Hell on earth

[Cllstnvlnst329]

Hey guys, SWIM is looking for assistance, and needs it asap. SWIM has searched the forums but hasn't found anything that quite matches what he's going through. Here's a little backstory.

SWIM has used both dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate recreationally. The first time was last August. It's been a downhill battle since then.
SWIM used methylphenidate first. SWIM's friend gave him more than 100 10mg pills, and a number of 5 mgs that was only slightly fewer. Her therapeutic instruction was to take 1 of each every 3 hours. Within two days, SWIM was taking 4 of each every 2 hours. SWIM wasn't really digging the oral route, so SWIM started crushing them and insufflating them. SWIM killed off the supply in about two months.

SWIM took a break that lasted a few months due to a debilitating accident that required him to take pain medication and steroids, afraid that mixing such drugs wouldn't be good news (and obviously afraid to ask the doc if it was something dangerous). The withdrawal wasn't really withdrawal at all. According to SWIM, it was just a little "hm I wish I had some, but oh well".
SWIM recently fell into a gold mine; someone who was prescribed adderall (dextroamphetamine) and didn't want to take it every day. SWIM didn't really think dextroamphetamine would be much more addictive than adderall, nor more potent. **sidenote** It hasn't yet been mentioned that SWIM does display GREATLY marked symptoms of ADHD, and that properly using these meds probably wouldn't have caused him these problems **
SWIM has been able to control his usage fairly well. It hasn't been an every day thing, though when he does decide to do a line it could end up as 4 or 5.

SWIM decided to binge the other day, though it wasn't the first time. SWIM is an insomniac and doesn't sleep very well as it is, so the 3 day binge seemed like an ordinary experience, except it was a 3 days spent with the ability to function. At the beginning of SWIM's dance with danger last august, SWIM had been a non-smoker for about 6 or 7 months. This time around, SWIM chain smokes more than 1, and sometimes more than 2 packs a day. The binge started Thursday. It was going well until Saturday. Around 6 or 7 PM, SWIM started getting strange tics, like those you experience with bad OCD. If he didn't shake the energy tics, he couldn't get a full breath. This should've been the first sign of something wrong. At 1 AM (Saturday night into Sunday morning) SWIM and his binge partner were having hallucinations. SWIM has never really hallucinated before, though his friend has reported hallucinations on prior occasions. SWIM and his friend decided to take a sleep break. SWIMs friend woke him up at 8 AM, about 7 hours later. SWIM did a line with his friend. This was the last line SWIM did. He took a deep breath around 3 and experienced a chest pain that he'd felt before, but it shook him this time. The whole day after this point was spent wondering if something was wrong. Strange feelings in his head, almost as if he had a fever (the near-detachment your head feels from your body).
It's now Tuesday and SWIM is still very afraid he may have done permanent lung damage. He can't seem to shift his focus anywhere but his breathing, and it's almost as if he's forgotten how to breathe. He seems to feel a bit better, but everyone's said that if he just went to sleep Sunday night, he'd wake up fine. He has slept through the past two nights, but is having trouble falling asleep because he can feel his heart beating in his chest and his breathing is scaring him. Everyone else says SWIM seems fine, and SWIM has checked his blood pressure/pulse twice since the beginning of the symptoms. For being 20, the data seems to be in range. Restlessness isn't that abnormal for SWIM since he's an insomniac, but this seems to be an altogether different feeling.

SWIM has wanted to go to the ER since Sunday, but thinks that if he's alive right now, he probably won't be dying from this incident. SWIM has attempted suicide in the past (once, almost five years ago now), and doesn't want to be locked up in an institution if he goes in for help. SWIM also doesn't want to have to incriminate the person who gave him the pills. SWIM used to have a voracious appetite, and despite reading up on withdrawal, he says he has no appetite. SWIM's specific questions are:
Has anyone ever felt/reported these symptoms?
Can SWIM have done permanent lung damage by snorting so much medication?
If these feelings are common, are they symptoms of withdrawal?
SWIM has flushed the rest of his supply, and SWIM will not be doing this again. The symptoms have subsided a bit; Should SWIM be fine if he doesn't go to the doctor?
If SWIM went to the doctor, would the doctor be required to contact law enforcement/would SWIM serve any time for having taken the drugs if he no longer has them?

Sorry to write a novel, I have to go keep SWIM comfortable; Thanks again!

[shadowchaser]

lack of appetite is one of the effects of amphetamines. it'll come back. additionally nicotine is an appetite suppressant too.

anxiety is another one. swiy has to focus on other things. worry begats worry. it's easy to fall into a circle of worry which ends up in a full blown panic attack.

fairly sure dr/patient privilege covers everything that they discuss, but it might be worth checking out the statutes locally as it might vary.

