Posted by Chawner on September 17, 2003, at 17:43:14
I see that this thread is quite old but I stumbled across it so other people might be reading it also so I thought I'd reply despite its age.
I'm coming at this from a somewhat different angle. I'm severely bipolar and have anxiety issues and a few years ago I became unemployed and lost my insurance so I turned to street drugs to self medicate (bad idea...just FYI).
I used xanax and meth together pretty much every day for months. I have to say, they were EXTREMELY effective together. The xanax took away many of the unpleasant side effects of the crystal and the combination was, without a doubt, the best mood stabilizer I've ever taken (and I've taken many of them). In fact, they worked far, far too well...my mood was so stable I didn't care that I was unemployed, that I was quickly developing an addiction that I could never afford to maintain...not to mention the fact that meth features drain cleaner as a primary ingredient. My father died and I was fine...no depression, no mania...nothing. I felt fine all the time. It was really wonderful. I had never felt that OK before. I wasn't cracked out, I wasn't depressed...it was really perfect. So I kept at it...feeling perfect...while every aspect of my life fell down around me. Anyway...just wanted to add that warning before I went any further.
Many of my friends were taking amphetamines at the same time I was. Sleeping pills were common, for all the reasons already mentioned here. From what I saw/experienced Ambien or Sonata in combination with at least methamphetamines are EXTREMELY dangerous. Those who took ambien to come down from Tina (Meth) suffered inevitable blackouts during which they'd be awake and walking around but otherwise totally out of it. You could talk to them but they didn't make any sense at all. They'd wake up having broken all their CDs into little pieces, or having thrown a pie into the toilet or something equally nonsensical. It's a miracle none of them got into their cars and drove into the side of a building.
Sonota was usually fine, but when it did react with the Meth it was HORRIBLE. If you've taken serzone or buspar or weaned off effexor (or any other such drug) you're familiar with the "brain sputtering" feeling that occurs when you either a) take it or b) don't (depending on the drug). Meth and Sonata together would occasionally cause this feeling times 10,000. This happened to me once and it was without a doubt the worst experience of my life. I woke up in the middle of the night and all I was aware of was PAIN. It was so all-consuming I couldn't remember who I was or what reality was...it was just painpainpainpain. I remember trying to understand what was happening. For about an hour I couldn't remember if life was just like this or if there was something wrong with me. I ran around my apartment in circles moaning and crying, holding my head, trying to break out of this god-awful, myopic, pain-induced state that had completely stripped me of my memory and my sense of self. If there had been a gun in the house, I would have picked it up and shot myself in the head without a second's hesitation. The only reason I didn't find a way to kill myself is that I couldn't understand the concepts of "door" "drawer" "knife" "pills." I was that far-gone. I don't know if there's a word to describe what I was going through, but "psychotic" is a good guess. It was truly a glimpse of Hell.
I swear I'm not being overly dramatic. If anything, I failed to capture just how awful it really was.
So...take that for what it's worth. Street drugs have all sorts of ingredients you'd never find in the prescription varieties, and any one of them could have caused this reaction. It wasn't really an issue of amounts (I was pretty careful with my meth dosage...I took about the same amount as you'd get from a p-doc and I k ept it consistent and I ate regularly and slept every night). But this was bad enough and happened frequently enough (until word got out and everyone threw out the Sonota) that I wouldn't risk a similar combination at all...EVER.
If you want a drug to sleep and you're taking Rit., Add., etc. try talking to your doctor about remeron. That worked wonderfully for almost everyone I know who took it. It will knock you out at first but when that levels off it's a fantastic med.
Again...street drugs are a whole different animal (with much sharper teeth)...but I felt if there was any chance this combination could produce the same effects with pharm. amphetamines I needed to give everyone a heads up.
Hope it's helpful to someone.
Tim
poster:Chawner
thread:261110
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030917/msgs/261110.html