Ask Me Help Desk - Thinking about trying speed (amphetamines)

Wow, I can't even begin to comprehend this..

You seriously want to get into this? It's like asking everyone.. what is it like being bulemic.. I think I'm going to try it..

I have a suggestion, before you decide to throw your life down the drain, read "a Million Little Pieces" seriously it's a biography on a man suffering with drug addictions..

Your "open mind" to drugs is a DANGEROUS road to being going down.. so you're curious about speed , so you try it, then you're curious about herion, you try it.. next thing you know you're a homeless person with no teeth begging for money on the corner.. .

THINK REAL HARD ABOUT THIS ONE!!

Ok and I have some more to add..

I know addiction second hand, I have a cousin who has been addicted to heroin for 10 years and counting and lost all her hair, lost almost all her teeth, lost her daughter, her husband her home and so on.. all because she was curious..

This infuriates me to no end that you so casually think about inviting this hell into your life...

Some of us on here have real problems and need real advice, don't come on here wasting our time trying to seem intelligent that you're thinking it over.. YOU'RE A TWIT!!

And don't think you know everything about life just because you're an adult (barely) because you HAVE NO CLUE!!

I'm 24 and I'm humble enough to acknowledge that I know SQUAT, I'm just not stupid enough to go reek havic on my life based solely on curiosity!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah_nicole

and they will know of my decision either way, and they know of my past use. I never hurt them like that through any of it. But I can relate to those feelings believe me and thankyou for sharing.

I'm sorry, but it seems that you didn't come here to find information. Rather, it appears that you came here to validate something that you simply want to do despite knowing that it's harmful to your brain. I don't know what kind of person you think would tell you that you should try it. I don't think you'll find that here.

I find your posts particularly insulting because you decided to start this thread in a place where people are seeking help from the addictions that are ruining their lives. This obviously includes drug addiction. What you've done is the same thing as walking in on an AA meeting and asking if you should start abusing more serious drugs. At the very least, it's incredibly selfish of you. It's also mindbogglingly disrespectful.

You stated that your family is supportive of you, and that they will be made aware of your decision. Have you been intending to tell them about the ecstasy before or after you've done it? If you think they're so cool with it, why not tell your parents what you're intending to do right now? Then let's hear what they have to say.

You were asked why you've limited yourself to ecstasy and speed, and I'm wondering what your answer is. Make no mistake; ecstasy is a seriously hard-core drug. So is speed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah_nicole

Tickle do you think it is wrong for me to tell you how to drive your car when I have never driven a car before? It isnt fair to do that to someone. Whats immature about that?

Unless you have been intending to become a drug-taking instructor, your analogy makes no sense.

Why do you seem to think that using these drugs will make you a martyr to other drug users? Drug users already know what drugs are like. If people who want to start taking serious drugs want to ask someone what it's like, I don't see why you would have to start taking them so you could tell them.

You can't make the argument that it's okay for you to use exstacy because alcohol and tobacco are legal drugs. What are you comparing?

Do you want a reason not to try ecstacy? If you were not aware, ecstasy use is connected to permanent brain damage and disturbances within the natural brain chemistry that deal with mood disorders.

From http://www.drugfree.org/portal/drug_guide/Ecstasy:

What are its short-term effects?

"Users report that Ecstasy produces intensely pleasurable effects – including an enhanced sense of self-confidence and energy. Effects include feelings of peacefulness, acceptance and empathy. Users say they experience feelings of closeness with others and a desire to touch others. Other effects can include involuntary teeth clenching, a loss of inhibitions, transfixion on sights and sounds, nausea, blurred vision, chills and/or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as seizures, are also possible. The stimulant effects of the drug enable users to dance for extended periods, which when combined with the hot crowded conditions usually found at raves, can lead to severe dehydration and hyperthermia or dramatic increases in body temperature. This can lead to muscle breakdown and kidney, liver and cardiovascular failure. Cardiovascular failure has been reported in some of the Ecstasy-related fatalities.

After-effects can include sleep problems, anxiety and depression."

What are its long-term effects?

