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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

bad reaction from meth

iameatingjam

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
557
from late friday night to about 10:30 am saturday me and a friend split a 60 bag of speed. The bag was already small, plus I gave some small bumps to a couple other friends. I only realistically probably smoked 2 points ( 3 maximum) within a 12 hour period (not very much at all). So I smoke my last bit 10:30 am and by 4 pm I have crashed and do not feel high anymore, I spent the rest of the day at the river with some friends, I'm really tired and a little irritable but thats it. By a little later I developed a pretty nasty headache and some nausea.

I got home last night at about 9:30pm and then I started feeling weird again, jaw clenched, heart beating really fast. By 10ish my nausea turned bad, and about at the same time my headache became unbearable. My legs and my arms went numb ( especially my hands). Breathing began to get hard, my heart was beating out of my chest. I woke up my dad so somebody could watch over me.

After two hours things didn't get any better. I felt like all my organs were barely holding in there, my heart, my lungs, my stomach, my liver, all felt like they were struggling hard. The worst thing was my arms and hands though, pins and needles so bad that I was in a frantic rush trying to rub my hands together so I couldn't feel it. Literally felt like I would have no nerves left after this. I couldn't even stand up at this point. When I started getting pins and needles all over my face and the top of my head and began to feel extremely lightheaded on top of everything else I got my dad to call an ambulance. In the 30 minutes it took to get here I already started to calm down and my limbs started getting a little feeling back.

They checked me out and other than high heart rate and blood pressure, I was fine. They recommended that I come to the hospital to see a professional about it. I was embarrassed enough and decided not to go. For the next four hours I laid in bed trying to stay calm, my limbs were still tingly, but not as bad as before. I had a few little panics and my insides still hurt. Going on 48 hours and all this grief I started to see some non-existent bugs flying around my room and crawling feelings on my skin. I tried to ignore it and eventually fell asleep.

My question is, how could such a small amount of meth cause me all these problems?

I usually parachute my speed to help avoid fiending, but my buddy convinced me to smoke it instead. Also, I hadn't been smoking any cigarettes during my high but I bought a pack for the comedown which I was smoking later in to saturday (slightly before this episode). Turns out the lightbulb we used wasn't cleaned out properly either, so I must have been inhaling a small amount of that white powder in incandescent bulbs all night. These are the only reasons I can possibly think of... I made sure I ate food and drank a lot of water.

Also, why is it that I did not start feeling this way for 6 hours after I had already come down, 12 hours since my last dose?

I realize this is probably a big warning that I should never use meth again, but knowing me I probably will. Is there any hints as to make a tweakers night out a little easier on the body? Healthy foods, liquids, rest, anything else?

PS I've only done meth 5 times prior to this, but I have done uncountable amounts of dexedrine, so my body definitely should know its amphetamine.
 
I had the same thing happen to me in 2005 after many years of amphetamine abuse. I'm almost sure you had a massive panic attack. They feel awfull and you feel like you're gonna die but you're not. You probably need to stop using all amphetamines though. Chances are that if you try to use meth again you'll have another attack now.

The only way that I can use amphetamines now is with my benzos (Xanax). Anytime after what happened in 2005 that I tried to use without my benzos I had a bad reaction (panic attack).
 
thanks for the reply
I guess it probably was a panic attack - a very long one
I'll have to stay away from meth I suppose. I'm craving it a lot today - even after everything yesterday. Shouldn't have smoked it...
 
There's a reason meth and speed are considered to be some of the worst drugs for you. Stay strong, don't give in to the craving. You know it can ruin your life.
 
damn that sucks, I've never had any such sort of thing happen to me on coke, and I've done a LOT, never done meth but after hearing stories like this I'd rather stick to my occasional coke use and opiates, alcohol, bud, and psychedelics
 
I second the anxiety/panic attack diagnosis. You probably would have been better off going to the hospital under the advisement of the EMTs. The doc woulda given you a sedative which would have ended those symptoms immediately.

I have experienced that same feeling from smoking weed after ending a few months long opiate binge. If you absolutely HAVE to do meth again I recommend having some xanax or Valium for the comedown.
 
