Does anyone have info on brain damage due to meth?

Old 09-09-2008, 03:07 PM
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Does anyone have info on brain damage due to meth?

As most of you know, my niece is in jail again. Her hearing is tomorrow.

What is different this time is that she seems nuts to me (not just drug-nuts, but really nuts). I talked with her p.o. and we are both wondering about her behavior.

She was what I call "garden variety irresponsible" over the past year, but not crazy. Aug 5, she comes home talking in circles, agitated and completely wierd. I thought, drugs, of course. She left and later that week Aug 8, she comes home, just and crazy only even more agitated - she had been arrested and released (long story short I called her p.o. and the judge brought her in)

It has been 30 days now that she's been in jail. She calls me and my family all the time. She insists now that her dead grandfather was one of the arresting officers. This is only one of the delusions.

It is way past when she should be psychotic due to drug use. I know meth can cause brain damage, but I didn't know it could look like this.

If anyone has any experience with this type of thing, I'd really appreciate hearing about it.

In case you are wondering, her p.o. has ordered a psych evaluation when she gets to the workhouse (prison-light).

Thanks
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Old 09-09-2008, 03:46 PM
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the girl can't help it
 
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I think meth can do a lot of damage to the brain but, an even bigger risk is what it does to the heart. Also to the lungs if smoked smoking also causes damage to the heart.
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Old 09-09-2008, 04:40 PM
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I believe that the psychosis can last for quite a while. Meth is a nasty drug. Sending some prayers for you. Hugs, Marle
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Old 09-09-2008, 09:19 PM
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I found this online:

With prolonged high-dose use or long binges, stimulant psychosis may develop. The psychotic user may feel intensely paranoid, hear voices, and experience bizarre delusions, believing, for example, that other people are talking about him or following him. Methamphetamine-induced panic and psychosis can be extremely dangerous and may result in incidents of extreme violence.

It is not unusual for psychosis to persist for days after the last dose of methamphetamine. Indeed, there are many reports of users remaining paranoid, delusional, apathetic, and socially withdrawn for weeks. Occasionally, methamphetamine-related psychosis lasts for years. But, in these cases, experts believe the drug has probably triggered symptoms of a pre-existing mental disorder.
I just googled meth psychosis
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Old 09-10-2008, 12:17 AM
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*~10 YEARS BABY~*
 
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Did you look at those links I put on your profile they have a lot of info.
Meth puts holes in your brain, it eats away at it, so yea it makes you crazy.
The things she is doing sound normal to me.

When I was doing it I was doing it at first with my roommate, I luckily
only did bumps whereas he did full on lines, we did it for different reasons.
He went crazy within a few months....

He though we had put cameras all over the apt., our building etc. he thought we were all spying on him when he slept, he thought me and my friends were doing all sorts of things, he would bring our other roommates bed out into the living room, he was going to sue me for the hidden cameras.... Crazy stuff.




My point being, they can truly believe crazy stuff that does not happen, I personally think it is a normal meth thing.
That's why they call it the devils drug....
Amazing how something so bad can make you feel
soo good.

(thanks for my pm, haven't had a chance to respond)
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Old 09-10-2008, 10:43 AM
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I'd would also like to add that often the drug abuse is used to medicate previously untreated mental health issues such as bipolar and borderline personality disorder.

I know several recovering meth addicts who were diagnosed with the above after they got clean.

That's why often it's so hard to diagnose those things early in abstinence because of the damage due to meth.

I self-medicated for a loooong time over clinical depression with meth, and that depression hit very hard after I got into recovery.

She really needs a thorough psychological evaluation, and if she's not honest about her drug use, it won't do much good.
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Old 09-11-2008, 12:03 PM
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Thanks to everyone - this heplps a lot.

I found out from her p.o. that they plan to do a psych work up on her when she gets to the workhouse.

Her mom is bipolar, so maybe the drugs triggered something.

Thanks for all the help
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