[DecoyPencil]

SWIM is sorry to hear about SWIY's experience. Amphetamine can induce some pretty scary stuff at high and/or chronic doses. If SWIM is reading SWIY's post correctly, it has been a few days since SWIY's binge. If that is correct, then the worst "circles of hell" should be behind SWIY. However, caution is always warranted, especially when it comes to potential overdoses and their effects. While SWIM thinks that SWIY will probably be ok, he would still recommend a potential trip to a healthcare professional for an examination. Why? Some of SWIY's symptoms during the binge (mainly the more severe effects like hallucinations and strange feelings in SWIY's head) could possibly indicate a manifestation of amphetamine psychosis, or at least similar severe effects brought on by a rather high dose. SWIY mentioned that his blood pressure, pulse, etc seem to be in range at the current time. But is SWIY still feeling any chest pain, strange/unusual feelings in his head (physically OR emotionally) or that strange detached feeling? SWIM doesn't want to freak SWIY out, but if he does have these symptoms still, the possibility of amphetamine psychosis or similar should at least be looked into. While this is more common with long-term (chronic) doses, it has been documented in cases of single, large doses of amphetamine.

Schizophrenia-like symptoms have been experimentally produced in humans by a single, large dose of amphetamine or by relatively low level, but continuous administration of the drug. The state produced by single large doses of amphetamine, although clearly abnormal, has been said to bear less resemblance to schizophrenia than the delayed paranoid symptoms developing after longer periods of continuous intake.
Source: Nielsen EB, Lyon M, Ellison G. Apparent hallucinations in monkeys during around-the-clock amphetamine for seven to fourteen days. Possible relevance to amphetamine psychosis. J Nerv Ment Dis 1983; 171 (4) :222-33.

From time to time reports appear in the medical press of toxic reactions due to over dosage with amphetamine and related compounds. Since these drugs became available for therapy some twenty years ago there have been an increasing number of reports of psychotic illness as one of the manifestations of amphetamine intoxication.
Source: Connell PH (1958). Amphetamine psychosis. London: Chapman and Hill.

Again, the symptoms SWIY mentioned do not automatically mean that he has amphetamine psychosis. SWIM wants to stress that because he doesn't want to cause undue worry. Amphetamine psychosis is relatively rare, especially when dealing with short-term amphetamine use. But it is something that SWIM would recommend having checked out. Just in case ). More commonly, the hallucinations, chest pain and strange feelings in the head are a result of the previous dose / combination of doses and subside within a few days afterwards. The remainder of the side effects SWIY mentioned are much more common, even when overdose isn't a factor.

As for the final decision regarding whether to go to the doctor or not. In all honesty, SWIM would recommend it even if most of his side effects are gone now. One can never be too careful when it comes to drug use and their health! Plus, as SWIshadowchaser said, physician-patient privilege will typically prevent SWIY from having to incriminate the SWIMmer who gave SWIY the pills. There are some exceptions, such as if there is a federal case, or if SWIY's state has different laws. But most local laws do not require a physician to disclose the information to law enforcement unless there is reason to suspect it will cause future harm, crime, etc or if they suspect it is a continuing crime. If SWIY made it clear that it was a onetime thing and that SWIY no longer has access, it shouldn't be a problem. Best of luck to SWIY either way. And as always, feel free to post if support is needed.

DecoyPencil

[Cllstnvlnst329]

Thank you guys, SWIM is feeling a little better. Still worried, but feeling better - even if SWIM had amphetamine psychosis, it wouldn't be permanent right? (Time frame for complete recovery?)
I think the reason SWIM is so scared is because SWIMs mom used to do coke and she said she gave herself a condition called APO Premature Beats (might not be 100% on the name) - SWIMs heart beat doesn't feel right, but obviously SWIMs not dead yet so it isn't fatal. SWIM is going to make an appointment with a doctor in the next few days to make sure SWIMs alright. Thanks again everyone.

[missparkles]

My mate Sparky did "black bombers" in the 70s, these contained Amphetamine (Speed) and Dextroamphetamine (Active salt in Adderall), and she was taking them like they were going out of fashion.
She became psychotic, was admitted to hospital, but eventually she was fine. All of the symptoms mentioned by the OP are spot on for these type of drugs.
She's pleased to hear he's got rid of the rest.
His doc is bound by confidentiality, and he doesn't need to say where he got the pills from. It would be good to get his health checked, if alls well, he says nothing. If there are problems, he'll have to tell the doc about the drugs.
But it's best to get help now, leave it, and any problems might get worse.
Perhaps he needs to get some help with the problems he has, the issues that made him so susceptible to addiction in the first place. Maybe his suspected ADD might be a good place to start. My mate Sparky has heard that this condition can cause lots of emotional problems, one of which is lack of concentration.
Hope this helps?
Sparky.

Just wanna say, any friend that dumps that many pills on a mate, without any thought of the consequences for said mate, is no fuckin' friend.