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- Smoking heroin is safer than injecting.
- If you inject, always use clean needles and injecting equipment (spoons, swabs, water etc). You can access these from needle exchanges and pharmacies.
- If you inject, learn how to inject yourself using the safest and most effective technique. There are safer ways of injecting that will do less harm to your body. Injecting with poor technique is one of the riskiest things you could ever do. Please contact Drugaid for more information.
- Chasing heroin is a very effective means of getting heroin into the bloodstream, gives a hit that is comparable to injecting - though safer by far - and a much quicker means of ingesting the drug than snorting - which can be quite wasteful. Good quality foil is the key to effective chasing - make sure you run a lighter over it first to burn of any contaminants/coating etc
- You can never be sure of the purity of heroin or what it is cut with.
- Avoid using in an unfamiliar or locked place, alone. More overdoses happen in these environments than any where else
- Speedballing (using heroin and crack together) can lead to a catastrophic decline in your health and lifestyle.
- If you have had a break in using, your tolerance will be significantly lower and you are at a greater risk of overdose
- Mixing heroin with other drugs can increase the risk of overdose, especially drugs like alcohol, benzo's and methadone.
- If you suspect someone has overdosed, put them in the recovery position and call for emergency help immediately.
- Contact Drugaid for further support and to explore treatment options.
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- Avoid using alcohol and cocaine together in a session
- Avoid using any other drugs in combination with cocaine
- Make sure you get enough sleep and eat well daily.
- If you are going to use cocaine, only spend what you can afford.
- Snort it rather than inject it. Injecting can cause serious damage to your body and increases your risk of overdose.
- A nasal douche of luke warm salt water can help you reduce the risk of infection and also help minimise the damage done by snorting.
- Don't share any equipment you use to take cocaine. There is evidence that Hepatitis C can be transmitted through sharing snorting equipment like notes and straws. Never share any injecting equipment including spoons, water and filters.
- Use "post it notes" or other pieces of unused paper to make your straw rather than bank notes to snort as there could be blood products on an old bank note.
- Make sure you keep doing things you enjoy without using cocaine
- Avoid using other drugs to help you deal with the come down. It won't last and the best way to get through it is with food, sleep and relaxation.
- Contact Drugaid for further information, support and/or to explore treatment options.
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- Put off the first pipe of the day
- Try and make crack use occasional, not a daily habit
- Try to smoke in quiet surroundings – the crash is less severe.
- Don't go out and score with lots of money on you – decide how much you are going to use and stick to it.
- Don't buy less than you need – you will end up craving and then using even more.
- Remember, the worst of the crash will only last for half an hour – try not to keep using to avoid it – doing this only makes it much worse when it eventually happens.
- Try chasing crack on foil – the buzz is milder but the feeling lasts longer and the crash is milder.
- Remember – no-one is completely powerless against crack. Decide on some rules and stick to them...pace the pipes, don't rush to smoke the next, smoke several small pipes instead of one big one.
- Go to bed straight after finishing a session
Staying Away Tips
- Thought switching – when you start to think about using crack, try to switch your thinking. Remind yourself of the reasons you are having a break or trying to stop.
- Remove dealer's numbers off your phone.
- Find other things to do to occupy your time – feeling bored will leave you thinking about using even more.
- Try and spend time with non-using friends.
- Taking physical exercise can really help – it boosts 'feel good' chemicals such as serotonin.
- Give yourself a non-drug 'reward' for staying away from crack cocaine
- Cravings and urges do get weaker over time and the sense of control gets greater.
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- Always make sure you eat before you start drinking. Drinking on an empty stomach can cause you to become drunk faster
- Try to have water or a soft drink between alcoholic drinks. You can disguise a soft drink as an alcoholic drink without anyone knowing
- Don't be pressured by others into drinking too much
- Avoid drinking in rounds as it can be easy to lose track of what you're drinking
- Don't be forced into drinking too quickly
- Don't mix your drinks. Mixing drinks can make you more drunk than if you just stick to one type of drink
- If you're out with friends, make sure you look after each other
- If you've had way too much to drink and are worried you might throw up, sleep on your side in the recovery position.
- Make sure you know how you're getting home before you leave the pub / club
- To avoid someone spiking your drink, don't leave it unattended and always make sure you watch your drink being opened / poured
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- If using ecstasy whilst out dancing take a break from dancing & cool down, ecstasy can cause over heating
- You should drink up to a pint of non-alcoholic drink every hour if you are dancing to help replace fluid lost through sweating. If you are not dancing it is important to remember that drinking too much water in one go can be dangerous.
- Mixing ecstasy with alcohol will increase the risk of dehydration and can make you take more risks.
- Mixing ecstasy with any other drugs increases risk & can be very dangerous.
- You can never tell what is in the pill or powder you are sold so be careful and suss out what the effect waiting at least an hour before taking any more.
- If you suffer from any kind of heart condition you should avoid stimulant drugs like ecstasy
- If you use ecstasy it is safer to use small amounts on an occasional basis.
