KCI The Anti_Meth Site

Amphetamine psychosis?

Space Cowgirl 808	Amphetamine Psychosis? My current boyfriend used meth every day for 9-10 months straight. First he was smoking it, then he started shooting it...and then cooking it, which was his major downfall. In June, he Od, died, came back and then went to detox, he didn't use for about a month. From about mid August until now, he's used only twice. He's been completely clean of meth for 22 days. He's sincerely trying to get help, although he has just started drinking very heavily instead. Anyway, my question is about amphetamine psychosis and if anyone has any sort of information/experiences. I really believe that this is affecting him, because he's been having daily auditory hallucinations, paranoia, delusions which are really religious-orientated etc etc. Tonight he had a sort of... episode where he was semi-violent with me. He's an incredibly intelligent man and we talk a lot about philosophy and metaphysics and the sort, and we were laying in bed, half-drowsy and talking when he became very erratic. He grabbed my hair and was literally trying to rip it out, all the while laughing and telling me to listen to "them". He has never hit me or become violently angry with me/near me... so you can imagine it scared the @#%$ out of me. I left the room and a few moments later he came and asked me why I was not in bed, saw that I was crying, became very concerned, trying to hug me/ask what was wrong. He literally could not recall what he had done two minutes earlier. He thought he had been asleep the whole time. Of course when I told him what he did, it devastated him. I really have no idea how to handle this or what kind of treatment to go about seeking, or if its even related to the amphetamine psychosis. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Replies...
eyes open83	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? personally i would definitely say it is related to the meth use...but I'm no doctor... i suffered from meth induced psychosis...and it continued for almost three months into my recovery.... but then it started to fade and now it is gone.... the longer i got away from my last hit the more sanity i got back.... but i know all it will take is one hit and I'm straight back there.... that's my experience...
jacks mom	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? My daughter suffered methamphetamine psychosis and ended up in the hospital. I got there after she had been given a 'Haldol' cocktail so I was not there to experience any of it. Apparently it was pretty bad and she was completely GONE. It took some time before life was back to where it should be.
Jamie J1979	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? Oh my god, that's so freaky. It sounds like some sort of psychosis. There is a lady that posts on this site, Penelope. She works in the mental health field, PM her immediately. That's what I would do at least, she can help you better than I since she deals with things like that daily. That's great that your guy has been clean, it's sad when they don't become "normal" right away when they stop using the drugs. My guy has had very serious meth psychosis, cocaine psychosis too. He attacked me and kept me captive in our apartment for 8 hours while beating the crap out of me because he thought I was showing my crotch to men that weren't there. We did have a guy over getting high with us for about a hour and that's when it started, he accused me of flashing this guy my crotch. This was impossible considering I was wearing a jumper and physically was impossible to show someone my crotch without taking the entire piece of clothing off. I didn't show anyone my crotch, and if I had he would've seen my chest and shoulders as well since I would've had to take the whole outfit off, my guy said I didn't show anything but my crotch. Totally insane. He ended up breaking my nose, my fingers, and giving my a black eye. I ended up getting away from him and when he passed out for three days and came to he couldn't recall the incident. This was years ago. He became violent one other time when he was acting strangely and I asked him to leave, he refused so I grabbed the phone and called 911. He lunged at me and socked me in the face in attempt to get the phone out of my hand. I followed through with the complaint and since then he's never laid a hand on me. After that whenever I asked him to leave because he was making me uncomfortable he did, no questions asked because he didn't want a confrontation with the police again. This also happened years ago. Nowadays I don't live with him because of his use. I see him usually every other day for a hour or so but that's about it right now. Today he was all tweaky and acting strange and we got into an argument in the street and I drove away pissed off. I've never done that before, I usually try to leave on a good note when I see him but he hadn't slept for days and looked and acted like crap. I'm 9 months pregnant with our first and only child. He's busy running the streets instead of getting his life together. Sad. That's so great that your guy was ready to stop using. Now it sounds like he has to be willing to get some professional help for his mental health issues. It's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Many addicts have mental health issues as well as problems with drug addiction. Many of us had mental health issues prior to using drugs, we started using to feel normal or fit in better. Self medicating if you will. Then the mental health issues only got worse with years of drug abuse. Since I'm pregnant I'm not on any anti depressants or anything. Usually I have to take a anti depressant, anti anxiety med, and a mood stabilizer to function normally. The meds I was on weren't meds that could be taken while pregnant so I tapered off of them right away. There was a anti depressant I could take if I felt the need but I decided to try to go without and I've been okay. I hope your guy gets the help he needs, things will be much better once that happens. Don't take this incident lightly. Mental health issues often get worse not better if left untreated. My guy is prescribed anti depressants, sleeping pills, and a mood stabilizer but of course they do no good if a person continues to use drugs so when he is using he doesn't even bother taking the meds. I wonder if he should be taking them even though he's using, anyone know? Good luck with things.
