• MDMA &
    Empathogenic
    Drugs

    Welcome Guest!

Brain damage reperable?

16 is such a young age for such a heavy Ecstasy abuse. Im so glad I didnt come into contact with the drug until i was 20 or I would be in the same situation. Your brain is still in development.

Commit yourself to good physical and mental health and I think you will be fine in a year or two. You may need medication or counseling to keep yourself on track however.

Personally, i would stay away from those thoughts of hopelessness because they will only spiral you into further drug addiction and more damage.
 
I cannot believe your brain is actually producing serotonin. You started using ecstasy when your brain was barely half developed, so that means your serotonin receptors are even smaller than the people who started when they were 18 or so, you need to stop eating pills for a good few months and take 5-HTP (hydroxytryptophan) daily. Also take Fish Oil.

Those thoughts of hopelessness are caused by your brain having such low levels of serotonin/dopamine/noripinepherine from all the pills you eat, stop rolling and you'll start seeing results, be safe.
 
There are people who have taken E over a thousand time who have more serotonin than people who've never taken it.
 
^I don't think there is a measurable "amount" of serotonin per person so that isnt exactly a valid statement.
 
Hey Bud,
I'm very much a greenlighter to this forum so I'm not sure how much sway my voice will have but I'm certainly no newbie to the drug scene and your story hit rather a melacholic chord for me.

Your story sounds so much like my story about 6 years ago its uncanny, not to get too involved in my old crap but, my father died and left me with quite alot of dollar, unfortunately that was about the worst combination of events possible. I couldn't handle his death and just went crazy wasting his money on trying not to think about him.

I was 19 not 16 though, I pulled out all the stops, me and my drug buddy (god knows why he joined me for the ride, poor b@stard) just took anything and everything we could get our hands on and washed down with JD and tequila.

Mostly ecstasy but everything else as well every day. The quantities your talking about we certainly took- Nights not being able to pee, the head fuzz thing, blacking out, spontanious projectile vomiting. violent mood swings, numbness and of course the memory loss, self-loathing and depression in the middle of the night.

I know it probably feels like it at the moment but your certainly not the only person to have self-harmed this way and to this degree (which lets face it is pretty much whats happening when your playing this hard)

This isn't a sinner to saint story, I'm certainly no angel now but if your post is a genuine realisation not a comedown chorus then It might comfort you to know that I'm pretty much fine now (in the drug department anyway)

I pulled myself out by having a realisation like yours, joining the gym (If you have an addictive personality you can get hooked on pretty much anything! In three months I looked like a total muscle bound twat because I didn't learn how do do it properly and spent the next three months trying to get my neck back and stop my hands curling inwards but thats by the the by!)

Swim, take 5-HTP, eat properly, work out, get a hobby (surfing preferably!) Drop your friends who you know you can't be around, get a girlfriend who doesn't use, get therapy, hook up with and apologise to the friends you have left behind.

Read the book ' A million little pieces' by James Frey it kinda makes you realise that however hardcore druggy you think you are your always gonna be piss ant to the next guy.

And most importantly don't go anywhere near drugs until you really really in your head understand that they don't define you as a person, they work for you but purely as an enhancement of mood not persona.

Jesus Christ! I sound like a cross between Allen Carr, Moby and Baz Lurman!

I feel for you, I rember the exact day I came out of my year binge but if its any consolation, most probably your the worst your gonna feel so its all up from here.

Life is not over, your not fucked, you probably can take recreational drugs again... Eventually when your absolutely sure they can't take you.

I found the brain thing gets better but I had a shit memory in the first place so its hard to tell!

I just read though this and I sound like a total condecending twat but this is what I wish someone had told me when I realized (or thought I realized) i'd been totally engulfed in drugs.

Good Luck.
 
