Whats wrong with me? HELP - Mental Illness.

[Spiderman]

Alright, I need some intelligent people to help me understand what's wrong with me.

 

I'm 22 years old and have been suffering from "mental illness" probably most of my life. It was in 2003 that I experienced full blown psychosis due to Cannabis (marijuana) use. I think, that me using Cannabis was just me self medicating, and the psychosis I experienced, I would have experienced later in life, regardless of the use of marijuana or not.

 

Anyways, the psychosis was an intense experience. It felt like, two entities invaded my body/mind/spirit. The two entities looked like they were fighting to control my mind and actions.

 

Numerous times, I would use my computer (notepad) and I could see the entities typing through me. While one would type a message, the other would erase it. I had absolutly no conscious control over my body.

 

I came to realize that one of the entities tried to trick me into commiting suicide. It typed out a message:

 

"Consider killing yourself, you may be harvesting an alien in your stomach, and the only way to live, is to die. Who do you want to believe, yourself or your government?"

 

At the time, I really believed it. I really did think there was an alien inside of me. It was weird. It felt so real, that I actually went to grab a pair of scissors and was really about to kill myself.

 

Most of the few days of craziness revolved around visions, I was receiving visions, past memories were brought up, it felt like I had knowledge of everything that has ever happened in the universe and all that will happen. It also felt like there was no past, present or future.

 

I also felt like I was god. I also believed I was god.

 

Things took a turn for the worse, and I was invariably locked up in the Psychiatric ward and drugged up. My family and friends were freaked out.

 

Ever since 2003, I have never been the same.

 

It feels like, whatever invaded me, or was released, is still inside of me, running in the background of my mind like a computer virus.

 

Since 2003, I have been admitted to the Psychiatric ward mostly on my own accord when I feel like I am losing my mind.

 

The psychiatric ward does not help me. The medications work alright, but there are crazy people inside, that always feed into my delusions, even if I haven't spoken to them.

 

My doctors basically tell me, I suffer from Schizophrenia, then they tell me i'm Bipolar, then they say i'm Schizo-Affective, then they say my problems are related to my upbringing, then they say delusions of grandeur etc. I honestly don't buy this at all.

 

 

It feels like there is a parasite like entity attached to me. It seems to be feeding off my adrenaline or dopamine. I know my problem is somehow related to Dopamine, because when I am on anti-psychotics, like Haldol or Seroquel, I am a completely different person.

 

But unfortunatly, when I am on Haldol or Seroquel, I will basically go out seeking things that will boost my dopamine levels. I will "fall in love" too easily. I will have a chip on my shoulder and start a fight with someone for some superficial reason. I might even seek out drugs or sex like a dope fiend. Antipsychotics don't let me have sex either, they inhibit something when it comes to sex, like semen production or something.

 

When i'm off medication, I am basically paralyzed, listless, bored, lethargic. I feel like a heroin addict. The days, hours, minutes just breeze by. I'll eat more than I need to. I'll find ways to stimulate myself that don't take much effort, driving fast, drinking, strip clubs etc.

 

 

 

 

Neither of these personalities are me. I am not the person I am when I am on Meds. I am also not the person I am when I am off-meds.

 

It feels like I am stuck in a catch 22. I have no idea what to do.

 

I have spent years seeking answers to my problems, and this story is the only thing that makes sense to me... It is a quote from the spiderman comic series. Yeah, I know it's a comic book, but it totally relates to me...

 

Symbiotes feed on their host's adrenaline, usually released into the bloodstream during the fight-or-flight response. They have also been shown to depend on their hosts for a steady supply of phenethylamine, a chemical found as a nuerotransmitter in the human brain. While this has been known to lead some symbiotes to consume the brains of others, the chemical can also be ready found in processed chocolate. While the symbiotes are connected to a host, they raise their host's dopamine levels. They can apparently be killed, or at least forced into some sort of death-like state, by an overdose of dopamine-inhibitor. Symbiotes aren't able to bond with hosts who have high levels of vitamin C in their blood streams. There are several levels of biological symbiosis, or "bonding" that can be achieved between a symbiote and its host, each with different biological consequences.

 

The Overreach committee holds Venom, suffering from amnesia after their last knockdown drag-out with Spider-Man, they dope up Venom then toss the symbiotic duo into a sound-enhanced, super re-enforced cell. As secret agent Smith goes for some more anti-Venom drugs (dopamine inhibitors)

 

 

 

Yeah, I know, it's a comic book. But it's exactly what life feels like to me. There is something that is raising my dopamine levels. Plus, when I am taking medication, I really do eat chocolate and do drugs that contain phenylethylamine.

