"Popper lung" long post

Topic created by JB
on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 06:11

JB said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 06:11...

FYI all of my poppers are from the US so all are butyl as far as I'm aware.

I'm very new to poppers and am hoping for other peoples' experiences. I started about 2 months ago with doublescorpio emerald. I didn't feel very much just sniffing from the bottle so I researched and came across the sock method. This method made me feel amazing, but I found that a dab or two onto a sock would only really last about 10 minutes before the hits don't seem to do anything. I also had my lips turn blue rather quickly because my area didn't really have proper ventilation so my whole room smelled like poppers.

I finished the doublescorpio over a few days which I would assume is considered heavy usage but I feel like a lot of the liquid was wasted since the sock was sitting out in the open. I developed a scratchy throat and a cough, but nothing that alarmed me.

I enjoyed the experience so much that I ordered more poppers, this time different brands consisting of rush, jj black, jj plat, and platinum Amsterdam. I researched alternative ways to the sock method and came across the sippy cup method. My version was to use a sock instead of cotton balls, roll it up like the sock method, then place it in a gallon size ziplock bag. This felt great because each time I put poppers on the sock, the dose seemed to last significantly longer and it seemed to take me much longer to start turning blue which I assume is the fresh air I was breathing in between hits. For the record I would take a hit by unzipping the bag a little and then inhaling a lungful through my mouth and hold for at least 10 seconds, but usually longer. I would do this probably at most every 5 minutes. This seemed to be working well for me, with only a cough and maybe a little phlegm the next day or two.

I read that a lot of people alternate their bottles, often taking a hit from multiple at the same time. When a hit from the ziplock bag didn't feel like much anymore, I added a dose from another brand. I ended up going from rush, to jj black, to platinum Amsterdam. After platinum Amsterdam was added, the hit felt more "sharp" and tasted more chemically than what I'd previously experienced. I didn't think much of it and continued my session. My session ended at about 9pm and I went to bed at about 10pm feeling okay. I woke up at about 1am having trouble breathing. I panicked a little at first but focused on slowly breathing with deep breaths. This seemed to help and I was able to fall back asleep. At 5am I woke up again having a hard time breathing. This time I also had a wheezing sound on my exhale. Deep breaths felt a little sore, very similarly to after hard exercise while not being in good shape. I was wheezing the rest of the day, although later in the day did feel a little better than the morning.I woke up the next day feeling better, no more wheezing, but still difficulty with deep breaths. It scared the hell out of me at the time, but I feel fine 4 days later.

Sorry for the long post, but here's my question. Is this a common side effect? Was my platinum Amsterdam just a bad bottle? Or did I just overdo it. I've tried researching this and have come across many horror stories. One story was a person with asthma who had issues with poppers which makes sense to me. Another person says they developed asthma without previous issues before popper use. I mainly seem to find "drugs are bad" posts when I try to search which is why I'm asking here in hope to learn more. Any and all advice is greatly appreciate, thank you.

Anonymous said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 11:09...

Its common ,but not in this impact.
You probably cause irritation to your lungs.
Its better for you to take some rest , see a doctor and forget them for some time.

Maybe after 2-3 months you try again but with extreme caution

JB said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 17:22...

That's what I was afraid of. I guess I will have to lay off the poppers for a while. Thank you

Nitritespecialist said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 20:26...

JB....OTC poppers are not pure. They never will be as long as the FDA doesn't control them. Poppers are made using acid and they also develop acids as they age. If there is sufficient acid in the bottle, it will irritate the tissues lining the airways, which causes mucous and constriction. You could try neutralizing any acid by first washing/swirling in water...and then using baking soda/brine cycles a few times. Then you must dry it on anhydrous mag sulfate, sodium or potassium carbonate. If you don't dry it, it won't last long, but at least you won't be breathing acids.

Nitritespecialist said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 20:29...

If the popper turns any of your skin, nose, hands, thumbs, etc....yellow...it most definitely contains NITRIC ACID contaminated by nitrogen dioxide, both of which are lung irritants.

Nitritespecialist said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 20:34...

From my experience, normal amyl nitrite is the least likely to cause unpleasant feelings related to low blood pressure. Isobutyl, n-butyl and isopropyl are potent blood pressure reducers and they almost always make me feel sick in less than 10 to 20 minutes.

