(no subject)

[mandrakescreams.livejournal.com]

This may sound like a weird question but does anyone know if using heroin effects the menstrual cycle?

Comments

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

I would think it certainly could, yes.

[agata.livejournal.com]

And I agree with the above.

[kragey.livejournal.com]

Any sort of drug, from a light antibiotic to a hardcore hit of cocaine, can affect the body, and the menstrual cycle is part of the female system. My period skipped a month for the first (and only) time ever a year ago because I took a hit of DXM.

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

Are you having a heavy period? A painful period? It's kind of hard to answer a question that comes out in dribs and drabs...

In general, heroin is illegal - its illegal for a reason, because its going to do all sort of really bad things to your body. I can't speak specifically to exactly what heroin will do, but if you are experiencing a chance in your periods it could certainly be attributed to illegal drug use, yes.

[http://users.livejournal.com/-irreverence/]

then again a lot of illegal things are illegal for no good reason. and aren't even really harmful. ...but i suppose it's because people don't understand the terms "moderation" and "limit" and end up ODing on all sorts of things. ::shakes head::

[mercurysmile.livejournal.com]

that's very true, but let's not put heroin into that category, okay?

[http://users.livejournal.com/-irreverence/]

mm.. well i think it's good that it's not you know, available at your local supermarket or whatever. and it is incredibly addictive and very dangerous because of this. but it is used in other countries as a pain medication for cancer patients and such, so it does have some positive effects/uses (though i do realize also that most people using it here do not have cancer, but c'est la vie. they can do what they like).

i just meant that a lot of times people are quick to judge about drugs, being such a touchy subject especially in this country. we're kind of forced into thinking ALL DRUGS = BAD! EVIL! YOU WILL DIE! and other exaggerations, and yet thousands of people do these kinds of things daily and live normal mostly healthy lives. and i just dont agree with that kind of propaganda.

[punk-is-so-dead.livejournal.com]

and heroin is essentially the same thing is morphine which is used in hospitals all the time. i don't remember *specifically* how close they are, but they are very very similar chemically.

[mercurysmile.livejournal.com]

yes, and there's no particularly good reason to keep heroin out of hospitals.

but the whole issue is pretty far removed from recreational drug use.

[punk-is-so-dead.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. I mean, the fact that morphine does the job is, I'm sure, a factor in keeping heroin out of hospitals, but I see no reason why, in a controlled environment, they can't use it.

Pharmacology babble!!

[sweet-tea79.livejournal.com]

Actually, while morphine and heroin are in the same category of drugs, they're metabolized in a slightly different manner. Heroin's metabolite (6-monoacetyl morphine) is actually what causes most of the effects of the drug, and because different people have different amounts of the liver enzymes that metabolize this drug, there's no way to tell ahead of time how much of the active metabolite will be produced. The active metabolite also has certain properties that regular morphine doesn't have...it crosses the blood-brain barrier, and therefore causes more problems with respiratory depression than does morphine, and makes it stay in the body longer than regular morphine. It's not as controlled or as predictable as morphine, and not something I'll be giving my patients.

Apologies for the ramble, I have a board exam coming up this week and these sorts of medical/pharmacology blurbs keep spilling out. Too much studying is bad.

Re: Pharmacology babble!!

[sweet-tea79.livejournal.com]

my apologies to the OP for thread-jacking.

[mercurysmile.livejournal.com]

No, I know. It's really frustrating, because when people preach this "all drugs are evil and will KILL YOU!" bullshit, and then kids see their friends smoking pot and not spiralling out of control and destroying their lives, they think "well, that was all a load of crap, then." But some drugs are genuinely really dangerous, and it's too bad that nobody seems to be bothered to tell the truth about the effects.

So I think I agree with you here, but I also think it's dangerous to downplay the dangers of certain illegal drugs. Personally I don't hold it against someone if they want to do heroin, but I also don't think it's "okay", if that makes sense. I basically hold the same position on it as I do tobacco...I don't go righteous tirades to my smoking friends about the evils and dangers of it, but I also disapprove and would never do it myself, and support initiatives that deter people from forming the habit.

This is rambly and off-topic though, so I'm gonna stop.

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

That's fairly off-topic and not especially helpful to the OP, don't you think?

