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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

anhedonia from meth withdrawl, what medications are available.

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dani california

Greenlighter
Joined
Sep 22, 2011
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so after 3 years of fairly heavy use of methamphetamine, smoking + IV i gave up for 8months and although I cou ldnt put my finger on it, i was very uncomfortable in my own skin, uninspired, numb and plain blaz'e i guess. I have been using 2-3 x daily for the past two months after relapsing and quite frankly, dont enjoy it much anymore.. but afraid to come down and go back to that awkaward discomforrt.. iv recently spoke to my GP who seems quite nieve and uneducated in this feild, does anyone know of an effective med to help me through that phase as Im shit scared of doing it alone..
also im not looking for a "replacement drug" just something to make the side effects less intenses aas they tend to last for months in me, which is partly responsible for why i relapse.. any thoughts or stories would be appreciated!
 
Using methamphetamine regularly trains your brain to require a very high stimulus to 'get off', so to speak. Methamphetamine provides a far greater reward than any natural activity, so once you've conditioned your brain to require meth to feel good, everyday activites just aren't going to cut it. The best way to get pleasure in normal activities back, IMO, is to let your brain heal naturally. The brain is very plastic and will try and reachieve homeostasis if you give it time. I think using any other drugs/medications to compensate will hinder this natural process. Try and give your mind lots of new things to think about and learn - take up a hobby, read a lot, exercise more. I was a heavy meth user for 8 years and now I've been off for 9 months, I'm feeling a lot better. I'm slowly starting to find enjoyment and contentment in non drug related activities.
 
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tyrosine helps bro :)

i know a lot of pueople on this forum would disagree with me on this opinon.

Placebo or not, I really do think it helps. like usully after a bing on good ol' tina. next few days I would feel like completely out of motivation to do anything at all. but since i've started taking tyrosine part of my routine after a binge. i still feel tired etc the next few days. but def increase in motivation levels :)

AND bro. I completely understand where you're coming from.

I'm in the same boat as you too.

been pretty much a meth/icehead / addict for about 2yrs give or take. I too was doing 5-6day benders on a weekly basis. My routine would be rougnly weds-sunday high as fuck, then sleep thru entire monday and tuesday then as soon as i'm awake enough the cycle repeats. did this for about 15-16months straight. and boy time does fly when you're in love with TINA.

I have been actively trying to quit/cut down on my usage for the last 2-3months or so. i was doing alright had nearly 4weeks abstain in the beginning, but the last weeks the inner crackhead in me has defeated me week by week.
although i've not been doing 5-6day binges like iused to. but still amost everyweek i end up being on it for a day or two maximum. always regret it afterwards thou.

Its a love-hate relationship with tina. i'm sure it will always be like this :)
but as each week goes, my wil power gets beta at it

and remember, BL is always here to help/support you yo :)
 
Time and activity might be the best medicine, as Footscrazy suggests. There are a small number of studies that bupropion and amineptine (dopamine/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors that are sometimes used as antidepressants and/or to help people quit smoking tobacco) might help with amphetamine withdrawal, including specifically the anhedonia aspect, though they may require a few days or weeks to work, and potentially come with their own side-effects.
 
^ Those would both be good ideas for medication, and footscrazy is definitely right about trying to find something else to put your mind into in order to try and get over the anhedonia. It may take time, but persevere and it will be OK. :)

Tyrosine is an interesting supplement, I have heard both good and bad things about it. I think that once you have completely stopped methamphetamine use, it might be something worth looking into. :)
 
^ Modafinil sure would be interesting as a potential treatment for methamphetamine addiction, particularly once use has stopped and the prolonged WD symptoms remain.
 
The clinical trial of modafinil for meth withdrawal didn't show it had much, if any benefit at all. I don't think it's being pursued as an official treatment anymore. Some people seem to find it useful though.
 
I'd think it would be more useful in the immediate post-detox stage, when you're having issues with fatigue, I can't imagine it doing much for the long term anhedonia and depression.
 
I think it could have beneficial effects on cognitive function for previous long term methamphetamine users. I will have to find the trial that footscrazy mentioned. :)
 
^ I'm not sure if it's been released, if it has I'd also be interested in seeing the full report. Let me know if you find it! I only know that much because I was part of the clinical trial. I did it through turning point, though I'm not sure whether they funded it or they just recruited people through there.
 
