Other - MDMA, good or bad for schizophrenia?

[Synesthesiac]

I've recently been speaking to someone on youtube who has schizophrenia and was asking me if it MDMA would help him. I told him I didn't know, he should ask his doctor befoe trying any MDMA therapy for his condition, and other general words of advise (for both sound mental health advise on schizophrenia, and responsible MDMA use incase he does try it)

One of his messages in the converstaion was this to give you an idea:

Lol, that's the only way to explain my schizophrenia - there's one voice who tells me the right way and another voice that tells me the wrong way. They, quite simply, are not me. And it doesn't matter what I call them I can call it good conscience or bad conscience God or Satan Life or Death they're talking to me and telling me stuff man you have to understand. And I already went to the doctors for medication and they did INDEED enforce the law on me. Here in America we have this thing called a 51 50 which means you are on suicide watch and by law if you tell a doctor that there's a voice inside your head telling you to kill yourself you are an automatic threat to yourself and by law they have to detain you and study you for a certain amount of days on different medications and they have to permit you back out into public seeing that they have found the right medication and you are showing them that you can function back outside. I'm not in the UK like you was born in Germany, yes, but I now reside in the US and it is very tricky over here. I don't know about going to a clinic and asking a doctor if it would be alright for me to seek therapy for my schizophrenia in MDMA which is a recreational drug you know? I've already done E a few times since I've been out and all it has done is change my life view and made my good conscience a bit louder.

Now I suggested its probably not a good idea if he is actively hearing voices and that he should ask a doctor before undertaking any big choices, but would love to know of any people on the forum who have schizophrenia and have done MDMA and what effects it had. I think that there have actually been some limited studies on MDMA treating schizophrenia, but I cant seem to find them at the mo.

I can see how it might help, but schizophrania is a whole different ball game from PTSD and general MDMA therapy studies.

[buzzman]

Mixing substances such as MDMA with such a condition is a VERY risky game.

[Synesthesiac]

Originally Posted by buzzman

Mixing substances such as MDMA with such a condition is a VERY risky game.

Well aware of that. Thats why I told him categorically that i dont recommend it, and to ask a doctor.

I think thats why theres no large studies done on MDMA therapies role on patients with schizophrenia. To risky a condition to mess with. But I can certainly see how the empathogenic perspective MDMA can give people on life might let a person with schizophrenia see how unreal their shirzophrenic symptoms are and 'snap' out of it so to speak. Though I can also imagine how this could go terribly wrong and give them all sorts of extra psychological confusion.

Since he has already made the decisiion to take pills before, I just recommended he not use pills but pure mdma and buy testing kits. Figured if he is going to use it then may awell do it as safely as possible.

[Morqpog]

yeah , i looked into this a while ago.Theres some information on the internet re MDMA and LSD therapy with schizophrenia with positive results but these have been done in clinical trials in the 70's etc.I also read some info about some therapist's/psychotherapists in US present day who are open to this sort of therapy ,however ,only a few.very experimental and i think a lot of health care professionals/doctors are too freaked out to explore this area.but i'm only going on what ive read and im a complete novice (medically).
Also someone i know who has schizophrenia took some MDMA recently and he was fine , no problems during or after what so ever.from what i observed it was a positive experience for him.
To my knowledge the main drug which a person with schizophrenia needs to stay clear of is pot, because it can induce paranoia and confusion etc

Morqpog added 575 Minutes and 34 Seconds later...

Having said that , this person really should speak to their doctor about it and maybe take 1/2 tab instead of a whole

[chaos69]

^i tell this to a few of my friends with schizophrenia that smoke pot everyday. they swear it helps them but i think its only because they smoke it everyday that when they stop the withdrawls put stress on their bodies which amplifies the schizophrenia. the only other drugs they ever do is speed which is another one they should steer clear of.

[Synesthesiac]

Originally Posted by chaos69

^i tell this to a few of my friends with schizophrenia that smoke pot everyday. they swear it helps them but i think its only because they smoke it everyday that when they stop the withdrawls put stress on their bodies which amplifies the schizophrenia.

A lot of people with schizophrenia DO choose to smoke dope, for some largely unknown reasons as of yet. I still dont think its good for their condition however, and usually compounds the problem rather than helping it.

swim got severe depersonalization for a few days after stopping chronic weed use cold turkey (used daily for practically his entire youth) and he complained of feeling very odd for a while. He also had done MDMA and BZP earlier that week, so cross effects can not be ruled out. It lasted about seven days, and swim didn't feel like he was himself, he felt distant, like watching his life through a movie. Everything had an odd nastalgia feeling, as if swim was disconnected from reality and living in a memory. If swim was not a moderately intelligent person who understood what was possibly occuring as a withdrawal he didn't work himself up about it but tried to ignore it and distract himself from it, but this state could likely trigger psychotic or schizophranic symtoms in people predisposed to it (studies have also shown a roughly 2x increase in developing psychotic symptoms or having a psychotic break with adolescants when used chronically, seemed to mainly be caused by skunk with high THC to CBD ratios)

Altough cannabis is not thought to have any serious withdrawal symptoms, if the persons been relying on it to cope with aspects in there life, they suddently have to face up to everything when they stop. Which can lead to odd symptoms to cope with the situation. Depdends on why they use the drug. Most people are fine.

Dont think MDMA would expect to cause this though, as people do not use mdma every day, like chronic weed smokers (there a few well known isolated cases of daily abuse for years), and so at least MDMA is not keeping people in ther altered states 24 hours a day, so frequently that is stops them keeping touch with normal reality, which is where psychological issues may suffice when discontinued.

[Morqpog]

I knew a guy who was schizophrenic and he constantly smoked pot daily for a year, maybe more.no problems from what he said , no episode , no hospitalisation.yet as soon as he went cold turkey , he was hospitalised,go figure. ha ,i can't work that one out.and yet it's so true, that some schizophrenics smoke pot.To me it doesnt make sense.maybe pot smoking has benefit in some biochemical way even though it is the trigger for schizophrenia