Cocaine .. Worried

[Quit123]

First time I tried cocaine was 3 years ago. At first I would do it on occasion with friends but then I went on a binge that lasted about 6 months where I would sometimes use every day and sometimes take a few days, week or weeks off for recovery. After that binge I quit for a year and led a healthy active lifestyle. A very tiny dent on my right nostril is what caused me to quit. It probably wasn’t noticeable to anybody but myself.

About 6 months ago I relapsed and started using again. I would feel fine after every session so I felt like my nose and nasal cavity was fully recovered from my initial binge. This stint lasted about 4 months and towards the end my nose would hurt for a day or few days every time I used that caused me to quit again - this time for good.

It’s been a month and a half since I last used and when I quit first thing I did was make sure I’m eating healthy and hitting the gym to get back to feeling “right” again and hopefully speed up the process of my nose healing so it doesn’t feel dry all the time.

Since I quit, I noticed that my nose appears to be shedding skin on the exterior and this is only happening on my nose not any other part of my face. It would shed even more excessively when I exercise.

This has been happening for a few weeks now and my nose looks a lot thinner than it did a month ago. I’m extremely worried I may have done some serious damage so I decided to go see a doctor and told him exactly what I’d been up to. He used a scope to look up my nostrils and said that the nose and nasal usually have hair and some other stuff that all plays a part but mine is just completely stripped clean and very red and inflamed :( He also noted that my septum doesn’t appear to have any holes in it but that I should definitely never use again and begin immediate treatment.

He recommended netipot saline nasal wash daily to clean the sinuses and promote healing as well as a steroid nasal spray (Nasonex) once a day to help bring down the inflammation.

I’ve been doing this for a few days and I can say my nasal and sinuses feel better, more moist and but at the same time it’s hard to tell because I got a cold around the same time which I’m fighting and I don’t know if it’s the cold that’s causing my nose to be so runny over the past few days or if it’s a sign of the treatment brining my sinuses “back to life”.

What terrifies me is that my nose is still shedding and visibly thinner “to me” than it used to be. The dent that was on the right side is now bigger and spread down to where my nose tip meets my right nostril opening so when I smile at someone it’s quite visible.

I don’t know why the shedding is happening and whether it’s going to continue and get worse and if so, at what point it will stop? I’m terrified and worried and can barely focus at work and have been avoiding social situations because I’m embarassed someone may notice.

The doctor scheduled me to see an ENT but that’s not till Mid-February. Please if anyone knows or has had a similar experience please share.

Also, if you’ve been a heavy use and quite for 1+ years, etc, please share how your nose has recovered since then. Has it regained some of it’s fullness and/or it’s original texture?

- So worried :(

P.s. I’m also rubbing Vitamin E oil on the inside and outside of my nose once a day, read that somewhere and the doctor agreed that could be helpful. I’m also eating a very clean healthy diet and supplementing with vitamins, turmeric (anti-inflammatory) and avoiding any sort of inflammatory foods. I haven’t been exercising for the past week because I’m afraid my nose will shed at a faster rate or shed-away... Help please :(

[dominosarah]

Congrats to you!!! That is alot to give up at once but you are doing it!!  Stay close and keep posting.  When you are having bad days or even good just talk to us.

[Quit123]

Has anyone here ever dealt with a scare from cocaine use such as a thinning septum or chronic nasal dryness/inflammation and then quit and made a full recovery?

I haven’t used in 2+ months and my nose still feels very tender inside when breathing. It feels dry most of the time and there’s a little bit of scabbing on the septum, which is definitely thinner than before but no holes that I can see.

I’ve been using Netipot and saline spray for the last month to help with the inflammation and the nose feels almost the same maybe a tiny bit better.