[http://users.livejournal.com/-irreverence/]

i wasn't tryin to argue or anything if that's what you thought. i was just commenting.. i thought that's what comments were about on LJ? plus, i didn't know that all comments had to be helpful to the (im assuing OP means..) original poster?

heh, either way, seems like if you look below she agreed with me so i guess it was kind of helpful for them to know that not everyone was going to be against whatever they do in their own lives (cause it's certainly not my place to judge).

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

I'm not for or against what she does in her life in regards to Heroin; I'm quite neutral. It just seemed a particularly random comment to me, having not much to do with anything else.

[http://users.livejournal.com/-irreverence/]

:)

[jamaesi.livejournal.com]

If weed was a person it would porbably think puppies are cute and pet them.

If herion was a person it would kick puppies.



Let's not pretend herion is a happy fluffy drug, kay?

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

Lots of things have the potential to change your cycle: like being sick or taking prescription medication, so something as strong as Heroin certainly could.

[feckalyn.livejournal.com]

With long-term use it would likely affect your cycle but I doubt if I shot up/snorted/whatever last week for the first time it would do anything to my period this week.

Make sense?

[nirbhao.livejournal.com]

my google search is only pulling up that it makes the cycle irregular. )o: I don't know anything about heaviness.

[indirajames.livejournal.com]

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin) might be very helpful to you. I didn't read all the way through. The effect it has on your period would probably depend on how much you use.

[mishaps.livejournal.com]

maybe if you lost a lot of weight suddenly?

[mercurysmile.livejournal.com]

weight loss generally makes your period stop, not make it heavier though. I think.

[mishaps.livejournal.com]

yes, I posted my comment before I read that it was making hers heavier. If that's the case them I'm totally not sure of anything

[punk-is-so-dead.livejournal.com]

I think it could definitely affect your period, if not directly then indirectly (eating less, weight loss).

[righteousbean.livejournal.com]

yes
heroin use in women can either make the period heavy, change the color of the menstrual blood, make it disappear due to lack of sleeping and not eating properly

it depends on the person's body and other aspects of her lifestyle

[jensuxx.livejournal.com]

I know for a fact THC messes with your cycle.

[thevargasgirl.livejournal.com]

That is not necessarily true. I smoked TONS of pot on high school and always had VERY regular periods. THC may have effected YOUR periods, but try not to state something as fact when it is merely a personal experience.

[jensuxx.livejournal.com]

I didn't exactly word that right. I smoked alot too and I had regular periods, but when I stopped for awhile it would mess it up and then when I started back up it would be really late. I can adjust my periods with my weed smoking if I want. My girlfriend also experiences the same thing.

Actually, this is extremely true.

[-mak.livejournal.com]

In response to marijuana affecting ones menstrual cycle:

"Research shows that, due to the effect marijuana has on hormone production, some users have a lower sex drive. Irregular menstrual cycles and lower sperm counts have also been reported."

Source: this site (http://www.opendoors.com.au/Marijuana/Marijuana.htm).

Re: Actually, this is extremely true.

[thevargasgirl.livejournal.com]

SOME being the key word, not ALL. So it is important to use those words instead of making blanket statements like the original commenter did.

[allthingsshiny.livejournal.com]

For me, i was extremely irregular, and when i did get a period it was usually quite heavy. Don't know whether it was due to the drug itself or to my horrible nutrition.

Did help the cramps, though.

[red-rogue.livejournal.com]

THC does NOT mess with your cycle, I have yet to meet another female who smokes marijuana that has problems with her period. I live in a house full of hippies and yes, I admit, smoke myself, and I have never EVER had ANY problems with my period that birth control couldn't fix (heavy cramps).

I believe...if anything...Heroin, when used heavily, will make your period lighter or stop completely ( I vaguely remember hearing this on a documentary about heroin addicts). It's a VERY serious drug, so you would think that something that is THAT serious and considered to be THAT dangerous...of COURSE it would mess with you.

[red-rogue.livejournal.com]

There was a commenter above me that said she knows for a FACT that THC messes with your period.

Just gettin' in on the train *lol*

[feckalyn.livejournal.com]

Are your periods typically regular?
I would wonder if H would interfere with having periods thus making the ones that you do have heavier than usual because you've skipped?

But that's total speculation.