Have You Used Illegal/Street Drugs?
Tuesday November 20, 2007
A good portion of people with bipolar disorder have self-medicated with street drugs. And of course, some people may have used drugs not to self-medicate but from peer pressure or a simple desire to find out what all the fuss is about. For some, it was a long time ago -- marijuana, hashish, mescaline, acid, speed. For some, it's been harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The younger generation may have used older drugs plus ecstasy, PCP, angel dust, methamphetamines, or prescription drugs like Vicodin obtained illegally.
Poll: What's your history on illegal/street drug use?
- I tried something once and quit immediately.
- I used them in the far past, but not now.
- I used them in the recent past, but not now.
- I use them now.
- I've never used them.
- Other (leave comment if desired).
Comments
A couple of days ago this issue came up in regards to some posts on the forums. There was talk about use of street drugs which I was uncomfortable with having never used them. I’ve always felt like I’m one of a very few. But in looking at the poll, there are 62 other individuals out there like me who have never used, and our group is the largest, unless you were to lump all the other groups together. It kind of validates my feelings of it’s ok to not have tried drugs, that there are others who can say the same thing.
Peg
Peg,
Be glad that you never did drugs. I have never done them either. It is hard enough dealing with our illness without adding drugs or alcohol into the mix. My brother was a dual diagnosis bipolar and died at 45 due to the ravages of all of that-and he took his medicines on and off. I don’t judge him. I miss him. But I know I would be dead by now too if I had done drugs or alcohol. He became homeless for 2 yrs. and didn’t come back to live with my mom because he didn’t want to stop doing his drugs or take medicines. I became psychotic and homeless after his death for 6 months but was easier to treat not having the drug problems. I used to think when I was diagnosed that it wasn’t fair that I got the illness since I had never partied, never drunk alcohol or tried drugs. When he got diagnosed
later, we realized that a lot of the strange behavior he had exbited had not been from the drugs but had been symptoms of the same disorder altered some, of course, with his doing the street drugs at the same time.
When I was younger,I partly thought, in a smug way, that the people who did drugs might have brought it on themselves, but that, since I was a “good girl”, vs. my brother, it shouldn’t have happened to me. My doctor told me that with how bad I have it there was nothing I could have done to prevent it coming out. Looking back, I always thought that the phrase, “self-medicating themselves” was an excuse for those whose (selfish)drug abuse led to changes in their brains, which then created BP3, but it was selfish of ME to think that. I asked my brother if he had been getting high when he was younger to push out bad feelings and he said, ” Hell no, I just like to get high!” and laughed. I think that was the truth. Looking back I think my brother probably had the milder symptoms all along, and just like me, there was no escaping it. By the combination off the psych meds AND the street srugs and/or alcohol and what can and does often happen on the street will kill you way too soon. I know that I must have aged 10 yrs. when I was homeless and had to be tested for hep c and aids after being attacked, etc.
u ask me if i have ever used street drugs but a better qustion is have u