Toxic leukoencephalopathy

[PredatorVision]

I'm worried i've got Toxic leukoencephalopathy, I've smoked heroin for the past two years, from foil mostly, I intesified my usage in the last 6 months. I've been noticing that I get weird problems with my eye sight sometimes, as well as bad short term memory, I also get violent dreams which usually lead to me being chased by a mob of some kind (Apparently this is a sign of Dementia)

I've got a doctors appointment next Thursday, I also got made redundant the other week mostly due to certain circumstances that were beyond my control so have been on a bit of a binge the past week. What's going on Methadone like? does it work in terms of weening off opiates?

 

[steewith2ees]

I cant speak to the
symptoms of TL (although as the worlds leading heroin using hypochondriac Ive convinced myself that Ive had it on occasion.

They are troubling symptoms, but may very well be something much less insidious that TL. Its difficult to conduct a full neurological examination on somebody who is using street opiates in a chaotic fashion - perhaps a stable daily methadone dose will give you and your healthcare provider a clear platform to investigate your symptoms.

Going on Methadone can feel very daunting when u read all the horror stories regarding its withdrawal but having an uncontrolled full time heroin habit is just as difficult to deal with. The only side effect that I cant abide is the way it completely surpresses my apitite. Aside from that and the disgusting taste of Physeptone (8 out of 10 uk junkies prefer it to, err , drinking diarrhea) its helped me reduce my street heroin use by over 90%. As for those protracted withdrawals - thats a bridge ill cross when i get to it.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Am I the only one that likes the taste of methadone? Hell, I even used to chew the tablets.. But methadone can be a curse or a blessing - it all depends upon your attitude and determination. On the plus side it saves you loads of dosh, is healthier than street gear, stabilises your habit and helps keep you away from the drug scene. The downside is that it can turn into an extremely long addiction and can be a bitch to come off. If you go for it, start tapering as soon as you can, but taper slowly. Withdrawals will be minimal as long as you do it properly.

 

[spudgun]

I wouldn't worry about the nightmares/violent dreams thing. I think it's well known that doing a lot of opiates can lead to night terrors and bad dreams - it happens to me loads. I doubt it's dementia.

 

[Shambles]

Not that I'd ever wish to put somebody off from seeking treatment for their addiction issues no matter what brought them to tht decision, according to wiki there seems to be so little known about this condition that it doesn't really follow that if you are concerned about being at risk of being amongst the very few unfortunate enough to be stricken via the medium of smoking gear that you'd necessarily be any safer switching to methadone as that is also a known potential cause.

It is believed by some researchers that heroin-induced leukoencephalopathy may be caused by a contaminant, or “cutting agent,” in the heroin.[3] However, no such agent has been identified; and indeed, toxic leukoencephalopathy has been observed as a result of intoxication with contaminant-free opiates. Cases include a 65-year-old woman who had mistakenly been taking three times the dose of methadone that had been prescribed for pain management, and a young girl intoxicated with pure morphine sulphate tablets.[3]

Other drugs that have been associated with toxic leukoencephalopathy in much more rare occurrences include psychoactive drug 2C-E ("Europa"),[4] oxycodone,[5] cocaine,[6] and methadone.[7] The dose-response relationship for these substances remains unclear.

source

Of course there are many other reasons why switching to methadone or any other treatment option you and your doctors decide is better suited to you. As you obviously know, this is a very rare condition so it is a bit of a longshot - the symptoms you describe don't sound especially unusual to me and could indicate any number of possibilities or simply point to nothing in particular (find me anybody over the age of about 25 who doesn't have problems with memory and... I'll likely have forgotten you did a week later 8)).

Hopefully your mind will be put to rest after seeing the doctor but it may be worth thinking on whether heroin is really the best option for you even after you have been given the all-clear. Most heroin addicts I've known (I'd say bordering on all that I have known personally) are not expecting to be alive for very long anyway. It kinda comes with the territory - friends and acquiantances die all the time and they aren't doing anything you yourself aren't also doing in most cases. Soon becomes pretty clear that it's more or less a lottery who survives and who doesn't. Obviously there are many things to be done to minimise risks but it is an inherently risky bizniz and this is generally tacitly accepted in my experience.

Sometimes a brush with death - whatever that brush may be - can snap a person out of that state of unspoken acceptance. Sometimes it reminds a person that there are other options and almost all of those options greatly reduce the chances of especially early and unfortunate mortality. Methadone may not be a magic bullet to avoid Toxic Leukoencephalopathy but it is certainly one of the options that can help a great deal in terms of taking a big step towards positive lifestyle changes.

 

[Eveleivibe]

I'm worried i've got Toxic leukoencephalopathy, I've smoked heroin for the past two years, from foil mostly, I intesified my usage in the last 6 months. I've been noticing that I get weird problems with my eye sight sometimes, as well as bad short term memory, I also get violent dreams which usually lead to me being chased by a mob of some kind (Apparently this is a sign of Dementia)

I've got a doctors appointment next Thursday, I also got made redundant the other week mostly due to certain circumstances that were beyond my control so have been on a bit of a binge the past week. What's going on Methadone like? does it work in terms of weening off opiates?

Never been on methadone only suboxone. Have you been told you're going on methadone or is this something you'd like? You could possibly look into both suboxone n methadone as different approaches work for different people.

Sorry i don't kniw about TL but Shambles knows his stuff so you'd not go wrong listening to what he says.

Evey