I am new to this forum so first of all I want to say Hello all! The reason I have come here is to find out from first hand experience the long term affects of recreational drug use and hopefully someone will be able to answer my question(s) My story is a relatively simple one that will most likely be very relatable to a lot of people on here. I am 24 years old and for almost 7 years now I have been a recreational user of drugs (ecstasy, cocaine, mdma & ketamine) I also used to smoke weed often. From about 15 years old until August this year. It started as once a week to a few times a week to then everyday from 18 onwards however with breaks of sometimes a week or two or a month or maybe two months in between. I haven’t touched an ecstasy tablet in over two years as the last time I was very very sick and have never had the urge or want to do them since. Can’t remember the last time I touched MDMA. In the last 2 years or so it has been ketamine or cocaine - probably more so cocaine I take recreationally. When I say recreationally I don’t mean every weekend for the last 7 years from when I first started taking drugs however there has been ‘periods’ where I have every weekend over the course of a couple of months or whatever. Out with these periods its been mostly once or twice a month with a few weeks break in between or maybe a couple of months in between here or there. I will add that on each occasion I’ve taken drugs its when I have been drinking alcohol also. Now I read things online that say that substance abuse can ruin the parts of your brain that produce the natural chemicals like dopamine & serotonin permanently and thats what brings me here. At what stage of drug use does this happen? Could it be possible this has already happened to me? Or would I need to be a heavy user daily for years on end for this to occur? Genuinely interested to know if anyone on this forum has any knowledge on this side of things which can help me understand. Thanks!
I have a some knowledge about the subject. I read alot of medical journals about neuroscience. You'll be happy to know that our brain is a pretty resilient. Our brain has plasticity and can change over the course of our life. But it always has a set point to return too. It's called homeostasis. When we take drugs it disrupts this balance and its why we get high but afterwards we have what's called the rebound. That's why we feel like crap afterwards until our neurotransmitters and receptors rebalance. What happens if we keep using a drug it creates what we call an alloatasis point and it takes continued use of the drug or more to feel the effects because of tolerance build. When we build tolerance you are becoming dependent on the drug. We become dependent on the drug because our brain starts to rebalance our receptors to match what should be normal. So we keep increasing our tolerance thus building withdrawl at the same time. Withdrawl is a stress response from this rebalance of our Homeostatic process. Drugs effect multiple pathways in our brain so depending on the drug you take it changes certain chemicals. We feel like crap until this process is complete after stopping a drug. So to answer your question. 95 percent of the time we do not damage our brain and it will return to normal.
I have over 20 years of drug use and addiction. I've used all drugs to the extreme and back. I rolled over 200 times one year I've done drugs together. I've done meth,coke,heroin,marijuana,dxm,benzos,ketamine,opioids,mdma,lsd,mushrooms and ive even experimented with research chemicals like 5-meo-dipt my brain is completely intact still and has returned to normal as far as I know.
bro there is fact that we return to normal after a binge-even a long one-dxm and your ok says it all. im glad your around still, and on the sober side. love you man.
seems like we nmay have sonmething in common i hate/love coke. i recently relapsed actually on coke. after almost two years clean. i have shot up all that you mentioned and for much longer periods thatn you used. i think youll be ok. stop now and the homeostatic process will be much easie on you. God bless.
From what I heard lately is Benzos can lead to early dementia or Als-himers. I suppose all drugs can cause brain damage .??? Also tho it sounds like you have had your fair share of being f-up , but being able to quit for days , weeks , months ? with out using , That's uncommon , if I wake up w/o something to take , I'm worthless. Good Luck & God Bless
According to your story, you've been doing this for more than 15 years. Well, I'm not qualified in this business to judge whether you're addicted or not. This is exactly what your doctor can tell you, who will conduct all the necessary tests. This is the most accurate way to determine anything about your health. I have been taking CBD oil for 3 years. I do it clearly according to the doctor's instructions and follow the dosage. This is the most important condition. I take CBD oil for chronic joint pain. After this time, I can quickly stop doing it. I don't feel like I'm addicted. Of course, it can also be about the product's quality, which is the main thing. ______________________________________ https://www.cbdoilking.co.uk/shop/cbd-oil-uk