DOSE:	10 mg	IM	Pharms - Nalbuphine
	60 mg	IM	Pharms - Hydroxyzine
			Pharms - Tramadol

BODY WEIGHT:

170 lb

Here is an insanely detailed description of my experiences with the analgesic opiate Nalbuphine, 'Nubain' being its main trade name. I wrote this under slight effects from Methylphenidate (Ritalin), which were 20mg CR capsules in which I crushed the drug inside to make a powder, making it release quickly. It was my first experience with Methylphenidate 'abuse' after I got a script for ADD a few days earlier. It was very experimental and I experienced very little effect from it, but clearly the effect of increased conversation/focus/writing was occurring, as this is obviously VERY detailed.

I go into a lot of other stuff aside from just Nubain. I suppose some will find this pointless, but it gives people an idea of my exact conditions, and it makes interpreting my effects easier for those who wish to. It also explains why I started Nubain and all of that stuff. I spent a few hours putting this together, trying to fit in details that I thought related to the usage of Nubain. Hopefully you enjoy reading about it, and it gives you a very clear idea of the possible effects you may undergo while using Nubain. Though as I state a few times, many of the effects I have are rare and you may have other effects, stronger effects, and weaker effects.

I get migraine headaches pretty severely, and when I get a strong headache, I call the doctor's office and get an IM (Intramuscular) injection of Nalbuphine 10mg and Hydroxyzine 60mg (I'm not sure of the 60mg, but the last time I checked the receipt I saw 60mg of this). I never get this more often than once a week, and will sometimes get it even if I don't have a headache, generally if I had a bad headache, but was not worth getting an injection for. I generally get severe headaches every 1-2 weeks, even with 2 preventative medicines that are dosed quite high. (300mg of Topiramate (Topamax), 50mg of Amitriptyline (Elavil).) For when I have a headache, I take 10mg of Rizatriptan (Maxalt), it generally does not help so much on the severe headaches, even when I take it as the headache is just starting, and that is why I get Nalbuphine. I also have a muscle relaxant, which I can't find the prescription bottle for, so I don't know exactly what it is, but I think it may be Soma. I did not find this addicting, but quite relaxing when I had a tension-triggered migraine. As I mentioned before, I sometimes gets Nalbuphine even when I do not need it. I found the effects to be quite positive. Here is a detailed rundown of them.

I got my first Nalbuphine injection some months ago, nearing a year. This was close to when my headache intensity and frequency became greater, and I started preventative medicines. The needle was 1 1/2 in. long, and the nurse told me one time that it was stored in ampoules. The first few times I got the injection, I thought it could only be injected into the hip (upper buttocks, right where the buttocks usually begins), as I was never asked otherwise. Later I found out that it could also be injected into the upper arm, but chose to continue getting my injections in my hip, as I was used to it and figured it would hurt more to get the injection in the arm. Plus, I get allergy shots weekly and didn't want any more needles in my arm, even though I didn't have any fear of them or anything. Nalbuphine was my first opiate, and first injection other than vaccines and allergy shots (which have 3/4 in. needles I think; they may be half an inch though). I was somewhat nervous about getting the shot, as obviously most 1 1/2 inch needles are going to hurt; and if the nurse was inexperienced or made a slight mistake it could hurt a lot more.

I was told to take the weight off the muscle, so it isn't tense and will make the injection less painful. I don't fully remember my first injection, but I remember it somewhat, and pieced the experience of receiving the injection together from more recent ones that I do remember. The needle gave me a moderate prick/sting, but it was nothing too bad. I wasn't expecting what came next. When the medicine was injected into me, at first I didn't feel much, but a second or two later, about when it was all in me, I could feel the medicine in my muscle, it is a very uncomfortable feeling, as if that small area of muscle is extremely sore. The needle coming out was not noticeable (in terms of feeling it). The needle puncture bled somewhat, and I got a band-aid for it. The muscle continued to be sore for the next hour or so, and I had to keep some pressure off of my right buttock.

I had begun experiencing effects in about five minutes, but it was not until ten or fifteen minutes until they really hit me. At around the ten minute mark I was immediately overwhelmed with drowsiness. I have some insomnia, and it takes a lot for me to fall asleep. I've tried multiple sleeping pills, and melatonin in doses from 5 to 20 mgs, but very rarely experiences any effects whatsoever from these, for strong sleeping pills I only became slightly drowsy. Because of my insomnia, and maybe just a strong will to stay up if I wish, I was able to overcome the intense drowsiness easily, but the effect is quite strong and is generally a positive effect for me, as it slows me down a bit and makes me relax. Drowsiness/Sleepiness was only one of the many effects that I experienced, and was probably the most prevalent and the first effect that hit me.

