Amphetamine is a powerful stimulator of the central nervous system and anorexigenic agent that provokes a strong release of neurotransmitters. It causes addiction, and its active use leads to serious consequences. One of these is amphetamine psychosis. In symptoms, it is similar to paranoid schizophrenia. And now we will focus on this phenomenon.
Drug action
This is the place to start. Why do people even get addicted to amphetamine? Because its use causes a lot of pleasant, it would seem, effects. Here's what happens:
- The mood improves quickly.
- Self-confidence appears.
- The activity of motor and speech nature increases significantly.
- Drowsiness is eliminated instantly.
- Impressive performance appears.
However, the consequences of taking are serious. When breaking begins, then there is no trace of the effect.
Arrhythmia, tremor of limbs, anxiety, panic attack, disturbed sleep - these are the most harmless consequences. Memories of the sensations experienced make a person take amphetamine again. That's just the second time the body will need a larger dose. After all, tolerance is very quickly developed to amphetamine.
Briefly about the condition
As a rule, amphetamine psychosis develops due to the long use of this substance. However, in some cases, it occurs with a single dose of an excessively large dose of a psychostimulant.
What is this condition? This is a mental disorder, the cause of which lies in brain intoxication. A person simply disrupts consciousness and the entire perception of reality surrounding him.
Amphetamine psychosis can last two to three weeks. There are cases when this condition was delayed for several years. Its danger is that it can continue even after the complete abandonment of the drug.
But, as mentioned above, even once using this substance, you can harm the body. To be more precise, 140 mg of the drug can provoke acute psychosis. It lasts 1-3 days, sometimes drags on for a week.
Risk factors
Amphetamine psychosis more often overcomes people with physical illnesses, adolescents with an unstable psyche, and also those individuals who use different drugs uncontrollably.
But that is not all. Amphetamine-dependent people develop delusional psychosis much faster and earlier than cocaine addicts.
It seems that they suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, accompanied by a mania of persecution. Sometimes it’s even unrealistic to carry out differential diagnosis according to symptoms, and therefore additional studies are required.
Symptoms
Psychosis, to which amphetamine dependence usually leads, is accompanied by pronounced symptoms. They can be distinguished in the following list:
- Delirium (usually paranoid).
- Visual and auditory hallucinations. The olfactory arises a little less often.
- Sharp mood swings.
- Strong excitability.
- Increased motor activity.
Symptoms of amphetamine psychosis also include manic disorders and paranoia. The addict becomes overly sensitive, which causes true hallucinations. Periodically, a deception of feelings occurs.
Manifestations
The psychosis resulting in amphetamine addiction does not go unnoticed. Here's what happens to the person who developed this condition:
- He literally runs from one corner to another, unable to stand still.
- Speech becomes abrupt, slurred.
- There is aggression, which the addict can not control. Because of this, he becomes dangerous not only to others, but also to himself. His future actions become impossible to predict.
- The addict begins to respond inappropriately to what others are saying and doing. He may panic.
- The addict is irritated and fearful even by close people.
- Delusional parasitosis may occur. Cocaine addicts usually come across it. At this moment, it seems to a person that parasites, worms and fleas run through his body.
In rare cases, taking amphetamine leads to catatonic agitation, ecstasy, or stupor. Associative thinking breaks off, a person even begins to hear his thoughts. Symptoms in this condition strongly resemble the acute phase of schizophrenia.
What after?
Sooner or later, the effect of amphetamine decreases. When intoxication begins to gradually "fade away", a person returns to normal. And he does not remember what happened to him before. Psychosis is replaced by depression, in which the addict feels overwhelmed, depressed and unhappy.
Then breaking begins. The feeling of "omnipotence" experienced by a person under the influence of a drug is replaced by lethargy. To return to the previous level, the addict takes the next dose, this time a larger one.
Increasing the amount of amphetamine consumed is fraught with severe headaches, blurred vision and excessive heart stress. Often, amphetamine addicts develop arrhythmia and heart failure. However, the worst consequence is hemorrhagic stroke and coma.
It is also worth mentioning that the drug removes calcium from the body, and this is fraught with problems with bones and teeth.
Surviving the “breaking” is very difficult. Only time will help. You need to drink plenty of water, it is better to induce vomiting. A little painkiller can help. Since withdrawal is accompanied by increased aggression, it is important that the person remains calm. Corvalol, motherwort or valerian can help here.
Amphetamine Psychosis Treatment
Units manage to get rid of dependence on their own. The rest require rehabilitation in a hospital setting.
Treatment begins with a complete rejection of amphetamine and subsequent detoxification. It gives the greatest effect if less than an hour has passed since the drug was used. Unfortunately, an antidote does not exist, but a good result is shown by gastric lavage and the use of any sorbent (activated carbon, for example).
Also, in order to urgently remove the drug, urine can be acidified using ammonium chloride. But this method increases the risk of acute kidney failure. So the decision on the advisability of this method is made by the doctor, focusing on the results of the analysis.
Before detoxification is completed, symptomatic treatment is carried out, the purpose of which is to maintain normal heart rate, pressure and temperature. Finish therapy when it is possible to completely remove amphetamine from the body and restore vital functions.
Mental recovery
It was said above about how to remove amphetamine from the body. A few words should be told directly about the restoration of the psyche.
Hallucinations and paranoid delusions are eliminated with the help of phenothiazines. As a rule, intramuscular administration of haloperidol or chlorpromazine is prescribed.
These drugs can quickly eliminate the symptoms of psychosis, but they can also provoke side effects, which include extrapyramidal reaction and postural hypotension.
Also, one of the main goals of therapy is to eliminate depression. It can last for several weeks. In this case, the patient is selected antidepressants.
Of course, in addition to drugs, psychotherapeutic treatment is prescribed. One of its key components is cognitive-behavioral therapy. It is indicated for schizophrenia, but with psychosis triggered by amphetamine, it also turns out to be effective. Its goal is the formation of the patient's self-mastery skills and the restoration of the relationship between thinking, behavior and emotions.
Treatment results
The best deal that can be achieved at the end of therapy is the complete disposal of amphetamine psychosis. The following factors indicate recovery:
- Stimulated cognitive activity.
- Improved memory and concentration.
- An extended circle of patient communication.
- Solutions found for problems identified during treatment.
- Weakened postpsychotic depression.
As a result of rehabilitation, the former drug addict successfully fits into everyday life, realizes his importance, restores social and domestic skills.
It is very important that close people support him during the treatment period. Rehabilitation will be successful only if a person stays in a calm environment, where there is no place for stressful situations, conflicts and breakdowns. Because even a slight overvoltage can lead to a return to amphetamine.