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Stimulants Lisdexamfetamine Psychosis

telomere

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
6
I'm quite scared right now. I was first prescribed vyvanse 5 years ago, when I was 13, for my ADHD and have been taking it for school. First it started at 20 mg, then 30, and now 40. I've been using the prescribed dose (never higher as I hate the side effects) daily in 9 month intervals (I always stopped taking it when the school was out for the summer) since I was first prescribed it. I knew it wasn't healthy, but I never noticed anything out of the ordinary until now. Lately I've been having hallucinations. Nothing too disturbing pens and pencils out of place, seeing things in the wrong position, clocks displaying the wrong time, letters in books or webpages becoming twisted around and slanted, boxes and other objects appearing for a few seconds then disappearing, also voices at night yelling my name and telling me random things - sometimes malicious things. Now, I wasn't too disturbed by that and I just shrugged it off, it wasn't until last night as I was clipping my toenails and noticed that after I clipped my big toe, the toe nail began to grow back quickly and curl over the front of the toe. It gradually became a sickly yellow color and pus started seeping from the sides. Note that this happened within the breadth of a few seconds and when I blinked it was normal. Shocked, I examined it and tried to find evidence of what I had just observed but to no avail. For a while today, I was unable to tell if the hallucination was a dream or something I consciously experienced, but now I am certain it happened.

I've also been delusional for the past 2 months. I've become preoccupied with the fear that the toils of my life, the reason school is so expensive, and that I see propaganda everywhere I look is the result of an ancient, global conspiracy plotted by the Abrahamic religions to covertly enslave the world both psychologically and financially or the CIA or other groups who either currently have power or have historically held power. I've thought that pharmaceuticalcompanies are all part of a government conspiracy as well and I've become very scared that the government wants me dead. My thoughts always return to the thought of being persecuted and conspiracy. There hasn't been a day in the past two months that I haven't had these ideas. I don't know how long it'll be before I start becoming paranoid of others as well.

The only mental conditions I have been diagnosed with are ADHD and Major Depressive Disorder. I've never experienced such phenomena before now.

POINT OF THREAD: Does this sound like amphetamine psychosis? What can I do? I've tried ceasing my vyvanse use, but every time I do, I feel incredibly depressed, tired, and agitated. I'm currently enrolled at a university so I can't afford to stop using some sort of amphetamine or stimulant ADHD medication, but I also can't afford to think things like "The government is out to get me. There is no escape." Both are detrimental to my grades.
 
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maybe. it sounds kind of like the sort of behaviors that i've observed in people suffering from amphetamine psychosis. how are you sleeping? perhaps consider reducing your dose of vyvanse if you can't entirely eliminate it? if one were in a self-medicating mood, i'd suggest maybe a bit of benzo when you are experiencing symptoms and see if that helps? but really, you should tell your doctor or psychiatrist that you're experiencing symptoms of psychosis and you're not certain whether or not it's a side effect of the vyvanse; they will be able to best assist you. hope you can eliminate or reduce the vyvanse and the problem may go away, otherwise late onset mental illness may be suggested. best of luck to you.
 
Paragraph One: Yes, those are certainly signs of amphetamine psychosis

Part Two: Possibly amphetamine psychosis induced, however this is not an uncommon belief.

Amphetamine Psychosis has different levels of its intensity. A low level may be strange thoughts and changes in morals after long exposure to high doses of amphetamine/sleep deprivation. A chronic level may be the unmistakable belief that what you are hallucinating (Hearing, seeing, feeling) is real.

Finally, depression and fatigue post amphetamine cessation is completely normal.

I advise getting with your doctor and discussing options. He may choose to prescribe you a counteractive medication to ease these paranoid side effects, he may take you off the medication entirely.
 
It sounds like the beginnings of amphetamine psychosis to me.

