Hi everyone!

I've been told by my pdoc that I am psychotic from time to time, I don't believe this to be true but lets not get into that.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experiences or information on illegal drugs and psychosis. Not really talking about drug induced psychosis here but more so people who take drugs with underlying problems like schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.

The reason I ask is I have a friend who's started taking drugs (mdma) to relieve the voices they hear, it's given her a real sense of peace for a few hours at a time and has increased her mood quite a bit. I hear the comedown can be very bad in some people but this (so far) hasn't affected her.

I would imagine the likes of LSD wouldn't be too good for a psychotic person though, but haven't seen much information not related to drug induced psychosis.

Your thoughts?

[glok]

Hello, chickenfoot.

Alcohol, Drugs and Psychosis - hopevancouver.com

I wish you well.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Ecstasy originally started as a psych drug but they had to make it illegal because people liked it too much. They have started testing it again though for sz and autism among others to help with negative symptoms....

Drug ?Ecstasy? May Help Individuals with Schizophrenia, Autism | Psych Central News

[Sometimes psychotic]

Marijuana Compound Treats Schizophrenia with Few Side Effects: Clinical Trial | TIME.com

Also one of the compounds in marijuana called CBD has antipsychotic properties....while the standard drug has too much THC which is pro-psychotic, you can get oils etc made for people with epilepsy that are from stains like Charlotte's web that are high cbd low thc. Of course this also isn't strictly illegal depending on where you live.

[newtus]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

Ecstasy originally started as a psych drug but they had to make it illegal because people liked it too much. They have started testing it again though for sz and autism among others to help with negative symptoms....

Drug ?Ecstasy? May Help Individuals with Schizophrenia, Autism | Psych Central News

thats so awesome

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

Ecstasy originally started as a psych drug but they had to make it illegal because people liked it too much. They have started testing it again though for sz and autism among others to help with negative symptoms....

Drug ?Ecstasy? May Help Individuals with Schizophrenia, Autism | Psych Central News

That's really interesting thanks. When she took it she obviously felt euphoric but there was this connection back to the World, everything seemed real! She also had a conversation with her mother for about an hour (her mother was none the wiser) and it was a fantastic experience where she wouldn't normally be able to have a full conversation for that long, she really connected!

Edit - By the way I'm not promoting drug use, this is just one persons experience. The comedown from ecstasy can be unbearable for some people and even coined the term "suicide Tuesday". Bad times.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by chickenfoot

That's really interesting thanks. When she took it she obviously felt euphoric but there was this connection back to the World, everything seemed real! She also had a conversation with her mother for about an hour (her mother was none the wiser) and it was a fantastic experience where she wouldn't normally be able to have a full conversation for that long, she really connected!

Edit - By the way I'm not promoting drug use, this is just one persons experience. The comedown from ecstasy can be unbearable for some people and even coined the term "suicide Tuesday". Bad times.

Yeah I think the idea would be to use this type of drug in a very controlled therapeutic setting to help change overall function which might sort of stick even when off the drug....

I think there is a an inherent issue when some drugs like Xanax are hugely addictive but considered legal while other less addictive drugs are class I narcotics....I really think the drug policy needs a careful examination for things with actual medicinal benefits and how to most safely prescribe tho see drugs.

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

Yeah I think the idea would be to use this type of drug in a very controlled therapeutic setting to help change overall function which might sort of stick even when off the drug....

I think there is a an inherent issue when some drugs like Xanax are hugely addictive but considered legal while other less addictive drugs are class I narcotics....I really think the drug policy needs a careful examination for things with actual medicinal benefits and how to most safely prescribe tho see drugs.

Absolutely! It's the unregulated aspect of drugs (mixing with unknown chemicals, etc) that's causing the deaths and it's the ignorance of the general population that is preventing these studies taking place en masse!

My friend has been taking illegal drugs recreationally since she was about 16 (she's 25 now) and has never had a problem. However she had much more of a problem when prescribed multiple benzodiazepines last year and would now have a slight addiction to them.

The thing about marijuanna is, it's not addictive and can't kill you. The thing about MDMA is, you can't really abuse it because to feel anything you have to wait for your seretonin to build back up (this could take a week to a month in some people) and I don't think there's been one death attributed to pure MDMA, unless someone was allergic to the compound and reacted badly, which is extremely rare and happens more often with peanuts!

It's so hard to find valid information on this subject as there are so many 'scare mongering' pages out there from Government agencies pushing 'facts' with no real sources to back them up.

An update here anyway.

It's been a couple of days and I still feel quite well. I've had a period of brain and body zaps that can be mildly irritating, but no 'drug induced rages or psychosis', no depression, sleeping fine, thoughts aren't racing, haven't been paranoid, very little hearing of voices, very peaceful altogether. I do crave time alone though and don't like being around people for too long but I think that's ingrained in me.

How can I say this to my doctor? Generally doctors just go on a mad one when you say you take drugs and you're just labelled a drug user from then on. I really want to know, scientifically, what is going on with my brain. Why is this working? Is it temporary?