^ Is that Eastern Health's Turning Point? I might see if I can get a hand on a copy...
 
I've never heard it called that before but a quick google search reveals it comes under that - it's in Fitzroy. I thought the reports came out quite a time after the clinical study, but I'm really not sure.
 
Possibly yeah, it does make you feel very clear headed.

All around a wonderful chemical actually, it should get more press than it does. Does what it's supposed to perfectly with almost no side effects.
 
That study that Footscrazy refers to was pretty small, so it may not have had the power to detect differences, but in any case it found no difference between groups (modafinil and placebo) in withdrawal severity but a bit of cognitive improvement.
 
headdah said:
tyrosine helps bro :)
Click to expand...

Yeah it really does. Whenever I go off my dexies I take it for 4-5 days and it gets rid of any slight 'withdrawal' I might have. My dose is pretty small but I'd expect the same thing with meth, although it probably wouldn't make you 100%.

Just don't take it while you're on the gear, and start off with 1 x 500mg capsule twice a day. I think taking high doses is actually counter-productive.

As other people have said it's time that's the main thing :) the longer you go without the better you'll feel on average.
 
^ May I ask how you find higher doses counter-productive? I've seen it said that taking too much tyrosine can lower dopamine levels but have not found a study to back this up.
 
Mr Blonde said:
^ May I ask how you find higher doses counter-productive? I've seen it said that taking too much tyrosine can lower dopamine levels but have not found a study to back this up.
Click to expand...

Just personal observation. It's mainly got to do with higher doses not having any noticeable benefit, and the fact that it seems the benefits from tyrosine seem to lessen over time. I've tried higher daily doses like 4-5 grams, for a couple days it worked the same as 2 x 500mg but on the third day I didn't feel any benefit, where usually I'd get about a week of noticeable benefit at the lower doses. Done this a few times and notice the same thing each time.

I've also read about it lowering dopamine, not sure how that would work but thought it might be possible...if you can't find any studies then I'm not really sure.

Someone probably read this link below and got confused, this could be where the 'large doses of tyrosine reduce dopamine' thing comes from
- http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/160/10/1887#BDY
 
I know this is an old thread but it comes up on search engines and I think it'd be good to post a prospectively viable solution. When a user takes stimulants, there is a highly complex cascade of reactions which acts as a "tolerance mechanism" in several aspects, and triggers epigenetic changes. Some of the more emotionally-evident differences in day-to-day life are due to outcomes of these reactions, (where essentially neurons in the brain say "Hey; there is neuronal overexcitation of dopamine, or serotonin, etc. Let's make physiological changes to be less receptive to those neurotransmitters."), and internalization of receptors as well as downregulation of gene expression for receptors occurs. I think even upregulation for transporters and vesicles may occur, to help store away the neurotransmitters.

This very same "tolerance mechanism", which enables this form of neuroplasticity in the brain, can be exploited. We can make the brain's neurons naturally do the opposite -- re-sensitize to neurotransmitters, by externalizing receptors and upregulating gene expression, and maybe even downregulation for transporters and vesicles. How? Well you've enjoyed yourself under the influence of stimulant drugs time and time again. Now it's time to pay the price: induced depression. Most people are concerned about their day-to-day anhedonia (lack of enjoyment in things usually found enjoyable) because their dopamine neurons are fried and desensitized to dopamine. Spend several months without any reward; but rather -- feelings of despair, and your brain will start to re-sensitize, to milk what ever bit of reward dopamine can bring during this phase.

Okay, but HOW how? The answer: methyldopa. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and blocks production of dopamine. I'm thinking maybe up to a 750 mg daily dose, but each person reacts differently. Continue for 4 to 6 months of living with depression, and then after you stop, you will feel like the person you've been before you touched stimulants! :)

This regimen would also serve as a cure for chonic/old-age depression, and Parkinson's Disease. Because of this, the pharma co's made sure that methyldopa be deemed somewhat "harmful" and created a version that does not cross the blood-brain barrier, so anything other than methyldopa won't work. Because of course, if we went around curing profitable diseases, it would be an epic no-no in this messed up world. Shun the cures! Praise the sick! Pipe the money! More! MORE! MOAR!! GREED!!!!! okay i'll stop there lol
 
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