Break

Hi,

This is my first post. Hope you can help me get some answers.
I found out that my 39 year old son is addicted to crystal meth, apparently for many years. Shame on me for not knowing this. He suffered from depression, so i never suspected any drug use, i just thiught it was the depression.

He is now hallucinating and extremely paranoid for the past 6 months.
I stayed with him last week and watched him go through withdrawal. As painful as it was. He promised me that he is not using any more. But i came back to visit him today and he is showing me helicopters that have been following him around town and lights that are flashing on him. He claims these people are around the house and they have even taken over his phone and computer?

Does anyone know how long the hallucinations last? Is it possible that he used while again? I read that the hallucinations appear during withdrawal. I was hoping they would have stopped by now, if he is not using.
He refuses to go into rehab because he claims that he is not using. To be honest I don't know what to do. He is very angry
with me because I dont believe him.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Dee74

Hi Break

My own experience with meth was mercifully brief - I didn't like it.
Hopefully others here will have more direct experience.

welcome to SR
D

LadyinBC

I am so very sorry you are having to deal with this. As a mother I know this would break my heart.

I have no experience with this just want to offer you a big hug.

Any chance you could get him to emergency or call an ambulance?

least

Does he live with you? If not, there's not too much you can do other than show him support. The addict has to want recovery for himself, no one else can make him want it.

I hope you can find some peace in your life.

Break

Thanks for the responses so far.
He does not live with me. I actually live in a different state.
He refuses to see a doctor or go to rehab, his friend told me and the crystal meth. My son is still denies that he uses.

Vandermast

he needs help, ad he has to get it himself

however he may not want to.

I hope he does, as it aint good, i myself have been hooked on that crap and seen it ruin many lives.

wishing you well and sending you peace, love and light

v

Ncognito13

Sad reality is this. Until he needs someone, he will not seek help.

As an alcoholic, I could have people drag me off a random lawn and tell me 'you need to drink less'. In one ear, out the other. DUI, jail, whatever, not gonna quit drinking.

When he need someone? Be there. Jail? Be there. End of his rope? Be there.

Meth is as bad an addiction as there is. I would stay in touch with him. Keep the option there that if things get 'that bad', well people still love you.

Mountainmanbob

in most cases if one had stopped using meth for a couple of weeks
they would no longer think that someone had
taken over their phone and computer
by the way
these are very common thoughts for the long time meth user

once ( totally ) stopping meth intake
and getting good food, water, sleep and vitamins for a couple of weeks
the hallucinations should be for the most part gone

but - we need to remember
long term meth use can do severe brain damage
many will end up in mental wards after long term use
and some even after release from these hospitals
will never seem to be the same person that they were in the past

meth = one of the worst drugs ever invented

Mountainman

TooCute

Just found out my cousin is on that stuff, too. Right now he's in jail for missing a court date, thereby violating his parole. Our plan is to get him to rehab in a different city so he won't be around the same environment/city. But this won't be his first visit to rehab.

I hope things work out for your son. I've said a prayer.

Break

Hi everyone,
Today was quite a day. I tried approachng my son this morning to convince that he should go to rehab. I found a nice place in the Poconos and have spoken to them.
Well, he got very angry with me and said he will never trust me again, I am planning with these people to hurt him. He then gets on line to find how to make complaints to the CIA, And FBI. He claims that he has made reports and the FBI will be investigating these people that are always around the house.
Then this evening, he started again with helicopter thats following him around town.
When will this end? I am all cried out, I feel like i am about to have a heart attack.

I asked him to please tell me the truth if he is still using. He then said no he has not used since I came to see him couple of weeks ago. That was 2/6th. So i am hoping if he's telling me the truth the paranoia and hallucinations should stop soon.

He is my only child, i love him so much, so i cannot abandon him. I just dont know how to help him when he won't listen to reason.

Thanks for letting me write adn for all your thoughts and advise. I will be going to Nar-anon meetings when i return home.

spent31

I had a good friend that was real deep into meth addiction. He was always talking crazy and being hella paranoid like your talking about. But, I was unable to tell if he was high or if he was just permanently messed up in the head. It was scary being around him. Finally, he hit rock bottom and got into some trouble. No choice but to sober up in jail (well sometimes). Been good ever since. I hate to say it but sometimes I think people just have to hit bottom before they realize they need help and they cant do it on there own. Thats what it took for me as well.

Gakx

Unfortunately, the hallucinations are due to the meth use not withdrawal. I speak from my own experience. It is a horrible withdrawal and a person may become very sick. It will literally rot your teeth and may cause permanent brain damage to varying degrees.

It puts a person in a choke hold and is very difficult to quit. After while, you become lost in your own mind and cannot differentiate between reality and the hallucinations in your head. It is the worst sort of drug and the damaging effects continue to compound.

It is hard to get someone to stop unless they are ready. Thanks to the police, I was forced to withdrawal and then terrified to ever touch it again once my mind cleared and I realized that I didn't want to spend my life in prison. A sort of blessing in disguise for me.

