Ecstasy ("rolls") OVER abuse and what to expect..

[Fascination88]

Hey ya'll out there, I've got a question for you, and if it goes against the guidelines of this forum let me know because I don't want to do anything bad, but I'm just trying to help a brother out.

You seee, i have this friend (really haha), who every time I go out of town goes ridiculous with whatever drugs he can get his hand on. He's learned the ecstacy lesson before, but this time, being around a different group of friends, started taking more than he ever had before each session, and more frequently. Of course i dont know the exact frequency, nor the total amounts, but he told me in one attempt to "taunt life" in his depressed crash he took 22 of the "rolls" and only puked for hours. It was noticeable when I came back into town that something was wrong. SWIM I know took 3 rolls and doesn't usually take these things that much, and ended up with a 3 day miserable crash....

He's telling me ( my friend not SWIM )....that he has horrible nightmares every night of people just like cutting him to pieces while he's alive....and he just randomly cries often, is so paranoid, can't focus on simple math, and doesn't even know how to be around people.

SWIM felt like he couldnt interact with people for only a few short days, and had very vivid sometimes difficult dreams at night.....and only after a couple capsules of 5-htp had vivid nice dreams haha.

My friend is no longer "taunting life" and realizes that the drugs did this (after a little convincing)....and now wont even touch the drugs....seriously. He knows that while I was gone fixing the crash with the drugs only made the next one worse......

Here's the thing tho, he can barely smoke his herb any more because he gets so paranoid, if he takes his prescribed Klonopin, he cant focus on anything and crashes hard from that.

I had a roommate once that while on Welbutrin who stopped taking it all together after a month of taking it. The things I observed in his behavior then and the stories him and my friend tell me are pretty similar....when he got back on another type of antidepressant, life got better for him......

Do you think that's the steps that my friend should take, or do you think he should just wait it out. We've tossed up ideas like Piracetam and choline supplements, because he's so nervous now (on top of just being paranoid) that he's going to flunk out of school because what he's dealing with now is incredibly hard to do school with. If the antidepressants (which has already been suggested by doctors to try (but didnt want too so that he could take drugs)) aren't the answer, then is there any ballpark estimate to when he'll be close to back to base level?.....

I love my friend and he seems absolutely miserable right now. What he did was stupid and ridiculous, after SWIM realized what one night of 3 of these could do, I dont know what four weeks of this and a 22 dose evening could do to a person.

I've seen him learn lessons with other substances and it took time to come back, but....he's losing patience with school back in session. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and i appologize for this long post, but I just wanted to be as detailed as I could to help out my good friend. Thanks a lot and have a great day!

[KomodoMK]

Little fishys abuse of Ecstasy (MDMA) resulted in severe short term memory loss, he took up to a maximum of 12 per session, once or twice a week for over a year. It took a full year of abstinence for his memory to repair. There was also some sleep paralysis which started off with possibly the most scary nightmare ever - however, little fishy eventually became aware of what was going on and managed to turn it into lucid dreaming and make it a pretty happy and enjoyable experience. (Oddly, this happened last night after not happening for years).

That said, all the pills little fishy consumed were generally of high strength and known quality. The US is quite famous for it's poor quality adulterated and over priced tabs. So it is possible, unless he was aware of what was in the pills, that some of the negative effects are from other drugs contained within them, methamphetamine being the number one example in the US.

Use the forum search engine to find threads (within the Ecstasy section) about Serotonin syndrome and neurotoxicity. Use the prefixes Pharmacology and Side effects to narrow your results down a little more. Comedown, Experiences and Opinions prefixes may also be of some use.

In all honesty though, I would suggest he seeks professional help immediately and honestly and openly discusses his problems in order to find the best solution.

[Ilsa]

here's a thread that provides some very useful additional info on your question...normally i am very wary of antidepressants, but your friend's case is one of a very few in which it actually makes sense to take a low or even moderate dose of an SSRI for awhile. it directly counteracts the damage he/she has done in that it boosts serotonin levels in the brain by inhibiting reuptake (kind of like reabsorption) of serotonin molecules. this provides dying serotonergic neurons with the signal to repair themselves (if possible) instead of self-destructing. the symptoms most people experience after heavy mdma use are usually directly related to neurons dying of serotonin depletion. i've talked more about this in the thread above, but suffice to say that there are neurons throughout the brain (not all of them, but enough with critical functions that it causes serious mood stability and memory issues, along with myriad other issues) that are dependent upon the presence of serotonin for survival. without it, a signal cascade erupts and ultimately culminates in a 'self-destruct' (apoptotic) signal, inducing the cell (neuron) to kill itself.

i am not a doctor, and so do not feel comfortable recommending dosages or specific antidepressants, but i will say that an SSRI would most likely help. let us know how it goes, best of wishes.

[Fascination88]

Seriously, much love to all of you!

I've been talking with him all night, and he's already getting doctors appointments to get the SSRI...Like i said, doctors had offered it before but he had refused due to drugs.....now however, things are quite different in his view of life.

I gotta say people like you guys are amazing, all he needed was some hope. I have NEVER EVER heard him say, that for once in his life he see's why it's worth living... It's been rather emotional around here (for many reasons haha) but my god the fact that i can have a conversation with him now....the fact that he can honestly tell me "i know why drugs are illegal" (although we both agree SOOOO MUCH MORE research should be done)....the fact that he's mending relationships with his parents, coming clean....seriously, you guys are valuable members of society haha D I'll keep you posted on the recovery as it goes along...because I really think it is due to the community.

Thanks again, and i'll keep in touch!

[KomodoMK]

Glad to hear such great news!

If resources like this were set up by the government and not underground more people would educate themselves about what they are doing and make informed decisions on their drug use. However, because it is underground it is often too late for many people to gain access to the vast amounts of information and the fountain of knowledge.

Not all but many drugs could be legalized if the government spent it's money and resources on educating people with the truth rather than spreading propaganda which more than likely results in more casualties than it prevents.

Will be looking forward to reading any future updates on your friend's recovery and answering any more questions you may have.

Take care!

[Ilsa]

^^definitely...i also think just the act of seeking help and starting to take care of himself will be positive for your friend. sending good thoughts your way