Another very noticeable effect, that I have recently heard that is common for all opiates, is itching/tickling feelings. I noticed these mostly to be located on my face, mainly my nose and forehead, it is possible that the bangs rubbing up against the forehead stimulate the itching feeling, making it stronger. Other areas that itchy feelings were experienced were my upper arms and neck. The 'itchy' feelings are not itchy like I have a bug bite or a rash, they are more of a tingling feeling, like needles are touching me VERY lightly, and I have to rub, scratch, or simply touch them to get them to go away. I was not able to resist the urges to rub the tingling, and was constantly reaching for my nose/forehead to brush the tingling away. I did not really find this to be annoying, as the tingling was pleasant, and I found some satisfaction every time I brushed it away. This effect was probably second most prevalent, and required the most interaction from me.

I also experienced a moderate dizziness, I found this effect to be profoundly relaxing and good-feeling. Mostly when I was moving was this effect noticeable, but simply moving my head provided a minor vertigo, it was not so noticeable that it interrupted whatever I was doing, but gave me a pleasant feeling. I consider this to be one of the most pleasant and desired effects from Nubain in my opinion, some may find the effect to be unpleasant, as it has a tendency to throw me off balance quite a bit, more than a normal dizziness of that strength would.

I also experienced dry mouth. The dry mouth is one of the few negative effects of Nubain I experienced. I was able to sate my thirst somewhat, but would ultimately have a dry mouth for the first couple hours of the drug. With the drowsiness, vertigo, and tingling however, I paid little attention to my dry mouth, and it was not very noticeable with my mind in the state that it was. My dry mouth was not extreme, but it was quite noticeable only if I payed attention to it. The dry mouth could be compared to the average cottonmouth feeling, with a little less intensity.

Another effect that I experienced was a sense of floating, like there is less gravity, or I was hovering slightly. It was not an extreme effect, so I did not literally feel as if I was hovering. The effect was subtle and relaxing. I am neither overweight nor skinny, but I weigh more than average, and I felt like I was quite a bit lighter.

Yet another side effect that I experienced was bitter taste. While I understand that this could just be an effect of cottonmouth, I am quite sure that it is a different side effect, as even after drinking water and hydrating as much as I could on the drug, food still tasted somewhat bitter and bland. I usually get some fast food when I'm being driven home from the doctors (usually by a friend or my sister), and compared to when I am not on the drug, it tastes as if there is less flavor and has a mildly bitter taste to it. It does not make eating for me undesirable, but food is much more enjoyable off the drug.

I also experience speech difficulty while on Nubain, but I am sure that this is not just an effect of the drowsiness. I can speak and think about what I'm going to say without much trouble, but forming words completely is impossible for me, and the results are somewhat slurred, washed out speech. It is not slurred so much that it is not understandable, but it can sometimes be hard to hear exactly where a word ends, as my speech will run together since I form my words slower and tend not to take any pauses. I also draw some words out more than usual, when not intended. They also tend to fade away instead of simply stopping, which is why it can be difficult to differentiate words. I figured most of this out on my own, but didn't realize I did some things, and used account from people who I talked to that commented on my speech.

I have experienced slightly blurred vision while on Nubain, with my glasses on I no longer have near perfect vision, things tend to be just a little bit fuzzier. It is mostly only noticeable on text, and only on certain fonts at that. I only get this effect every once in a while, and it generally only lasts a small duration of the medicine. Another one I experience very slightly is 'flushing/warmth'. This is one that can easily be mistaken for just a change in temperature, but even when the room I'm in room is cool I sometimes get a slight feeling of warmth, as if the temperature increased by a degree or two, and it generally goes away within a few minutes, as if it fell back down. My face normally becomes somewhat flushed during the first hour or so of the drug.

Those are my accounts of the effects that Nubain gave me on my first injection. They generally do not differ, but sometimes the less prevalent effects are nonexistent, and sometimes they are noticeable. I experience these effects for up to about 5 hours at the most, when I don't eat or eat only a small amount of food. When I eat a full meal, which I almost always do on Nubain, as I get fast food on the way home from the doctor's, then the duration seems to shorten from anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, and the effects will begin to wear off sooner, and fade away slower. When I eat nothing, the effects tend to last at full power for about 3-4 hours, and then they begin to wear off, with drowsiness wearing off last.