When does your semester end? You may want to consider reducing your dosage down and taking a break from amphetamines for a while. Continuing to taking amphetamines will eventually make your symptoms worse. The good news is that amphetamine psychosis is reversible by abstaining from amphetamine usage for 2-3 weeks (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the person).
 
I highly doubt this is amphetamine induced psychosis!!!!
it does sound like you are having a psychotic break but that is no where near enough vyvanse to induce psychosis.... seriously those are completely normal therapeutic doses

however you should absolutely seek help but i think that the problem is slightly larger than 40 mg of vyvanse per day
 
My semester ends soon so that's a good sign. The only anxiolytic drugs I have at my disposal are metroprolol and propranolol and I dislike the feeling of benzodiazepines. I average about 2-4 hours of sleep a night. Important things I forgot; I take methylphenidate and sometimes desoxyn. I stopped for this semester, but I've taken high doses of 25-I-NBOMe, 25-C-NBOMe, 2C-B, 2C-E, 2C-I, 2C-C, LSD, and DMT in the past.

I have an appointment with my doctor next week. Hopefully he'll have some decent advice.

In the mean time, would taking moderate doses of hydrocodone or an opioid or ate help to relieve any of these symptoms?
 
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I highly doubt this is amphetamine induced psychosis!!!!
it does sound like you are having a psychotic break but that is no where near enough vyvanse to induce psychosis.... seriously those are completely normal therapeutic doses

however you should absolutely seek help but i think that the problem is slightly larger than 40 mg of vyvanse per day

As someone who has experienced psychosis, I will say what he is portraying are obvious early stages.
 
ah, beta blockers, garbage, those aren't going to do anything for you. i guess just try to maybe reduce your vyv dosage a little bit and just stick it thru until you can talk to your doctor. you should probably be getting more sleep. maybe a few unisoms would help to knock you out for a good 8 hours and you might feel a little better then. OTOH, you might just be kept up in an annoying semi-delerious haze. it's promising that you've been able to trip in the past without experiencing psychiatric symptoms but i've known people who were totally fine until their mid-twenties and then mental illness crept up on them, so, i suppose it can't be written off entirely. i suppose really the only way to find out for sure is to detox you off the vyvanse (plus all the other stims... desoxyn?! really??) and see how you look in, say, two to four weeks.
 
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renz
I agree.... but i dont think vyvanse is the cause... especially in those doses
also if you are worried about it just stop taking it... i went cold turkey from 60 mg of vyvanse and i was lazy and ate alot but its not physically addicting
 
I agree with Renz Envy 100%.

Taking methamphetamine and methylphenidate on top of the Vyvanse and all those psychedelics probably isn't going to help you. The lack of sleep is the problem you need to address first and foremost. While opiates have been used in the past for psychiatric issues, I don't know how much they'll help with psychosis. Of course, if they help you get to sleep....really...you need to sleep.
 
I highly doubt this is amphetamine induced psychosis!!!!
it does sound like you are having a psychotic break but that is no where near enough vyvanse to induce psychosis.... seriously those are completely normal therapeutic doses

however you should absolutely seek help but i think that the problem is slightly larger than 40 mg of vyvanse per day

I strongly disagree - the OP described symptoms almost identical, in the paranoid aspect, to those I experienced when on the verge of amphetamine psychosis. Different people will have different thresholds when it comes to the dose at which psychosis results from amphetamine use. Even if amphetamines aren't the primary cause, they will certainly aggravate any psychotic condition. OP, talk to your doctor, try discuss alternative medications, and at the very least, try taking a long break from the pills and see what it does to your mental state. This goes without saying, but if you smoke weed or use psychedelics, you really ought to stop. If you find yourself in greater distress, then prescription or otherwise, some benzos may be of short-term use for relief and sleep.

The paranoia sounds like classic 'phet psychosis, amd the hallucinations, too, like fairly extreme symptoms. You may just be unusually susceptible to the side-effects of regular amphetamine use - talk to your doc, I'm sure he'll have ideas for alternative therapies. A long vacation from ADHD meds and maybe a switch to low-dose time release Ritalin with benzos or a low dose anti-psychotic might be one solution - but you really need to be completely frank with your doctor. As you ahven't experienced these kind of symptoms before, it seems likely to me that they are drug related.
 