Ismene said:
^ Of course there is.
Click to expand...
If there is a measurable amount of serotonin, then there will be an "average" and we would be able to determine instantly whether somebody is depressed or not using that average as a standard. There is no amount of serotonin we can measure. However, in lab rabs, we can detect when their brains are depleted of some neurotransmitters through other methods, but as far as counting the amount of neurotransmitters, there is no possible method.
 
Ismene said:
People have been through worse things than taking too much E. People have spent 5 years in german death camps on a slice of mouldy bread a day and gone on to be champion weightlifters. I've no doubt there were plenty of people telling concentration camp inmates /QUOTE]

thats a bit beside the point 8)
Click to expand...
 
If there is a measurable amount of serotonin, then there will be an "average" and we would be able to determine instantly whether somebody is depressed or not using that average as a standard.

First things first, the serotonin theory of depression is akin to the masturbation theory of insanity. There isn't a single peice of reliable evidence for it. So forget this bullshit that "if you're depressed it's cos you've got low serotonin". It's absolute and utter nonsense.

There is no amount of serotonin we can measure

You measure metabolite breakdowns which correspond to serotonin levels.

Here's some reading for you:

http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/67/9/

http://www.greenspiration.org/drug/articles/SeratoninHypothesis.htm
 
thats a bit beside the point

Try thinking about it for a while, you might get it 8)
 
ive been excercising quite a bit, its hard most the time cuz i feel like complete shit....

ive been taking alot of vitamins, i take a couple multivitamins every day, vitamin E, and anywhere beetween 1-4 grams of vitamin c every day

im not taking 5-htp, and am not gonna start taking it..

i still smoke weed every day, but thats nothing new ive been smoking for years...

trying to quit smoking cigarettes(dont know if that would matter or not?)



havnt really seen any improvement, still feel like complete shit, still feel retarded, but it hasnt been long, itll just take time...


thanks for the suggestions everybody...

oh yeah and did i go like way way way overboard? i didnt think i was doing THAT bad, but the way you all put it its like crazy how many pills i took
 
i think you went crazy....rofl.

i thought i was crazy and i only did it twice in 9 days.
 
Ismene said:
There are people who have taken E over a thousand time who have more serotonin than people who've never taken it.
Click to expand...

Let me refresh your memory. Your original argument was that there are people who have taken ecstacy who has thousnds of times more serotonin than people who have never taken it.

The point I was trying to prove is that serotonin is NOT a quantifiable substance. Simply put, you can't just say, Sam has 3 million particles of 5HT flowing through his brain and Sally has 2 million.

Yes, you're right, depression is not solely linked to ONE neurotransmitter. In fact, depression has such a wide range of effects, it is impossible to blame one, or even several chemical imbalances for it since the brain is such a complex organ. The reason I said that if serotonin was measurable, we could set an average to determine if someone was depressed or not was to show that serotonin ISN'T quantifiable. You can't just set a bar and say if anyones serotonin (or any neurotransmitter) falls below this range, he/she is medically classified as depressed.

Ismene said:
If there is a measurable amount of serotonin, then there will be an "average" and we would be able to determine instantly whether somebody is depressed or not using that average as a standard.

First things first, the serotonin theory of depression is akin to the masturbation theory of insanity. There isn't a single peice of reliable evidence for it. So forget this bullshit that "if you're depressed it's cos you've got low serotonin". It's absolute and utter nonsense.

There is no amount of serotonin we can measure

You measure metabolite breakdowns which correspond to serotonin levels.

Here's some reading for you:

http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/67/9/

http://www.greenspiration.org/drug/articles/SeratoninHypothesis.htm
Click to expand...

None of the above articles goes through a method of measuring the amount of serotonin so I don't know what you're trying to prove citing those articles. The articles only mention that a low level of serotonin doesn't necissarily mean depression.
 
djshibbs said:
oh yeah and did i go like way way way overboard? i didnt think i was doing THAT bad, but the way you all put it its like crazy how many pills i took
Click to expand...

yes, you went WAY, WAY overboard.

this isn't the first time i've heard of someone abusing as regularly as you did, but each time i'm shocked. your abuse was pretty ridiculous.

also, you seem like a bona-fide pothead, but honestly, i really think laying off the bud as well would SURELY expedite your recovery process. i know you probably won't, but it's just something to consider.
 