 

I am never conscious of what I am doing on meds. If I am on meds, I don't even consciously understand why I feel like trying a street drug that contains phenylethylamine. I just do it. Without even thinking of the long term or short term reprecussions. I feel like a pregnant woman who wants to eat dirt or brocolli because of the certain minerals or what not inside of it.

 

What do you guys think my problem is? Am I just genetically predisposed to mental illness? Is it my environment thats causing my craziness? Is it a parasite that science hasn't studied that is just using my body and mind for it's personal goals?

 

Help!

[Bluenoise]

I'm sorry I wish I had answers to your questions. I feel that whatever conclusion you will find will come have to come from within.

However if I may I'd like to make a suggestion. This is in the understanding that you don't like satisfying this dopamine fix, but knowing that you can't help it. I'd like to suggest you find alternative methods to satisfy this craving. Try Sports, Playing music, Dancing, Writing. Goto the gym and go crazy for 1 and a half hours. I say this because your currently methods will only drag you deeper into your problems. You need something real, something clean. Not something that will further distance you from reality or damage your mind.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

First and foremost, I'd like to point out that we (as in all of the members of this forum) are not doctors (except a few, perhaps), we have never seen you in person, and we are otherwise completely unqualified to make any suggestions for you. Do not take the advice of random people on a forum over a medical professional.

 

That being said, I have a suggestion.

 

It seems to me that you don't have confidence in the doctors that treat you. That by itself is a problem. If you can't trust the people that are trying to help you (whether it be because they're incompetent or you just don't like them), your treatment will be inhibited. You need to find a doctor that you can trust and confide in, one who won't just say "ah, a psychotic. To the shock therapy!" (stereotype, but you get what I mean) but who will actually take the time to work out your problems.

 

Do that and you will find your progress greatly facilitated.

[someguy]

first off, I am not an expert, I don't have a degree in psychology, but if that's ok with you then i would like to know more and maybe to at least some small degree i could help.

 

what tests have you been subject to?

"I am never conscious of what I am doing on meds. If I am on meds, I don't even consciously understand why I feel like trying a street drug that contains phenylethylamine. I just do it. Without even thinking of the long term or short term reprecussions. I feel like a pregnant woman who wants to eat dirt or brocolli because of the certain minerals or what not inside of it."

 

 

this is exactly what cravings are, this is why people crave certain foods all the time, this is why people grow up in different cultures liking different types of food, this is why certain foods "grow on you" and this is what addiction is, partially. addiction is also partially that your body, for functioning, has come to dependent on a substance and so you crave that substance and your body reacts to the lack of it also. you say that you were not conscious of it, do you mean that you are aware of the fact it is happening but you don't feel in control of it? like if you are in a sense just acting impulsively, whimsically, sort of emotionally, but not logically?

 

 

 

did you hear these voices in your mind? and if you heard them (I know you saw them writing) did they seem like the same voice?

 

technically nobody has been the same since 2003, considering what you went through that is normal and not necessarily part of what happened to you. just being in your ward would be enough to do that in my opinion. unless maybe you mean something more. if so, how do you mean?

 

were you high when you were typing in notepad?

 

what is like when you feel like you're losing your mind? how do you know when it is happening to you?

 

"It feels like there is a parasite like entity attached to me. It seems to be feeding off my adrenaline or dopamine. I know my problem is somehow related to Dopamine, because when I am on anti-psychotics, like Haldol or Seroquel, I am a completely different person."

i'm not sure exactly what you mean by this. why do you feel like there is a parasite like entity? can you physically feel it? or does it just seem by your symptoms that it is like that? and why does it feel like it is feeding off your adrenaline or dopamine? is it just because you feel like compensating for lost dopamine or adreline? or is it something more than that?

 

i think everybody would feel like a different person on a large variety of drugs. i'm not specifically familiar with those, but do you feel that it is more than that? don't you feel like a different person even after you smoked weed or drank too much? if it's more than that, how do you mean?

 

"Anyways, the psychosis was an intense experience. It felt like, two entities invaded my body/mind/spirit. The two entities looked like they were fighting to control my mind and actions."

 

what was different about them? would you say that the entities were different more on an emotional level? or more on a level of reasoning? while it felt like one entity was in control, could you remember and know of the other? would your answer be the same for both entities?

 

i'm not sure if this question could be pertinent to you, but while it felt like one entity was in control, do you feel like it had all the same memories as the other entity?

 

"I came to realize that one of the entities tried to trick me into commiting suicide. It typed out a message:

 

"Consider killing yourself, you may be harvesting an alien in your stomach, and the only way to live, is to die. Who do you want to believe, yourself or your government?"

 

how did you come to realize this?

 

I think you are probably right about the cannabis part.

