Side effects - Amphetamine side effects have changed

[Jaden]

Can anyone please help? i have taken speed on and off for years but the last year i had been doing it most weekends and would be on it for 4 days at a time but i could always stop when i wanted.
I have read articles regarding withdrawel syptoms but they dont relate to what im feeling, i have always had come downs the usual tiredness, feeling low etc but now when i go to bed even if i have been on it for 2 days when i wake my hands are very swollen and i can hardley move them. and the tiredness is so bad i can barley lift my arms to wash my hair and i feel totally confused it is horrible so i have to take more speed to feel normal. its not that i want it, its that i have to take more to function.

Please any ideas what it is

Reputation Comments on this post:

	self incrimination
	swims should not take off for first post infractions

[chillinwill]

my friend, please avoid self-incrimination as this isn't allowed on DF and you agreed to that when you signed up....go back and reread the rules and make sure to SWIM or something similar

it also sounds like SWIY has an addiction to speed....a good place to start searching and reading information would be here http://www.drugs-forum.co.uk/forum/f...play.php?f=282

[Jaden]

My swim knows that its an addiction and my swim has looked through all the forums in relation to the symptoms but cannot find the same symptoms, my swim does not crave th drug at all but only has it to get rid of the terrible side effects, my swim has only had these side effects for about 3 months but has been taking the drug for many years on and off
my swim can eat normally so does not miss meals and takes vitimins and supplments and exrcises. obviously my swim doesnt get much sleep but they do rest and meditate and after mayb 2 days will sleep for a good 18 hours.
Can anyone help my swim as to why these symptoms have just started
and why does the hands swell up?

[Autumnsoath]

I dunno, but after doing a quick google search, I have found that (as well as numbing of the hands/fingertips) as a common side effect of overdosing. Also most websites are recommending immediate medical attention, as it could be a precursor to heart attack. It wasnt hard for me to find this info, just google something along the lines of "amphetamine fingertips hands ankles swollen numb", should bring up some information, and you can decide afterward whether you think you need medical attention or not.

[chillinwill]