Penel0pe	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? If he is still psychotic this many days after his last use, medication may be needed. I would highly suggest a mental health evaluation (If you can get him to go!) I assume he is hearing voices - that is treatable and should be addressed ASAP. PM me if you have more questions, please!
GaFlake	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? i just had a flashback. 11 years ago, my husband became very psychotic. A lot of bad things happened to me. I did not know why, but now 11 years later I found out that he has been addicted to meth all of that time. I don't want these things to happen to you, so I would be very cautious. I don't even know that I would want to be around him until he gets some help. When you add the alcohol on top of all of this..........It sounds like bad news to me. Watch out and be very careful. If he starts to act strange, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM. Do whatever you have to do to keep yourself safe. I am so sorry you are going through this, and I will keep you in my prayers.
Loraura	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? I concur with Penelope. 22 days clean off meth means this should not be amphetamine induced psychosis. There's no amphetamines in his system to induce the psychosis at this time. However his use of meth and alcohol in general could have altered his brain chemistry to bring this mental illness to the surface. He should see a qualified mental health professional ASAP.
sabino2	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? The effects of this drug on the brain cannot be taken lightly. I know when I was getting clean 2 and a half months ago, I had strange experiences. Nothing like that, but I remember hanging with friends and we would be reminiscing etc, and I would tell a story. Friends who were there would say that all the facts were there but they were completely out of order. Also I would forget conversations I had or events from the day before. Hasn't happened in a while (thank god) but it is something I am still watchful for
Space Cowgirl 808	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? He's checking into detox for alcohol tomorrow, I'm assuming they're going to give him a mental health evaluation there. He has a history of bipolar, panic disorder and GAD but he hasn't been taking meds for almost a year. So Amphetamine Psychosis can't be prolonged even after its stopped being used? He has a bad twitch sometimes, mainly on the right side of his body when he sleeps. He also babbles in his sleep for hours at a time. I'm positive he's not using because I'm with him nearly every waking hour possible, and I could tell anyway if he was.
Penel0pe	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? *Quote:* Also I would forget conversations I had or events from the day before. S2 - sadly, I have that problem STILL - it makes me nuts because people will bring things up - events from the recent past, details of a movie we watched the night before, and for me, the memories are just NOT THERE. I hate it - sometimes I will just listen and silently pray that some minor detail will bring it back in my head... but I have to tell you that most of the time, it just doesn't. I simply can't remember some things. My kids get annoyed by this - so I remind them that this is THEIR future if they make the mistakes I made with my own life. I hear ya - it is totally frustrating and really kind of frightening all at once. It's not as bad as it was...but almost 3 years away from my last pipe full, and I am still having memory problems
Penel0pe	Re: Amphetamine Psychosis? *Quote:* So Amphetamine Psychosis can't be prolonged even after its stopped being used? I think the good news here is that he will be going to a detox facility where there are professionals who can evaluate his mental status. Meth psychosis usually resolves in a matter of days when you take the meth out of the equation. If it continues for an extended period, it COULD mean there is a primary mental illness coexisting with the drug use - but not always. Getting to a medical detox facility is a VERY good idea for him.