[ssue542000]

I have a son who was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic while he was in the hospital. He has been a very heavy meth user for years and I thought this was the cause of his strange actions. I see now after his diagnoses that the meth and p. s. are dually responsible for his strange and sometimes violent behavior. I am just looking for answers on ways to get him to seek help.

[Altered Moment]

Welcome to PC.

Heavy Meth use can mimic bi polar I and psychosis with paranoia. Even after use is stopped.

I was a heavy meth user for five years and two weeks after I got sober I went into a full blown manic episode with lots of psychosis. It lasted for over a year. At that time, 1995, not much was known about meth induced post acute withdrawal syndrome. It may be he is not really PS and it is due soley to the meth. It can happen during meth use and after. The most important thing would be getting clean if he isn't. There still isn't much known about it. Trust me I am not bi polar I or schizophrenic and the exact symptoms lasted over a years for me. Hard to find any articles on it but it is real.

Heavy Meth Use May Up Risk of Schizophrenia | Psych Central News

[SnakeCharmer]

I have worked extensively with meth users. They can experience something that's called a toxic drug psychosis. It has all the appearances of schizophrenia but there is a major difference. People with psychosis caused by schizophrenia rarely get better. But people with toxic drug psychosis can and do recover. They may have to take anti-psychotic medication for quite a while, need supportive care and counseling and regular evaluations to assess them through time. It can take anywhere from a month (in mild cases) to several years to be able to tell what's what.

As far as I know, there isn't a way to tell the difference between schizophrenia and meth-induced toxic drug psychosis when the person is having flagrant symptoms, except to know that the person had been on an extensive meth run.

To compound matters, if a person was heading toward schizophrenia, meth use can trigger changes that push them over the line. All one can do is wait and see if your son improves.

If it's at all possible, it's important to help guide him toward a program of recovery from meth and whatever other drugs he may have been using, including alcohol.

I don't want to hold out false hope. But it is possible your son is suffering from a meth-induced psychotic break that may not be permanent. Time will tell. In the meantime, it's important to treat both his current symptoms, and also his drug addiction, plus encourage good nutrition and self-care.

I have seen supposedly hopeless cases recover and lead productive and healthy lives as long as they stayed away from meth, narcotics -- both prescription and street, and alcohol.

As Zinco said, the symptoms can last over a year. I trust him when he says he's not bi-polar or schizophrenic. He's speaking with the voice of experience. Meth can induce temporary psychosis and people can recover. As he says, little is known about it. Some doctors don't believe in it. They say the person used meth to self-medicate their psychotic symptoms. But I can tell you for sure that it's often the other way around. Rather than acting as self-medication, meth is often the cause of the psychotic symptoms.

I've seen too many people come back to believe otherwise. If they relapse back into meth use, they may have another psychotic episode. But it's drug-induced. As someone who has worked with people on the street, I see recovery from hopelessness all the time. I hope your son is one of the lucky ones.

I wish you the best.

[Altered Moment]

So you have two people with real life experience telling you what his doctor may not be aware of or may not agree with. It is very likely he is not paranoid schizophrenic and this is all caused by meth. I don't think a diagnosis can be made unless he had a history of symptoms before meth use. They right away diagnosed me as bi polar I. Meth really messes up your dopamine system. After 7 years I talked my psychiatrist into letting me off the tegretol because I knew I wasn't bi polar I. He very reluctantly agreed. He thought I was.

I say I am not bi polar I or schizophrenic because I have never had any symptoms before or since that episode.

I did fully recover. I was on halidol (anti psychotic) and tegretol (mood stabilizer) the whole 13 months. After 6 months they gave me my drivers license back. After 13 took me off disability and said I could go back to work.

This all happened in 1995 and I have been clean and sober the 20 years since. I drank and used for 17 years for two reasons primarily. I am an alcoholic/addict and I was self medicating for depression. My dad, his dad, his dad, all alcoholics. Mental illness and addiction very often go hand in hand. It runs rampant on both sides of my family. Meth I let myself get sucked into at the end. It was never really my drug of choice.

Anyway I would say the number one goal would be for him to get clean and sober and stay that way. He may need meds to get through the withdrawal period. I did it by going to a 30 treatment center and thousands and thousands of AA meetings since then.

If you are really struggling I would suggest Alanon or Naranon.