Posted by undopaminergic on March 27, 2008, at 5:50:56
In reply to Re: What made you try Stimulants ?, posted by Molybdenum on March 26, 2008, at 3:33:55
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> Nowadays all my meds are on prescription though. 25 years ago heroin was great fun but methamphetamine always amazed me by how quickly it could change the way I felt. A few mins after the crap went roaring up my veins I was full of great ideas & energy - ENERGY...!!!
>
> Now of course the ideas really were crap ideas, but under the influence you never realize this. Reminds me of an old cartoon (from Punch?) with several cavemen sharing a joint. One says to the others "It makes everything I think seem profound....." ;) That's problem # 1.
Almost precisely my experience with the amphetamine-like combination of selegiline and phenylethylamine (PEA), although my choice of words would be more modest. Things feel so more important and enticing while you're high.> The next trouble with what you want to achieve is that you're borrowing from the "Bank of YOU" for the energy and this particular bank is very aggressive when it comes to wanting payments with interest and in some cases, of foreclosing on your life. The younger & fitter you are the better I suppose but the rule still applies. That's problem # 2.
Yes, and that is especially true with amphetamine-like stimulants (e.g. meth and PEA) - the period of lethargy, drowsiness and depressed feelings can be quite prolonged, whereas with methylphenidate, cocaine and modafinil, one returns to normal functioning much faster, although some people still have the trouble with what's described below:>
> The other trouble with taking drugs that REALLY make you feel instantly GREAT is that it f*cks up your sense of perspective. There's no magic pharmacological reason why drug addiction occurs other than the truly horrifying prospect of having to give up feeling great in a way you've never felt before - and that is a really terrible thing to have to do. One day humans will work out how to erase the memory of the "HIGH experience" as part of the "drying out treatment". Of course at best you'd then be back to the person who wanted to try the stuff in the first place, so maybe that won't really answer the perspective problem either. That's problem # 3.
That is true for many people, but not for me, possibly because I'm anhedonic and emotionally blunted.>
> Stim-wise today modafinil works great - very smooth & beats the sh*t out of methyphenidate in the Pepsi challenge but please be wary of making decisions under the influence - and you probably won't realize you're decision making ability is so out of whack until after the drug wears off. And "hello" - 'tis too late then ;) Prob # 1.
That's somewhat true for amphetamine-like stimulants in my experience, but in contrast, dopamine reuptake inhibitors like methylphenidate and modafinil actually improve my capability of rational decision making - without drugs, I'm so indecisive and apathetic as to be rather incapacitated.Also in terms of neurotoxicity, the amphetamines are the most harmful (there's no data on PEA). Long term use - even at doses within the (higher) therapeutic range - reduce several biological markers of dopamine in the brain (serotonin in the case of MDMA). On the other hand, methylphenidate, cocaine and modafinil seem to be mostly harmless and actually protect against some forms of toxicity. They may still be harmful in other respects, for example, by raising blood pressure and body temperature, but that can be said of many non-stimulant drugs as well.
> Now 25 yrs later I restrict myself to modafinil & methlphenidate
So do I, insomuch as I avoid amphetamines, but there may come a day when all the better alternatives have been exhausted.
poster:undopaminergic
thread:819498
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080316/msgs/820108.html