JB said on Sat, 9 Jan 2021 at 20:49...

I've read that maybe the poppers I used contain too much acid. They aren't brand new, they were opened about a week prior, maybe a little less. The thing that gets me is that I feel totally fine while using them, no cough, no headache, and no problems breathing. That's why I was so surprised to have such an issue a few hours later. I thought if I listened to my body and stop before common side affects I'd read about such as headache, dizziness, or nauseous, I would be fine. I've continued trying to research and the conclusion that I came to was that I just did way too much. Sniffing from the bottle doesn't seem to do much for me, I want large hits that really make me feel amazing. So I did large hits over a period of about 1.5 hours, taking a large hit every 5-15 minutes. I wouldn't take a hit if I was still feeling good from a hit. I think my hits increased in pace closer to the end of my session where the hits start to not feel as strong.

Anonymous said on Sun, 10 Jan 2021 at 01:13...

My advice is:
-Give time to your lungs to heal. If you hurry to jump on amyls you will be never sure what to blame (irritation . alergy reaction , overdue etc) I am talking about 2-3 months for sure. Lungs heals very slow
-Have some vitamin C before use 1000mg(reduces the side effects)
-Be sure about your poppers or chemicaly clean clean them before use . Read about smells of a good or bad nitrite
-make your own poppers if you see that you can handle them and the doesnt harm you
--And most importanly , STOP using them if they do after all .Just forget them .It doesnt worth the risk to leave with a oxygen botle biside you after your 60s... Lung damage pile up until you develop a COPD and then there is no turning back

Anonymous said on Sun, 10 Jan 2021 at 01:19...

Also go to the doctor. If you afraid admiting that you use amyl , just tell him that you accidently huff some gazoline from you rlawn machine , or from a spray paint .All of them causes chemical burns to lungs.He will give you drugs to calm your lungs

JB said on Sun, 10 Jan 2021 at 01:42...

I appreciate the advice. I'll give them a break and see if I want to try again in a few months.

Rob said on Fri, 15 Jan 2021 at 03:30...

Hey JB,
I'm assuming you're in the US? My advice to you is not to take large hits all at one time. All this crap from popper trainer videos to inhale from the bottle for 10 seconds and 15 seconds is dumb and doubtless causes the type of problems you have been having.
So, my advice is to take a clean pair of jockey shorts and wear them around your head and neck with your head through one leg hole and the material wrapped around your face below your eyes, covering your nose and yet leaving your mouth clear. Test breathing IN through your nose which should be clear and OUT through your mouth.
When you're ready to start, tear a small flap/pad of bathroom tissue and hold it tightly over your open poppers with your thumb and tip the bottle forward and back again to allow some to soak into the tissue , but not too much.
Then quickly put this pad into your 'mask' around the folds in the material near your right ear. When you're ready for a 'hit' breath in through your nose in very short bursts say only 1 second and hold your breath, whenever you do breath out ALWAYS breath out through your mouth. This way you will be able to take just the right amount you need for a longer session.
To increase the hit, dependant upon how strong the product is, you can increase by putting another small pad by your left ear at the same time.
The distance away from your nose will prevent too much at once and you can regulate what you inhale by simply breathing through your mouth for periods. Refill with new pads every 5 mins or so.
In this way both your hands are free to do anything you want with!

Rob said on Fri, 15 Jan 2021 at 03:45...

I forgot to mention choose jockey shorts that have low cotton content and don't absorb much moisture, have a few pairs and change them too. You don't want moisture inside your mask

JB said on Sat, 16 Jan 2021 at 18:57...

Thanks for the information Rob. It's been a few days now and I've been feeling totally fine. In fact, felt so good that I ended up using poppers again. This time I didn't mix them and took it a little slower. From what I can tell, my one bottle of jj black was the issue. I'm not sure if it was just a dud because it still gave me a nice rush, but this one and this one alone gave me a scratchy throat and breathing problems the next day if I used heavily. The others seem to have no ill effects even with heavy use. I'm still trying to figure out why that specific bottle gave me issues.

Mike said on Sun, 24 Jan 2021 at 13:32...

