“It's hard for me to help. What should I do?”
I hope that you may be able to help me with a question I have. See I need to figure out who exactly I would need to speak with to explain a condition of my brain's neural pathways that has been confused as a addiction rather than a tool I need to utilize for a underlying condition that has previously been overlooked again and again. I have been prosecuted for my need to self-medicate. I can't seem to get passed telling a doctor the truth about my everyday use of meth and not be instantly judged as some crackhead off the street. I mean it perplexes why they all seem to treat my use of neuro-stimulants as a reason to not prescribe me any. See I was prescribed Ritalin and as I grew older I was taken off of it around 17 years of age. I never was able get my head right from the overabundance of dopamine that I had artificially grown up with in my brain. I would liken it to the feeling to that of having set a goal for myself, accomplishing the goal and not any real form of satisfaction over what I had accomplished. This was a very depressing point in my life. I often had those 51-50 thoughts in my head. I found that quite concerning when I found myself at the Army's recruiting office in Hesperia. An open offer to any job listed out of 212 jobs offered at the time and just could not commit because of my lack of motivation. I was offered everything including OCS right out of boot camp and a enlistment bonus that would have parked a Porsche in the driveway a long time ago. I started looking in to what could be causing the problems that I was dealing with a lot more after that. I would have gone to the doctors office if I would have had insurance at the time. I started working for Walmart in the distribution center a year later where I was insured. So I went back to see if I could be treated again from Nancy Jones PhD and by that time she had retired. I found myself at the Jones group doctors office asking for something that would help with my problem. I was told that I could not receive anything except Prozac for depression. So I gave it a shot hoping it would work. It did not work for me whatsoever. I felt as if it actually made me feel lackadaisical and ill witted.
I returned a month later and was told the same thing and given nothing. So I did research and found that Ritalin was pretty much just meth. So I got hold of some people that I knew smoked pot and inquired about it. It took me several weeks but I finally got my hands on some and dosed myself orally, the same relative dosage administered twice daily. I know exactly how much I consume every day which is .8 of a gram split in to morning and lunch. I do study a fair amount, it's around 7-8 hours a day for the last 14 years of my life, plus time with my wife and 3 kids. I am really feeling like my mother who has been very understanding of this whole thing. I feel that she is making herself sick with worry and she doesn't need that. I really don't think that she needs to see me going to jail for this again. I am super smart but can't seem to find a job in which this doesn't have an effect on as far as drug screening and court background checks. I have been to every court ordered rehab and class that they could possibly have. I do not feel as if I ever needed any. It's just a bunch of criminals whom I don't identify with at all.
I know of Dysoxin, do you think that I would fit the prescribing criteria for that or is this just something that I need and can't get? I have had time off it when I was in jail for 5 and half months the whole time suffering for what? Still there I sat in bed dead to the world sickened the whole time. I don't come down like every one else. I come down and stay down. That mental block stays long term and it's not good at all. My girlfriend of 18 years and 3 young kids need me here to be a father, which I do that unlike a lot of people nowadays. I just hope I can find a doctor that sees eye to eye with me on this matter before it's too late and I lose everything for nothing that is warranted on my end. Thank you for your time.
I returned a month later and was told the same thing and given nothing. So I did research and found that Ritalin was pretty much just meth. So I got hold of some people that I knew smoked pot and inquired about it. It took me several weeks but I finally got my hands on some and dosed myself orally, the same relative dosage administered twice daily. I know exactly how much I consume every day which is .8 of a gram split in to morning and lunch. I do study a fair amount, it's around 7-8 hours a day for the last 14 years of my life, plus time with my wife and 3 kids. I am really feeling like my mother who has been very understanding of this whole thing. I feel that she is making herself sick with worry and she doesn't need that. I really don't think that she needs to see me going to jail for this again. I am super smart but can't seem to find a job in which this doesn't have an effect on as far as drug screening and court background checks. I have been to every court ordered rehab and class that they could possibly have. I do not feel as if I ever needed any. It's just a bunch of criminals whom I don't identify with at all.
I know of Dysoxin, do you think that I would fit the prescribing criteria for that or is this just something that I need and can't get? I have had time off it when I was in jail for 5 and half months the whole time suffering for what? Still there I sat in bed dead to the world sickened the whole time. I don't come down like every one else. I come down and stay down. That mental block stays long term and it's not good at all. My girlfriend of 18 years and 3 young kids need me here to be a father, which I do that unlike a lot of people nowadays. I just hope I can find a doctor that sees eye to eye with me on this matter before it's too late and I lose everything for nothing that is warranted on my end. Thank you for your time.
Male | 36 years old
Complaint duration: since 18
Conditions: long term lack of modivation
2 Answers
Psychiatry&Neurology|NeurologyDepression
Hello and thank you for your question. I have treated patients in my practice who have a history of using methamphetamine to selfmedicate. I cannot comment on your specific condition and what would be appropriate to treat it. However, I would not rule out the use of a psychostimulant, such as Ritalin, Adderall, or Vyvanse if appropriate. In other words, your history of methamphetamine use is not a reason to dissuade me from doing so. Its more a questions of whether there is a diagnosis there that would be expected to respond positively to a stimulant or not.
Here is a starting place 1. Advanced imaging Liu H, Zakiniaeiz Y, Cosgrove KP, Morris ED. Toward wholebrain dopamine movies a critical review of PET imaging of dopamine transmission in the striatum and cortex. Brain Imaging Behav. 2019 Apr132314322. doi 10.1007s1168201797797. PMID 29071465 PMCID PMC5918462. 2. Then, there is the work of Daniel Amen, M.D. rooted in SPECT and other studies. httpsbrainhealthassessment.comassessment 3. There is also the work of Jeff Schwartz, M.D. as delineated in Brain Lock. The PET images on the back are illuminating. httpsjeffreymschwartz.combrainlock 4. Finally, the various genomic analyses can also be useful before undertaking a detail pharmacological informed analysis within legitimate and legal confines. httpswww.mayoclinichealthsystem.orgservicesandtreatmentspharmacogenomics 5. Armed with relevant facts, then, a patient and an advanced knowledgeable medical doctor can go through and determine a comprehensive action plan. 6. Thereafter, it is necessary to see if there are interventions that enhance function. 7. Determine how, if possible, to manage challenges, e.g., cognitive, learning and other issues. 8. If not, what lifestyle and profession make sense given the functional challenges based on biology, personal life history, etc..
