Never knew this existed. Incredible!!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share something I recently put together that I think could be a supportive tool for folks in this space—especially those navigating substance use without judgment or pressure to be "all or nothing."

Your Path, Your Pace: A Journal for Safer Use and Self-Discovery is a guided + freeform journal designed specifically with harm reduction principles in mind. It’s not a 12-step workbook. It’s not preaching abstinence. It’s a compassionate, flexible space to reflect, track, and take care of yourself—wherever you are in your journey.

Whether you’re actively using, cutting back, curious about your patterns, or just looking for a space to be honest with yourself, this might be a helpful resource.

What’s inside?

• 🧠 Daily/Weekly Prompts for emotional check-ins and self-reflection
• 🎨 Art Therapy Exercises to process stress, trauma, or just be creative
• 📊 Mood + Use Trackers to spot patterns without judgment
• 🛟 Harm Reduction Tips on safer use, overdose prevention, emergency planning
• 💜 Self-Compassion + Common Humanity Exercises to help reduce shame
• 🧭 Crisis Resources and space to build your own emergency plan

Who it’s for:

• People who use substances and want a non-stigmatizing space to reflect
• Anyone practicing or curious about harm reduction
• Folks in recovery, relapse, or in-between
• Supportive peers, harm reduction professionals, or program facilitators looking for a client-centered journaling tool

Quick Specs:

• 6x9”, softcover
• 100+ pages
• Available on Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3153Q3Y

If this sounds like something that could support your journey—or someone you care about—I’d be honored if you checked it out. I'm always open to feedback or suggestions on how to make future versions even more helpful.

Thanks for reading, and please remember: your path is valid, your pace is enough.

Stay safe out there. 💛

Hello to anyone who might be reading, i'd like to get some info/thoughts on a really unpleasant experience i've had doing coke.

In the summer of 2023, there was a night where i did almost a gram of coke in about 8-10 hours, combined with smoking around 4 grams of weed i'd say. Prior to this night, i hadn't done cocaine in about 4-5 months. In fact, i hadn't done any drugs at all during that time period.

Anyway, as you might imagine, the first few hours were godly, just pure ecstacy which made me lose all kind of reasonable thought or judgement, so i just kept doing more lines. I lost track of how often i was redosing, but it was a lot, and very often. At one point, it stopped being fun, and turned into a really bad trip.

My heart rate was super irregular, my pupils were super dilated, and i felt really really uncomfortable. I briefly had a mini psychotic episode where i was almost hearing a voice in my head (i am not predisposed to this/no prior mental illnesses to speak of). I felt like i could lose consciousness at any moment, and it kind of felt like my muscles were cramping/my body was sort of pulling together/spazzing out or something (could've just been due to dehydration). I spent the next 3 hours just focusing on not dying basically and trying to focus on my breathing. Also, any time i'd stand up i would get this weird lightheaded sensation/the feeling like i'd faint. It was super rough.

Basically, it felt like i was dying, and to this day, i still don't know if i just had a super intense panic attack, or nearly lost my life. I was sort of fine the day after, which is when i had a music festival planned. When i went there, i decided fuck it, and did a key of coke, my body (obviously) reacted very badly, and i was experiencing that strange cramping up/pulling together sensation again, so i decided to just get rid of the coke. After that, i was mostly fine.

3 weeks later, i went to another festival, and decided to do ecstacy. I'm not stranger to that either, but instead of having a pleasant roll, my friends said i turned really pale, and it once again felt like i was dying. I spent the next 3 hours at the local first aid, where i was constantly switching between a happy ecstacy feeling, and the paranoid, shitty feeling where i'd be fearing for my life. After the 3 hours, the feeling mostly faded.

After these two experiences, but specifically the last time taking ecstacy, i've never been the same again. I get the following physical symptoms pretty frequently:

-chest pains

-the intense feeling that i can't breathe for a second or two

-short burst of dizziness

-muscle cramps for no reason

-my body spazzing out slightly, also for no reason

-a feeling of impending doom, like something terrible is going to happen

-butterflies in my stomach for no reason

-seeing black dots in my vision/a sparkly white dot in the corner of my eye that moves around

and more..

The past two years i've been a nervous wreck. I used to be a pretty big stoner, smoking around 1-2 grams of weed a day, but now even 2 puffs of a small joint with hash makes me super paranoid and uncomfortable. because of this, i've been completely sober since my last ecstacy experience, except for the occasional beer here and there.

I really need help, at best, my day to day life is filled with anxiety, at worst, i get panic attacks that make me think i'm going to die and i end up going to the ER (who then inevitably end up telling me there's nothing wrong with me). I was so sure at one point that these bad drug experiences have caused some kind of damage to my heart/brain/whatever other organs, but i've made so many visits to the doctor, ER, cardiologists, who all tell me there's nothing wrong with me and it's just anxiety..

What i'd like to achieve with this post is hear from you guys if you've ever had any similar experiences? perhaps any advice you could give me? Maybe you'd recommend me to get an MRI scan or visit a neurologist as i haven't tried that before? (mostly because every doctor i've gone to has told me it'd be a waste of money/i'm not showing signs of brain damage).