[VICourageous]

Hello & Welcome Quit123
I would not worry yourself into a panic. You did and are doing all the right things to heal this. I come from the later 60s, 70s & some into the 80s, when I would snort those type of drugs. Back in the 90s I got in trouble with the opiates that lead me up to snorting my Methadone with illegal adderral at the end. I did notice that I could no longer snort out of one nostril and the hair was gone, so as a Addict I switched nose holes.  Anyway, both felt sore and dry when I came clean back on 2012. It did not take to long for both my nostril to heal. The thing I am a bit confused about is the outside of the nose. My nose was always peeling and kind of flaky (sort of speaking) but that had to do with some sun damage. I had some of the nose and face spots freezed and it removed this. YOU are seeing a Dr coming up and this is good, plus I think you got some good news from that other one. SO, just try to stay calm and give this time. Stay away from the drugs too. You are lucky that you did not enter to far into this Addiction, but sooner or later it would of got SO out of control. It all has to do with the changes in the chemical makeup of the brain chems. Also, genes & environment plays a big role as does tolerance. Keep stepping forward and try not to be around anything or anybody that will cause you to have triggers to use again.
I wish you all the best, and I am happy you stopped now!
Vickie

[Quit123]

Thank you so much Vickie. Your story is encouraging to me. Congratulations for coming a long way.

It’s just so scary to not know what’s happening to me and although I have a doctors appointment with an ENT, it’s a month away. That seems like a lifetime considering I can’t go 10 minutes without thinking about this.

I have a face to face sales job and the possibility of a caving nose scares me to death. I know it’s my fault and if I could go back in time I would change everything.

I’m so depressed I’ve considered taking a year off work to mentally and physically recover.

I haven’t used in a month and a half and I feel like I’m getting worse not better.

This is the darkest time period of my life :(

My girlfriend doesn’t know about my problem and I know it would destroy her if I told her so I’ve been dealing with it by myself. My parents and siblings would be so disappointed if they knew. I’m the one who they lean on for emotional, physical and financial support from time to time. And right now I am an absolute mess.

[Quit123]

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom out there. Mother’s Day 2016 was the first time I decided I was done with cocaine. Between that day and July 2017 I relapsed 3 times, each time using only once. But then for some stupid reason after that last relapse in July 2017 I went crazy and started using regularly again. My use tapered off as I was starting to feel the effects (dry, sore, scabby nose and fatigue). I would have to inhale water to wash down the coke from nose as it would just stay there. The last time I used was November 23, 2017. My nose hurt and was irritated so to numb the pain I would smoke weed and drink alcohol daily. I was also aggressively going to the gym to try to heal fast. All of this lead to an extremely dry septum and nose that was not getting any better. So I quit drinking and smoking and put the gym on hold and saw doctors and ENTs. An initial endoscopy revealed no perforations but the nasal lining in my nose is completely stripped. The ENT said it should heal back. Since January I’ve been coke, alcohol and smoke free and eating super healthy, vitamins, humidifiers, saline sprays etc.

It’s been 4.5 months and the lining in my nose still has not healed. The nose is still dry and scabby especially in the morning when I wake up. I have to use netipot everyday to drain the dried mucus from my nose otherwise it stays in there all dried up. My nose is dry on the inside and outside. My eyes are dry. And I can’t hold conversations for long because I get fatigued and dehydrated quickly. I obviously can’t do any physical exercise either because I don’t want to dry out my septum and nasal cavity even further.

Does the nasal lining always heal or if blood supply is compromised it just won’t ever heal?

Sometimes after waking and still lying bed I can hear some pop/crackling sounds from inside my nasal cavity. Wtf is that?

Is it possibly to develop a septal perforation even 5 months after quitting cocaine?

The front part of my septum(close to my nostril) is very pale/white/dry and when I shine a phone light through one nostril I can see a few areas on it that are more see through than the rest. Can this still perforate? And what can I do to minimize the risks?

[Quitting4youtoo]

Hey there buddy! Awesome you kept at this. I too am experiencing symptoms like you with around the same prolonged use but just recently stopping. Was wondering what your healing has been like since this last post and how you are doing?

[Sara_MHModerator]

Hello, welcome to the forum.  It's really helpful to start your own thread too so that people can talk to you about your situation.  Sometimes on older threads, people do not see your response.  We are glad you have found the site and we're here to support you!