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- Stick to small doses. It will only last for 30 minutes or so but you are much safer on a small dose than if you take a large amount and you are inexperienced.
- If you take ketamine when you are out and about you are risking losing coordination very suddenly - and possibly dangerously. Much better to take it in a warm safe and cosy place with people you trust. You may be vulnerable and forgetful as well.
- Carefully pick the music as this will be with you throughout you K experience. You may not be able to move to change the CD.
- Avoid swallowing ketamine- there is a strong belief among users that ketamine in the stomach makes cramps worse. Seek medical advice and mention your ketamine use to the doctor. If you sit in the bath to soothe the pain there is a risk of unconsciousness and drowning
- If you experience ongoing panic and anxiety attacks get support from your nearest drug agency
- If you experience pain in your bladder seek medical help, tell your GP that that you use ketamine and ask for a referral to an urologist. Try to stop or reduce your use if these symptoms start.
- Try to keep your use as low as possible. Give yourself breaks from using if you can.
- If you Feel depressed and anxious when stopping ketamine use or reducing the amount you use, prepare yourself and get some professional help to do this. Gradual reduction may help to manage these symptoms. Try to distract yourself with purposeful and enjoyable activities
- Injecting ketamine brings the additional risk of damaging your veins, skin infections and contracting blood borne viruses such as Hepatitis or HIV. Get safer injecting advice from your nearest needle exchange
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- Prescribed methadone is the safest way to take it, with appropriate medical support.
- It is recommended that methadone is taken once every 24 hours, at the same time each day.
- Taking methadone with other substances (especially alcohol, heroin and benzodiazapines) increases the risk of overdose.
- Some people start using more crack when they go onto methadone to get a buzz. This can send you back into chaos and means you have no money to get involved in anything else.
- Getting psycho social support while you are on methadone will increase your chances of changing your life for the better.
- Moving from the scoring, using, making money cycle that many people experience when they are using heroin to a more stable life with methadone can result in boredom, lethargy and loneliness. Be prepared for this by getting involved in diversionary activities that are meaningful to you and psycho social support. Drugaid can help with this.
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- Safer ways of using are smoking, nasal, oral & rectal instead of injecting as there is lower risk of overdoes, infection and contraction of bloodborne viruses. Amphetamine can cause the body to dehydrate, if using, try drinking water or soft drinks regularly.
- Make sure you eat well before and after using amphetamine
- Sleep will be essential to help your body recover
- Avoid using any other drugs to come down with. Food and sleep are the best way.
- Swallowing it is by far the safest way to use it. Snorting it is more risky and injecting is the riskiest way to use.
- Perhaps one of the more effective treatments for amphetamine (and other stimulant) addiction is cognitive behavioural interventions (such as CBT; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), currently gaining popularity in the UK. These approaches are designed to help modify your thinking, experiences, and behaviours and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors.
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- Use small amounts and do not mix with other drugs – especially alcohol.
- In public situations where there is a risk of being "spiked" (i.e. pubs and clubs) keep an eye on your drinks at all times.
- Stay with friends to avoid being in a vulnerable position on your own
- If someone goes unconscious call for medical help immediately
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- Avoid highly dangerous ways of using solvents such as squirting down the throat, or inhaling with a plastic bag. Inhaling through a cloth is safer?
- Do not mix with other drugs – particularly alcohol.
- Try not to use repeatedly, try and use when other people are present and try and avoid using in places where serious accidents can occur i.e. by the railway, by the motorway or industrial areas etc.
- Many of these products are highly flammable and if sniffed at the same time as smoking, or using a naked flame, can cause fires or may even explode.
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- Try and avoid repeated or prolonged use.
- Avoid using poppers if suffering from heart problems, high blood pressure or glaucoma.
- Do not mix with other drugs.
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- Before using steroids seek advice from a drugs worker. They can give you safer injecting advice and direct you to information about steroids.
- Steroids can be toxic to your liver. If you notice a yellowing of your eyes that can indicate jaundice which could be a serious liver problem. Seek medical advice immediately.
- Taking steroids orally will reduce your risk of problems with injecting. Oral steroids can do more damage to your liver but may be more toxic to your kidneys.
- If injecting steroids ensure that needles are clean i.e have not been used – Get clean needles and safer injecting information from a needle exchange.
- Injectable steroids always are injected into the muscle; there is no anabolic steroid designed for intravenous use.
- Injectable steroids make all the muscles grow, not just the area where you inject the drug into.
- It is advised to stop using steroids periodically. Ideally when you are training regularly and eating well. Always reduce dosages, don't stop immediately. Adjust your training to stimulate natural testosterone production – exercises of 5 repetitions with a 3 minute rest between sets and not working out for more than an hour at a time.
The preferred injection site is in the backside, the gluteus muscles, preferably high, nearer the hip than the thigh, and toward the outside.
The thumb and forefinger should stretch a few inches of skin tightly so that the needle pierces it cleanly and painlessly. Insert the needle at a 90 degree angle.
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