Hey Rod,

Thanks for the great instruction. I have 1 question, can use surgical mask instead and put the tissue inside?

rere318 said on Sat, 6 Feb 2021 at 09:18...

JB,

You say the JJ Black was your issue. I had something similar. Was your bottle similar to either of these?

https://imgur.com/a/BWFa4Vc

Alan said on Fri, 21 May 2021 at 22:49...

Guys, stop inhaling these. My lung collapsed after a session, but I didn't realise until the day after and I had to go a and e. 10 years of recreational use has caused long term damage and in the end I had to have a pleurectomy surgery to stick my lung open to the chest wall to stop it recollapsing. Poppers caused this. It is harming your lungs, ill never touch them again and deeply regret ever using them, even though at the time it was heaven. Now I have to live with this and its not nice.

76yBilly said on Wed, 2 Feb 2022 at 04:12...

Damn Alan - thanks for the tough words.

I had gotten my usage down to 3/4 times a year but each weekend session seems to come with weeks of coughing.

Joe Doe said on Wed, 23 Mar 2022 at 15:54...

I used amyl back in 2013, it was soooooo good! Then i got it again in 2015 it was bad... tried again in 2022 it was super bad. Dont believe people that tell you their poppers are good, they are all junk, you wont get the good old amyl like in 2013. Poppers is dead, accept it!

Okaygreat said on Sat, 23 Apr 2022 at 06:24...

Thank you for sharing your issues! Truthfully I can't help but feel there's a lot of weird suggestions here to "go to a doctor" but down to brass tacks, this is all extremely expected from popper use, you make this decision each time you use. The lung congestion and 2-3 day recovery time is what you should come to expect every single time you use poppers after your first few freebies where you don't experience many side effects other than those early rough headaches. There is no magic brand that prevents any of this, so the best you can do is manage your expectations of your recovery to come over the next 2-3 days. Don't fall for the Double Scorpio lies either, it's the exact same thing except they add a mint scent to the concoction, that's it. It's not magic, it's just $10 more.

Now onto the better suggestions, how to reduce the impact of your symptoms. There's a few guidelines I try to stick to each time I use, I recommend doing the same.
1. Turn your bathroom fan off and run the shower on hot, get some serious humidity going before you start. This will help prevent poppers from sticking to dry lungs and will dramatically help the clearing process in day 2. This has had the highest impact to my recoveries and cuts the time in half. Don't ever skip this.
2. Drink -only- water in the hours leading up to, during and following use. Soda will make the phlegm really rough during your next sleep. Coffee/Teas are good too since hot fluids do wonders for recovery. Anytime I have a red bull or a coke before hand though, it just fucks my whole sleep up because the coughs are rougher.
3. When you're done, run the shower again. Your coughs won't be there yet, but rest assured they're coming. By adding more humidity into your lungs, your sleep will be a lot less challenging since your lungs will have a bit of condensation to dampen the dry lung damage.
4. Sniffing straight from the bottle is for people who don't have any other choice, this is how you get rashes and broken skin for the weakest hits. My favorite method has been to dab a cotton ball (don't saturate it, just put the ball over the opening and flip it once). Then you put it in a face cloth and breath through your mouth from that cloth. Rolling up a sock sucks, try this instead.

Pravn said on Thu, 22 Sep 2022 at 05:25...

So I traveled abroad and brought 2 bottles woth me fornsome innocent shower fun. Big mistake!!! I am wheezing and dry coughing. I am able to speak, and inhale fine, but when i exhale it sounds almost like an acordian with crackles. I'll try to "hack out" some mucus from the lungs, but barely anything comes up. While i am upright during the daytime i can carry conversations. At night time things get worse, my chest tightens and i go through coughing spells. At times i cough so hard uncontrollably that it hurts the inside of my head (feels as though ibcoughed so hard that i rattled my brain). The rattling/ wheezing/tightness increases when i lay down on my back. This began and has been going on for 5 days. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it get better? Please tour advice is greatly appreciated.

LDNlocked said on Wed, 12 Oct 2022 at 01:07...