"Repeated use of Ecstasy ultimately may damage the cells that produce serotonin, which has an important role in the regulation of mood, appetite, pain, learning and memory. There already is research suggesting Ecstasy use can disrupt or interfere with memory."

There is a lot of information out there. Follow these links for more facts:

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Drug Info
"Much of what is sold as "ecstasy" on the black market actually contains other drugs, some of which can be more dangerous than MDMA, like PMA, speed, DXM and PCP."

This is your brain on ecstasy

Neuroscience For Kids - MDMA (Ecstasy)

I want to be nice here, but I think you need someone to tell you like it is. You seem to have a problem with logic. Your arguments make no sense. I think you also have a huge immaturity problem, even for a 19 year old. I think you have much more growing up to do that you know. You need to start making responsible adult decisions, and taking these drugs would not be one of them. I wish you well.

Firstly there is no "drugs" board so where else was I to put this. I know you are all right in your thinking, that this is a bad and stupid decision to make. The people who I love in my life all have, or do use drugs and this causes constant arguments, me wanting them to stop. I wanted to understand why they won't stop. Why they can't give it up and is it really as bad as I make out? Even if they only do it a few times a year? I know its ridiculous, but I'm in the situation and I'm here for advice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah_nicole

Whats wrong with wanting to try something new. Alcohol is a drug however it is socially accepted so its ok to try. I dont want to have a debate, I just want someone with personal experience in this matter to reply.

Alcohol is legal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah_nicole

Firstly there is no "drugs" board so where else was I to put this. I know you are all right in your thinking, that this is a bad and stupid decision to make. The people who I love in my life all have, or do use drugs and this causes constant arguments, me wanting them to stop. I wanted to understand why they wont stop. Why they can't give it up and is it really as bad as I make out? Even if they only do it a few times a year? I know its ridiculous, but im in the situation and im here for advice.

Okay, I'm going to go with your argument for trying drugs.

You say that you want to know why your family members won't stop, so that's why you want to try it?

I have an Uncle who committed suicide, I want to know why too, should I try it?

You reasoning makes no sense.

So, since you're so intent on getting info from people who've done drugs, well, you're talking to one right now. I was lucky, I had someone in my life who cared enough to get me help early on in my drug use, I didn't end up with any long term health problems, but I know people who do, many people, I even have a few friends who are no longer alive because of drugs. Most of them died before they were 25. Yup, all because of drugs.

If you care about yourself then stay away from drugs.

Great, more info about me. :(

Im sorry to everybody who thinks Im wasting time and space with this question, and to plonak I do think it is a real problem that I want to try drugs, don't you? I just want the arguments to stop. I want to not care, because that's a choice I can't make for someone if they want to use drugs. But I do care, and I love this person. Is it worth staying? Our views on drugs are from two different planets. I can't stop making noise about it. I don't know whether we can work, and that hurts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah_nicole

Im sorry to everybody who thinks Im wasting time and space with this question, and to plonak I do think it is a real problem that I want to try drugs, dont you? I just want the arguments to stop. I want to not care, because thats a choice I can't make for someone if they want to use drugs. But I do care, and I love this person. Is it worth staying? Our views on drugs are from two different planets. I can't stop making noise about it. I dont know whether we can work, and that hurts.

Huh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBC

Huh??

I second that. Huh?

Hannah,Have you read what you wrote?

Does what you stated make ANY sense to you,It sure confused me,and altenweg also.

Are you in the right frame of mind?

I am a little concerned for your mental state right now,what were you trying to say?

KBC

I'm beginning to think that she didn't wait for our advice, she took the drugs anyway.

Hannah, we would like to help you, but you aren't making any sense at all. We can't help you if you leave.

I know that you think we're all being harsh, but it's because we care and I for one know where this road can lead to, it's a dead end.

Please come back, talk to us.

Hannah, you want advice from the other side right? Why don't you come with me on a rotation to the ER in my hospital on a holiday night? Although I work in labor and Delivery, when it is slow there and busy in the ER, you can find me in the ER with a Code Blue because a teen tried Ex. That Ex was made in someone's home and contained poisonous materials. Would you like to be with me and the doctor when we have to tell the parents that we did all we could do to save their child's life, but the damage was too bad and we could not get their 16 year old back.

