As a teen, I used to inhale toxic vapors to catch a buzz. I would get high off of my albuterol inhaler by taking several times the normal dose. I also would inhale lighter fluid as well. After the use of these chemicals, I started to feel very slow and stupid and noticed that after a while I was getting a headache from inhaling them so luckily I stopped at around age 17. The thing is after that my life seemed to change and I am wondering if I may have dumbed myself down due to the use of them.

Originally Posted by Steve223

As a teen, I used to inhale toxic vapors to catch a buzz. I would get high off of my albuterol inhaler by taking several times the normal dose. I also would inhale lighter fluid as well. After the use of these chemicals, I started to feel very slow and stupid and noticed that after a while I was getting a headache from inhaling them so luckily I stopped at around age 17. The thing is after that my life seemed to change and I am wondering if I may have dumbed myself down due to the use of them.

Hello Steve223: Yes, my understanding has always been that one can sustain brain damage as a result of inhaling toxic vapors. However, I'm certainly no expert on this sort of thing. It is really something that would be better discussed with a physician or perhaps another professional in the field of addictions.

I am pleased to hear that you were able to stop engaging in this practice. Hopefully the changes that have occurred were not due to inhaling toxic vapors. However, whether they are or are not, the sooner your concerns are addressed, the better. Good luck!

[Mikeyboy]

I put a trigger because I mention a substance I used to use to get high.


Hey Steve, I can't speak with any degree of certainty as to what may have actually happened to our brains, but I can relate. For a period in my teens I used difluoroethane to get high, and I've always wondered if I permanently damaged my brain and dumbed myself down or stunted myself mentally in other ways. I have always regretted doing it, because I do feel as if I became a bit...duller afterwards.

Yeah, i can see the trigger warning here. It was a very, very foolish thing that I did and I definitely strongly advise against this practice as it is extremely risky stuff.

[ForeverLonelyGirl]

Originally Posted by Steve223

Yeah, i can see the trigger warning here. It was a very, very foolish thing that I did and I definitely strongly advise against this practice as it is extremely risky stuff.

Hi Steve, I often wondered about that as I did that idiotic thing ONCE when I was 14. It was aerosol deodorant of all things! I cannot remember whose idea that was out of all my smart friends. We were fairly intelligent kids from WASP church going families. Where were the parents at that home? Geez I wish someone had stopped us. I remember blacking out.

For years I worried that it caused me brain damage. From what I have learned the last 2 years about brain regeneration, I truly believe that the brain does regenerate new cells, contrary to old theories about it. I definitely have damage incurred from long term klonopin use and am now trying to heal from that. I am totally messed up from that, I sure do not worry about the vapor use.

[vonmoxie]

Not necessarily specific to the aforementioned items, but there were substances that I did in my relative youth about which I have wondered whether I might have sustained some damage in the noggin, but as I believe it would be difficult to ascertain for sure even with a battery of tests, I try not to beat myself up about it. Who can know for sure? None of are quite the junebugs we were as children... Maybe I'm exactly the person I'd be without those experiences. I still manage to annoy a ton of people, so I haven't completely lost my touch.

[Altered Moment]

The only similar experience I have had was huffing freon maybe 20 times when I was in my twenties. Some yahoo friend said they used to do it all the time. Maybe all it did was starve the brain of oxygen. I don't know. When I was a teen we cleaned my buddies dad's dental office and of course when we were done sat in the chairs and cranked up the nitrous oxide. Supposedly safe but I cranked it way up and would sit for an hour or two. I am sure I have killed brain cells or whacked them pretty good over the years with drug use. But the brain is plastic and grows new connection, new receptors, and even new neurons. Long term sobriety heals things.

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[anomaly_fleur]

You can absolutely get brain damage by the use of inhalants, and while sometimes it's reversible, sometimes it's not. When I was around 13 or 14 I started abusing chemicals in this way. I did it almost every day, sometimes more than once.

I had a scary experience when I had inhaled a little too much and couldn't breathe. I ran out of the bathroom and found my sister, who's first response was "Are you high, because your lips are blue". I turned out to be alright, but it terrified me. Following that my memory didn't work at all; important details (my family's ages and names, my own age, what day of the week it was, etc. I had a headache and I was constantly nauseous, unable to eat.

That was a long time ago, and I'm completely fine now. But everyone is different. Long term brain damage is definitely a thing with inhalants.