I have been reading entries for about an hour today. Thank you all for sharing your heart rending stories. I just feel better knowing that I am not alone. My daughter was diagnosed with sz eight years ago, but has suffered with problems most of her life. She is now 28 and started self medicating since about age 16 (unknown to me). Right now I am playing the waiting game with a detox bed. I have to stay by the phone hoping they will call soon. I’ve been waiting since yesterday morning. Luckily my daughter is now sleeping. She feels miserable physically and mentally. I wrote recently that I no longer will fight with her drug usage (she abuses DXM). It was destroying our relationship. I am her only friend and confidant and I cannot be the policeman. But today I told her I will not let her have it because she has become more childlike. Her craving is extreme. Her paranoia is extreme. Her memory is extremely short-lived (like minutes). She’s been awake for 3 days. So thank God she is now sleeping. I dread when she wakes because she’ll be craving and so miserable and then will get angry and abusive (verbally). If a bed is not found by the professionals today, I will spend the weekend calling the detox facility. She has agreed to go to a dual diagnoses long term program. This has happened before and then she forgets why she went into the detox and comes home in about 5 days. I know I am just rambling, but I needed to talk to someone… . . . I just got a call. No bed today! Please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers.
It’s so sad & scary when they agree to get help, but you’re afraid they’ll change their mind before it happens.
I’ll keep you both in my thoughts & hope that everything goes well for you. My son’s done the DMX thing before - I know it can be dangerous, but I had no idea it could be addictive like that. Thanks for sharing.
Praying she gets into detox soon. Hang in there
Just got a call. There are 3 beds opening up on Sat. Since it’s the weekend I have to call in the morning. I just told her (she woke up) and she seems happier. We’re going to Krispy Kreme! Much better than DXM. Oh and slw, DXM affect different people in different ways. Some people do not like the effect and won’t use it. It feeds into her delusions and hides her disappointments. Thank you.
Fantastic! Yum it’s a good thing there isn’t a Krispy Cream nearby.
Is DXM cough syrup and how does it make her feel? Is she trying to change the negative affects of her illness? And then ended up addicted because it seems it would make them worse. Doesn’t it?
My daughter says it is a dissociative drug. I’m not sure what that means except that when she takes it she no longer feels the loss of friends and boyfriends and college and a job. It’s also a hallucinogenic drug which makes her sz worse. When she takes it she no longer worries about those things and she is not lonely. She takes the drug in pill form without the pain killer addition in most cough meds. Sometimes she gets motivation before it hits her and will clean her room. She has the delusion that it keeps her from eating. It does while she’s on it but she binge eats afterwards. She also has a eating disorder. She has the constant delusion that she is fat even though she is not. She usually takes 2 boxes which is 32 pills at 30mg each and takes them every day or other day. It stays in her system 14 days so you can imagine the overdose to her system. When she first started it seemed to help many of her negative symptoms, but she was only taking 1/2 box every week or two. It seemed to jump start her system and she was happy. But that was 7 years ago. I hope I answered your questions.
I wish it wasn’t so close here. When she comes off the DXM she has the munchies and I am getting fat from all the donuts! Straight to the hips!
Sorry for my ignorance but is it prescribed? Is she under doctor’s care? W Pdoc has him on lithium, Doxepin and Invega Sustaina and hasn’t ordered labs. His GP wants his Pdoc to order them. How often does your daughter get tests ran.
I get it completely how you feel; our son is was diagnosed with sz six years ago and is addicted to marijuana. Here is my advice that I pray helps:
- Get out of your house if you feel unsafe (go to a hotel)
- Do you have a PERT team that can speak with her and help
- You are smart and right on for getting her into a program.
- You can do this and you have to be non-negotiable in your resolve (even if you don’t feel it)
- You’re likely saving her life
- Call a friend … write her continually… do whatever you need to stay calm
My prayers and love are with you — a detox facility and a long-term program would be amazing. Our son isn’t really tackling or acknowledging his addiction yet. But we did cut off the money and he did try and kill my husband. Now we don’t let any money go to him and he’s doing better but only small improvements. I’ll take the improvements… our reality is different than we dreamed but it’s time for us to figure out our new reality. You can do this — you are much stronger than you think!