Nalbuphine leaves me feeling fatigued after it has worn off. Nubain has been an effective sleeping aid for me in the past; because if I want to sleep, I can fall asleep within a couple of minutes due to the strong drowsiness it gives me. I don't like to do this though, as it seems like somewhat of a waste unless I need to fix up my sleep schedule or I have an excruciating headache, especially since each injection costs me 25$ (My insurance only covers a few bucks for some reason, stupid insurance companies.) I could probably find it cheaper through other sources, but I like being able to take it in a controlled way, given by a qualified nurse. It also limits my use of Nubain, as if I was getting multiple shots a week, the doctor would likely make me stop using it, at least for a time being; as I could be easily seen as abusing it. This helps keep my tolerance for it extremely low, and even though I have been getting injections for nearly a year, I have never felt a decrease in the effects, and have never had to get an increase in the dosage.

I have had many interesting and unexpected experiences getting my injections at the doctor's, as sometimes there are complications and accidents. I went in to get an injection early last week for a moderate headache, and luckily, my favorite nurse was the only one working. She normally gave the injections quickly and somewhat unexpectedly, which was ultimately the best way, as they were over fast. But this time my nurse made a little mistake and the needle didn't go in very smoothly, and it stung like hell and the nurse had to put pressure on the injection site for a couple minutes to stop the bleeding; which was very uncomfortable as it was right where the Nubain was.

I have also been in to get an injection, and found that they were out of the special needles that they needed to use due to the ampoules the medicine was contained in. So they had to give me an alternative medicine mixed with the Hydroxyzine. They used Tramadol in place of the Nubain, I don't know of the dosage, but it did absolutely nothing for the headache I had, and provided no effects whatsoever.

I had another unpleasant visit one time when I arrived to find that for some reason I don't remember (though I was told), they had to give each drug separately (Nubain and Hydroxyzine). That meant two needles, two injections, both buttocks, and though I didn't know it, a lot more pain. When I got the injection for the Hydroxyzine, I felt intense stinging and burning. The Nubain hurt much less, but still stung more than when the injections were combined. The only upside was that each side had a smaller amount of medicine, so I did not feel it as much.

I think Nubain is a wonderful drug. It provides wonderful effects in safe dosages, and is an incredible pain reliever if you have any acute pain. I see no reason to stop using Nubain, and while I'm not sure of its addictiveness, I can go however long I want without 'needing it', even as I wrote this, I did not feel as if I had to get Nubain right away or something along those lines. I want to have it a lot of the time, but generally those are passing thoughts and it is not really a craving for it. The only times I feel like I 'needed' to have more psychologically, is after it had worn off. The effects of Nubain are so desirable (to me at least) that I get somewhat depressed that it has worn off, but understand that I shouldn't have anymore, make up an excuse to the doctor's to get more, etc. I would not recommend Nubain to those with little self-control, and people who get psychologically addicted to some drugs.

Nalbuphine/Hydroxyzine are the only Opiate aside from Vicodin (Which I no longer use, and certainly did not use it while I was getting Nalbuphine, as it could cause instant withdrawal.) that I have used/tried, and use often. I have an advantage because my doctor recommended it to me for a condition that actually exists in me. It could be difficult to get Nubain from your doctor unless he is pretty easy and simple, some doctors would be cautious to give people Nubain, I'd imagine, unless they have acute pain that not much else helps. There are certainly other ways to get Nubain, but they would have to be injected by yourself (or a friend perhaps), and as I said before, you would have to have quite a bit of self-control. By going through the doctor's, I'm limited to the frequency of my injections, so I don't raise suspicion, or gain tolerance. I sometimes have to see the doctor personally, but due to my chronic migraine, I'm able to simply call my doctor and get an injection approved, where I can then forego any appointment, and simply receive the injection.

I also want to mention that when you get your injection, it helps to massage the area where you got the injection vigorously, as it helps to disperse the drug through the muscle and get it moving quicker. The nurse may do this for you (if you're going through a doctor, of course), as that's where I learned about it. It feels uncomfortable, but makes the weird feeling of the medicine go away quicker.

Exp Year: 2007	ExpID: 72733
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Aug 11, 2009	Views: 23,018
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Pharms - Nalbuphine (306) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Hospital (36)