Drug induced anxiety

[essemiis]

Hi all, I hope i'm posting in the correct topic.

I have been concerned about my mental health and the extent of damage I had possibly caused while experimenting with recreational drugs. After meeting with a doctor about my anxiety problems he asked if I have had ecstacy. My last encounter with ecstacy was 4 months ago, and 3 months when i first started having panic attacks. Maybe things bite you in the ass later when you don't expect it? Though the last rave I went to - the same where I had taken that ecstacy in the form of an instagram pill - I had a very bad, mistaken for "LSD" RC induced trip. The tabs were given to me from people that I just met, I took two, and they were bitter so I swallowed. Now I know, months later, that they were spitters. Oh well. Upon research I concluded the "LSD" I took was DOx. Possibly. The slow starting trip lasted 30 hours and made sleep impossible, accompanied with several to a dozen instances of vomiting, and vasoconstriction (I lost feeling in my toe for 3 weeks). People found and took me to a first aid tent on two different occasions. I legitimately though I was dying. I met an invasive person that catabolized my anxiety, or more like they met me. I wont go into detail, but I wish I never met him. intense anxiety/panic attacks ensued (I have never had panic attacks before - I was administered reluctantly by an on-site nurse a benzo drug to help me calm down). On the comedown of my bad trip I was offered that instagram pill which I happily took since I felt I needed some euphoria after just going through hell. Though in hindsight that was a stupid and irresponsible thing to do; take drugs to help your problem that started from taking drugs without giving myself time to recover. I probably fried some neurotransmitters doing that as a light weight, sleep deprived 20 year old female.

Since the rave, at Thanksgiving, I had one lovely shroom trip.

I'm taking Satraline(Zoloft) and occasionally Xanax, as prescribed. They help tremendously. Though since taking Zoloft (2 weeks) I have been experiencing symptoms that I believe is of HPPD. Vibrant colors, tracers, the same stimulating feeling in my stomach I experience on acid, and I didn't physically see it, but in class lecture it felt like my instructor was melting when I watched her, and the projector screen was so vibrant it hurt my eyes while the world felt isolated and geometric. I heard Zoloft can cause hallucinations, or maybe i'm paranoid and tripping myself out since the doctor said I could have possibly permanently damaged my brain by taking drugs. Or i'm finally experiencing flashbacks. Anyway, I'm concerned and I value a working brain. It's easy to worry, and i did take a lot for me at that rave.

I am managing by taking supplements such as fish Oil, Vitamin D3, Magnesium, Zinc, and multivitamins, working out, and meditating.

By posting I was hoping to gain some insight on the likelihood of permanence of these problems, as I cannot find much promising recovery stories but instead a lot of "Well MAYBE you'll recover - who knows!". It's disheartening. Though I learned valuable lessons, early at that, and came to value my health much more.
I'll invest in a test kit for future endeavors, If I feel ready again.

Thanks!

 

[herbavore]

You will definitely recover.

It is important to share these things with the doctor that prescribed the zoloft to rule out that possibility.

Once you have ruled out any current drug causation, here is my suggestion for when you experience flashbacks or HPPD: try to change the way you think about it. When it happens, your mind is going straight to the panic induced by thinking you have permanently altered your brain and that you will never be able to be in control of it completely again. Turn that thought around by using your rational mind to calm your fears. You cannot realistically know the future so your rational mind can choose to feed fear or to feed calm acceptance. You need to starve the former and feed the latter! When an unsettling flashback occurs (like seeing your professor melt) you can assure yourself that you know exactly what this is, that it is temporary and that it will pass. (Even try injecting a bit of humor into it--it's not everyday that you get a free mini-trip in which you see a professor melt!)

I can understand why you are worried and I don't mean to minimize it in any way. I just think you need to continue to do everything you are doing (maybe even discontinue mushrooms for now) and with time and a calm mind you will soon find yourself on the other side of this. Maybe some HPPD will last (like tracers, auras, etc) but they will be minor and diminish over time. Once you can reassure yourself that you have not damaged your brain you will be able to accept these when they occur with no panic.

 

[Pickledlemons]

^^ herbavore is right. I have hppd and have for 10 years, I also panicked afraid I would never recover. It never went away but the intensity definitely lessened and what was left my brain learned to ignore. I hardly notice it anymore.

 

[essemiis]

Thank you guys so much!
I'm finding I am improving - though I've been lazy on the vitamins, as I usually do. This seems promising ^^
The replies are much appreciated!

 

[Mafioso]

Man, so many hot topics in this post that I wish more people were educated about.