[Spiderman]

first off, I am not an expert, I don't have a degree in psychology, but if that's ok with you then i would like to know more and maybe to at least some small degree i could help.

 

I don't care, i've gotten more help from people without degrees than those with.

 

what tests have you been subject to?

 

MRI/Cat scan/Psychological ones

 

 

 

this is exactly what cravings are, this is why people crave certain foods all the time, this is why people grow up in different cultures liking different types of food, this is why certain foods "grow on you" and this is what addiction is, partially. addiction is also partially that your body, for functioning, has come to dependent on a substance and so you crave that substance and your body reacts to the lack of it also. you say that you were not conscious of it, do you mean that you are aware of the fact it is happening but you don't feel in control of it? like if you are in a sense just acting impulsively, whimsically, sort of emotionally, but not logically?

 

When I say, I am not conscious of it, I mean, i'm just not aware of why I am doing it, and why it is a pertinent aspect of my life. Why exactly am I spending $100 on legally club drugs/raver drugs made in New Zealand?

 

Then after i've used them, and look at the wrapper, I notice a main ingrediant is... Phenylethylamine. I never knew this when I purchased them, I just had a desire to "get high" I didn't realize, that I may be trying to balance my brains biochemistry.

 

like if you are in a sense just acting impulsively, whimsically, sort of emotionally, but not logically?

 

Exactly.

 

did you hear these voices in your mind? and if you heard them (I know you saw them writing) did they seem like the same voice?

 

No they were different.

 

 

technically nobody has been the same since 2003, considering what you went through that is normal and not necessarily part of what happened to you. just being in your ward would be enough to do that in my opinion. unless maybe you mean something more. if so, how do you mean?

 

Nah you're right. Everyone changes I guess, and i'm sure psychosis would do that to a person.

 

were you high when you were typing in notepad?

 

Yes.

 

what is like when you feel like you're losing your mind? how do you know when it is happening to you?

 

Too hard to explain in words....

 

 

i

'm not sure exactly what you mean by this. why do you feel like there is a parasite like entity? can you physically feel it? or does it just seem by your symptoms that it is like that? and why does it feel like it is feeding off your adrenaline or dopamine? is it just because you feel like compensating for lost dopamine or adreline? or is it something more than that?

 

I don't think it's a physical thing, just a genetic thing, I don't know enough about genes, but it feels like there is something inside my DNA that was unlocked by the Cannabis smoking. The only way for it to function is by feeding off the adrenaline and dopamine. It maybe more than that. Im not sure.

i think everybody would feel like a different person on a large variety of drugs. i'm not specifically familiar with those, but do you feel that it is more than that? don't you feel like a different person even after you smoked weed or drank too much? if it's more than that, how do you mean?

 

No doubt, but people say wierd stuff, like "Spiderman, you are really charismatic." Ummm... No i'm not? Maybe it's just because i'm on meds. The great thing about weed and alcohol is, you "come down" from the high... You don't come down from the high from psychiatric medication untill you come off of it. And you're just thinking... "Whoa... who was that person on meds? Was that me? I was acting like a completely different person for 6 months!."

 

It's just wierd, I have different skills when i'm on meds.

 

 

 

what was different about them? would you say that the entities were different more on an emotional level? or more on a level of reasoning? while it felt like one entity was in control, could you remember and know of the other? would your answer be the same for both entities?

 

YES! They were different on a more emotional level. One of the entities had absolutly no emotion. It didn't care about anything. It was like I could sense his plan, and it was devoid of anything related to compassion.

 

No, when one entity was in control, the other one dissapeared. It was as if, one was trying to prove his "case" to me while the other tried to disprove the other.

 

My memory is too vague about the event, one thing I do remember, is that, they both wanted to control me for their personal gain. They both had plans. They both had desires. They were both trying to plant them inside of me.

 

It feels like, their seeds or whatever, are only now starting to sprout... (In my spare time, i'm designing clothing, which is an idea I got when I was going crazy...)

 

i'm not sure if this question could be pertinent to you, but while it felt like one entity was in control, do you feel like it had all the same memories as the other entity?

 

Definitely, I clearly remember one of them, asking through me, something like... "The other entity is a liar, I am the one telling you the truth."

 

Then it gave me like a riddle about liars...

 

"Theres two people, one can only lie, while the other can only tell you the truth... How do you tell which one is which?"

 

Well, some riddle like that. One was trying to disprove the other. Wierd stuff. All I can say is, it did not feel like what most people describe as psychosis. This was something different, and I was just lumped into the psychosis category.

 

 

how did you come to realize this?

 

I realized the suicidal part, was because when I was hospitalized and doped up, my psychiatric notes said "Spiderman is experiencing visual hallucinations that are driving him towards suicide... They seem to be subsiding with medications."