[Jessubox]

Don't over worry yourself.... I have been free of cocaine for about a year and experienced the same physical symptoms you did. Vitamin E is a huge relief... Make sure you keep your water intake high along with your vitamins.. I have found airavle supplement called "biosil" it is a capsule taken daily and started 6months ago iv regained my original skin (also on my nose) back, nails & hair have got significantly stronger since taking this supplement! I physically feel a lot better since taking this product...it's worth every penny. I feel great on the outside again (recharged) & that is slowly helping my  mental state. Keep up the healthy lifestyle! It will keep getting better.

[Quit123]

Thank you Jessubox. I appreciate you sharing your story. I’ve been clean for 5 months now (no cocaine, alcohol or smoking).

I’ve seen 2 ENTs who have said my nose looks fine inside, they did the endoscopy.

However, I’m still suffering from severe nasal dryness on a daily basis. Not sure if this is something that will go away with time.

Did you have issues with dryness too?

[dominosarah]

I had troubles back in the day with coke but my symptoms cleared up pretty quick.  Nowadays you have no idea what it is cut with so this may take longer.  I do know others have had a hard time with their nose healing but it did eventually heal.  I would give it more time.  Congrats on the clean time!

[Quit123]

Thanks Dominosarah.

Had my appointment with the ENT yesterday.

I was frank about my drug use and he wasn’t judgemental, I guess they must come across this often.

He looked at my septum using an endoscope (the long thingy) and said that it’s all intact, no perforations but it’s showing typical signs of long term drug use - scarring, dry and inflamed.

And so long as I don’t use or smoke anything (tobacco/weed) again it should heal and the lining should regenerate.

He also suggested not to use Nasonex or any other prescription steroid nasal sprays as they can cause further dryness and instead to just use a saline spray when it feels dry and rub some polysporin on the inside of the nose. And to keep doing all I’ve been doing - humidifier, diet, supplements, exercise.

If you want me to share what I’m doing in terms of diet, supplements and recovery let me know and I’ll post it here.

I’m seeing another ENT in a month for a 2nd opinion.

I know this sounds paranoid but is it possible that I may have a perforation that wasn’t visible during the endoscopy because it was covered with mucus or blood?

Or that a perforation forms during the healing process due to a combination of weakened structure, low blood supply, dryness and blowing the nose?

[dominosarah]

You are doing really great so keep it going!  I really liked how honest you were with the doctors.  Your nose will continue to heal.  Keep us posted on how you are doing~

[Quit123]

Thank you all. I’ve had a couple of near nervous breakdowns since my last post but for the last couple of days have been feeling better. Nose feels better as well.

Applying Vaseline on the nose externally helped a lot with the dryness and peeling. Saline rinsing daily for 3 weeks and only today am I feeling some mild improvement with breathing and dryness. Hope it continues to get better. Humidifier near my bed helps a lot. Time off work to mentally and physically recharge was well needed.

Still sober and enjoying it. 2 + months no cocaine. 1 month no tobacco, marijuana or alcohol.

ENT appointment in a week. Praying that goes well.

[VICourageous]

Hi Again, Quit123
I would  first like to say this, that I think I did not do those drugs in the 60s but in the 70 & 80s and I too just did this occasionally. I could always tap a little in drugs and booze but walk away with no draw backs or withdraws. Heck, I did not even know what a w/d was until I first ran out of my pain pills. However, this also opened up my Addiction that did carry for yrs & yrs, without understanding it. My point is, if you did this drug for weeks or months on a daily basis you could be going through a mental withdraw, which can cause some serious depression. As I stated above, these type of mind-altering substances change our brain chemistry. This is what takes time to balance back.

I have seen so many people come on here afraid to tell there loved ones and when they did they felt surprised and a BIG weight lifted. We have to have SUPPORT.  What I would like to suggest to you, is to go hit a few NA meetings and tell your story and reach for help. You will be surprised to find someone there with your same story. We have to talk, and let our so called demons out of our back pocket. Other wise, we just keep stuffing it and stuffing it until we explode. After I read your post I started thinking of the last time I did do this type of drug, but it was crank. I only did a little months & months before I came clean. This time I did feel the comedown and I did feel very depressed. If you go and do some homework, you could find out were this type of drug  hits what area of the brain and what this area of this brain is responsible for. I have seen a c/t of the brain after long use of crank/meth, as it looked like swisscheese holes.