It's a panic attack, these are classic symptoms -
iameatingjam said:
pins and needles so bad that I was in a frantic rush trying to rub my hands together so I couldn't feel it. Literally felt like I would have no nerves left after this. I couldn't even stand up at this point. When I started getting pins and needles all over my face and the top of my head and began to feel extremely lightheaded

Those symptoms are caused by an imbalance of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Meth/amphetamines cause an adrenaline response by themselves which can easily turn into a vicious cycle - the physical effects of the drugs worries you which increases your fear (and adrenaline) which only makes your physical response worse. It causes hyperventilation which causes you to take in too much oxygen - this is what causes the light headedness and pins and needles. Breathing into a paper bag or even just into your cupped hands resolves this pretty quickly, by letting you breath back in the carbon dioxide you're breathing out and fixing the balance.
 
Also panic/anxiety attacks are self perpetuating conditions. Your heart is pounding, your arms and cheeks tingle and your chest is tight. All of these things terrify you which initiates the fight or flight reaction, the adrenaline makes all of these symptoms intensify. That is probably the worst part about these types of attacks, in that the fear of having an attack can cause one and the fear during an attack makes it worse. It seems overly simplified but if you can tell yourself that it is anxiety and you are fine; you will feel better.
 
Yeah, just had this happen to me and let me tell you not a pleasant expierence. Smoked coke for years and tried everything under gods sun. Even have done meth probably 15 times. Smoked a g with a friend last thursday night and the following day it all went bad. Thought I was having a stroke twice. Heart skipping beats and convinced myself I'd finally done my body in.

Called an ambulance and went to the er. They told me I was having a panic attack. Went home couldnt sleep, tried to work the next day but at the end of the day the symptoms returned. Starting going numb everywhere, heart skipping beats thought I was dying once again. Went to the ER again. After multiple tests they checked me out and said I was fine, even sedated me with a large drip of benzs.

Get home feeling better and it happens again. At this point I'm still thinking I'm a goner. What do I do I return to the er for the 3rd time in 24 hours. Needless to say I will NEVER do meth again and am quitting drinking.

Never ever do this stuff trust me its by far the worst drug out there and its not even close.
 
Yeah, just had this happen to me and let me tell you not a pleasant expierence. Smoked coke for years and tried everything under gods sun. Even have done meth probably 15 times. Smoked a g with a friend last thursday night and the following day it all went bad. Thought I was having a stroke twice. Heart skipping beats and convinced myself I'd finally done my body in.

Called an ambulance and went to the er. They told me I was having a panic attack. Went home couldnt sleep, tried to work the next day but at the end of the day the symptoms returned. Starting going numb everywhere, heart skipping beats thought I was dying once again. Went to the ER again. After multiple tests they checked me out and said I was fine, even sedated me with a large drip of benzs.

Get home feeling better and it happens again. At this point I'm still thinking I'm a goner. What do I do I return to the er for the 3rd time in 24 hours. Needless to say I will NEVER do meth again and am quitting drinking.

Never ever do this stuff trust me its by far the worst drug out there and its not even close.

Shitty part is you're probably gonna have to be put on some medication long term now. There is light at the end of the tunnel though, hang in there.
 
^ What kind of medication do you think he'd have to be put on long term?
Anxiety responds best to CBT, medication is usually not needed, except perhaps short term benzo treatment for severe and chronic panic attacks - such as in panic disorder. The cure is in the therapy though.
 
^ What kind of medication do you think he'd have to be put on long term?
Anxiety responds best to CBT, medication is usually not needed, except perhaps short term benzo treatment for severe and chronic panic attacks - such as in panic disorder. The cure is in the therapy though.

Not sure, that's a difficult question to answer because everyone's different.

Xanax has worked best for me. I've been on it since Novemver 2005 and it's still effective for me at 0.5mg 3 times a day. Before being put on Xanax I went through 2 years of SSRIs, neuroleptics, TCAs, etc.

Xanax is not a miracle wonder drug however. While it is extremely effective for quick relief of anxiety and panic I'm severely physically dependent on it and after 5 years now of being on it I've begun to experience significant short term memory loss which I'm fairly sure has to do with being on this drug for so long.

I've tried to function without Xanax and I just can't. I become delirious. If I could stop it, I would and I've tried to substitute it with herbal supplements but again, I couldn't function.

In the end though I need to be able to function so that I can do my job which pays my bills which keeps a roof over my head.

I did 6 months of CBT (1-2 2 hour sessions per week) and while it definitely helped me to deal better with a panic attack's symptoms, it never prevented them from occurring.
 