 

I don't remember the first week in the hospital, all I know is, that in the notes, even on meds, I was seeing things trying to kill me.

 

Thanks dude, your questions have already helped me understand more about myself and my experience. Keep em coming.

[CPL.Luke]

there is some weak evidence linking cannabis use and schizophrenia, and one of the main things schizophrenia does is to amp up your dopamine levels, thus the medications used to treat it usually try and bring the dopamine levels down.

 

I have an uncle who suffered from schizophrenia and he nearly killed himself several times, eventually after working with his psychiatrist he was able to find a course of meds which kept him sane, he's been fine for the past 15 years.

 

I also have known several other people who needed certain courses of medication to stay sane, with the general pattern being that they would start out and hate the meds, and hate their doc, go off and on for a while, and then eventually they would find a course of meds which worked for them.

 

remember that there is a wide variety of medications available which could help your problem, you just need to work with a doc in order to find the right perscription, (you also need to have a doc who will listen to you).

 

The drug use probably doesn't help your situation either, as it could react badly with your medications, and it could possibly cause some additional brain damage beyond what you may already have.

[Revenged]

there is some weak evidence linking cannabis use and schizophrenia, and one of the main things schizophrenia does is to amp up your dopamine levels, thus the medications used to treat it usually try and bring the dopamine levels down.

 

Not strictly true...

 

1) Atypical neuroleptics (e.g. clozapine) don't even work on dopamine receptors

 

2) There's no evidence schizophrenics have high dopamine levels...

 

3) Neuroleptic anti-psychotic medication works by blocking dopamine receptors - it doesn't decrease dopamine levels...

 

as for phenylethylamine Mr Spiderman... taking it is next to useless... it is almost entirely metabolised by MAO-B before it is enters the central nervous system...

[CPL.Luke]

2. yes there is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_hypothesis_of_schizophrenia ....

 

1. yes they do... read through the above article.

 

3. my mistake, but the net effect is similar, your brain recieves less dopamine than it was getting before.

[Revenged]

2. yes there is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_hypothesis_of_schizophrenia ....

 

1. yes they do... read through the above article.

 

3. my mistake, but the net effect is similar, your brain recieves less dopamine than it was getting before.

 

1. i don't agree with wikipaedia... perhaps i'm wrong but i was told that 'atypical' neuroleptics are 'atypical' because they don't work on dopamine receptors... for example, clozapine has a high affinity for the serotonin receptors 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C whilst having a low affinity for the dopamine D2 receptor...

 

2. as i understand it, there is evidence that activity of the D2 mesolimbic pathway when inhibited reduces psychotic symptoms... but this itself is not evidence of high dopamine causing schizophrenia... and certainly there is no evidence that suggests cannabis causes psychosis by increasing dopamine... every drug that is addictive increases dopamine levels in the brain, as does exercise, as does just about anything - none of which you can state cause psychosis...

[CPL.Luke]

i was not linking psyvhosis through cannabis with dopamine.

 

from wikipedia

 

The relationship between schizophrenia and drug use is complex, meaning that a clear causal connection between drug use and schizophrenia has been difficult to tease apart. There is strong evidence that using certain drugs can trigger either the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in some people. It may also be the case, however, that people with schizophrenia use drugs to overcome negative feelings associated with both the commonly prescribed antipsychotic medication and the condition itself, where negative emotion, paranoia and anhedonia are all considered to be core features.[68] Amphetamines trigger the release of dopamine and excessive dopamine function is believed to be responsible for many symptoms of schizophrenia (known as the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia), amphetamines may worsen schizophrenia symptoms.[69] Schizophrenia can be triggered by heavy use of hallucinogenic or stimulant drugs.[70] There is evidence that cannabis use can contribute to schizophrenia.[71]

 

 

it should be noted that everything I've linked off of wikipedia I have seen elsewhere such as sciam, however I find it easier to find stuff on wikipedia.

 

 

also as far as atypical neuroleptics are concerned while they don't hae as strong of an effect on the D2 receptors they do have a considerable effect, blocking 60-70% of the D@ receptors for the first several hours after ingestion.

[Wormwood]

Spiderman:

As another poster has said, none of us can examine you in person so a realistic diagnosis might be impossible. Having said that, have the doctors checked your frontal lobe for tumors? While most of your symptoms sound like schizophrenia or paranoid schizophrenia, there were a few things you said which make me think it could be related to an abnormal growth in the brain.