A high-quality fish oil is certainly in order, but I'm beginning to wonder about the "wonders" of 5-HTP. http://yarchive.net/med/5-htp.html

Tryptophan itself is a more reliable and safer way to supplement for serotonin. You could also look into taking a low-dose hydergine to promote dendrite growth after a few months of simply eating right (lots of vegetables, blueberries, pomegranates, anti-oxidants!) and obviously not taking anything/drinking/hitting head really hard. I thought or did have brain damage at once point due to massive ketamine use. Now I'm in last year uni with top notch marks! You'll be okay, your brain will be back in good form, but you've got to cut it out for a while, at least :)
 
The articles only mention that a low level of serotonin doesn't necissarily mean depression.

Well they state a lot more than that. They also they reject your theory that "if you have a certain level of serotonin then you are depressed". That's nonsense.
 
all i can say is damn thats a lot in too little space of time but all i can say is start training your brain you more likely to repair your memory through various methods(memory games eating fish its been proven to help your brain in various areas, most of all repeating something to your self retrain you brain ) you may have done some serious damage but you can still salvage what you have left and be just as good or close to the way you were before you made such a dire mistake.
 
My recommendations.

Buy the book "Natural Highs: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind-Body Techniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time" by Hyla Cass, M.D. and Patrick Holford, it is one of my favorite books and I have LOTS of them, trust me on this! You can read an excerpt for free here:
http://life.familyeducation.com/mental-health/social/emotional/35988.html


Most of what I suggest can be found in that book but here goes:

5-HTP (for seratonin production)
Tyrosine (for dopamine and adrenaline production, 'up-regulating' of 'feel-good' receptors)
B-Complex (crucial for healthy brain function)
SAMe or TMG (a methyl donor so your brain can make many needed neurotransmitters including DMT. Also the fastest acting anti-depressant)
St. John's Wort
a good multi-vitamin
Piracetam (a cheap cognitive enhancer that is also useful for those with brain injury, stroke etc.)
Hydergine (another cognitive enhancer invented by Albert Hoffman and used successfully for dementia and brain injury etc)

Obviously don't take all of those at once, but get that book and talk to an open-minded health care professional (not a pill pusher) to find out what is best for you.

Also meditation could help you greatly. As for smoking pot, my opinion is that its probably doing more good than harm and there is recent research that pot can actually stimulate the growth of brain cells.

Perhaps try to think of a way to help others learn from your experience so that they don't make a similar mistake. That may help you learn and grow from what you now going through.

Hope this helps some...
 
heres an update:

i quit smoking weed, ive smoked like twice in the past month.... im smoking cigarettes less, switched to lights.... i workout regularly, i take 1.5g of vitamin c every day and 2 one-a-day multivitamins...... go to school every day, im starting to get better, think more clearly, and not feel like complete shit every day

i have absolutely no urge to take ecstasy anymore.... i see it all the time, i have pills in my possession all the time, and i have no urge to take it at all :)

im doin pretty good...

but i have been doing coke more often lately, but hey, not as bad as ecstasy, and im not doing it near as much as i did E.... i do coke maybe once or twice a week, but i havnt done it in a week and i probably wont for a while cuz im just tryin to focus on makin money right now...

oh and i really tripped out on acid for the first time the other weekend, ive done it before but it wasnt as good as this :) that was a good experience(i know not good for my brain in its state right now but everybody was tellin me it was realllly good shit and my freinds came down who i havnt seen in a while so yeah i did it)


so yeah thats my update... im doin pretty good, layin off the drugs for the most part, feeling better, thinking better.... definately healing....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top