You're absolutely right everyone is different. I just think that whenever possible people with anxiety should avoid long term, or in fact any, treatment with benzos. As you've found, they can cause problems like physical addiction which can be just as hard to overcome as treating the anxiety and panic attacks in the first place.

I've suffered from panic disorder in the past and I don't question for a second that some people absolutely require benzos at times. I just don't believe that in the long term, benzodiazapine treatment is beneficial overall. Especially as the OP has only suffered from panic attacks during use, and it hasn't become a chronic condition, I would highly advise against using any medication at all at this stage.
 
how could such a small amount of meth cause me all these problems?

- cause its meth. its a strong, powerful drug.

I usually parachute my speed to help avoid fiending, but my buddy convinced me to smoke it instead.
- so, you usually parachute it, but this time you smoked it. that could be another reason why you got so fucked up from it.
 
Iameatingjam Too! actually peanut butter and jelly.

I am thinking along with most everyone else here that Anxiety is the culprit. I've done plenty of rx amphetamine but haven't done meth before, either way though I'd think that if the amps had something to do with it it would have manifested itself earlier.

Every symptom you described were Anxiety Attack symptoms, literally textbook anxiety. It sucks that they last so long sometimes, the poster who said you would have felt better if you'd gone to the hospital is probably right, they probably would have given you a benzo or some other sedative and you would have felt fine within minutes. However you may be better off in the long run having not felt that instant relief, I got a xanax script when I first started getting panic attacks regularly and though it helped short term it was the worst thing that could have happened.

All the above posters who mentioned Panic Attacks being self perpetuating are right, it won't be that way for everyone but it was for me. Weed gave me my first panic attack but after that just the thought of a panic attack could trigger one. The best thing you can do to prevent them in the future is to make sure you eat and sleep well and get some exercise. Also don't let stress build up too much it can cause horrible panic attacks out of nowhere.

Anytime you're coming off a drug you're going to be more susceptible to panic attacks and anxiety in general, it just comes with the territory. In the future if you can at least know what it is this can help a lot, but sometimes they can just hit like a freight train and you'll be thinking you're dying before you even had time to think "I'm having a panic attack".

I'm only writing all this because I've struggled with them for years and eventually ended up with a psychiatrist and therapist and I'm finally making some real progress. I wish I would have done CBT before I had ever been put on benzos or antidepressants, I think this is the way to go if it continues to bother you.

That being said, Klonopin has worked well for me for years at a steady dose, as long as I don't raise it or drop it too quickly it helps my anxiety better than anything else med wise. Xanax works well as a last resort in an emergency situation, try never to take it daily.

Drug use in general only aggravates anxiety so you may need to make some major life changes if this keeps happening to you. Hopefully it won't, if it does go to a therapist and or psych, if you need meds try not to take them daily for more than a couple weeks unless it's an antidepressant. Getting off benzos is like the worst panic attack ever extended indefinitely. Not fun!

Take care of yourself, anxiety is very treatable but it can take over your life if you don't deal with it properly. Good Luck!
 
That sounds like a panic attack from hell take some valium with your meth (if you ever decide to do it again) and you SHOULD be alright...rember i am no doctor...
 
You're absolutely right everyone is different. I just think that whenever possible people with anxiety should avoid long term, or in fact any, treatment with benzos. As you've found, they can cause problems like physical addiction which can be just as hard to overcome as treating the anxiety and panic attacks in the first place.

I've suffered from panic disorder in the past and I don't question for a second that some people absolutely require benzos at times. I just don't believe that in the long term, benzodiazapine treatment is beneficial overall. Especially as the OP has only suffered from panic attacks during use, and it hasn't become a chronic condition, I would highly advise against using any medication at all at this stage.

I think for any condition one may develop, it's probably best at first to try and treat said condition without medication (prescription or otc) and even herbal supplements.

For example, for stomach problems I still go on the B.R.A.T. diet and always seems to work great. I try to avoid taking any medication such as Dimenhydrinate or Bismuth.

That being said obviously some conditions such as diabetes will probably need treatment with a prescription medication such as Metformin or Insulin immediately.
 
Had this happen this week. Tried it for the first time almost two days ago. Stopped using it last night around five or six. Took sleeping pill at eight then another at nine . had an attack was covered in sweat, numb, kept pacing . that happened after ten pm sometime. Its 4:45 am now and I keep having them . I have no benzos or the like. Don't know what I am going to do. Don't know why I got forty of it. Only did just under half of it from Sunday through Monday till six. I'll stick to my legal weed.
 
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