I am no sure what you are taking about on the outside of your nose, but if the Dr thought there was no damage, then maybe you just need this time to heal. Have you tried some Vaseline? I just can not see the fact that you did do any serious damage for that short of time..but..I am not a Dr either. Just try to stay clam, give this time, and go try a meeting or two and listen and talk. Someone will come up to you after I am sure. You can show them what you are talking about and maybe they will have a answer. Maybe it happen to someone there too? Just do not let it bring you to a breaking point. We as Addicts have no patience and that is a big drawback. Keep in touch and let us know how you are..OK?
Prayers out to you!
Vickie

[Quit123]

Thank you Vickie. Mentally and physically I feel a lot better since my last post.

I’ve been to a few different doctors and this is how it went:

1st doctor - “sorry to hear about your cocaine addiction but there’s nothing we can do, you’ve already quit so that’s good, just don’t do drugs again”. She didn’t even look at my nose or in my nostrils and sort of looked down on me. Nor did she recommend any remedies to bring down the nasal inflammation. I asked for an ENT referral and she said OK. My appointment is next month.

2nd doctor - was the best. He was very empathetic, asked a lot of questions, gave me a lot of information about how the body reacts to cocaine abuse, etc and what I can do to help speed up the body’s natural healing process.  Netipot every night and a prescription steroid nasal spray to reduce inflammation. He looked up my nostrils and said it looks severely inflamed, completely stripped of hair, etc but that it should recover if I do what he suggests. He said that it takes the body and nasal passages about 1 year to recover from my type of cocaine use (moderate use with breaks and some pro-longed heavy binges). Also the recovery time depends on what the cocaine was cut with, which only god knows. He also recommended a naturopath. I met with the naturopath who gave me diet suggestions and a multivitamin/fish oil/supplementation plan. I’m so happy I found this doctor.

3rd doctor - was empathetic and immediately referred me to an ENT and ordered a complete blood test. Blood test came back perfect thank god, there was no damage to any of my organs. But he didn’t look inside my nostrils like the 2nd doctor did.

So, it’s been about 10 days since I visited the second doctor. I’ve followed his instructions religiously and I notice that my breathing is improving. My nostrils were consistently dry for the last few months and now they feel moist some parts of the day and dry at times. My nose is still peeling but not as much. It’s definitely thinned out but I’m hoping that within a year it will regain some of it’s original shape or size.

I’m constantly dehydrated, I’ve been drinking so much water and I think that’s because of all the tissue damage in my nasal passages. Time will tell.

I’ve completely changed up my lifestyle. No drinking or smoking or anything that can be addictive. I even quit coffee because it dehydrates me.

I’ve been eating super healthy and started juicing as well. Trying to maintain a positive mindset and hope for the best.

2 appointments with ENTs next month will give me a complete picture of waht’s going on on the inside. Hopefully I haven’t done any serious damage.

It started off with a key bump at a friends wedding while I was drunk 3 years ago. That turned into recreational use during parties and stuff and then I grew to love cocaine and was doing it almost every day (1/4 or 1/2 gram) at work, at home, on dates, so many times I was high out of my mind and no one had any idea. Wasted so much money and so much time I could’ve put towards my business and relationships.

I was lying to myself. I worked out so I was in great physical shape and business was going well and I was making decent money (blowing some of it on cocaine and hookers along the way) had a nice house, nice car so I felt like you know I work hard I’m gonna have a little fun. Never again. Not worth it. It can all look good on the outside but dying and falling apart inside. That was me. But never playing with my health again.

Health is wealth. Health is wealth. Health is wealth. Health is wealth.

[atthebeach]

Good to hear you are on the mends.
Congrats on your clean time. You sound good.
Thanks for the great update.
Keep on keepin on.

[Quit123]

I know my post is a little long to read but I’m hoping someone can offer some support or share something. Feeling really along right now and there’s no one I can talk to.