 

The symptoms you describe when off of the meds is text book depression. The lethargy, the heaviness, and all of that is easily accounted for. Regular exercise acts as an anti-depressant which could help level you off, but if you do have an abnormal growth, or schizophrenia, other steps will have to be taken. I suggest you talk to your doctor about lithium, which may be a much more suitable med for your circumstance if no tumors are present. Lithium is perfect for bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, and it especially helps control the "mania" portion of the illness which in you seems to manifest as self destructive tendancies. Again, I haven't examined you and I don't know your full medical history, but it is an avenue to explore if you have not already done so. I hope this helps.

[Revenged]

i was not linking psyvhosis through cannabis with dopamine.

 

ok, sorry about that... i thought you were implying that... i don't disagree that there is a causal link between heavy use of cannabis and schizophrenia... so i agree with you (and wikipaedia) on that...

 

btw, you were right about the atypical ones... they work on D2 receptors as well as serotonin receptors... blockade of D2 receptors causes the 'positive symptoms' of schizophrnia to reduce - that's audiological/visual hallucinations - whilst serotonin receptor blockade reduce the 'negative symptoms' of schizophrnia that's lack of speech, emotion etc.... atypical are better than typical neuroleptics that only act on D2 receptors - as these would only target the 'positive symptoms'...

 

there were a few things you said which make me think it could be related to an abnormal growth in the brain.

 

 

this isn't House... i don't know what you hope to achieve by posting such a post - but whatever it is it isn't going to have a positive effect... whoever spiderman is, he has issues... telling him that he may have a brain tumour when there is no evidence to suggest as such is a resipe for disaster...

 

there is no evidence of seizures, no loss of sensory or motor function, no weakness, no loss of proprioception, no hearing loss, no headache, no hemianopia, no paralysis...etc. in fact - nothing to indicate any neurological abnormality whatsoever... he even has had mental problems all his life... he didn't suddenly end up psychotic out the blue one day... never mind that, any type of cancer is exceptionally rare in someone so young... so please don't try to act like House MD... you should not be making diagnosis based on such little knowledge especially if your 'diagnosis' would cause immense worry and has no legimate basis...

 

you aren't a psychiatrist either... lethargy could easy be side effects of medication - you can't say that it is mania considering that anti-psychotics are major tranquillizers!... so please don't try and diagnose when you aren't medically trained to... and even if you were - it would be malpractice to 'diagnose' online...

 

btw, i would disagree that lithium is perfect for mania... it has it's own problems... i have heard of someone having to be put on dialysis and later on dying of kidney failure due to over 20years of using lithium...

[Wormwood]

this isn't House... i don't know what you hope to achieve by posting such a post - but whatever it is it isn't going to have a positive effect... whoever spiderman is, he has issues... telling him that he may have a brain tumour when there is no evidence to suggest as such is a resipe for disaster...

Well if you can come down from your high horse for a bit, I can explain why I said that. I discovered after reading more carefully, that he had an MRI and CAT scan. If I was so way off base, why do you suppose those tests were run? Not only is the onset of childhood schizophrenia pretty rare, but any neurological symptoms such as hallucinations can be signs of a tumor and it's better to be safe than sorry in matters like this. I go into more detail about the symptoms below.

 

 

he even has had mental problems all his life... he didn't suddenly end up psychotic out the blue one day... never mind that, any type of cancer is exceptionally rare in someone so young... so please don't try to act like House MD...

Tumors that grow slowly often go unnoticed or misdiagnosed for years. Also what about ependymomas and medulloblastomas, which are two types of brain tumors off the top of my head, no pun intended, that primarily begin in childhood and could account for some of these symptoms. In your list of tumor symptoms you forgot :

 

Abnormal eye movements or changes in vision

Drowsiness

Changes in personality or memory

 

The last one is especially pertinent because his hallucinations involve memories. For example:

"Theres two people, one can only lie, while the other can only tell you the truth... How do you tell which one is which?"

 

Whether he realizes it or not this is from Labyrinth.

 

Finally, schizophrenia occurs when the two hemispheres of the brain do not communicate correctly. The same symptoms could be caused by a tumor inhibiting correct communication. I was sure to mention that I had never looked at his medical history, but I would want to know if I had symptoms for what could be a bigger problem. Obviously his doctor thought the same thing and already ran the appropriate tests. Boy is my face red.

 

you aren't a psychiatrist either... lethargy could easy be side effects of medication - you can't say that it is mania considering that anti-psychotics are major tranquillizers!... so please don't try and diagnose when you aren't medically trained to... and even if you were - it would be malpractice to 'diagnose' online...

You are confusing two different things here. Mania isn't a part of his depression, it is a part of his bi-polar/schizophrenic disorder which he very clearly has. The symptoms of the depression could be caused by the medication, I never said it wasn't. That still doesn't negate the fact that he has depression and also must deal with those symptoms though does it?