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i just think there is a possibility the op is suffering a schizophrenic break.... or something else similar
i am not entirely convinced its drug related
 
taking opiates [at a super-analgesic dose] may help alleviate your symptoms, certainly they're not indicated for this purpose medically but they could in theory definitely calm you down and/or help you to sleep; i know lots of folks who self-medicate various psychiatric issues with opiates. however, they could also have the opposite effect, causing anxiety, nightmares/night terrors and other such deleterious effects, which aren't going to be of any help to you in your current state. i'd try the unisom first.

@tackyspiral you may be right, but it's impossible to say until the possibility of amphet psychosis is eliminated by cessation of stim use.
 
Dont take opiates.... adding more narcotics will probably not better your situation

if you are actually in a psychosis perhaps 72 hours in a psych ward is something to consider?
 
Hey OP. You're saying you get only 2-4 hours of sleep a night, take vyvanse every day, and consume those psychedelics.

Well I was literally on the same exact path as you, almost same chemicals, but a little more nightly sleep not 3 months ago. Stopping taking vyvanse and NBOMEs as much as definitely helped me. I was hallucinating, mind you, but it was effecting my mood a lot.

The right amount of sleep is of great importance. Maybe try getting up earlier and taking the vyvance right when you wake up, then take melotonin or something to help you get to sleep. That helped me. Diet as well :D
 
I must correct myself again. On days I have classes I average 2-4 hours of sleep a night. On days that I don't, I usually get around 6-10, but I have classes 5 days out of the week. Nothing I've tried for sleep has helped, except opioids, so I may start taking them until I get a better solution. Beta blockers have seriously helped me in the past for panic attacks and general anxiety, so I may start taking them again. I've also become something of a social recluse, so I have a question for those of you who have experienced psychosis: When you experienced psychosis did socializing at least ease anxiety you may have felt? Obviously it won't directly help with psychosis but if it could help me to stop being scared, then I'll gladly neglect my academic life for a little bit. Is this typical of taking vyvanse and other ADHD stimulants for as long as I have and starting at such an age? Just in case it's relevant, I was prepubescent when I first started taking ADHD stimulants. I've alternated to other drugs like Adderall and Concerta before but I never stayed on them for long. Vyvanse has been the most effective and commonly used one for me.

I've already stopped taking psychedelics and using marijuana entirely. I actually did it when the semester began. Is it safe to be honest with my doctor about using them? All of those drugs, save the NBOMe's, are now schedule 1 drugs. I know doctor patient confidentiality...but I still have my suspicions.

As for time in the psych ward: no. Absolutely not. They could force me to take antipsychotics and I've taken them before and I had seizures when I did. The reason I took them was not for psychotic symptoms but out of spite when I called my therapist a "Fucking, African cunt" and likened him to Idi Amin Dada.
Also, I've been having suicidal thoughts for the last few months and if I tell make the mistake of voicing them to someone in the ward all sorts of things could happen. And I'm pretty sure that In in the state I'm in, Louisiana, anyone who voices thoughts of suicide is immediately considered unable to consent to treatment.
 
opiates are not an answer to sleep issues.... you will most likely only create more issues or make your current ones worse.... also a tolerance can happen very quickly
stop taking all drugs perhaps????
 
Just a thought. I just don't know what else to use. Melatonin hasn't helped, nor has diphenhydramine or doxylamine. I tried kava kava once and it helped a lot. Maybe I'll start on that again.

right now the only drugs I take are lisdexamphetamine, methylphenidate hydrochloride (as ritailin), and methamphetamine hydrochloride (as desoxyn). I can cut out the ritailin and desoxyn, but not the vyvanse because of my classes, especially since I have finals soon.
 
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