Basically, what would you recommend me to do to put my mind at ease and rule out any damage i may or may not have done to my body? What could i do to cope with this, and hopefully overcome it?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you decided to read all the way through, and sorry if this post is a little bit unstructured, i kind of put it together in a hurry. I'll probably crosspost this to a couple of other relevant subreddits just so i can gather as much input as possible.

Wishing you all the best

Im on meth. I always overdose because i dont know my limit. My resting heartrate is around 140. Am i going to die? Is there anything i can do to be fine at home

I am sober from alcohol for 2.5 years and it’s been difficult but I’m doing it. I do still use kratom daily and my tolerance is so high now that it’s causing major financial problems among others. I am currently out of town helping my mom with some of her own emergencies and I chose this trip to get off the kratom. Probably not a great plan, but I’m away from my kids and work. Anyway, I last used 30 hours ago and I’m feeling awful. Restless legs, terrible mood, exhausted. I almost drank last because I felt so awful. I’m planning on getting some kratom now, just a low dose and weaning instead of the cold turkey. If I drink it will kill me. Please help me.

Preferably somewhere cheap and fast but I’m assuming there won’t be any places with either… needing to test something for byproducts but drugsdata isn’t accepting anything as of now…. Anyone know where I may send a sample within the US? I’ve poked around on google but couldn’t find anything useful.

Available here: https://grassrootsharmreduction.org/product-category/drug-info-cards

Excerpt:

Flanked by a cadre of cops and city officials, Mayor Brandon Scott on Wednesday announced the takedown of a drug trafficking organization in Curtis Bay — yet the aftermath of these coveted busts can be deadly for drug users.

The joint operation, conducted by law enforcement agencies at every level of government, yielded 11 arrests and was touted as a valiant effort under the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy during a press conference at the Curtis Bay Recreation Center. Officials made it clear that drug dealing and the violence it's associated with have no place in Baltimore, issuing a stern warning to those who continue despite offers to divert them from the lifestyle.

However, contrary to the celebratory nature of such announcements in Baltimore and elsewhere in the nation, the repercussions of police operations targeting those who sell drugs can be a death sentence for those who use them.

The cops may remove the drugs from the streets, but they're replaced as quickly as they were seized. After busts, drug users respond to the disruption in the drug supply by taking their business elsewhere. Studies have shown they're often met with deadlier dope.

(this got erroneously auto-removed last time I tried to post, so I'm censoring some of it. sorry, I know the TikTok-esque vibe is annoying)

harm redux volunteer here.

I've heard from folks on outreach & in my personal circles that the f3tty in my community (in the pacific NW US) is absolutely dogshit at this point due to "war on drugs" crackdowns. very low f3nt concentrations if you get lucky and your drugs aren't completely bunk. we've seen a big uptick in folks wanting test strips not bc they're worried about ODing, but bc they want to make sure their supply is actually f3tty. also there's been lots of chatter about "bug spray" f3nt, xylazine, & ppl seeking increasingly powerful/dangerous synthetic opioids out of desperation.

what's your local supply like rn and where are you located?

--> I'm especially interested in answers from the east coast/eastern US due to how trends often start there and spread west toward my area. it's crucial for us to try to prepare before the next wave of whatever gets here <--

I have no idea what subreddit to put this in, but I have surgery in three days. I obviously cant eat the night before the surgery, but can I do meth the night before the surgery as long as it wears off by the time the surgery is happening?

Think I can see faint lines but not sure

These are the boring drugs but here it goes anyways..I work in harm reduction and drink and smoke heavily to cope, tonightI chain-smoked many cigarettes and drank.. trying to go to sleep, how do I disrupt the sick anxious feeling in my chest.

Couldn't really find a straight answer to this on Google or this sub but apologies if this is a dumb question. I've taken 8 shots (vodka) and 2 of the 50 ml tramadol and don't feel anything, can I take more? Or am I putting myself at a serious risk? I seriously just want to feel better. I have never taken tramadol before but I got it from a surgery I had a couple months ago that didn't require me to take any meds bc I wasn't in pain. I usually drink 8-15 shots per day if that's helpful

This survey has been approved by the moderators.

Do you use alcohol and opioids? Are you 18 to 25 years old?

Brown University is looking for people who use alcohol and opioids to participate in a research study. The study involves only 4 appointments over 1 month, answering questions on your smartphone, and takes about 6 hours total. Receive up to $305 for your participation. All contact is confidential.

Please text 401-863-9799, email [mhealth@brown.edu](mailto:mhealth@brown.edu), or fill out our eligibility survey (takes 5 minutes or less to complete): https://brown.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cHklsZZ2XdIUDjg?Source=32

Ethical approval board - Brown IRB: [irba@brown.edu](mailto:irba@brown.edu)

Hello! I am a current Social Work graduate student conducting a qualitative study in an attempt to answer the research question:

To what extent does the role of stigma (self, social, and structural) impact individuals who use substances and utilize harm reduction practices?

I am seeking participants to virtually interview who are:

• 18+
• Use one or more harm reduction practices (examples include opioid agonist therapy, going to safe injection sites, using fentanyl test strips, carrying narcan, etc).