 

btw, i would disagree that lithium is perfect for mania... it has it's own problems... i have heard of someone having to be put on dialysis and later on dying of kidney failure due to over 20years of using lithium...

And? You will find instances like this with practically any medication. People die from aspirin. It isn't really an option to go without medicine, so he should be trying to find one that he can take and still function somewhat normally on. Ultimately his physician will decide, but I was under the impression that he came here for possible answers to his problem. If you are content to tell him what you think he wants to hear and at the same time offer no suggestions go right ahead, but don't preach to me because I offered suggestions. Let his doctor decide if I'm right or not. He already said that haldol and seroquel don't work; what medication would you have him take?

[Revenged]

ok, perhaps you should have explained it a bit more... i was thinking about what he wrote in his post tbh cuz i read this spiderman had voices trying telling him to kill himself because he had an alien inside of him and he believed he had symbiotes parasites inside of him because he read it in a comic... i just thought that telling him that he might have a brain tumour is a good thing... that was all... i apologise if it was i over reacted... as it was, a CT would have shown a tumour, so i think it's safe to assume that he doesn't have one...

 

i'm no psychiologist either... but one thing i know is that anti-depressants don't work in mania... i read the good long story of Mr lithium for 30 years of notes from private psychiatrists treating him... he was put on just about every anti-depressant known to mankind but none of them worked... btw, i also had the impression that you can't have BOTH bi-polar and depression because anti-depressants don't work on bipolar patients...

 

as for what meds to go on for mania... i guess lithium is the best there is... i don't know that much about how bipolar is treated... the guy with lithium was put on anti-epileptics sodium valporate and i think when he came off lithium was also put on carbamazepine... i guess that anti-epileptics also act as mood stablisers?... he was also on the anti-psychotic olanzapine but he wasn't at all psychotic... i didn't understand what that was for... he also had some ECT and a lot of impatient/respite treatment in private psychiatric hospitals...

[fattyjwoods]

also im not a expert in this field, but if you do not trust the doctors-who do you trust? Ask them to listen to what the doctors say and ask them what they think.

 

Substance use

The relationship between schizophrenia and drug use is complex, meaning that a clear causal connection between drug use and schizophrenia has been difficult to tease apart. There is strong evidence that using certain drugs can trigger either the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in some people. It may also be the case, however, that people with schizophrenia use drugs to overcome negative feelings associated with both the commonly prescribed antipsychotic medication and the condition itself, where negative emotion, paranoia and anhedonia are all considered to be core features.[68] Amphetamines trigger the release of dopamine and excessive dopamine function is believed to be responsible for many symptoms of schizophrenia (known as the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia), amphetamines may worsen schizophrenia symptoms.[69] Schizophrenia can be triggered by heavy use of hallucinogenic or stimulant drugs.[70] There is evidence that suggests that cannabis use can contribute to schizophrenia

 

i know wiki might not be right but dozens cant be wrong

http://www.cannabis.net/cannschiz.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4486548.stm

 

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/cannabis-is-linked-to-schizophrenia-in-predisposed-individuals/

 

more:http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Schizophrenia+cannabis&spell=1

 

all I can say if to try and block out the voices and tell yourself its nothing and that you will overcome them and stay strong.

[Wormwood]

ok, perhaps you should have explained it a bit more... i was thinking about what he wrote in his post tbh cuz i read this spiderman had voices trying telling him to kill himself because he had an alien inside of him and he believed he had symbiotes parasites inside of him because he read it in a comic... i just thought that telling him that he might have a brain tumour is a good thing... that was all... i apologise if it was i over reacted... as it was, a CT would have shown a tumour, so i think it's safe to assume that he doesn't have one...

Yeah I read over my first post again and I should have explained myself better (I was at work and trying to be sneaky ). Apology accepted and I apologize for not explaining myself better, and then being sarcastic when I did. You're right it's probably safe to assume that he doesn't have a tumor, I just wanted to make sure that avenue had been explored; and it has.

 

i'm no psychiologist either... but one thing i know is that anti-depressants don't work in mania... i read the good long story of Mr lithium for 30 years of notes from private psychiatrists treating him... he was put on just about every anti-depressant known to mankind but none of them worked... btw, i also had the impression that you can't have BOTH bi-polar and depression because anti-depressants don't work on bipolar patients...

Bi-polar disorder is a form of depression with alternating periods of mania, which usually (but not always) manifests as the opposite extreme as depression. This is why it's called "bi"-polar disorder; the patient swings from one extreme or "pole" to the other.

 

as for what meds to go on for mania... i guess lithium is the best there is... i don't know that much about how bipolar is treated... the guy with lithium was put on anti-epileptics sodium valporate and i think when he came off lithium was also put on carbamazepine... i guess that anti-epileptics also act as mood stablisers?... he was also on the anti-psychotic olanzapine but he wasn't at all psychotic... i didn't understand what that was for... he also had some ECT and a lot of impatient/respite treatment in private psychiatric hospitals...

