times a month. He goes without food and sleep for those days he has them, and then deals with panic attacks and exhaustion for a couple days afterwards. It's not THAT bad though. Although, seeing bugs everywhere at the end of your binges isn't exactly fun, although it can be pretty cool.

Physical effects...swim just suggests to keep your heart rate no higher than 120bpm and keep your blood pressure low during binges(marijuana did an amazing job at this for swim.) Otherwise you won't be living very long as a cokehead.

Make sure to avoid suggary and acidic drinks and foods, because when your mouth is dry(from coke use), you'll clench the fuck out of your teeth and you won't have saliva to put calcium back in your teeth. Also, make sure to brush and floss regularly, and use a fluoride rinse at least a couple times a day to keep teeth strong.

Skin....try not to scratch yourself too much on big binges. Although, coke tends to make your skin dried out and full of acne period if you don't watch yourself.

It's not a TERRIBLE addiction..in many cases...and a lot of the problems can be minimized so you won't be toothless in 3 years. But everybody's different, and not everybody has the willpower to take care of themselves when all that matters is drugs.

Important note too. Make sureeeeeeee you have cigarettes or benzodiazepines for the comedown. Opiates and marijuana can be pretty helpful too. Swim would suggest taking 2mg alprazolam or equivilent amounts of diazepam or klonazepam at the last line so once you come down, you just pass out and don't have to feel anxious.

Plan on mental capacity being significantly impaired after a long binge. But only for a day or two.

[Max Powers]

Man, just be careful. You'll convince yourself everything is fine, and that you're not hooked when you really are. You'll reason with yourself for why it's ok to go ahead and do it more and more and more.

Definitely need to stay on top of it and make sure you don't cross that line!

[TommyRowe]

SWIM was addicted to coke. Almost ruined his career and everything he had to work hard for. Rehab was the trick. SWIM does a line or two every so often, but never in excess.

Coke is addicting. No matter what. SWIY may have only done it a few times but thats not enough to get a taste of the addiction.

And SWIYs friend, just because he was able to quit cold turkey doesnt mean he wasnt addicted. Some people just have a easier time dropping it than other people...

If SWIY will try coke, just remember the addictive nature.

[malik]

Swim has decided not to do it anymore, and hasn't done it since Saturday. When swim posted this on Sunday, he felt TERRIBLE all day, because he was having a come-down. He realizes that it is just not worth it.

But Swim's friend is still doing it. Swim has told her she should stop before it gets out of hand, but she hasn't and Swim doesn't want to be rude to her and compromise his friendship, so Swim is being very liberal and letting her do it, without interfering.

So now Swim wants to know more about the addiction, to see how it might affect his friend, and to try and comprehend the severity of the situation.

Firstly, Swim's friend spent a ton of money this weekend on it. If Swim's friend gets addicted(and she was for 3 months, stopped for a few, and now is doing it again, though slowly), will she spend a lot on it probably?

Secondly, will it change her personality when she is on/off it? When she is not on Cocaine, will she be normal, or not? And when she is on it, will it be easily recognizable?

And Swims friend is in University. Will her cocaine abuse cause her to mess up in school?

Swim just doesn't know how this Cocaine addiction works. He knows that he had a horrible comedown and couldn't stop thinking about it. He wonders if addicts are like this.

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[TommyRowe]

SWIM was 18 when he started working for a major computer company and when he started doing coke. SWIM was making $55000 a year with bonuses. SWIM would spend $1500 a night on Coke and not think twice about it. The addiction is bad and SWIY's friend has the potential to blow every penny on the stuff...

When SWIM was off coke, he was a different person. Irratible, angry, easily set off. It changes your personality, without a doubt.

Coke addiction will get SWIYs friend to drop out of school if it gets bad enough. Although SWIM was still going to college while working and doing coke, he missed a bunch of classes and his grades declined. Once he quit, he graduated with honors. Coke and education do not mix.

[malik]

Wow! Swim is concerned now and thinks that maybe being a true friend isn't by telling her she can do whatever, but rather trying to help her because he cares so much about her. Maybe Swim will talk to her after work

[TommyRowe]

Some people can handle it, others cant. Like most people say meth is the most addicting drug but for SWIM its easy to give up. Coke isnt... its funny.

[willow]

SWIM had one singular experience with meth and hated it so much that even watching someone use in very close proximity has never been even the least bit persuasive. It wasn't the comedown or the "hangover" so much as the way it made the body feel and the thoughts it made the mind churn out during the high. Horrible.

For SWIM, cocaine was pleasant for awhile and then got real bad real fast. The bad was bad enough to guarantee that it won't ever happen again. SWIM gets something akin to acid flashbacks (even though acid's never entered her body) when thinking about the myriad experiences with cocaine, and it's always the same for her. Hot, nervous, ashamed, disgusted, sick, and 100% sure that nothing in the world could ever make her do it again.





