Harm Reduction Which drugs are less likely to make schizophrenia worse?

[BlackasMayhem]

Im actually asking this for a friend. Im quite curious on which drug are less likely to exacerbate existing schizophrenia. Im assuming the safer ones are opiods, alcohol and benzos but of course these are quite harmful and/or addictive. Which other drugs would you say are less likely to make schizophrenia worse? How do ketamine or nitrous influence schizophrenia when used in moderation? Thanks so much goys

 

[SheWasLvL18]

Benzos and alcohol long-term, I feel like, have to be some of the worst things anybody could do if they deal with any mental health issues. I don't think any recreational drug use is going to be harmless, for anyone let alone someone dealing with schizophrenia. Like opiate use for pain management, probably fine, but an addicts lifestyle, absolutely not. Not saying everyone who uses opiods is an addict, but if your friend has mental health issues that they are already aware of, it just seems like they should seriously consider there recreational drug use. Not trying to say they can't use drugs, everyone makes their own decisions and we all make bad ones, but for the sake of Harm-reduction tell them to be careful.

 

[chompy]

Alcohol and psychedelics and of course the good ol meth will definitely be one of the worst choices from what I've seen. Opiates and benzos tend to calm them down tho.

 

[SheWasLvL18]

Benzos and Alcohol act on the brain very very similarly, to say one is safe and the other not is absurd. Sure they might have sedative/hypnotic properties that might calm people down, but they can absolutely contradict this and lead to increased aggression, confusion, and amnesia. Not to mention Long-term benzo use is pretty universally agreed upon as bad for anybody. There are people who do take benzos for decades, maybe even the rest of their lives, but that is only because the negatives of not using them might outweigh the damage the benzos will definitely cause.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I feel like this is kind of a dangerous question for us lay-people to be attempting to answer. I was under the impression that fucking with someone's homeostasis in general is a bad idea when they have severe mental illness like Schizophrenia. The idea is that you want to keep the individual as stable and constant as possible. Getting drunk or getting high is going to produce inevitable ups and downs in emotion that could be a great deal more severe for an individual with schizophrenia.

For what it's worth, I've heard that psychedelic drugs, including Cannabis, are definitely contraindicated for individual with Schizoid-type mental illness, but I'm no doctor.

 

[tacodude]

Alcohol and psychedelics and of course the good ol meth will definitely be one of the worst choices from what I've seen. Opiates and benzos tend to calm them down tho.

It may calm them down short term, but the stress of cravings and a dependency would be the worst for someone in this situation.

 

[chompy]

Yea I was just speaking from personal experience when I had a schizophrenic friend. I would say recreational drugs are not safe for a schizo person, other that what the doctor prescribes.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

^I think that's a really good idea. Schizophrenia is a delicate illness, relatively speaking. This means that it's easy to set off symptoms. Even taking a drug that causes too much distress just by virtue of the come-down, can exacerbate symptoms.

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

Ketamine and nitrous would be ones to avoid, NMDA antagonists/dissociatives are used to induce a schizophrenia like syndrome in animals to study schizophrenia, and are big known causers of psychosis in humans.

Amphetamines are also known to speed along the development of schizophrenia, and of course cause temporary psychosis which resembles schizophrenia.

Schizophrenics commonly self-medicate with opioids and benzos but I think that in the long run those drugs will worsen their outlook.

 

[chompy]

Ketamine and nitrous would be ones to avoid, NMDA antagonists/dissociatives are used to induce a schizophrenia like syndrome in animals to study schizophrenia, and are big known causers of psychosis in humans.

Amphetamines are also known to speed along the development of schizophrenia, and of course cause temporary psychosis which resembles schizophrenia.

Schizophrenics commonly self-medicate with opioids and benzos but I think that in the long run those drugs will worsen their outlook.

Every schizo friend i have known has liked cigarettes and psychedellics. This is just anecdotal evidence. I use dxm to help my PTSD and it works. So I guess everyone is different and dose respondent.

 

[burn out]

Tobacco. Tobacco is very popular among schizophrenics and there is evidence it actually improves their symptoms.

 

[Ozle]

The biggest ones to avoid are psychedelics/hallucinogens; the reasons for this should be glaringly obvious.

Others IMHO would be dissociatives (which I honestly see as little different to psychedelics), and amphetamine-type stimulants (which are notorious for triggering panic attacks and paranoid/delusional thoughts, even in healthy individuals, and are likely to wreak complete havoc on someone who's already fragile and predisposed to it). Note that I'm talking really only about amphetamine/PEA derived stims (Adderall, Ritalin, meth, phenidates, cathinones, phenmetrazines, etc), stims with different mechanisms of action (caffeine, *-afinil, nicotine) should be okay (in moderation).

Benzos and alcohol can trigger anxiety in some, but if they don't for you then I don't see the harm, in fact benzos are sometimes prescribed PRN to schiz/bipolar 1 patients. There is obviously a risk of addiction, but in practice as long as you use them responsibly the worst of it should be mitigated (relatively; don't forget that the antidepressants and antipsychotics they prescribe for schizophrenia also induce a physical dependence in the long term, often as powerfully as benzos).

 

[FnX]

To the best of my knowledge, at least some opioids have potent anti-psychotic effects. Opioid withdrawal for a schizophrenic however... I don't even want to think about it.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Im actually asking this for a friend. Im quite curious on which drug are less likely to exacerbate existing schizophrenia. Im assuming the safer ones are opiods, alcohol and benzos but of course these are quite harmful and/or addictive. Which other drugs would you say are less likely to make schizophrenia worse? How do ketamine or nitrous influence schizophrenia when used in moderation? Thanks so much goys

Anti-psychotics

My psych doc told me that opioids were the ONLY drug that doesn't exacerbate schizophrenia. Even sedatives like alcohol and benzo's can trigger it.

100% avoid ALL stimulants (cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA etc), alcohol, and anything "psychedelic". Oh and weed.

 

[Phoenix_rising]

Fresh air. Seriously though,someone who is schizophrenic should avoid all drugs. That's the best harm reduction advice that I can give.

Good exercise that encourages endorphin release is the best.

 

[Hezman94]

My uncle hardly smokes weed but when he does he says it stops the voices and helps him sleep. He has a episode if his meds are cut down usually once every three years he gets very aggressive I've never gave him cannabis when doing this as he is quick to violence

 

[Hezman94]

Opiates would not exabate it but if u r addicted and go into withdrawals I'd imagine that would do worse than good

 

[KnowsNotWhatItMean]

I wouldn't feel right encouraging someone suffering from schizophrenia to do any drugs at all. There's nothing you can do about it really, if he's already been doing psychedelics it kinda stinks although it could potentially do more good than harm in case he's never done it, but I'm not a doctor and wouldn't encourage it. Benzos can be helpful in some situations. Don't think that opiates are among the safe drugs just because he's got schizophrenia, that's just ridiculous.