Lithium is supposed to be good when the new generation of antipsychotics don't really work, but it can be harsh on your body if you don't moniter your salt and water intake. And yes, antiepileptics are sometimes used as mood stabilizers in the same way and they help with impulse control, especially in violent behavior.

 

---------------------------------------------------------

 

all I can say if to try and block out the voices and tell yourself its nothing and that you will overcome them and stay strong.

That's called denial and supression and it isn't a very effective treatment method.

 

As for your sources; correlation is not causation. Most of them are careful to mention that. It is most likely the case, as with other forms of mental illness, that people with this condition are just more likely to self medicate. If there was a true cause and effect relationship here, wouldn't you expect to see the numbers of people with schizophrenia to rise synchronistically with the number of people who smoke cannabis? This has not happened. While the number of people who smoke continues to rise, the number of people with schizophrenia has remained relatively constant.

 

From your own source:

On the other hand, the rate of schizophrenia has not risen during the last 30 years, in which cannabis use has increased.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/cannabis-is-linked-to-schizophrenia-in-predisposed-individuals/

[CPL.Luke]

that is true however there can be many other factors affecting that statistic, such as the use of other substances, and most importantly the genetic pre-disposition towards schizophrenia.

 

the studies that I have seen on the link between cannabis and schizophrenia focus on those with a family history of schizophrenia, in which case it appears that those who use cannabis are more likely to devolop schizophrenia than those who don't in that specific demographic. If you assume that this demographic is somewhat fixed then the rates of schizophrenia would not rise exceptionally with an increase in cannabis use in the general populace.

 

the link between the two is still very new and requires more study however it is not something to be ignored.

[Wormwood]

CPL.LUKE:

Yeah, I was going to mention that it is probably related to a study I saw that prolonged cannabis use can damage the way your neurons work in some people, but I can't seem to track down the study. If one already has a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, then damage to the neurons could exarcerbate the already existing issues between the two hemispheres of the brain. I wasn't dismissing the study, but some of the conclusions were way off base from what I saw. Cannabis has not been show to "cause" schizophrenia. It may reveal it, but I have seen nothing suggesting that it can cause it.

 

For example, one of his sources said:

Mary Cannon, of Ireland’s Royal College of Surgeons, took part in a New Zealand-based study....Cannabis is part of the cause of schizophrenia,” she believes.

She can believe that all she wants, but there is no conclusive evidence suggesting that is the case. That was all I meant.

[iNow]

Yeah, I was going to mention that it is probably related to a study I saw that prolonged cannabis use can damage the way your neurons work in some people, but I can't seem to track down the study.

This link has about 30 of them. Maybe you'll find it there.

 

http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for the folks who don't like reading much, you can get some video feed here:

 

http://abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20050321/default_3.htm

[Wormwood]

^^^Thanks, I'll look into it.

[someguy]

I don't care, i've gotten more help from people without degrees than those with.

 

what tests have you been subject to?

 

MRI/Cat scan/Psychological ones

 

 

 

 

 

When I say, I am not conscious of it, I mean, i'm just not aware of why I am doing it, and why it is a pertinent aspect of my life. Why exactly am I spending $100 on legally club drugs/raver drugs made in New Zealand?

 

Then after i've used them, and look at the wrapper, I notice a main ingrediant is... Phenylethylamine. I never knew this when I purchased them, I just had a desire to "get high" I didn't realize, that I may be trying to balance my brains biochemistry.

 

 

 

Exactly.

 

 

 

No they were different.

 

 

 

 

Nah you're right. Everyone changes I guess, and i'm sure psychosis would do that to a person.

 

 

 

Yes.

 

 

 

Too hard to explain in words....

 

 

i

 

I don't think it's a physical thing, just a genetic thing, I don't know enough about genes, but it feels like there is something inside my DNA that was unlocked by the Cannabis smoking. The only way for it to function is by feeding off the adrenaline and dopamine. It maybe more than that. Im not sure.

 

 

No doubt, but people say wierd stuff, like "Spiderman, you are really charismatic." Ummm... No i'm not? Maybe it's just because i'm on meds. The great thing about weed and alcohol is, you "come down" from the high... You don't come down from the high from psychiatric medication untill you come off of it. And you're just thinking... "Whoa... who was that person on meds? Was that me? I was acting like a completely different person for 6 months!."

 

It's just wierd, I have different skills when i'm on meds.

 

 

 

 

 

YES! They were different on a more emotional level. One of the entities had absolutly no emotion. It didn't care about anything. It was like I could sense his plan, and it was devoid of anything related to compassion.

