Update

[Mom_of_an_addict]

SO my son is not doing any better. I'm not sure where he's getting money and we don't have drugs in the house. He's having these laughing outbursts and he seems like he is going crazy. There is something very disturbing about his behavior. We are considering calling the police but we do not want to do more harm than good. I hope that we can still help him. I think that his psychosis is drug induced but maybe he is just sick???? He does seem like he is aware but he also can become aggressive. He has lost a lot of weight and looks bad. We have asked him if we can help him that it is not too late but he says nothing is wrong with him... What should we do?

[TrayCee]

see a Dr./psychologist.  

The police cant do anything unless they find drugs on him or hes threatening to harm himself

[gizzy32]

Do you have any idea what he is taking?

[scaredmom330]

unforturtunately there isnt a lot you can do. the police wont be much help. You have no idea what he is taking? you can take him to rehab but they will only hold him for 24 hours or if he want to he can leave at anytime.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I have a son that is addicted to soma's and alcohol. All I can do is pray that he will see the light and try to get help.

how old is your son? If you need to talk, pm me anytime. remember you are a victim of his addiction

[Lisa034]

A lot of times I do not agree with Traycee but this time she is right on.  The police will not do a dang thing and really until he is ready neither can you.  Sorry I know that sounds bad but he will not stop until he is ready.  We will be here to support you or him when you need us.  I will be praying for you
Lisa034
Jacksonville,FL

[newmanagment]

If your son is having aggresive behaviour, in the states you can have a family member commited for evaluation under certain circumstances. This is a kinda scary situation, and I think you should be doing SOMETHING to protect yourselves from this pshycosis. i mean , what if he has a severe episode and does something to harm you , or himself. Have you thought about putting him out of the house? as long as he is being enabled to continue having a place to live while he abuses dope, he is not going to quit anyway. ROCK BOTTOM means just that!! when your living on a couple of smelly blankets and have to go to the shelters for food, you will really know what that saying means. I am not tryin to be an *** hole, but he must be held accountable if he IS using, and if not he needs to be mentally evaluated by a professional. check with your local mental health care facilities, in my town our hospital even has a mental ward, and see what it takes to have some one checked in ( even by court order) for evaluation. if in your area it must be court ordered GO TO THE COURTS AND GET ONE.  this is coming from an addicted son, and I wish you the best of luck.

[LIZZIE LOU]

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Addiction-Substance-Abuse/Suggestions-for-a-parent-of-an-adict/show/1080943?personal_page_id=830089&post_id=post_4990414

(for those of you asking about what he is taking...this was her first post)

[Mom_of_an_addict]

SO --- I'm not sure but I think whatever it is it something that you snort... he had said that it was zanex but I don't know... can it make you crazy? He never has friends over and he doesn't really go out. My husband buys him cigarettes and we never give him money. For a while he seem like he was getting better but I'm not sure what happened. He can’t drive because his license was suspended.

He hadn’t slept for about 3 days- So my husband gave him some benadryl and at least he slept last night. I still think he is really depressed and I’m not sure why. I just know that we want him to be part of his recovery an get better. Yesterday he said he needed a marijuana card because that made him feel better…but I said that I would pay for it but he would need to be evaluated first --- He said NO.. All I know is that my family – Husband, Daughter and Mom are feeling the strain of his addiction..  

[leeisgettingclean]

i hope you are not unknowingly inableing him. Addicts have to hit bottom before they can get clean//honest...honesty for an addict usually comes after a lil clean time..by the way..I think he//you are talking about a zanax bar..and you say he takes zanax so IMO "NO" a bar would not make him crazy

[leeisgettingclean]

xanax^

[LateAugust]

I am sorry   *uck the enabling........  this is your son    at this point  you have a few decisions to make........      once again look in your heart of the boundries YOU WANT FOR YOUR SON AND HIS ADDICTION.......  and go forward      get him treatment if you are in the position to do so  and if he wants help......   truly addition leads to 3 roads    death  jail   or  sobriety.      if he is an addict  that is all he has for options   unless he is willing to accept treatment.    HOWEVER   please remember  you did not CAUSE it  you can not CONTROL it  and you can not CURE it.......     so as  hard as it is for parents to accept  it is what it is.  I am so very sick and tired and weary and broken from the "good kids" that are selling their soul to this drug.

[LIZZIE LOU]

it does not sound at all like xanax abuse.

aggressiveness...strange behavior...hadnt sleep in 3 days...has lost weight...sounds more like crystal meth to me.  

has your son crashed yet?  what i mean is...has he finally gone to sleep?  someone on meth can literally sleep for days when they come down (unless they use again).

hope you will give us an update of his behavior at this point so that someone here might be better able to help.

[leeisgettingclean]

i agree with LIZZIE on her points of meth behavior,, can you make hime take a urine test? you can buy them at walmart and other places

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

There is also a lot of this presentation that fits benzo withdrawal...............check out - - - benzo.org UK - Ashton Manual - - -   probably the "gold standard" for benzo problems...

[nursegirl6572]

I agree about the meth....that's what it sounds like.  I guess "what" he's using isn't as important as what to do???

To have a person 302'd (committed) is NOT an easy process...for obvious reasons...or people would be committing their enemies, or their spouses after a fight.  It is a long drawn out process....the patient MUST be assessed to be an immediate threat to themselves or someone else.  The only people who can determine that are the MH evaluators.  I've 302'd many patients in my day...and just so you know...it is not a simple thing, plus even if you were successful, it is short-lived....a hearing is held after 72 hours, and many times that's where it ends.  Rehab would be great...but a person cannot be "forced" to enter rehab.

I hope you find a solution soon, and in the meantime...please take care of yourself...get yourself to therapy, a support group (like alanon)...you will be no help to him if you are exhausted and mentally beat.

Best of luck to you all!

[Mom_of_an_addict]

Hello.

Just wanted to update everyone... I read the posts about meth... In all of the time that he has been with us since this behavior started he has never crashed or slept for more than 10-12 hours at a time- even after he has been up for 3 or 4 days at a time he just acts really wired and weird.

My son really had a few bad days last week. He started hallucinating and burning stuff in his room the middle of the night. It was really scary.

Well what happen was that my husband came home from lunch and my son was posted at our front door like a soldier with an ax… So my husband asked him if he wanted some help and he said yes. Right away he took him to metal health and they admitted him. He was tested – urine and blood – and all he tested positive for was pot, no meth, no nothing else. We are not sure but our son had said that he had taken some mushroom tea??? But  that was not found on the results… it could be that he needed a different test…
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and after 3 different medications he is now taking Geodon.

After three days there he was released and he is back with us. We are waiting for the medicine to take effect. He seems a little better and is sleeping through the night at least, but he is still having disorganized thoughts, paces a lot, and can’t really sit still. Today he did tell me that he was craving pot because it calmed him down?? I don’t think he thinks that he has a drug problem but I do think he knows that something is wrong. We are planning on going to some support groups as a family with NAMI ( National Assoc. for Mental Illness).

Things are really rough and to some degree we are feeling hopeless because now we are not just dealing with a drug problem but also mental illness. Please pray for us and if anyone has any advice it is much appreciated