Or how about the teen that took speed, liked it and took some more when the effects seem to wear off, and then took some more... then their heart gave out?

Would you like to ride in the ambulance with me when we have to transport a teen to the mental hospital because the hallucinations were so bad that they were trying to scratch their skin off?

I have been on the other side of drugs too. I have taken them years ago. I choose to keep that part of my life private as I tend to be ashamed of some of the things I did back then. I now take care of people do drugs just cause they want to "try" it. I also take care of the babies of the women who take drugs while pregnant. Some of the babies live, others don't. Those that live experience extreme withdrawal symptoms, it's not a pretty site to watch a 5 pound baby go through withdrawals.

J9, I had to spread the rep.

If that doesn't get through, I don't know what will. Thank you for sharing all of that with us.

I think it should be mandatory at school for kids to spend one night at the ER to see what happens when they use drugs. The reality would be enough to scare anyone from trying them.

Sadly, for most of the kids out there, their experimentation will wind up killing them. The ones who get lucky may end up trying it once and then not ever doing it again, but chances aren't good. When you're homeless, on the street, selling your body to get money for a fix, well, then it's too late. Now is the time to think of the consequences, not after.

Really, don't do it. Drugs aren't cool, they're the biggest mistake you'll ever make, and it may be a mistake you only make once!

HOW is it being a hypocrite to tell somebody drugs are bad just because you never tried them? In that case it is hypocrite for suicide counselors to tell people not to kill themselves? Is it wrong for someone to comfort someone who has been abused in a relationship when they never had any abuse in their own life?
Why do you want to mess with your health in that way? Anti depressants, speed and other pills can, do and will often make you feel like you are in a fog. A psychiatrist prescribed Paxil for me one time and it made me feel fine and energetic in the morning but by noon I would feel sluggish and in a brain fog.
I hated it! It is bad enough that people who need the drugs have to take them but to purposely take them is not good at all.
Look at all the people who go to rehab and get out and start right back on their drugs. It is bondage!
If you need more energy there are better healthier ways to go about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah_nicole

Firstly there is no "drugs" board so where else was I to put this. I know you are all right in your thinking, that this is a bad and stupid decision to make. The people who I love in my life all have, or do use drugs and this causes constant arguments, me wanting them to stop. I wanted to understand why they wont stop. Why they can't give it up and is it really as bad as I make out? Even if they only do it a few times a year? I know its ridiculous, but im in the situation and im here for advice.

I'm glad that you shared these thoughts with us. I wish you had included this in your original post. It doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't be setting yourself up to play with fire, and it doesn't change the fact that your motivations are being misdirected, but it does give us a better understanding of your situation.

There are only two reasons people take drugs: for fun, or as an escape. Neither one is healthy, and, ultimately, both are equally dangerous. If there are people in your life who take drugs, you can either convince them to stop, or you can't. You can either accept it, or you can leave them behind.

You talked about not wanting to be a hypocrite. Well, if you're against taking drugs and you take them, that's exactly what would make you a hypocrite. You said that you want to try speed and ecstasy so that you will know how you feel about them. Well, if they're fun, will it change how dangerous or bad for you they are? If you're unhappy with the experience, wouldn't that just be solidifying your feelings against them in the first place?

I realize that you might feel like some of us have been a little hard on you, but it's only because it would be impossible for any of us to encourage you to take speed or ecstasy. What kinds of people would tell a 19 year old that this sounds like a great plan? We care about your well being, and we want you to be safe. That's all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

...Anti depressants, speed and other pills can, do and will often make you feel like you are in a fog. A psychiatrist prescribed Paxil for me one time and it made me feel fine and energetic in the morning but by noon I would feel sluggish and in a brain fog.
I hated it! It is bad enough that people who need the drugs have to take them but to purposely take them is not good at all.
Look at all the people who go to rehab and get out and start right back on their drugs. It is bondage!...