My son threatened me yesterday if I didn’t take him to the bank and get him a PO Box. I didn’t say a word and he childishly thought and said I had agreed. I actually have said no a dozen times. Don’t know how today will go. I have several things to do and none of them involve driving him anywhere or giving him money. He is due his shot on Wednesday. A day at a time
No, DXM is not prescribed. I wouldn’t suggest anyone to buy it - very dangerous. My daughter buys the kind with just the dextromethrorphan… The kind with pain meds is extremely dangerous and would kill her at the amount she takes. It is sold out very quickly. I’m sure it doesn’t work well with her meds her Psychiatrist has her on. They don’t test her for it because it doesn’t show up in lab work. Most people don’t know about it - one psydoctor even smirked when she told him she was addicted to it (he had never heard of it.) He made me upset and we never went there again. In VA she was dealing with this addiction with counselors that had worked with her for 6 years. Great people but they never even looked it up until we were about ready to move to NC. No one took her seriously until recently. Finally even the detox centers know about it. Unfortunately more people are finding out about it. Please don’t think about it for your son. I am telling you about it because you ask, but no one should experiment with this drug. In some countries it is banned and I wish they would ban it here. I may have shared too much info but everyone needs to know of its danger.
Be careful my friend; if your son escalates, leave the house. I didn’t and our son was arrested for trying to kill my husband. He thought we were impostors and he didn’t like that we cut off his money for drugs. Sending you prayers and love.
I forgot to tell you about labs. The only time she gets labs is before she goes for detox or goes to the emergency room for psychosis. There are some meds that will interact with others so it is then necessary to get labs. Every 3 months or so. I think she will have labs on a new med she is on. She takes Risperidone, Amitripyline, Cogentin Vyvance,
I understand and was only trying to learn more. You can tell your daughter what I tell my son. Tuning out doesn’t work because all drugs are short term fixes. Only talking out your troubles seems to move you past them. My son sometimes says he’s like to get high for life. I tell him he will actually miss out of life because that is not what life is about. I believe they are trying to mask the negative symptoms that comes with the illness. They also like to blame this flat effect on their meds. I wonder how much is actually their illness. When they are e so sick and living in their other world, they can’t even question it.
They might do liver enzymes test in the hospital.id they are high perhaps this would cause her to stop self medicating.
Yes, she already has liver damage but they won’t give her the new Hepatitis C medicine that supposedly cures it because she actively uses DXM. I found her a detox bed this morning, but half way there she started having stomach cramps and we canceled. We’ll try again tomorrow. How’s things going with you!
Sorry to hear they take that stance but it is typical isn’t it? Don’t give up. I can tell you are trying your best to do the right thing for your daughter. Things are quiet here at the moment. It’s been a good weekend. My son is due his Invega shot on Wednesday and we are hopeful he’ll accept it. I was dreading the weekend on Friday but it turned out pretty decent. Thank God
I have been reading your guys posts …first let me say I wish none of this kinda stuff was happening to anyone…and I’m sorry …My 25 yr old son just got released from the local trauma center hospital bc someone either stabbed him in the back of the head or hit him hard …4 staples…he has sz and is addicted to meth…he made it to a gas station covered in blood. A couple months ago he called the cops on me bc I wouldn’t let him leave house at 5am to go look for drugs…well the police told me and him that hes an adult and could leave if he wanted too…so he wanders the streets of our neighborhood at all hours doing strange things …stealing stuff from the gas station etc…its a rough area…he coulda been killed…they didnt catch the guy that did it…scared to death trying to keep him at home is hell…
So sorry to hear about this with your son. Keep trying to get him in treatment. You can also use LEAP for motivational training. God bless and hang in there. I’m struggling to follow my own advice today.