DOSE: T+ 0:00	125 mg	oral	Ephedrine	(pill / tablet)
T+ 0:00	repeated	oral	Caffeine	(liquid)
T+ 0:00	1.5 bowls	smoked	Cannabis	(plant material)
T+ 6:00	75 mg	oral	Ephedrine	(pill / tablet)
T+ 9:30	50 mg	oral	Ephedrine	(pill / tablet)
T+ 0:00	1 bowl	smoked	Cannabis	(plant material)
T+ 18:00	75 mg	oral	Ephedrine	(pill / tablet)

BODY WEIGHT:

154 lb

I've been using ephedrine for about three years now, and have since got quite a bit of experience in the build up-slow down cycle which I know has gotta be pretty damn bad for one's health. The one thing I can say for myself is that I have the stoicism to cut it out for a few days when I know I've been getting careless.

This is just one of the experiences I've had where I've had to say, 'Woah man, slow down!' I was 21, it was 2003 in Raleigh, NC. That rhymes, heh. I woke up at 12 one afternoon, only to actually end up getting out of bed at 1, needing to be at work by 2. I ran out of the house in a rush, forgetting to take my daily vitamin and ephedrine to kick start my day in the nuts, as was common practice, so needless to say work sucked much more than usual that day. I work at a convenience store so I deal with every asshole in the world.

In any case, I made it to 11 pm somehow or other and was in serious need of that energy boost. I had slept 16 hours the night before, and while groggy and irritable the whole day, I was still not going to catch any extra sleep. I just couldn't sleep anymore, no matter how shitty I felt. So, already having boosted my tolerance levels past the norm for the 'nth time, I popped five and downed a mug of coffee. The coffee was to take care of me while I was waiting for the ephedrine to take effect. It didn't take long since the only thing I had to eat that day was a few handfuls of popcorn which was definitely not in my stomach by the time I swallowed the pills.

I perked up instantly. It was as if I had just awoken from a great nights sleep with no spinney head feeling. The only downside was the short lived feeling of nausea because of my poor dietary habits that day and the stimulants just kicking in. This, I've found, is quite common and once it's over I’m all set. That night I got a ton of class reading done and shot so far ahead in homework, I didn't hafta worry about one particular class' work for the whole week (this was fri nite/sat morning). During this time I smoked about a bowl and a half, but mind you this was also over the course of 6 more hours.

So now where at a grand total of 17 hours (around 5ish AM), at which point I went outside for a cigarette. At work, I can smoke em away like nothing, but while at home, I can go for hours on end without thinking about one. Anyways, I guess this is when one starts to feel a little silly just from sleep deprivation alone because I took great amusement in singing my leg hairs with the cherry of my cig. I also assume this is when depth perception gets a little skewed too. Not too much, but juuuuust enough. See folks, where I'm going with this is I ended up jamming the glowing end of my smoke into my calf. Yes it hurt a lot. Yes, I know I'm retarted. Moving on.

[Erowid Note: Driving while intoxicated, tripping, or extremely sleep deprived is dangerous and irresponsible because it endangers other people. Don't do it!]

So here it is, 5 am, homework all done, I'm still feeling alright. I decide, for reasons still unknown, to pop 3 more pills. Hey, I've accomplished a lot, right? I should be entitled to actually have time to fuck off and do nothing, especially with work looming on the horizon at 2 going til 12 again. So I decide to go for a drive and smoke another bowl. I'm weird, I think driving as an end to itself sometimes. Especially at night. I came back at 6ish (18 hrs for those of you who are counting) and desperately needed something to do. The obvious answer, rearrange the furniture in one's room of course.

So here I was, sweating my ass off schlepping around my desk and couch and whatnot and not drinking water to replace what h2o I've lost but soda. Yes, soda. I guess this takes us to 8:30. Yeah, I think I remember being pretty much done and satisfied by then. I had also dusted, vacuumed and went through all of my old junk in an attempt to de-clutter my habitat, one of the pros of ephedrine, I guess. This is when I realize that I have only five hours of possible sleepy fun time before I hafta go to workey hell time. If I slept then, I definitely ran the risk not waking up for the already very freaking loud alarm I have, and any attempts to call my house by my irritated co-workers.

So, with thoughts of 'Just getting through it' and crashing heavily that night, I took 2 more pills, with the intent of taking another three a few hours into my shift. It has been 20 1/2 hours now. I'd imagine the effects of sleep dep. should have been far greater, but at the apex of each cycle I can usually pull a 30 hour day with work, and other tasks which involve physical-mental activity standing on my head, so I'm pretty experienced in trying to remain focused and dealing with coming down.

I kept myself occupied by playing video games and surfing the web, and yes, smoking another bowl with enough time to shake off the high before I had to report for work. Let us not forget reporting to work on ephedrine can't get you fired unless you spaz out or something. I sat upright in a hard backed chair for about 30 min and took a small power nap, which was really more of a resting of the eyes, and of the mind while I was still completely conscious. With that done, I showered, which brought on another wind, and headed into work.

It's 2pm: I've been awake for 26 hours now and have taken 10 pills already. Blood is pumping through my neck so hard and forcefully that when I feel my pulse, I can almost swear that it must be visable to others. Despite how fast my heart is going, it's about this time when I stop feeling extra energy altogether. I feel awake, but very very very very subdued, even though on the outside my hands have already started to shake a little, and my bodily movements and speech is still coming in rapid spurts.

At 5 pm I take the last three pills which were to keep me at semi functional mode until I could get home. I'm at the final count of 14 pills, and have been awake for 29 hours. Luckily, my work day is zooming by as usual. At around 10pm (34 hours) it hit me. Bad. I felt like I was tripping balls. I could see pockets of faint light out of thin air, kinda like the after image on the retnias following an accidental glance at the sun. Also, there were little black specks zooming around haphazardly as if floating in water right in front of said light pockets. Think of pond skaters, and it was kinda like that.

I kept thinking I could hear my co-worker callin my name, but every time I glanced around she was off somewhere else. By now my hands had developed a noticable jiggle as I smoked cigarettes or counted back customer's change. Most prominant however were the quick black spots that appeared for a split second out of the corner of my eye, startling me for that instant. Think of the black spot on the movie screen at the theaters that signal the change of reels (remember fight club?). This pales in comparison to the physical effects of having a pulse going so fast I could barely feel it anymore, and having a nagging stabbing pain in the chest. I started to worry about having a heart attack and took some bayer. I dunno. It mighta worked and it was better than nothing.

12 am. 36 hours. Somehow I was able to drive home safely despite still seeing things. I was beginning to hallucinate and starting to see people, or deer, or what have you, walking along the side of the road when either nothing was there, or it was me mistaking a speed limit sign for whatever I saw. And here's the scariest part. I get home and everyone's asleep. It's all pitch dark everywhere in the house. And suddenly my brain decides to kick out every single traumatic childhood fear I've ever had and bring them to life in my head. Open windows, perfect for the random menacing head to leer in at me, open doors to dark halls or rooms, where lord know what is waiting for me to pass by. And throughout this whole ordeal, I'm still hearing my name being said, and still able to make out the black spots in the corner of my eye. All in all, it wasn't too fun a trip.

I kept the lights on that night because that was the only way I could calm my brain down. but even then it took me until 6ish am (42 hours) to finally pass out. The time in between was spent tossing and turning, grateful that I had that Sunday off to recoup.

Exp Year: 2003	ExpID: 27483
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Oct 17, 2007	Views: 32,454
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Ephedrine (23), Sleep Deprivation (140) : General (1), Difficult Experiences (5), Various (28)