PSYCHOTIC EPISODES RELATED TO DRUG USE

[BABYRABBIT]

I have used cocain for 2 years and been addicted to pain killers
for 5 years. I have also used other drugs such as ecstacy,crank,and marijuana occasionally. I have stopped using cocain but am still addicted to pain medicine. I have noticed outbreaks of psychotic episodes recently,thinking everyone is out to get me or hiding something from me. It is driving me crazy and I can not live a normal life. Is this normal for someone trying to quit cocain and does ecstacy play any role in these episodes? How long can they last and is there a medication for such thing?I have only used ecstacy about 6 times but each time i consumed 3-5 pills,and mixed it with oxycontin,cocain and alcohol. I have not used ecstacy in 3 months. Please help me to understand what is wrong and how long this could go on. I was never like this while on coacain but experiening it mow that I have quit.

[finally on the wagon]

Although I know very little about other drug addictions, I do know that psychotic episodes even happen with alcohol withdrawal. No, it's not fun at all, and the insomnia is no help. But, in any many cases folks might think they see bugs on walls or little lights moving around.  I have heard voices and seen actual people who aren't there during detox....of course I am recovering after over 20 years of havy alcohol use and my withdrawal might be a little more tough than other alcoholics coming out of the poison.  I have seen a psychiatrist for these episodes, and he refuses to give medication for them. (I am, afterall, an addictive personality.)  He is also a recovering alcoholic, which is why I trust him more than other doctors on the topic.  They ended up putting me in a detox where I was closely monitored and I was only given vitamins and other nutritional shots.  I had to go through the psychotic episodes without meds.  It was Hell and back, but I think I'm the better for it because I didn't end up coming out with a new drug of choice.  I know that doesn't give you much to go on, but at least you know that it is a normal thing for detox hospitals to monitor each patient for hallucinations.  Just so know you're not alone on the "insanity" issue ~winks~

[oh please already]

i cant seem to find a online drug store that sells any thing for detox-since this computer is my 4 year olds i have to admit im without a clue- it was gods intervention that i found thanks    this site,and wont the dea just confistate anything you order if its controlled anyway? isnt the burp?

[prettygirl31]

understand that we are all going thru the same way here i have had 7 major surgery's and i have been on everything and this last surgery I had my tolerance to the pain meds were so high they had to end up giving me diluiad now that is strong along with verset and phenergan and also vistril so this is hard make an appointment with an anistisoligist they are pain managment dr"s and they can perscribe these meds to you to help ween you off or to manage your pain please don;t go thru this yourself if you an;t do it cause it is hard and this is were I am at now you will have to sign a paper stating you are taking narcotics and what potencial problem's can come about but we all know that but they will help stay away from methodone clinics.. that is what the anisti dr"s are there for people in our situation's and they leave it up to you and when you want to come off thats why you sign the paper they also give you things for depression or sleep pr what ever will help you the pain is real we all know that when ever we hae surgery that scare tissue is left behind and it ends up spreading and that can cause alot of pain so that is why they call that chronic pain Im 33 and I know It hurts

   hope this helps prettygirl aka cr

[alchemist]

I was reading your post above and noticed that you said that you took darvon to beat the Jones for the day at work.  I wanted to say that since darvon hits the same opioid receptors in your brain, its no different than you taking oxy's or hydro's for the WD thus it actually is prolonging your agony with each darvon.  I hope you can beat that dragon off without it, good luck to you!

[skipper]

groovy:
thankyou, i appreciate your concern. i also hope that your bup
detox works out. i myself tried to order temegesic thru an on-
line pharmacy, but i think i missed the window of opptunity, as
the last time i checked the co. site they had removed all nar-
cotics, except T-1s from their apothicary.

i don't know if the thinking about every detox getting progress-
ively worse. actually i seem to have gotten to the point where it
almost gets easier! can't really explain it. i think the zink,
magnesium, manganese, and l-tyrosine make a 200% difference. also
keeping detoxes close togather lessens their severity. i wouldn't
recomend doinf it as often to anyone else however!

best of luck with the bub!
keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[1fortheroad]

hi - how are you?  i've been reading your posts for a long time now, and you have a way of putting really heavy stuff in a light and funny way...it's really cool.  anyway, i wondered why and how you can continue to put yourself thru withdrawal.  you say it's so you can get an understanding of what kind of pain you are in.  isn't that a lot to put your body thru on a regular basis?  i would think it would be safer (and less excruciating) to just stay on your meds (as prescribed of course).  i have heard that each time detoxing is harder on your psyche and body than the time before.  also, if you are an opiate addict, how do you manage to control the amount of oxy your take without letting it get totally out of hand?  i am detoxing right now with buprenex - it's a 6 or 7 week taper program.  i don't feel all the energy that i'm supposed to be feeling...actually i feel tired and drained.  i think it might be because i have been down this road so many times before that maybe nothing will make me feel ok at this point?

[Witchywoman]

Hi badgirl,
I had this same problem last summer. I had been taking so many vicoprofens that after my back surgery, the pain meds they gave me barely touched my pain. I was given Oxy, which helped some, but only took that for two weeks.  I messed up bad by abusing the meds, and then when I really needed them to work, of course they did not.

So I withdrew from them two months after my surgery, and just deal with the pain that comes up from time to time without hydrocodone.

Ultram is a synthetic narcotic, modeled after codeine, with a few molecules changed. So technically it is a narcotic, according to my pharmacist. I threw my script for it away.