Originally Posted by betsym

Swiy is having the "fog head" that comes from taking stimulants for any length of time.It is definitely withdrawal symptoms but sounds more pronounced. Taking speed for 4 days at the time will almost certainly cause this feeling. Whether one is prescribed stimulant medication for ADHD or one uses it recreationally doesn't matter, they will still have withdrawals if they go off of their meds abruptlyand even more so with methamphetamine. Swim has ADHD and once on Christmas break, she didn't take her meds for a whole month. Swim didn't know she wasn't supposed to just quit taking it like that and she suffered mental fog and fuzziness, a feeling like a mental case of the flu,fluid retention, and terrible depression. When break was over and she went back on her meds, it all miraculously disappeared. Swim realized that her depression was withdrawals from her meds and talked to her doctor about it. He told her to always taper down for several days when she knew she was going to be on break to avoid having that happen again. Speed and Amphetamines have been known to cause heart attacks in people with unknown underlying heart problems which is why they are prescribed by doctors who can monitor such things. Swelling of hands and/or feet could be an indication of edema caused by fluid build-up around the heart but might also be caused by the slowing down of the metabolism. Swiy probably feels like she can't even get out of bed. On stimulants, the metabolism is revved up along with everything else, even in ADHD people who are mentally slowed down so they have only 5000 thoughts a minute as opposed to 5 million. Stimulants make one more prone to dehydration since it raises metabolism and body temperature so it stands to reason that just the opposite would occur when one is not using stimulants. Swiy can use L-tyrosine and D-phenylalanine to help get rid of the fogginess (with doctor's approval)and increase energy but swim wouldn't do anything without seeing the doctor first to make sure nothing more serious than withdrawals is going on. Having to take increasing amounts of speed just to feel normal indicates tolerance and makes for more severe side effects while on the stimulants, as well as off, and more severe withdrawals when not on them. The exercise will help. If swiy can stay off the speed for a couple of months, she will begin to feel "normal" again without the stimulants but that's easier said than done. Swim found this out when she had summer break for 3 months while in college. Swim vowed she would not be dependent on medication, regardless of her ADHD, as long as her energy levels were not "out of control". When swim went back to school after summer break, she took her meds only when she had to study for major exams and while she was actually taking the exams. At the most, she took only 5 mg once a day, every other day. In this manner, she did not build up a tolerance and in fact, she would sometimes forget that she hadn't taken her medication on an off-day and would feel and act as though she HAD taken it. After awhile, some people will learn to mimic the medication. One thing that swim found to help a lot was to NOT sleep more than 7-8 hours, no matter how tired she felt because, the more she slept, the more she wanted to sleep and the worse she felt. So less sleep and the supplements mentioned helped swim to eventually adjust to where she no longer needed medication full time. Swim's hubby sometimes gets irritated with her wanting to talk to him at all hours of the night when he is trying to sleep or watch tv but not enough to matter. Swim will also sometimes stay up all night and then sleep for 12 hours or so but she usually avoids doing that since sleeping that long means she will feel crappy when she finally gets up. Swim does not need stimulants to stay awake but needs them to shut her mind up/off so she can go to sleep. Swim can take her meds and go to sleep, no problem, but usually just listens to soothing music to go to sleep. if swiy's symptoms have only been going on for the last 3 months then they might be caused by the increased usuage due to tolerance but swim thinks swiy defintely needs to visit the doctor. Don't be afraid to level with them and tell them what has been going on in swiy's life. Also if by speed, swiy means they have been taking methamphetamine, that is more serious than amphetamine use, both in side effects and withdrawals but the supplements will still help. Swim has a male friend in his mid-40s who just had a heart attack and he has used meth for at least 7-8 years as well as smoked cigarettes for many years before that and still does.He is not overweight at all so weight wasn't a factor. He had a 100% blockage in his main artery but despite that, the heart attack didn't scare him enough to affect his drug use except to slow him down a little due to his wife threatening off all of his sources. Ironically, swim's friend's wife used to use with him but quit cold turkey one day about a year and a half ago.He thinks that the terrible way he feels when he doesn't use is worse than dying, so swiy is not alone in how she feels. Swim's friend's doctor prescribed him an anti-anxiety medication to help with withdrawals. Since he had a heart attack, stimulants of any kind, including L-tyrosine, would not be recommended. Swim is not trying to scare swiy at all but just wants swiy to understand the seriousness of her symptoms. Congestive heart failure cause weakness, edema (swelling, especially hands and feet), shortness of breath, fatigue, as well as cognitive symptoms swiy described. Numbness of hands and feet could also indicate poor circulation due to heart failure as well.Poor circulation means less blood flow to the heart and brain and could also cause a stroke. Swiy doesn't mention her age but age doesn't seem to matter when it comes to speed and what can happen. Meth and cocain have been known to cause heart attacks and stroke immediately in people in their 20s who seemed perfectly healthy.Because of this, swim herself limits the amount of medication she uses for her ADHD. Swim does not recommend that anyone with severe ADHD quit taking their meds because the resulting behavior could be just as bad if they spin out of control or engage in risky behavior they otherwise wouldn't but that is a decision that needs to be made on an individual basis. someone with ADHD might not be the best one to advise someone who isn't and has used stimulants for other reasons but swim justed wanted it known that swiy's symptoms are common withdrawals although more serious than anything swim has experienced. The mental fog and depression by themselves are enough to drive many people back to doing speed and more than once swim has had to cut her medication back if she found herself needing more than usual. It can creep up sometimes but swim plans to quit taking it all together and just keep for emergenices. Stimulants cause increased dopamine receptors to form in the brain in response to the increase in dopamine release the drug causes,and when one stops using a stimulant, these extra receptors scream like starving babies wanting their bottles until, finally, they dry up and go away, but this takes time. The same thing happens with cigarettes and smoking and any other drugs which increase dopamine release. An anti-depressant that works on the dopamine, such as Wellbutrin, may help but again this requires a doctor visit. Take care.

Love your post but it's really hard to read as it is now....Could you go back and put in line breaks and stuff so it makes it easier to read?

[c17h21no4]

dude i get that a lot. i mean sometimes i'm at the computer while coming up and when i really go nuts on the dose my hand just freeze also when nuts become nearly suicidal dose i can't really flex my legs and i tend to fall when i try to stand up. did every test possible , my heart is really dandy, but i played rugby for 8 years at a top team winning some championships ( junior championships /under x age ) and i used to be a passionate cyclist. my advice to you is real simple ... go to the doctor , you have nothing to loose , or you maybe risk to loose your life sitting home wasting your time. i mean i did some stupid stuff in my life , but when it came to education , and health i didn't take any chances , even if i had to fend-off some chick that was working on my c**k . drugs are a dangerous game and no precaution is paranoia.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by chillinwill

Love your post but it's really hard to read as it is now....Could you go back and put in line breaks and stuff so it makes it easier to read?

Hi

I just selected all the text and then copied it and pasted it into word and changed the font for easy reading, hope this helps x

Jaden added 1 Minutes and 50 Seconds later...

anti-depressant that works on the dopamine, such as Wellbutrin, may help but again this requires a doctor visit. Take care.[/quote]


Thanks for your reply and advice it is very much appreciated swim is going to seek medical help

Jaden added 43 Minutes and 31 Seconds later...

Thankyou for taking the time to reply
swim is going to get medical help and swim will let you know how swim gets on

[chillinwill]

Originally Posted by betsym

Pleae do Jaden and chillinwill swim will edit her post now. Swim's ADHS causes her to "run on" at times.

its all good....was still able to read it but it was causing an eye strain lol