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The Degradation Drug

theamericanscholar.org

61–70 of 79 posts

Re: The Degradation Drug

#61

The article describes its first subject as having been diagnosed with simply "depression", but describes their medication regime as including lithium and lamotrigine which in combination is strongly suggestive of treatment for bipolar depression in particular. Given that the described behavior sounds very much like a manic episode, the article should have explained this connection before attempting to focus the blame…

I feel like you are writing off the whole article with a sentiment along the lines of “this bitch was already psycho”.

I can tell you that I am certainly not bipolar and yet I had similar problems on related drugs, resulting in bankruptcy and violence. I will never, ever again take drugs from a psychiatrist. For all the fake panic about “reefer madness” supposed medical “professionals” can prescribe mind altering drugs that cause violence and bankruptcy.

And then people like you write it off as “oh she was bipolar” with the implication that such reactions can’t happen to “normal” people.

Disappointed but not surprised that all the men here upvoted you, like a circle of bearded 19th century doctors in a mental asylum for “hysterical women”. Lamenting that you can’t get this poor hysterical woman into your institution so you can give her the electrocution “therapy” she desperately needs. Have to make do with these new drugs. Any side effects are clearly due to her frail and mentally weak gender, and not the utterly inappropriate mind altering drugs.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#62
post #23

> It is a rare case of restless legs syndrome that is severe enough to make the risk of prison time or the sex-offender registry look like a reasonable tradeoff. While I understand the rest of the article, as someone who has been through opioid-withdrawal induced RLS a few times in my life, this is really downplaying how horrible it is. The RLS alone would stop me from sleeping for a week or more. You lose your mind.…

I’m not an addict but I have suffered from restless leg syndrome in the past, to the severity you describe. Every time you’re on the cusp of sleep, there’s this tickle that travels up your leg to your lower back. But it’s this weird, disembodied tickle. There’s nothing to scratch or press or wrap or anything to alleviate. So you’re now wide awake because of this tickling sensation. This was ~2016 for me. I read somew…

I was prescribed Pramipexole for restless leg syndrome some years ago, and the information leaflet was pretty specific about the impulsive behavior side effects.

The Spanish leaflet lists as "Frequent" (up to 1 out of 10 patients) things like: "Needs to behave in an unusual way", "Hallucinations", "Confusion", "abnormal dreams", "Insomnia"...

I in fact had lots of weird dreams and nightmares.

It also lists as "Less frequent" (up to 1 out of 100) things like: "Paranoia", "Delusion", "Amnesia", "Hyperkinesis", "Fainting", "Concerns", "Inability to resist the impulse, instinct or temptation to take an action that may be harmful to yourself or others, which may include: [buy/gamble/sex/eat]"...

I thankfully had none of that, but 1% looks like a too high probability for me for that kind of effects.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#63

The article describes its first subject as having been diagnosed with simply "depression", but describes their medication regime as including lithium and lamotrigine which in combination is strongly suggestive of treatment for bipolar depression in particular. Given that the described behavior sounds very much like a manic episode, the article should have explained this connection before attempting to focus the blame…

I feel like you are writing off the whole article with a sentiment along the lines of “this bitch was already psycho”. I can tell you that I am certainly not bipolar and yet I had similar problems on related drugs, resulting in bankruptcy and violence. I will never, ever again take drugs from a psychiatrist. For all the fake panic about “reefer madness” supposed medical “professionals” can prescribe mind altering dru…

Agree here. Medications or thyroid issues can absolutely cause bipolar symptoms. A psychiatrist should be screening those out before reaching for a bipolar diagnosis.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#64
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really the place to display your kink, man. Plenty of dedicated spaces on the Internet for that - a space being dedicated to sexual activity greatly increases the chance that a user consents to seeing that sort of content. But if lack of consent is what you're going for, then please explore CBT options for moderating that behavior.

>Not really the place to display your kink, man. Masterbating for hours isn't a kink. What you masterbate to, is. And "man"? Could be female.

Specifically compared himself to a cis man.

And yes exhibitionism is a kink.

Maybe I’ll put it this way, you’re assuming he wasn’t turned on by the idea of you specifically reading that comment and you’re probably wrong. Why else state how good it feels?

If you're ok with that, congratulations, it's a match, but most people are not.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#65
post #11
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really the place to display your kink, man. Plenty of dedicated spaces on the Internet for that - a space being dedicated to sexual activity greatly increases the chance that a user consents to seeing that sort of content. But if lack of consent is what you're going for, then please explore CBT options for moderating that behavior.

I don't believe it's a kink, a rather natural part of being human. If this upsets you, here, have a chill pill (). Or maybe don't browse with showdead.

You can do that as much as you want.

The kink is telling people who didn’t ask.

>Or maybe don't browse with showdead

"You shouldn't call me out for my behavior because other people already showed their disapproval of it in a more passive/less specific way!"

Re: The Degradation Drug

#66

Slightly off-topic (though related). I think I experience a mild form of the craziness described in the article if I don't get enough sleep the night before. I'm not trying to compare the two in any way, or make it "all about me" - but it's a definite pattern I've observed, and I wondered if anyone else had experienced anything similar.