First off, pill testing. IT's what drove me and many to this sight originally. Trying to find safer ways to get high. There is no way of knowing what you are taking without pill testing, realistically. Maybe if you knew the chemist/manufacture... but lets be honest most people are getting a substance from a friend who got it from a friend who got it from a friend and so on. Taste, color, press, and consistency can't tell you. There are so many variables in the chemistry and processing techniques used. There is ton of financial motivation driving people to lie scam and cheat. This documentary "what's in my baggie" does a pretty good job of covering the issue. They go around at music festivals offering to test peoples' drugs for free and you'd be surprised how little real shit there is out there. A lot of stuff being sold as mdma won't even contain mdma. People have sold caffeine pills as mdma, people have sold meth and varies psychoactive substances about. Some of these drugs may be the first time they have been used on humans.. Your friends may not be intentionally lying to you, it's possible they don't know the truth.


Second is neurotransmitters. Serotonin plays a big role in regulating our mood and taking mdma will cause your brain to flood the receptors with serotonin, bringing you that warm euphoric feeling. It also leaves you depleted of serotonin, which is responsible for the horrible comedowns and long recovery periods. The whole "suicide tuesday" syndrome is caused by this depletion. And that's assuming you took mdma. Meth will cause a similar phenomenon but with the neurotransmitter dopamine. when you start getting into research chemicals the actual science and understanding drops off drastically. Some are more understood than others, but some are just being discovered and synthesized for the first time. We are in a new drug era. "Legal highs", and I'm not talking about rec weed. Bath salts are research chemicals being sold and marketed as a product labeled as "not for human consumption", it's the same shit that is popping up at all these music festivals. Most people have no idea what they are consuming, let alone what the possible results are.

lastly, it's pretty dangerous to take mdma or similar drugs while on SSRIs like zoloft. They act on the same and similar parts of the brain. I don't know a whole lot more about it beyond that it is dangerous and a lot of people report problems.

I don't mean to lecture you, it's more for others who are reading. It's unfortunate that you and a lot of others have had to and/or will be learning the hard way, but you can help to educate others. Maybe we will see the end of the trend of people taking unknown substances with unknown side effects.




As far as moving forward, it might be smart to talk to your doctor about the side effects you are having with the drugs if you haven't already.

Getting proper nutrition can help the brain recover and maintain it's levels of neurotransmitters. Not eating right could possibly lead to low levels of certain neurotransmitters available. The body uses things in food, called precursors, to form the chemicals it uses in brain. Vitamins and amino acids might not make a noticable difference right away but it will help. It's also important to eat fairly well balanced meals at regular schedules.

Exercise has been shown to increase levels of dopamine and some neurotransmitters. There is research that says that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise leads to neurogenesis.

Probably the best thing you can do for your recovery process is abstaining from all drugs not prescribed and use the prescriptions only as needed and as prescribed.

Lifestyle, behavior, thought process, and environment all play a role as well.


You can get better to the point where you feel like your old self again, but the honest truth is that there are so many variables that it is impossible to know for certain. Everyone recovers at different rates. I've been psychotic on multiple occasions and people who don't know are surprised when I tell them. A psychologist told me that he was surprised that I was even coherent after I listed off my drug habits to him. It's a relatively new area of research.

The best thing you can do is do your best to remain positive and maintain healthy habits. What's done is done and it won't do much good to worry and obsess about it. You have to focus on what's in front of you. Make the best of what you have rather than worry about possible short comings. Fall forward.

 

[Nihilistic]

Awesome stuff
I had a trip w some edibles about a year and a half ago and was anxious and felt a bit drug fucked for close to 9/10 months and it was pretty horrible, but I'm about back to normal if that helps
I think time is the biggest help and also anti anxiety/depression prescriptions help a shit load too, but just hang in there!!

 

[BeachBum4u]

Hey Mafio, thanks for posting the video above! I think I may have seen it before on the tube but not sure. Either way it is definitely a serious eye opener to be certain. When I first started watching it, I was thinking many of these folks are going to be very upset/pissed when their vile turns out yellow for bath salts. However once I got into the video a little bit, I was amazed at how many of the tests turned out that folks had full out bunk on their hands. A seriously bad commentary on how rotten greed has become these days. Also, really great to see Mr. Hamilton again, I love his show on the Vice network. It wouldn't shocked me if I were to find out he actually spends some time with all of us here on BL! You know, the ole "ears to the ground" and all.

Thanks again.dude!

 

[herbavore]

Mafioso, thank you so much for posting this video. We should just keep this on the front page of BL all the time.