My advise to you is to stop all narcotics as soon as you can, so that when you really need them after surgery they will work for you. I know, trust me..I know, that this is way easier said than done. You have to want with all your soul to quit, since it is hard enough to quit even when you badly want to..if you are ambivalent it is nearly impossible.
At this point, telling someone about your problem would probably help you get to the point where you want to stop badly enough to do it.  Trust me, not getting adequate pain relief after major surgery is a *bad* thing. It makes it much harder to heal, and your level of suffering is far higher than it needs to be.

Good luck sweetie..I know it isn't easy. I just wish that I could help others not make the same mistake that I did.

love,
WW

[skipper]

witchywoman:
very well put. has anyone out there ever considered what they
would do if they ever really needed the dope they were abusing?
as you know i didn't. (well i thought they could just give me a
lot more - to bad the rectum i had for an orthopedic surgeon did
not endorse this line of thinking!)

i'm in day 5 of detox and everything is going real well. i've
got my expectations in line this time..i know i will be back on
oxy next week, as the pain level is just getting too high. still
someday i might be able to leave this **** behind me!

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[skipper]

GWH:
the only thing most methadone clinics give junkys is a real bad
time. want to be treated like a naughty little boy? want your
freedom of movement restricted? want some sadistic clinic worker
to constantly be ******* with your head? if not then the meth-
adone clinic is not for you. (i know you well enough to be 100%
certain on this one.)

ok...don't laugh, but i've discovered that darvon will take a
good deal of the edge off of the *jones!* i was able to go to
work on monday after a detx that started the saturday before. a
small amount of benzo to help you sleep the first week and l-
tyrosine, zink, magnesiun, manganes, and b6 should have you back
in action real quick. i know, because this week i'm doing exactly
that! also, get up and get moving (to the gym). sure your going
to feel like ****, but you can be functional and productive! like
i told sad girl the only thing i ever accomplished sitting on my
ass was to use copious ammounts of dope. get up and get moving.
the sooner you do, the beter you will feel. i believe that god
as i understand him, has a way of eliminating useless people. in
light of that you best "hop to!"

you've been down this road before, so get going! you know the way
to the light!

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[OxyDout]

I can't give you guys all the credit you deserve, you are just a growing wealth of knowledge.  I personally appreciate all that you have done for everyone in this forum.  I have to confess to the both of you that I have lost sight of freedom, Im slipping away.  I have started going back and forth with the oxy's. I'm afraid to try and stop without the methadone.  I know everyone thinks its not the right way, but it works for me and when I have done it in the past I only use a minimal amount for 4 days, minimal being around 3-5mg a day.  Anyway, I'm STUCK, i don't have the methadone and I don't want to just try to stop because of work........I can't come to work while in withdrawal and I can't take time off because i'm in sales, as they say its all about PRODUCTIVITY, not activity.  Huh, kind of funny, thats the story of drugs, you get that "fake" rush of energy and your active but you are far from productive.......anyway, any words of wisdom would be great.  OH, IF ANYONE COULD ANSWER THIS QUESTION I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. I wanted to know more about a methadone clinic and where I would be able to find one.  The reason being, I wanted to know if I could find a place that would evaluate my situation and maybe give me a total of 40-50 mg for a detox.......that would not be possible, would it?  Thanks again to all of you and may god give you strength.

GWH

[The Dude]

Badgirl,

What are your options?  Since you take them for recreational use, they surely won't help you as much for when you really have pain.  If you tell them that you take them all the time, they probably won't give you anything except Ultram because, they'll say "she's an addict and we're not helping her by giving her more Percocet, so we'll give her something Non-Narcotic."  If you tell them that you are addicted to them, they sure as hell won't give you MS Contin or Oxycontin.  So, what are your options? Either have the surgery and deal with Percocet, or tell them that you are addicted to Percocet and fear they won't help you with the pain and risk getting something like Ultram (Non Narcotic, but addictive) or not getting anything at all.  Chances are they WON'T give you anything stronger than that.

[vikequeen]

Hi everyone I have some questions,
First I am due to have major hip surgery in may, I am very concerned that the pain meds they will discharge me with like percocet or oxy will not help my pain since I take them recreationally. Anyone else ever have this problem or am I just being paranoid. I mean right now a percocet will not even take away a headache or my hip arthritis.

Also has anyone ever gotten drug induced liver toxicity or hepatitis? I have all the signs right now and you would think it would make me quit but as any addict knows it takes a lot more than that. When I get them from my surgeon, like 100 a month thet last me like 5 days. when I buy them from my employer I take 2 percocets a day. thanks guys Baddgirl

[The Dude]

I would also advice that you stop using all these illigal drugs. You are messing with a VERY delicate brain chemistry and something is bound to go wrong eventually.  STAY AWAY FORM THESE THING, THEY WILL KILL YOU.  This is why they say, "Just Say No !!"  I hope you get better and best of luck to you.


C

[skipper]

Babyrabbit:
oh boy, this is a blast from the past! you've got "coke bugs,"
or in the slang of speedfreaks of 30 years ago you're "ringy!"
take witchy woman's advice and see a shrink. this used to happen
to me on a regular basis. heavy duty anti-psycotics for a short
period should clear this up....it always got rid of all my little
unwanted friends. a long acting benzo like valum or klonipin can
prove helpful also. most important for you to see a shrink or ER
doctor as soo as possiable!

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[Witchywoman]

Hi, I'd have to advise you to go see a Psychiatrist for an evaluation right away, preferably one who is familiar with substance abuse. The short answer to your question is..yes, that combination of drugs can definately cause paranoia and other psychotic symptoms. There are medications that can help, and if you stop soon enough, the symptoms may be able to be reversed.

please..run, don't walk, to soonest Psychiatrist appointment you can find. It really is important that you get this treated now, before the symptoms get any worse.

WW