amphetamine-induced psychosis?

[gratefulgal]

I wasn't exactly sure which forum to post this on but here goes. I was addicted to pain medication but my question is about my friend who currently takes an amphetamine for ADD. He is prescribed Adderal but when that runs out he takes Phentermine. He takes other meds as well such as Lithium, Klonopin and Neurontin. I had tried the amphetamine a few times but did not enjoy the effect - I guess I was strictly an opiate girl.

He has been taking the amphetamine now for almost a year off an on but mostly on. Not too many months after he started taking them (he took them in excess) he started experiencing religious-based hallucenations and delusions. He was hospitalized several times and has a long history of mental illness with diagnoses such as depression and bipolar. I'm not a doctor but I've seen people who truly have bipolar disorder and I strongly believe he does not have it. From my observations, I have seen a direct correlation between the amphetamines and this state of mind he is in. I did some research and it talked about amphetamine-induced psychosis when they are taken in high amounts for long periods of time.

It is very frustrating seeing him go through this because I love him very much and want him to get better, I just don't know if he wants or is willing to get help - and we're not even sure what kind of help he needs. I think he has issues with drugs/addiction and mental illness but again, I'm not a doctor. He has turned to the church to try to get closer to God and I admire him for that but it's not working! I'm watching him go down this spiral but he feels that he's growing spiritually. Does this sound familiar to anyone, either personally or with someone they know/love? Any opinions, input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Stephanie]

Hi grateful,

Well you are DEFINITELY in the right forum because I moderate it and you're telling my story to a T. I was a meth addict and did indeed have amphetimine induced psychosis but when I got clean they didn't coin that term as of yet. After a few rounds with anti psychotics, psychiatrists telling me I was bi-polar, hospitalizations etc. i was personally convinced that I was not and that my condition was drug induced.

The deal is that someone who is prone to mental illness especially with a psychotic component, amphetamine will bring it out for sure. With prolonged crystal meth use the same symptoms can surface even without mental illness and can even continue throught the next year or so even if you have not taken the drug if you have limited sleep or are not eating well, etc. Taking some of the drugs you described as well can also bring about psychosis if the person is prone to this type of mental illness. Without the drug it may never come to the surface but when aggrevated it will and seems to have done just that.

I would definitely tell your friend to tell their doctor that adderall is not the best alternative due to the circumstances. Celexa is distributed in the body slowly throughout the day and does not act so much like an amphetamine as adderall.

You are right on about the correlation between the two but since we are both not doctors i would advise him to be honest with his dr. about this entire situation.

[logo]

I to have had the same problem with antidepresents. Put a antidepresent in my body & it will turn me into a total nut case as you have described. If I stop taking antidepresents I will be back to normal(or resemble normal)within 2 days. I have tried them all & get the same result. I am a true bipolar(extreme highs & extreme lows). The only thing that has worked for me is I work myself into depression & I have to work my way out of depression. I learned how do do this in a program called NA. My wife needs to tell you what she has wittnesed it do to me. As soon as I can I will get my wife to describe it to you(what she has wittnested it do to me). Hope this helps. Love & Respect . Logo

[gratefulgal]

Stephanie and logo,

thank you so much for your replies! It really made me feel better to know that others have experienced similar things, even though I knew in my heart there were others out there (and I've even heard people at AA meetings talk about how they had these kind of symptoms when they were drinking/drugging). Stephanie, I totally agree with you about him needing to be honest with his doctors but that's one of the biggest problems. We addicts know how it goes. I used to pick and choose what I told my doctors because in my heart, I didn't want anything to jeopardize me obtaining more pills in the future. My friend believes that he needs Adderall in order to funtion in life and I'm not saying he's wrong, but I think the drugs are doing more harm than good at this point.

My friend does not see or think that maybe these meds are harmful to him, he believes that everything that's happening to him is of a spiritual nature (good or evil or both). He says that he has these "things" around him/occur to him whether he's on the meds or not. He makes connections with everything (t.v. commercials, song lyrics, what people say to him) and thinks that "it's" mocking him. He says he's like some puppet that something is controlling and says he's been/being told that he's Judas from the Bible. (I hope he's not reading this because he'll definitely know I'm talking about him!)

I like what one of you said about how the symptoms continued even without the meds in your system. He rebukes (sp?) my drug theory because of this. I know that there's nothing I can do to help him and that he needs to realize he has a problem and needs help first. When in your progression did you guys come to this realization? I'm not looking for a specific time because I know that everyone's different, I'm just wondering if you guys were convinced at any point in time that it was not drug-related. It's funny because although I'm an addict, I have no idea how to deal with this situation - I started going to al-anon so I feel good about that. Thanks again for your input.

[gratefulgal]

I don't know what to do! Things are getting worse and I truly believe if he doesn't get help soon he's going to wind up in a mental hospital or dead. He insists that people can help him if they would just read the literature that he's reading and talk about it with him (one of the books is by St. John of the Cross and it's called "Dark Knight of the Soul"). He keeps saying that he's not crazy - I've told him that I don't think he is, so who is he trying to convince by saying that.

Just now he said he wanted me to come over. He lives about 45 minutes away and it's 10:30 pm on a Wednesday night; I have to be at work at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Of course he sees this as work is more important to me than he is. When I told him I could not come over right now he said that I could do anything and that it won't matter in about a month anyway. I don't want to stop talking to him but this is driving me crazy. I pray for him all the time because I feel that that's the only thing I can do to help him. I guess I also need to pray for God's will in my relationship with him. Thanks for listening to me.

[Stephanie]

Hi gratefulgal,

I know you've done a lot of reading and posting on the addiction side of this board but have you tried looking at the Naranon forum. I do think you will find some very helpful information over there. Also many people are dealing with a friend or family member with similar poroblems.

[gratefulgal]

yes, Stephanie I am also checking out the nar-anon forum as well and it is also helpful. Thank you.

[Stephanie]

Hi gratefulgal,

I actually missed the post you wrote about it getting worse. Yes, he definitely needs help. It really sounds like he is having a psychotic episode. The drugs could have built up in his system and it takes a while for the brain chemistry to go back to normal. That is why you can experience symptoms even when you stop doing the drugs. Actually in some people their brain chemistry will not go back to normal without some treatment. They detox methamphetamine users with antipsychotic drugs for this very reason. I know what your friend is going through and it is easy to believe it when you're going throiugh it. Once I got treated with the right meds and it all went away I knew it was drug induced. When it happened again I was aware that it was in my mind. If he is unable to distingueish this or recognize it then there may be some concern of Schitzophrenia but I tend to think not.

The deal here is that he needs to go see this doctor and tell him what's going on. The doc may want to admit him into the hosppital to get him regulated on meds but that's not a big deal. he may find something that will work for him in the end like the adderall does,.

[gratefulgal]

Originally Posted by Stephanie

The deal here is that he needs to go see this doctor and tell him what's going on.

Yes, I totally agree; however, that is the very problem. He will not go see a doctor about this situation and even if/when he does go to the doctor, he is not honest with them. Therefore, I do not feel that he will get treatment until he is honest with himself. Thanks again.