How to help someone suffering from stimulant psychosis?

[looking4help]

Hello All, 

 

I am here looking for information in how to help a friend. She is prescribed 50-60mg of Adderall a day. She told me that she takes 60-90mg a day. I believe that she takes an upwards of 90-120 mg per day. For the past few months, she has become extremely paranoid and believed that people were watching her. She confided in me a few months ago and I thought that she could actually be being watched. I knew she was on Adderall, but had no idea that this would be the root of the problem. My friend told me that she began noticing that she began seeing the same cars at the same places on a daily basis. She believed that she was being watched by the FBI or state police. My friend has always been known as a pill popper and so I didn't put it past her that she could have been involved in some sort of criminal drug activity and maybe she was being watched. She told me that she hasn't done anything illegalin a long time. 

 

I originally told my friend to make a record of what she saw, write down plates, cars, take pictures etc. Months have gone by and she has been able to give me nothing legitimate in regards of proof that she's being watched, but her paranoia has only gotten worse. She now believes her home is bugged, her phone is bugged and that she can actually hear two distinct different voices. She will actually talk to the voices and gets mad when I can't hear the voices while I'm at her home. She has torn her home apart and has found what she believes to be bugs. I've looked at her the so called bugs and they appear to be just be old electronics, batteries, etc. I have tried to explain to her that the FBI or any law enforcement agency would not bug her home and even if they did, she wouldn't be able to actually hear anything out of the bugs. She insists that the people must have messed up when they put the bugs in her house. 

 

A week ago it reached a breaking point when she went to the police station to show them the bugs. They thought she was crazy and called her family to come get her. My friend's family doesn't know what to do. They don't understand what is going on and initially I didn't either. I began to reach adderall and quickly found several stories that sounded similar to my friend. I later mentioned the idea to my friend that adderall could possibly be the problem and that maybe she needed help. She became angry and stormed off screaming that no one believes her, etc. A few days later, I told my friend that I would have someone do a bug sweep of her home if that would help her. During this conversation, she admitted to me that the adderall did make her more paranoid and increased her anxiety. I asked her to please just cut down on the adderall to see if that helped any with her paranoia. She said she would. 

 

I am going to have someone do a bug sweep of her home just to ease her mind. After the bug sweep comes back with nothing, how do I approach her about the Adderall being the cause and her getting help? Any suggestions/incite would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. 

 

[Greg]

Hey, Good for you for being a good a friend and trying to help her out. Your post really hit home --  I was exactly in her situation

 

My advice to you is to talk to her family and find a way to get her cut off from her adderall. I would not tell her that is what you are planning to do. She wont be rational about it. Id talk to the family and figure out a way to do this. This probably would mean cutting off her doctor. Or maybe she is getting from several doctors. Have someone in her family call the doctor (or doctors) to tell them. The most important part is that she is cut off. Then she will be forced to detox and get back to normal. The detox will be hell for her. But that is what she needs. This is what worked for me.

[Greg]

I just want to add that people in psychosis can be very convincing in their psychosis because they were seemingly normal people before they went crazy ..and u probably don't expect them to suddenly turn crazy. This medication can do that.. But don't allow yourself to believe any of it or any of the things that are said. Her mind has been poisoned by too much stimulation from her pills.

Please keep us posted.

[SweetCarolinee]

Hi,

I definitely think your friend has a serious problem with adderall and it is the adderall making her crazy and thinking she's being followed and house bugged, etc. I have heard similar stories to your friends. Also, when I was on a lot of it, I heard voices and saw things all the time. Or thought I saw and heard things. Also on adderall, sounds and lights are so much louder and brighter, its crazy. And I was so paranoid on that stuff and the anxiety and OCD negative thoughts were getting so bad, that is why I quit taking it for good. I'm only 9 days in from quitting. She needs to get off of it as soon as possible and start healing -- her mind, body, and soul, if you ask me.

I think you definitely need to tell her family about her problem with adderall and tell them everything you told us. Also they should maybe contact her doctor and try to get the doctor to not give her anymore adderall because shes abusing it. They should probably recommend a detox/rehab center as well. She may hate you at first for this but you are saving her life, seriously. And she will thank you later/after, on the other side when she is clean and back to normal.

You should maybe do some research and print out some stories similar to hers and show her. Maybe that will help make her realize it's the addy but to be honest and I was that chick on adderall once, liker her and she still won't believe it probably because she loves the adderall too much and is clearly addicted -- but it still can't hurt.

You have to be strong and she needs to stop being enabled. You guys have to cut her source for adderall but at the same time, she has to want to change for her, not anyone else or she will relapse.

You sound like such a great friend. You should be proud of yourself.

You could always tell her the FBI contacted you about her and they know about her Adderall. Maybe that will get her to stop…..

Maybe not.

Goodluck!

[Greg]

there's no question that she needs to be cut off, but you dont have to be so direct with her that you got her cut off. You and the family can be vague about how it unraveled. It actually took me a year or two before my family told me how i was cut off. I thought my doctor simply 'caught on' to me and thats how i got cut off. i really think that was smart of them - lol. Because I was very angry to put it lightly and my feelings were all over the place when i was cut off. I was beyond irrational but could only see that in hindsight. But it is would be up to you guys to decide how to approach it. Bottom line is - being cut off is what she needs. She won't be happy about it but she has to go through the process of going through hell detox if she wants to become well again.
 

edit - I have been clean for a while, and my life is coming back together. But it was actually very recently that my sister told me that my AUNT is the one who orchestrated this whole thing (and my aunt now knows that I know she was helping behind the scenes) about getting me cut off and  then my sister suggested to me that I should express to her my appreciation the next time i get a chance to see her because we have never discussed it which i definitely plan to do.