While I think I understand part of what you were trying to say, I really don't want anyone to consider equating anti-depressants with speed and "other pills". First of all, anti-depressants are not street drugs, and they're not used recreationally. Second, they are (often) life saving medications that *need* to be taken by people who would otherwise suffer from brain chemical imbalances that would leave them completely debilitated. Given the number of depressed people who already harbor distrust of anti-depressants in general, I just didn't want to let the comparison go without saying something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by linnealand

first of all, anti-depressants are not street drugs, and they're not used recreationally.

I have to TOTALLY disagree with this statement. Xanax is a highly addictive antidepressant and is currently being sold on the black market. There are may others, I just used this one as it is very common.

While some people like the high of amphetamines (sp), others like the low of anti-depressants. I just rode in the ambulance last week to the mental hosptial with a patient who was addicted to antidepressants and alcohol.

Children now go through their parents medicine cabinets and get all the pills they can... stimulants and anti-depressants alike. They all get together and mix the pills then take a handful... it's called a Skittles Party.

Anti-depressants ARE addictive and ARE used recreationally.

I have known meth addicts and it's not pretty. Why would you wan to risk addiction? It completely wrecks people's lives. I will admit once that I did try speed once myself by accident. It was in something else. It was just like drinking 10 cups of coffee. Not fun. I cannot recommend it. Obviously, some people like it or they wouldn't keep taking it an get addicted. So if you don't like it, you haven't gained anything and if you do like, you'll probably become an addict. It's a lose-lose situation.

Correction:
Xanax and valium are tranquilizers, not antidepressants.

Xanax and Valium are completely different drugs from antidepressants such as the older tricyclics or the newer SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).

Quote:

Originally Posted by J_9

I have to TOTALLY disagree with this statement. Xanax is a highly addictive antidepressant and is currently being sold on the black market. There are may others, I just used this one as it is very common.

While some people like the high of amphetamines (sp), others like the low of anti-depressants. I just rode in the ambulance last week to the mental hosptial with a patient who was addicted to antidepressants and alcohol.

Children now go through their parents medicine cabinets and get all the pills they can....stimulants and anti-depressants alike. They all get together and mix the pills then take a handful...it's called a Skittles Party.

Anti-depressants ARE addictive and ARE used recreationally.

I'm sorry, but your critique is absolutely wrong.

First of all, xanax is not an anti-depressant. It's an anti-anxiety medication. They are totally different. We're talking about a big, big difference.

Anti-anxiety medications fall into a completely different category of meds. Xanax and valium are benzodiazepines, which are a type of anxiolytic drug and contain varying levels of sedatives and/or tranquilizers.

Second of all, it usually takes several weeks for anti-depressants to begin working, and since anti-depressants are not based on the "highs" or "lows" of recreational drugs, there is no point in taking them unless you're depressed. That is, "fun" drugs have nothing to do with the modern day anti-depressants used in western medicine.

The following is a list of the most common antidepressants prescribed today:

Drug ↓ Brand ↓
Sertraline Zoloft
Escitalopram Lexapro
Fluoxetine Prozac
Bupropion Wellbutrin, Budeprion, Zyban
Paroxetine Paxil
Venlafaxine Effexor
Citalopram Celexa
Trazodone Desyrel
Amitriptyline Elavil
Duloxetine Cymbalta
Mirtazapine Remeron
Nortriptyline Pamelor
Imipramine Tofranil

Please refer to the following links for more information:
Antidepressant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Most antidepressants have a delayed onset of action and are usually taken over the course of weeks, months, or sometimes years."

Antidepressants: Medications for Depression
"Antidepressant drugs are not happy pills, and they are not a panacea."

Depression - Antidepressants
"Anti-depressants are drugs meant to alleviate the mood in order to escape from depression, while stimulants are considered recreational drugs not used to treat any illness."

Also, stimulants have nothing to do with antidepressants. Nor are they their parallel opposite. You're talking about a totally different category of drugs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulants

I am aware of the fact that you are a registered nurse; considering them to be the same thing, and treating them as such, would have the potential to be very dangerous. If you don't believe me, speak with your doctor.