I am sorry to hear about your son and wish only the best for him. Thank You for being supportive and willing to help. He doesn't realize it yet but you are amazing.

zerothehero

This is a radical option, and one about which you would want to seriously weigh the possible consequences (if you think the situation warrants such action), but if someone is having a psychotic break (from drugs or not), they can be placed on what is called an M1 Hold (this is in the U.S.). In this case it would likely confirm his paranoia, and could be pretty traumatic, and/or could save his life. Regardless, it is not a step to be taken lightly.

In my community the process would be as follows: Someone contacts the local mental health center or police and provides information to locate the person in question. Anyone can report anyone; it does not have to be family. If first responders have reason to believe the person is a threat to self or others (psychotic features, suicidal, and/or homicidal), they are escorted by police first to the hospital for a urinary screen. If drunk or high, they go to detox. Once "cleared" for evaluation (usually the next day), a mental health professional determines if the person needs to be held for 72 hours for further evaluation in a hospital or mental health facility (continued paranoia and hallucinations could warrant this). At the end of three days, a determination is made regarding need for additional inpatient or outpatient care.

Because this process allows for a "hold" against one's will, you can probably imagine some possible consequences. I'm not saying your son's paranoia or hallucinations rise to the level of justifying an M1 Hold, but I think you deserve to know it's an option (in the U.S.). I'm not directly trained in this kind of thing, but I have seen it save people having psychotic breaks or planning suicide. Sometimes a night in detox is enough to attain a modicum of clarity or cause one to reevaluate. Sometimes people end up hospitalized long term. There can also be employment and/or financial consequences.

Again, I am not suggesting a need to do this; I am simply informing you the option exists in many communities.

Break

Good morning,
He finally fell asleep for a few hours last night, after first walking arkund the house taking poctures of the people that are following him. He took pictures of all the foot prints in the snow, the foot prints are animal prints, but he swears they are people stalking him,
He really looked so afraid and believes that people are after him.
He shared some information to me that he never told me before. He said he was trying to protect me from his lifestyle. I knew he was gay, we had already gone through that hurdle a few years ago. But yesterday he told me that two of his best friends were hiv positive, he said he was not and i shoukd not worry about it, but these are the friends he got high with. He thinks that these friends are the reason the FBI is following him. He doesnt know why, but he is sure the FBI is following him.
I know it's crazy, but he had me believing him. I just hugged him like my little baby until,he fell asleep. I hope I am not enabling him. He would never hurt a fly, he is a sentive and caring young man and i am so afaird that he is losing his mind. I hope and pray that this drug has not caused permanent damage to his brain.
He slept for a couple of hours, then Watched tv the rest of the night. I stayed up most of the night to make sure he didn't go out.
But i do have to return home today. I live in Virginia and he is in New York.
Thank you all so much for listening.

TooCute

Oh, please, you can't keep living this way. You already said yourself you feel like you're going to have a heart attack.

Listen: you are in way over your head. I think the suggestion of an involuntary hold is a wise one. My sister displayed violent tendencies and became a threat to my mother. It was when she was placed on involuntary hold that she received her paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis.

It's true what they say: a person has to need to want help themselves. That's the only way it will work. So the involuntary hold didn't change my sister's life (because in her mind, everyone else is the problem), but perhaps it extended her life.

I continue to pray for you and your son. Please don't take all this on yourself. You are not qualified. Involve some professionals.

Mountainmanbob

I agree
it does not sound as if he is staying away from the drug
might have a large stash in the house somewhere
if one is a threat to themselves or others
most States have what is called a 72 hour hold
then they can hold him longer if serious issues arise

it's amazing how they change after 72 hours lockup

MM

lisatrying

I can imagine as a mother that putting your son in a hold would be a really hard thing to do. But perhaps it would be the best for his well being.

Good luck, I hope you can get some face to face support for this. I know how hard it was for my mum my drinking and benzo use, it almost broke her.

Break

Thank you all so much for your support.
I am back home. It was tough before I left. I had called a rehab center and the counselor made a mistake and called my son's number back instead of mine. Well, that made him very angry he said I have now proved to him that I cannot be trusted, he said he has not used anything for over two weeks but I refusd to believe him. He said he does not need rehab he has everything under control and i just need to tell everyone to leave him alone.
So at this point I will pray for him and call him everyday and drive back to see him on the weekend.
I am not ready to call police on him. I dont want to see him hurt, i will try to trust him and hope the paranoia and hallucinations will stop by this week. I just have to gain his trust again.

Carlotta

I just wanted to welcome you to SR. I have mercifully zero experience with meth but I work in a homeless shelter and I ve seen up close what the drug does to people and how it ruins lives and good minds.
I read that great book recently Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction: David Sheff: 9780547203881: Amazon.com: Books which is written by the father of an alcoholic/meth addict. It is the story of his own journey as the parent of an addict and his personal recovery through Al Anon.
They should have it at your local library.
We also have a forum here for friends and families of substance abusers. There are other parents who went through or are going through the same things and it is a very supportive group
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...tance-abusers/

Just remember that when it comes to his addiction:
You did not cause it
You cannot control it
and you cannot cure it

Hugs.

Break

Thanks Carlotta,
I will,purchase the book and join the support group you recommended.
This is all so new for me and I dont want to share with my family what is happening. I dont want anyone to put my son down, beacus he is sich a good person. I never had a prblems with him until now. I jist feel like I have let him down for him to have bee suffering and not let me know.