personality changes and cocaine use

[fuji]

a good friend of mine has been hiding a coke habit.

That should read "former friend". Unless this person is extremely important to you, to the point where you are willing to make a hash of your own life to help theirs, walk away. Tell them why, and then get out of their life for good.

You can't help someone who doesn't want help and the only chance this individual has is that they realize early enough how much they stand to lose. Losing you as a friend right now would be a good start towards that realization.

Sorry it's harsh but it's true.

 

[fernie]

Just like every girl in this biz is not some addicted victim who was abused as a child, every guy who uses coke is not one step away from robbing from his kids piggybank to get his next high.

Cocaine can be expensive personally (one will lose friendships with vanilla types who aren't in the scene), financially (an expensive habit to keep up) and professionally (hard to be on your toes at 9am after a bender).

Cocaine use has come back in vogue again among a certain set of the Toronto community. Anyone recall the 80's with the rampant use across the city?

And yes, one's personality can change rather rapidly. Sleep cycles get fucked up. People get stressed over money. And the crash after the highs are pretty extreme. Coke causes paranoia and anger. Not great qualities to sustaining friendships IMHO.

Fernie

 

[elmufdvr]

it also depands on how he/she is using.. are they snorting it or basing it.. how much? and are they doing it alone or with a group of friends? i had my run in with it..i based it for over a year, every weekend. i went from doing it with some friends on the weekend to doing it alone locked up in my room.. or even going to a cheap motel to use.. it gave me privicy and time to use it.... went from a gram up two eightballs at my worst.. did it change my personality .. shit yes.. not a great person to be around at the time..i avoided responsibilities.. the comming down part was bad.. covered in sweat and trying to get some sleep after a binge was very bad... but then would end up passing out.for 16 - 18 hours.. just enuff time to get strait enuff to go to work.. after a while it got easer to hide.. still not great.. because i left work to go home to finish off what i had leaft over... i was a mess. i got lucky i had support of a great friend and had the attitude myself that i needed to get off of it... i got tired of it and just stopped.. but then the nightmares came.. dreams of using and cold sweats.. it was then i needed a friend for support.. i was lucky i did have someone...still to this day i get the odd dream about using.. but i have the support of great friend... evryone is different.. i hope that he /she will come to the point that they get tired of the use and decide to stop or at least seak help .. that is when your friendship and support is most needed.. i wish you luck and best wishes for you and your friend.. i will be a difficult road for them ..i hope they can find a way to get off thay stuff because it is evil .. but all evil seems good at times but the price is not worth it.. i know because i had paid the fair and rode the train ..lucky the ride got to be not fun anyore.. and i got off...

 

[BallzDeep]

Someone I know who used it said that when they came off the high it was very depressing, they crashed hard, back to reality I guess, like an alcoholic when he's not drunk, very grouchy and nasty because he's not drunk.

 

[ASYLUM]

i used to work at a rehab and i'd say once or twice a week shouldn't really make someone change dirastically, but it also depends on why he's doing it. there are plenty of people that do it twice a week (say all weekend when they go out to clubs) and then are perfectly fine throughout the rest of the week. However if he's using it to escape something or cover up something he is going through emtionally it could change him. but if he's already distraught over something the coke wouldnt have much to do with his behaviour, its more to do with whatever it is he's struggling with

 

[Miss Maya Blue]

thanks for the feedback.
im not about to walk away from this person yet as i honestly don't know for sure how often he is doing it, nor has his behavior become so bad its unacceptable. i assure you if it was, i would. im committed to being happy, and living in a way that feels healthy to me, ya know?

he has talked about using it a bit in the past, and said he uses very rarely now. then he let it slip a few weeks ago about using it once again recently, and then the other night i showed up unannounced and there was all the paraphernalia on his table. i dont think he realized i noticed it. so i could confirm him using at least twice in the past month. more frequent use is only hypothetical.

my intention for posting was to learn the side effects of weekly use, as this, i imagine, is as often as he is using (im not sure he can afford to use it more) and whether weekly use is damaging enough to display changes in his personality when he is not high.

otherwise he is functioning well in life, is close with his family, his job keeps him grounded....this guy is not 'junkie' nor is he a write-off, but there are some slight changes i have noticed. he simply seems cold and disconnected from him emotions.
he has been cranky and impatient, and his mood swings.

but as i mentioned, there are other factors that could be causing this behavior too...

(and maybe im the one who is paranoid )

 

[fuji]

i used to work at a rehab and i'd say once or twice a week shouldn't really make someone change dirastically

Inevitably it will though. Weekly use of cocaine will inevitably addict him, if he's not addicted already. You cannot use cocaine on a regular basis without becoming addicted to it. It might take you a month to become addicted, it might take you a year, but it is inevitable.

Maya - So fair enough you don't really know that he is using it weekly yet. When you find out I think you should make a fairly strong statement, because if it hasn't affected him yet, it will, and honestly the best thing you can do is some tough love--start showing him now that this is going to cost him a lot, while he's still able to do something about it.