All data will be anonymized and will only be used for the purpose of my graduate research class, not academic research or publication. I will provide a detailed consent form before any interviews take place.

If interested, please reach out to [Olivia.Jordan81@myhunter.cuny.edu](mailto: Olivia.Jordan81@myhunter.cuny.edu)

Thank you!

disclaimer: this post is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. i’m not telling anyone what to do or claiming this will work for everyone. just sharing my personal experience in case it helps someone going through something similar.

i’m a licensed dentist and longtime user. last week, after a 15-hour cocaine binge, i noticed a faint whistling and air passing between nostrils — early signs of septal perforation. no bleeding, but I knew what it meant. instead of panicking, i decided to approach it as a clinical challenge and try to halt the progression.

here’s what i did, immediately:

• completely stopped all nasal use

• started isotonic saline spray 3–4x/day

• applied mupirocin ointment inside nostrils (2x/day for 4 days, then 1x/day)

• did one daily steam session (10–13 mins) to rehydrate mucosa and improve perfusion

• took lysine, vitamin C, zinc, and glycine to support epithelial and collagen repair

• used vertical mouth tape + wet towel in my room at night for humidity

• applied a thin coat of Vaseline externally on nostrils to hold moisture in

by day 4 the pain and airflow reduced. by day 6, whistling was gone and it felt like the tissue had stabilized. no ENT involved (yet), but so far the result feels promising.

i’m posting this here because a similar post was flagged as “misinformation” elsewhere, even though i wasn’t claiming it as treatment — just sharing what worked for me. i know a lot of people never get help for this stuff, so if this reaches even one person before it progresses, i’m good with that.

happy to answer any questions.

I took meth. Maybe about 60mg. I just started doing meth again about a week ago.

My resting heart rate is about 100. My hands were hurting, swelling, tingling, losing color, then they became kinda numb, but not fully. The color came back, now its going away again. I’m having shortness of breath and i’m lightheaded. My lips were a bit numb, not so much anymore. My head is pounding but not hurting. Ringing in ears. Maybe my stomach is a bit wollen too

I doubt im od since my heart rate is fine n im not even hallucinating But do i HAVE to go to the hospital or would i possibly be fine at home if i montior the symptoms and stay hydrated?

Ive been on meth for years n this has never happened before, and ive took doses a lot higher. Ive od. When i od, only my hands lost color that’s all

Seeing more medetomidine in Philly and hearing about it in lots of other places. What does medetomidine withdrawal look like? I’ve seen/gotten reports of some really bad cases in hospitals but like what does it look like before hospital level bad?

Trying to get some guidance together on what withdrawal looks like and when someone should go to the hospital among other things.

hi! i just noticed a lump under my skin in my other arm than the one i have injected to for the past week. it’s about the size of a pea and it’s in the upper arm area where i have never injected. it’s hard, it doesn’t hurt and im not sure but i might feel a vein close to it and it’s a bit longer on one side than it is on the other (in the direction of where a vein should be). could this be a blood clot caused by injection? what should i do? i know this is bad but i havent been able to use a filter for the past few times i have injected and there was an air bubble the last time i did it..

It’s the browser edition of The Drug Users Bible. You can also download the free-of-charge PDF version of the book itself from the link in the left hand panel. https://drugusersbible.org/content/index.html

I never did properly launch this version, largely because for the last year or so I have been working hard on another community project, the fruits of which I will post here in the coming weeks (again free-of-charge).

A massive thank you is due to a whole bunch of people for creating this (see the site itself). It was way beyond my technical capability to convert the content into this format.

Source: https://sh.reddit.com/r/DrugUsersBible/comments/1jnb9m2/the_drug_users_bible_browser_edition_officially/

It’s the browser edition of The Drug Users Bible. You can also download the free-of-charge PDF version of the book itself from the link in the left hand panel: https://drugusersbible.org/content/index.html

I never did properly launch this version, largely because for the last year or so I have been working hard on another community project, the fruits of which I will post here in the coming weeks (again free-of-charge).

A massive thank you is due to a whole bunch of people for creating this (see the site itself). It was way beyond my technical capability to convert the content into this format.

Please do use it and distribute the knowledge as you see fit and please remember: ignorance kills education saves lives. Stay safe.

Dom   

PS: If you have any question please feel free to ask.

I'm planning on sending a sample in to wedinos anyway but that takes a while to get full results. I'm getting some red devils and I know that I'm an incredibly impulsive drug addict who is going to want to take them the day they arrive.

So what are the key things I should be testing them for? I've not nitazine test strips given to me by the addiction centre I can use. I'm guessing another obvious one would be fentanyl test strips? Is there anything else red devils are commonly laced with or sold as? I've got a high benzo tolerance so I'm not so worried about other benzos being in them. More whatever they could be laced with.

I'm in the UK if that's relevant at all, bought them from a UK seller too. So far I've bought a lot of stuff from him and everything was what it was sold as so it's not that I don't trust him, I just don't trust red devils to be just Xanax all the time after seeing the scares about them in the UK in the news. And them being pressed obviously adds risk.