 

No, when one entity was in control, the other one dissapeared. It was as if, one was trying to prove his "case" to me while the other tried to disprove the other.

 

My memory is too vague about the event, one thing I do remember, is that, they both wanted to control me for their personal gain. They both had plans. They both had desires. They were both trying to plant them inside of me.

 

It feels like, their seeds or whatever, are only now starting to sprout... (In my spare time, i'm designing clothing, which is an idea I got when I was going crazy...)

 

 

 

Definitely, I clearly remember one of them, asking through me, something like... "The other entity is a liar, I am the one telling you the truth."

 

Then it gave me like a riddle about liars...

 

"Theres two people, one can only lie, while the other can only tell you the truth... How do you tell which one is which?"

 

Well, some riddle like that. One was trying to disprove the other. Wierd stuff. All I can say is, it did not feel like what most people describe as psychosis. This was something different, and I was just lumped into the psychosis category.

 

 

 

 

I realized the suicidal part, was because when I was hospitalized and doped up, my psychiatric notes said "Spiderman is experiencing visual hallucinations that are driving him towards suicide... They seem to be subsiding with medications."

 

I don't remember the first week in the hospital, all I know is, that in the notes, even on meds, I was seeing things trying to kill me.

 

Thanks dude, your questions have already helped me understand more about myself and my experience. Keep em coming.

 

as with any human being what you desire and what you should do are not always the same, and for some more than others resisting what you desire can be really difficult. like quitting smoking, or going on a strict diet. you probably already know this and i know it is easier for me to say than for you to do, but you shouldn't do drugs because you desire them. whenever you desire something, you should think about if you should do that thing and always trust your common sense over your desire if you can.

 

how was the other voice different? can you compare it to something you have known from a previous experience?

 

what drug were you high on at the time?

 

what kind of different skills do you have?

 

is it a bad thing for you to feel like a different person for 6 months? I'm sure there are quite a few people who wish they could feel like someone else.

 

"Theres two people, one can only lie, while the other can only tell you the truth... How do you tell which one is which?"

 

I've heard this before you must have picked it up somewhere. this sounds like what a dream would be like. i could see myself thinking this if i were dreaming that two people were trying to convince me of something and i didn't know who to trust.

 

you can't remember at all what happened the first few weeks?

what was the first thing you remember?

[the_colonel]

It is quite an intersting one (sorry spiderman) but one of my friends has similar stuff. He used LSD at the age of circa 14 y/o. He also continued to use drugs such as LSD, MDMA, Ketamine and THC plus other stuff throughout his teenage years. He has spent a lot of money on rehab but always 'tells me' he feels like he is under the influence of LSD. It has somehow changed his 'brain chemistry' long-term. (sic)

 

As many have said you will be lucky to find a doctor who is interested. As I have said to my friend you could do worse than looking for people who are interested in your 'problem'. Most GP's want the easy life but i'll ask around.

[tim™]

Spiderman, if you haven't seen "What the Bleep Do We Know?" I would highly ( jk) recommend watching these films. They sort-of combine religion (no comment) with current dimension and special relativity theories, with a tad of string theory mixed in.

 

I'm not comparing any one individual person on Earth, including you Spiderman; are there any medical professionals here that can state with evidence that smoking cannabis could really induce permanent psychosis? I'd like to add that Mari-j-uana use is very common place at universities in Canada (since I can't speak for any other ones), and according to some of my criminology & justice friends, it’s actually shown to reduce violence, alcohol abuse and even suicide rates during critical points in the year. That said, I'm not by any means a medical expert, but I will tell you I know many cannabis users, and none have experienced anything more than a bad high.

 

The realization of one’s own mortality is usually enough to ground anyone. Exercise, eating right, regular water intake and an overall outgoing mindset (e.g. positive lifestyle) seem to be the best solution before using pharmaceuticals to correct mental functionality. But, of course, these are just words, life’s scarcely that simple.

 

Just remember to always open up to someone, anyone! A few spoken words can make all the difference in your life.

[iNow]

I'm not comparing any one individual person on Earth, including you Spiderman; are there any medical professionals here that can state with evidence that smoking cannabis could really induce permanent psychosis?

 

Did you bother reading the thread before you posted in it?

 

 

I'm not against smoking. I smoked for 5 or 6 years daily. I got sad when my bongs would break... Hell, I would name them, and would widdle pipes out of vegetables and soda cans and the most random crap.

 

However, this doesn't negate the fact that there are heaps of evidence that the effects of smoking herb can lead to schizophrenic episodes, and higher incidence of psychosis later in life.

[tim™]

Hence why I'm asking for proof...