My son, who has been diagnosed both with drug induced psychosis and schizophrenia, and has been, and maybe still is, in psychosis. He is an addict.He stopped using pot about five days ago and I could see a big difference. He made more sense in his conversations with me, he was less, let’s say, irritable with me. He went outside the house (just next door) for the first time in about six months. When he gave up, he told me he knows he can’t smoke because it f…s with his head! He described psychosis to me. He knew he was in trouble. He said he wouldn’t touch it again. Only, the last couple of days he’s been smoking a little bit of pot and I’m worried that he will go back into psychosis. He’s going into a private clinic on Friday for detoxing and psychosis. Now my question! Can someone go back into psychosis (in a bad way) after having just a few cones? Can psychosis appear again after a couple of days,or does it take longer? He’s already getting more irritable with me and withdrawn. Am I on the right sight for this? I’m sorry if I’m not!
Drugs are bad… it sounded like his head was in the right place for a minute there. He does the potential to stop using it sounds.
He’s a lucky fellow if he can stop smoking and his psychosis goes away.
Drugs are bad mmmmmkay
Thanks SoitGoes but…
Thanks for answering me
I’ve never done a drug in my life, besides some alcohol, prior to becoming SZ. I stay away from all drugs, even soon going to axe my antipsychotic drugs. There are just too many random & wild side effects from drugs. Is it even legal to smoke pot in your city? If not, that is a big weigh down on his subconscious, too.
All in all, pot is not good for those who have SZ or bipolar.
If he has shown the tendency for psychosis to emerge then his psychosis will likely always return… as far duration before relapse… depends on a lot of things. Behavior and psychosis don’t correlate exactly… some of what you are noticing may just be his response to the drug.
Tell him to cut that shit out and that he’s going to have to get a job some day or something.
there is way more to life then getting stoned
Why not show him this forum and let some people who have the experience put him on the right track to recovery? I’ve never done drugs, just alcohol, but there are people on here who can tell him what’s what and he might take some notice. Worth a try?
It’s a bit more complicated than that but thanks for answering me.
Just trying to help.
I’m sorry for you and your son, I know the pain of watching your loved one with sz do drugs. My bf went off his meds and now is smoking crack, pot, and drinking beer. And there’s nothing I can do to help. My sweet loving man is gone. Good luck.
I’m sorry he’s going through this addiction…
It’s frustrating… he knows it’s messing him up… but he’s still unable to stop himself from smoking it.
Yes… just a little can start the crumbling all over again…
There were times I quit… and was doing better… told my family that they were right… but after a while of doing well… it’s easy to think I’m cured… I’m healed and how is one little joint or blunt going to hurt… just one little joint…
It hurt a lot… created a lot of sneaky brained thinking that started to unravel me… and almost landed me back in hospital when I was back in full blown psychosis…
the tiny bit of pot didn’t create the psychosis… but it sure did open the door and let it in.
Hope your son will agree to getting help.
Good luck to your family
psychosis can come back after a couple of days - but it all depends on the person. Everyone is different in this regard.
It can be helpful to watch for relapse signs (signs that the person is moving in the direction of psychosis again) - here are some common ones:
insomnia,
tension,
anxiety,
inability to concentrate,
restlessness, and
depression.
Read more at the links below about relapse in schizophrenia:
Thanks SzAdmin. Helpful, as always/
I went two years without smoking pot. When I picked it up again and smoked it once, I got psychotic. After that I smoked it every two-four months and every time I smoked it after a long lay-off it made me psychotic and paranoid.
Thanks 77nick77. How long did the psychosis last when you picked up again? Did you realize when you were back in psychosis? I’ve made sure there is no pot in the house and now it is a wait and see game. It’s been one day (unless he has a stash somewhere). My son thinks he can get back on it after a good break and he will be fine. I don’t want to go through another year of psychosis with him, believing that there’s nothing wrong with him! It’s been a journey I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy
Now when you say addict, it brings a very different picture to my mind.
Weed can definitely cause those symptoms, but in my experience its just while you’re high, and get pretty high really fast.
I’ve been an avid drug user in the past, though. I do understand his mindset, it’s really hard to give up things like that after symptoms start appearing, because these symptoms fucking suck, and you just want to have fun, man.
It’s horrible to feel sick, you know? Keep him occupied. You’re not going to get him to stop if he has nothing to do, help him find other things he enjoys, and make sure he is able to do them.
Most people with SZ are addicted to drugs or alcohol. I dont know in your sons case if the psychosis will go away, but he is addicted, and its a good thing he is going into detox. It took a long time for me to figure out if my son was mentally ill or using drugs...what was the illness and what was the drug. In the end, it didnt matter, because it is now permanent, and he has an addiction that he will always have to battle.
I was only psychotic for the length of time I was high. After I read your reply to me, it made me think, " Was I really psychotic after smoking it or was I just high?" Then I read MisterWaffles post and I realized, “Yeah, I would say I was temporarily psychotic.” It was a familiar feeling and I was out of my mind AND very paranoid. At the time I smoked it (I’ve been clean since 1990) I was aware I was in really bad shape and that I was not in a normal reality.
I don’t what you can do to help your son stop smoking pot but I would bet a few thousand dollars that nothing has changed and he will probably never be able to handle pot again and it will always be bad for him. I’ve seen it a hundred times on here. I wish I could tell you how to get this fact to sink in to your son but I personally don’t know how to get someone to stop smoking pot though some other people on here can offer suggestions. I’ve seen pot take down a lot of people.
Im at the hospital right now because I had a thing with the voices that wouldn’t stop for me,I was thinking that maybe im just need a valium or something mild.
That’s too bad petester.
Weed can cause symptoms for me but only when I smoke too much and they always go away after about an hour. But he might be smoking synthetical or skunk. I don’t smoke that stuff, it’s known for causing psychosis.