10th March 2004
Again, remember, it can take many years before one will develop lung cancer from cigarettes, and some people will not have obvious problems with stimulants for years, then one day something happens, but usually is blamed on luck of life instead of drug effects.
You have been lucky so far; amphetamines are very hard on the heart and constricts blood flow, sometimes resulting in high blood pressure or heart problems. The mood swings they can cause also cause manic-depressive symptoms or aggression. I would say it would be a good idea for you to look up the adverse effects on the drug PDF and read carefully for future reference. Also, if you are taking any other drugs like AD's , benzodiazepines, or beta-blockers, they are used to counteract stimulant side effects but their effects may weaken in time.
Now, you can't just quit these drugs. Although you are not "addicted" per se, you probably are very dependant by now...this means your brain will not be able to function properly without the drugs.... very slow weaning would be the only way, and it's uncertain how long it would take the brain to function like it should again. There is a recovery period and sometimes withdrawing includes depression. So if you ever decide you want to wean, do it very, very slowly.
Addiction and dependancy are intertwined; dependancy is physical only but when you add complusive behavior, euphoria-seeking, and social issues, then you have addiction. This difference is how they can claim non-addiciton in alot of drugs like antidepressants because "addiciton" is different than "dependancy". Of course, since we are talking about stimulants, those are a bit more likely to cause addiction sometimes than other drugs, but all psychoactive drugs can cause just the physical dependancy.
Anyway, below is an explanation one addictions specialist in benzodiazepine drugs wrote concerning the differences:
"Addiction is a biopsychosocial syndrome. Less than ten percent of the population is at risk. Although there are eight diagnostic criteria, three of which must be present for a year; the syndrome can best be described by "the 3 Cs".
Control: when the addicted person starts using their drug they episodically lose control over their ingestion.
Compulsion: getting and using the drug takes on more and more importance or salience in the person's life, crowding out relationships and activities that were once important to them.
Consequences: they continue using the drug despite the drug causing problems at home, problems in relationships, medical problems, legal problems, emotional and psychiatric problems and finally vocational problems.
Physical dependence is simply a neurobiological phenomenon due to continued exposure to a drug. It happens to all human brains exposed to drugs such as benzodiazepines and opioids. It is not addiction......"
You have been lucky so far; amphetamines are very hard on the heart and constricts blood flow, sometimes resulting in high blood pressure or heart problems. The mood swings they can cause also cause manic-depressive symptoms or aggression. I would say it would be a good idea for you to look up the adverse effects on the drug PDF and read carefully for future reference. Also, if you are taking any other drugs like AD's , benzodiazepines, or beta-blockers, they are used to counteract stimulant side effects but their effects may weaken in time.
Now, you can't just quit these drugs. Although you are not "addicted" per se, you probably are very dependant by now...this means your brain will not be able to function properly without the drugs.... very slow weaning would be the only way, and it's uncertain how long it would take the brain to function like it should again. There is a recovery period and sometimes withdrawing includes depression. So if you ever decide you want to wean, do it very, very slowly.
Addiction and dependancy are intertwined; dependancy is physical only but when you add complusive behavior, euphoria-seeking, and social issues, then you have addiction. This difference is how they can claim non-addiciton in alot of drugs like antidepressants because "addiciton" is different than "dependancy". Of course, since we are talking about stimulants, those are a bit more likely to cause addiction sometimes than other drugs, but all psychoactive drugs can cause just the physical dependancy.
Anyway, below is an explanation one addictions specialist in benzodiazepine drugs wrote concerning the differences:
"Addiction is a biopsychosocial syndrome. Less than ten percent of the population is at risk. Although there are eight diagnostic criteria, three of which must be present for a year; the syndrome can best be described by "the 3 Cs".
Control: when the addicted person starts using their drug they episodically lose control over their ingestion.
Compulsion: getting and using the drug takes on more and more importance or salience in the person's life, crowding out relationships and activities that were once important to them.
Consequences: they continue using the drug despite the drug causing problems at home, problems in relationships, medical problems, legal problems, emotional and psychiatric problems and finally vocational problems.
Physical dependence is simply a neurobiological phenomenon due to continued exposure to a drug. It happens to all human brains exposed to drugs such as benzodiazepines and opioids. It is not addiction......"