WILLOW
"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle,
being swept along is no longer enough."

[willow]

Cocaine might make someone self-destruct. A person using cocaine might call in sick to work just because there's only an hour until s/he has to be there and the comedown has just begun (or s/he'll justify doing/buying more at 7:00 in the morning because s/he "only has to stay awake through his shift", but it never works out that way). His/her good dreams and good looks might be replaced with bad sleep and even worse breakouts. Chapped lips and raw, red junk coming out of his/her nose might become customary. S/He might ask stupid questions and talk up a storm and s/he just better hope s/he doesn't run out of cigarettes, even though s/he knows that give him/her a few hours and they'll all be gone. Then, instead of going to work feeling refreshed like s/he could have done if s/he just would have thought it through, s/he might stay up for several more hours with nothing to do, watch The Babysitters' Club Movie twice and tell himself/herself that it'll all be over soon. Then s/he might crash out for ten hours, wake up feeling like absolute hell in a box, and swear s/he'll never do it again and actually stick to it and get clean.

Or s/he might have an amazing time and never feel the agonizing comedown and the subsequent shame and stupidity for choosing to make his/her body feel so terrible and continue to live that lifestyle as long as s/he so desires. It just depends on the user. Some people can live a happy life with drugs and some can't. Most people can't. Some people do.






WILLOW
"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle,
being swept along is no longer enough."

[malik]

Hey Willow! Wow, I see you live in Austin.. Beautiful city, and I live there for several years while attending the UT. I even got dual citizenship with the USA. I LOVE Austin! Such a liberal, beautiful city! Nothing was more fun than 6th street!

And, drugs were so easy to access there and so cheap. But, it was funny because almost no one touched the "hard drugs" though they were easy to get. Most people stuck with marijuana or Exo's. I remember that I would walk down sixth street and so many times would I see people smoking a joint just out in the open. The police were lenient on marijuana, which I think is good.(Though not good if they were lenient with cocaine or heroin, but I don't think they were.) I lived on Guadalupe, not far from anything! I still miss Chuy's restaurants and all those Italian pizzeria's on Sixth Street. Wow, it was so fun of a city! And it was so hard to find parking and they all had parking meters but no one ever paid, and we never got in trouble for it.

But anyways, thanks for your input. I find it to be true. I am concerned for my friend because she spent so much on it, and she would basically binge, even in the mornings. She hasn't done it in almost two days which is good. Maybe she just wanted to have fun on the weekend but doesn't plan to do it regularly. But I am just concerned still, because I seen her on her comedown and Swim's comedown, and Swim hated his comedown and just craved it more and more. Thankfully Swim doesn't feel this way anymore, but he thinks his friend might. And Swim's friend is not strong will-powered.

Swim shouldn't be too concerned, because his friend hasn't done it in two days and pledges not to buy anymore. But for some reason Swim still is, because his friend keeps saying "i won't buy anymore but if it is there and i'm offered, i will take." And swim thinks that if she gets offered some, she will do it, and then end up buying some, and be addicted. Swim don't want this!

I think Swim might be overreacting. But Swim would rather over react then do nothing.

I don't know. Swim just hates cocaine now. He hates everything about it. Because he had a bad comedown that just felt terrible. He doesn't want his friend to have to feel the need to be on cocaine every day. And he knows that even if you just start on the weekends, it can become more and more of problem.

Now Swim is just ranting. p

tommy - I think you are right. I believe addiction can be different for everyone. I still don't know much about cocaine because I hear conflicting things, but Swim knows some friends that got off it with no hastle, and knows that other friends, who just re-started last week, are already having problems with wanting more and more.

[BoxStar]

The effects of cocaine depend greatly on the route of administration, snorting is much less addictive than smoking crack and powder is a different drug socially speaking in both its acceptance and the way they are used.

The other administration route; intravenous injection should never be though about if SWIY is concerned about addiction and the very real danger of death.

SWIM has seen far more people “broken” from stimulant use than opioid use; sure they are far more physically addictive and their withdrawals can be a true “hell on earth”, but SWIM had the chance to meet people who had been doing IV heroin for over 10 years and they all looked far better than SWIM (at that time doing iv coke/speedballs/heroin for 4 years, although he mostly did coke), better in body and mind.

Never underestimate the power of potent stimulants to hook anyone, to the point they would sell themselves for just another hit, it happens much more than it’s commonly though.

[malik]

Hmm, did Swiy stop doing cocaine?

[BoxStar]

Originally Posted by malik

Hmm, did Swiy stop doing cocaine?

SWIM has never really stopped using coke or other drugs; SWIM has learned how to control his use.

After years of free-fall into drug-induced oblivion, climbing back it’s easy compared to recovering control over the substances that made SWIM lost it in the first place; being able to do a speedball, enjoy it and leave it there, not doing more for weeks or even months it’s SWIM greatest achievement so far.