I don't believe in waiting until it's too late before making a statement--you're not a real friend in that case.

 

[enduser1]

He is an addict. Check out Alanon Narcanon or Alchoholics Anonymous. Hell, just google cocaine addiction.

EU

 

[TheNiteHwk]

Speaking from personal experience and currently being in the recovery community (have been in/out of recovery for last 20 yrs)... I can offer the following

IMO very few people will or can use cocaine recreationally. And addiction has very little if anything at all to do with frequency of use. Cocaine is one of the most and most quickly addictive drugs. IE. very easy to become addictive and very quickly often from first time used.

It most definably will change one's personality/character.

Among other reasons it becomes addictive and changes people are medical.

I am sure you know what are endorphins. Endorphins are created by our bodies naturally. They relieve both physical and emotional pain. Believe it or not we are all almost always experiencing pain all the time that being kept in balance by endorphins our bodies are creating and releasing into our systems. The endorphins are captured by endorphin receptors. Cocaine what it does is overwhelm the endorphin receptors with far too much chemical endorphins... causing an euphoric state. IE get real high. When the body senses that the receptors are over loaded it will stop manufacturing natural endorphins. Therefore when the cocaine is no longer there and there is no more natural endorphins to take it's place... now the receptors are completely empty... hence very deep depression ... and other pain. Hence being irritable etc. It may takes days even weeks before the body will start to naturally manufacture endorphins again. Thus the cause of PAWS. (google - post acute withdrawal symptoms)

One of the very first symptoms of addiction is denial. Often not only is the addict in denial so are family and friends.

Addiction IMO (and most in the medical community) is treatable however not curable. Only complete abstinence can relieve the symptoms. Even after a long period of complete abstinence if one picks up again... the vicious cycle will begin all over again very quickly if not immediately.

Ask your friend to answer the 20 questions (link below) as honestly as possible. If the answers cause your friend some concern then they should seek help. Your friend must realize they need help on their own... w/some loving guidance. You cannot lecture an addict. If you are too aggressive and try to force it on them... or start breathing down their necks they will fight you tooth and nail and retreat into their addication even more. It's a bit of a tough balance cause you need to offer them some tough love with some understanding and acceptance. Sort of like your kids you know... you love them no matter what... but you not gonna take their chit... know what I mean?

http://www.ca-on.org/addiction_test.html

At the bottom of this test it says if one answers any yes them maybe there is a prob. IMO if one asnwers three yes the for sure there is a problem.

I will be more then happy to meet up and take your friend and yourself if you like to a CA meeting to meet some others who can offer some input or at least give some food for thought.

Peace and Love. TheNiteHwk.

 

[ang]

I know someone who is addicted to hash/oil/pot, he quit once and after 2 weeks, he was having withdrawls I mean bad ones....sweats, nervous, sick to his stomach, shakes, and could not consentrate..his whole personality changed. I thought that only happened with heavy drugs..guess I was wrong

 

[BallzDeep]

I suspect he's using a lot more than you know, evidence is how it was on his table when you showed up, show up unannounced a few more times, see what happens.

Addicts are good at hiding their addictions, unless he's a lifelong friend you don't want to lose, I wouldn't waste much time with him, try a few times, if he resists, leave him behind, who needs a cokehead for a friend, he may not be far from bumming money off you.

Sounds like you're in denial and in shock that your friend is a cokehead, as for him not being able to afford it, they always find their fix somehow. Coke usually isn't a casual drug.

 

[T.O.tourist]

If your friend tells you that he last used coke a month ago, it was probably a week ago. If he says he last used it a week ago it was more likely an hour ago.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

I know someone who is addicted to hash/oil/pot, he quit once and after 2 weeks, he was having withdrawals I mean bad ones....sweats, nervous, sick to his stomach, shakes, and could not concentrate..his whole personality changed. I thought that only happened with heavy drugs..guess I was wrong

A drug is a drug, is a drug, is a drug. Pot and especially hash/oil is very potent these days. (THC level very high) Maybe in the old days you could call it a soft drug. IMO not anymore. Adversely effects the nervous system to say the least. And just like with endorphins as I posted above... with pot etc... your body becomes used to being/having an anesthetized feeling. If you smoke everyday... then suddenly remove that... big shock to the system. google - PAWS.

If your friend tells you that he last used coke a month ago, it was probably a week ago. If he says he last used it a week ago it was more likely an hour ago.

Exactly. Coke addicts (or heavy users if there is any such thing) for sure will embellish the truth to say the least. Denial , feeling shame, guilt etc all come into play for sure.

 

[Meister]

About 12 years ago I took E on maybe 4 or 5 occasions. It was an intense, euphoric high and I remember raving all night and talking with beautiful, unattainable girls I never met before, something I would never fathom doing without the drug. I probably would still take it today if it wasn't for the nasty side effects, which started showing up after the second time using it. Side effects such as dilated pupils, ED and the most fucking scary nightmares that blurr reality and made me jump out of bed and fight the demons (really fucked up).

I stopped after that, but to this day I still get the occasional fucked up nightmare.