Wow, reading all these responses has been, both, helpful & scary

It’s currently 2am, I’ve been woken up by this d@mn cough again
Only started using poppers recently, out of sheer curiosity (and loneliness to be completely honest)

Well, if I’m stuck with this deep, chesty cough then I wish I hadn’t started
Feels like I have a mucus type situation but, I don’t
It’s just deep, chesty, hurts but no pay off

I’m so new to this, I’ve never heard of the “sock method”, or cotton wool etc
I was just huffing from the bottle like an absolute amateur

Erm, guess that’s all there is to say
Feeling pretty stupid, to be honest

Spinning head said on Sat, 15 Oct 2022 at 10:53...

Don't do them, they destroy your lungs. The wheeze, cough, will not heal. It does permanent lung damage. Trust me, I love them... The heat, the flush, the euphoria, the spinning, the high and wonderful euforia!! I do love it
But breathing is nothing to fuck with, but with it at all ... If you can't breathe, you are done with everything
Enjoy the memories but stop now...

LDNlocked said on Sat, 15 Oct 2022 at 13:36...

Spinning head, fully appreciate that
Thank You
Was in the supermarket the other day and, things were really blurry
Like, weirdly so (i wear glasses anyway)
Associated that with my new poppers fixation
That was a warning, i reckon

It’s a shame, quite enjoy being locked in chastity & huffing
Have to listen to my body though

Thank You again

Gary said on Sat, 15 Oct 2022 at 21:17...

I used to use poppers maybe a few times a year, for many years. No issues other than maybe a slight headache. This year I bought a new bottle that I think was bad. I used it one night, and the next day my lungs were burning. I eventually got better after a week. A week after that I used it again, and the next day I was short of breath along with burning lungs. That was 6 months ago and my lungs still haven't recovered. I now have COPD, my lungs burn most days, I've lost lung function, I can't exercise, and I have on and off shortness of breath. Inhalers and other medicine doesn't help much. I have gotten steadily worse over the last 6 months even though I haven't touched the stuff since. My only hope is that maybe in a few years I'll maybe find a treatment to help me get better, but I don't really know.

I don't expect anyone to change their use based on my story, but if you're on the fence about poppers, I suggest stopping while you can. You have no idea how miserable life can be until you spend most of your waking hours just wanting to breathe.

There are some new fast-acting THC products (tinctures, etc) that aren't the same but still provide a short high and aren't going to mess up your lungs.

LDNlocked said on Sun, 16 Oct 2022 at 14:09...

Gary, im so sorry to read of your experience
That’s awful & so scary
Empty words but, truly hope life gets better for you somehow

On a personal note, i emptied out my popper bottles this morning, down the sink, gone, bye bye
Ended up having a little panic attack last night because couldn’t breathe properly
My entire body temperature shot through the roof, it was so scary
Got a horrible cough, overshare but do have a make shift spittoon beside me
Hoping against hope that this feeling passes, no more mucus lungs, no more sharp coughing

Seriously am done with this stuff
It’s the first time ive ever used drugs (not sure if this is considered to be drugs or not), not sure why id wait 38yrs to start but, that’s BPD & loneliness for you

Wow, ive rambled on, sorry

Sending my best to everyone here xx

LDNlocked said on Mon, 26 Dec 2022 at 23:03...

Oh dear…….im using again……got some new poppers

matt89 said on Sun, 9 Apr 2023 at 12:21...

I was a heavy user and I man still coughing up mucus that tastes and smells like amyl nitrate.... I can't believe I am still tasting it after 3 months of quitting... I wake myself with weeping sounds that are not improving ( I am a heavy smoker though) Bottom line I. believe it does damage especially after reading comments here.

matt89 said on Sun, 9 Apr 2023 at 12:23...

weezing not weeping

Jimmy said on Wed, 19 Apr 2023 at 00:07...

I used imported poppers afew years ago with oneof thoseweird masks doses high amounts. I came down with really bad pneumonia. This year, 2023, I used a small bottle and inhaled 30 or 40 times . For 3 months I've had coughing spells and ghastly wheezing. Longor short term damage,till tell. I'm inhalers and other meds for asthma to no avail so far. I don't want to think the worst. I'll post an update in another 3 months.

Ian said on Sun, 26 Nov 2023 at 23:19...

Jimmy, how is it going for you....?