Signs of drug abuse

[cb18]

Hello all,

My brother is in college and has in the past had trouble with weed, smoking it at irresponsible times and more often than me and my family thought healthy.  Regardless he seemed to be able to function properly so, though we did try to help curb it, we did not take drastic action (my parents kicked him out but he had plenty of other support).  This has been going on for years and we have never had cause to believe that it went further than weed.

Recently however he has been acting very strange.  It is hard to tell exactly, because he lives over an hour away, but he made two suspect phone calls in the past week and we are concerned.

Wednesday he called me at work in the middle of the day to talk about some extravagant business idea of his, despite having no money to fund it.  His friend is dropping out of school to work on it, and to me it sounds like your typical poorly thought out get-rich-quick scheme.  On the phone at the time I didn't think he sounded overly unusual, aside from the fact that he seemed to want to have a long conversation at a time he knew I was at work.  I tried giving him some advice but he basically brushed it off, saying that he and his friend had thought long and hard about it and he would make the business decisions and I would be his "IT guy".  Overall he sounded pretty insistent about his ideas, but nothing super concerning.

Today he called my mother and he was a bit more concerning.  My mom described him as almost manic.  He was jumping all over the place, not following through on thoughts.. for instance, he said he would come home "this weekend" and talk to our dad about the business side of things.  My mom said "You realize it is already the weekend, and dad often makes plans, between golf, etc.  When did you plan on telling him?"  My brother just moved on without even acknowledging the question.  At one point, she says, he was actually crying while talking to her, but not out of frustration or sadness.  My brother can be a bit emotional sometimes when he feels overwhelmed, but it wasn't those types of tears and is very strange for him.  He even said to my mom that if she was feeling annoyed with teaching she could quit and work for him.........

In the past couple weeks he has progressed very quickly through 3 different business ideas, from selling t-shirts, to selling bongs, to now this elaborate scheme of being a contractor for the government and bidding on multi-million dollar jobs... He has no money to speak of and neither does our family to fund such a huge undertaking.  It just seems like he has lost all sight of reality and not thinking things through.  That could be just exaggerated optimism, or it may not.

He should, very hopefully, be coming home this weekend to talk to us further about his ideas and how we can help him.  We want to know if there are any signs (physical or psychological) that we can specifically look for in order to help detect whether he might be in some sort of more serious drug problem.  Obviously we will just look for him being "weird", but hopefully there are more concrete signs to look for.

I could spend hours googling this and looking at every drug under the sun and their side effects, and I'll probably still do that.  But if any of you think any of this sounds weird, and possibly stereotypical of any specific drugs (that might have other effects to look for), can you please chime in?  I'd very much appreciate it, as we are all very worried.

Thanks for reading and any suggestions

[cb18]

Hey all,

Thanks for the responses and sorry for the delay in that thanks.  I can't yet say whether this is luckily or unfortunate, but this has come to a head.  Turns out he started getting more and more manic, and we ended up going down to confront him and bring him to a hospital.  He wouldn't come so we called the police and, since he is over 21, they determined he should be brought to a hospital and made it happen.

Turns out he had a manic episode, and is now under observation.  They kept him isolated to be sure he wasn't on anything, though he admitted to taking adderal.  They don't think the pot or anything else contributed to this, but the adderal definitely could have.  He is now getting some help and we aren't quite sure of the end prognosis.

I'm glad to see it wasn't a potential life ruining drug problem, but am hoping that once he gets this help he can return to a normal life without some debilitating condition for the rest of his life.

Thanks again.

[perch101]

Although it certainly COULD be drugs...... also bear in mind that these symptoms also fit in with some mental illnesses...... bi-polar, manic depressive and borderline personality come to mind.

If these things are completely new and you've never seen him act like this before... then yes it could be drugs. But also - mental illnesses can lay dormant for many many years and then all of a sudden symptoms can present.

Are you able to sit down with him and say in a nice way so he dosen't feel like he's being attacked that you are worried about him..... tell him that you are concerned at some of his behavior... tell him you will not judge but want to help.....

Also - I know you don't see him that much but when you do see him look at his pupils..... if they are 'fixed' (the same size both in bright light and dim light - in other words not reacting to light) that is a sign he could be using...

[trdofbeingtrd]

Sounds like speed or coke.

[honeywell234]

I had a cousin who was on meth and she stopped laughing and smiling if your brother is usually a happy person this may be a sign. Ex boyfriend was addicted to cocaine and he was very irratable and unstable. Both only socialized while high. Also I'm not sure about your family history with bipolar and manic depressant.

Hope this helps some

[cb18]

Thanks for the response.  I'll keep a look out for those symptoms, but it is hard since he lives away from us with his friends at college.  Hopefully we can observe him while he is home this weekend.  He has always had odd sleeping patterns, but I think that is part of being in college (guilty as charged for that in college for me as well).  I'll also google more about the drugs you mentioned, as I don't have experience or much direct knowledge about which ones I should have looked into prior to reading your response, so this helps a lot.

I thought about asking him, but was afraid he would get defensive and just deny it.  It might be worth a try if the right time seems to come up though.

In terms of laid back, he has always been sort of laid back in demeanor but always needing to be on the move and active.  Never has he been so emphatic and hyper-talking and such as he seems to be recently though, and while he sometimes tended to be slightly air-headed it seems to be magnified now as well.

I'll definitely keep you guys informed as things progress, and I appreciate the help.

[atthebeach]

hello and welcome. i can sense your concern and worry for your brother. the behavior you describe does sound a little manic, is he usually a laid back kind of guy? if it is drugs that can happen from a few different types, all that would cause a hyper, energy, random thoughts, grandiose ideas, i will go out on a limb and say coke, methamphetmaines ,(speed) and oxycodones. try to notice his sleep patterns, eating or not, nose runny or red,weight loss, do you think you would be bold enough to just ask him and see what kind of response he gives you? just tell him you think he has been acting a little weird.
please let us know what you find out and if we can help, we are always here.
blessings to you
debbie

[cb18]

Sorry for the double post, it was an accident.