One possibility is you have always had that craziness but you learned to compensate for it using various strategies. But when you’re low on mental energy, you can’t compensate effectively.

I experience this in an extreme way having bipolar. I learned very young how to function despite a severe disability. Lack of sleep would make everything worse because I couldn’t keep on top of things.

When you’re in the middle of it, it feels normal.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#67
post #50
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree about it sounding like a manic episode a lot. If I were to put up an opposing opinion -- some caveats here: cluster B disorders and autism both can include lithium (and symptoms not too dissimilar from mania), lamotrigine too on the BPD front. Mood stabilizers are prescribed in combination for a variety of conditions, I feel like it's a rather large jump to make. Also, Moda and a Benzodiazepine are going to d…

I've been tried on lithium and lamotrigine for treatment-resistant depression in the past. It doesn't necessarily indicate bipolar disorder. I'm floored by the combo of modafinil and xanax. Adding pramipexole to the mix seems insane to me. I'm prescribed modafinil for narcolepsy and depending in the dose, it can sure make you look hypomanic just taken by itself. I had a very productive month after having to go off ar…

Very good points, it's scary to me that psychs with access to medications like these (and public trust too) can so casually make what seems to be such an incredibly dangerous decision, but I guess every system will have its bell curve outliers (though I feel many of us suspect that we feel that the tail is much bigger than we would want it to be....)

I have a private pay psychiatrist who is pretty good, something I need because I have a number of conditions and good polypharmacy is possible but hard. I trust him, but I also have a sinking feeling in my gut wondering about how the people going to the psychiatrists/etc that I saw before him are going to be treated. If I'm not in that patient slot, someone else likely will be.

I guess that's one motivator for such rigidity in prescribing medications on some sides of the field. As a lesser sin to prevent this sort of particular madness.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#68

The article describes its first subject as having been diagnosed with simply "depression", but describes their medication regime as including lithium and lamotrigine which in combination is strongly suggestive of treatment for bipolar depression in particular. Given that the described behavior sounds very much like a manic episode, the article should have explained this connection before attempting to focus the blame…

I feel like you are writing off the whole article with a sentiment along the lines of “this bitch was already psycho”. I can tell you that I am certainly not bipolar and yet I had similar problems on related drugs, resulting in bankruptcy and violence. I will never, ever again take drugs from a psychiatrist. For all the fake panic about “reefer madness” supposed medical “professionals” can prescribe mind altering dru…

I understand your frustration with the current state of psychiatry, but I think that you may be reading too much of it into my comment. I had no intention of shifting any blame from the wholly inappropriate combination of prescribed drugs or the psychiatrist to the patient, and I used very deliberate wording to intentionally avoid making any reference whatsoever to the gender of the patient. The point of my post was to highlight that this case appeared to be a manic episode which could be triggered by almost any antidepressant, not a rare and unique adverse effect that could only be caused by pramipexole or dopamine agonists.

Re: The Degradation Drug

#69
post #38

Here’s a hypothesis that would be interesting to test. As the younger generation continues its obsession with social media technology. Is there some physiological change (perhaps mimicd by the medication in the article) that could be happening simultaneously? Some weird type of brain evolution.

I feel like this is already tested, extensively, by the "video games cause school shootings" crowd.

That particular claim is bullshit but it is true that video games can cause physiological changes and even harm. Like social media, video games today are straight up designed to be addictive. They're essentially Skinner's boxes but the reward lever is the player's credit card.

Not only can addiction of any sort cause physiological changes in the reward center of the brain, video games can also impact physical, social and financial well being by virtue of being an expensive, addictive, sedentary and often isolated activity. Video game addiction is already a recognized medical diagnosis in ICD-11.

https://www.who.int/news/item/14-09-2018-inclusion-of-gaming...

Re: The Degradation Drug

#70
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been tried on lithium and lamotrigine for treatment-resistant depression in the past. It doesn't necessarily indicate bipolar disorder. I'm floored by the combo of modafinil and xanax. Adding pramipexole to the mix seems insane to me. I'm prescribed modafinil for narcolepsy and depending in the dose, it can sure make you look hypomanic just taken by itself. I had a very productive month after having to go off ar…

Amphetamine and Modafinil have also caused these types of behavior in myself but none moreso than Methylphenidate. Everyone responds to drugs differently, for me cocaine was relatively mild in its compulsive/forced behaviors compared to methylphenidate. Compulsion from methylphenidate nearly ruined my life, I’m lucky to have rebuilt somewhat unscathed. I still take Vyvanse every day though, and for the most part the…

> Amphetamine and Modafinil have also caused these types of behavior in myself but none moreso than Methylphenidate.

Why is this the case?

I too have been legally prescribed such substances for medical reasons, and I have some of the same issues. The medications do help alleviate some symptoms, but during the initial ramp-up (like shortly after ingestion) I have worse symptoms for about an hour or so. Some of which occasionally include compulsive behaviors.

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