Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with drugs

Why am I having speech problems?

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:12:25 -0800

I seem to be having some speech/language problems. What could be causing them, and should I be concerned? I know YANAD but I thought this might be worth a try.

For the last 6 months or so, I've noticed that I'm having more trouble talking. Occasionally a word or sentence will come out garbled/slurred unclear, I have more trouble finding the right word, and sometimes I end up saying a wrong similar word instead of the right one. For example, yesterday I remember saying 'wall' instead of 'edge' for no apparent reason, and I was recently on the phone with my friend and about 5 or 6 times I had trouble summoning up the right word.

This can't be chalked up to aging - I'm only 20, and should be in my prime. I'm a native English speaker. I've never had any language problems or learning disabilities. My reading, writing, and listening skills are the same as always. I don't have any health problems except for mild IBS and a possible case of depression.

What could be the cause of this and should I be worried? I keep wondering if it's really all that severe or if I'm just exaggerating something. One possible cause which worries me is Olney's Lesions, a potential form of brain damage caused by dissociative drug use. I've done DXM (a couple times in high school) and nitrous oxide (frequently in the past year) before, both dissociatives. Now I'm starting to panic that I have brain damage.

I'm really uncomfortable going to the doctor at any rate, and a potential massive rant about the consequences of drug use hardly encourages me. Any advice is appreciated.

Do you tell your shrink everything?

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:58:22 -0800

new year's eve was filled with good old time debauchery and fun, including some bandit kissing and recreational drug use. is this something i need to share with my therapist? the drugs are a very rare occasion for me (perhaps every few years) and the making out is pretty innocent fun. i found a super handsome guy and made out with him and then made out with an old friend of mine and her boyfriend.

i feel happy about the whole experience, it was exactly the way i was hoping to ring in the new year. then today, i thought, wow i bet my therapist wouldn't approve of this kind of behavior and immediately felt compelled to tell him about it.

i'm sure there is some low level child/parent thing going on in my mind hence the desire to report behavior that while i find acceptable is out of the ordinary for me and may not be acceptable to him. (yes. i'm looking for his approval, that's part of why i'm in therapy)

i guess my question is, do i need to have a conversation with my therapist about something which may bother him but doesn't really bother me.

Do people do ether anymore?

Evilspork — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:00:48 -0800

Do people do ether anymore? So I'm on the last day of a temp job in a supply room, and I'm looking for some canned air for one of the offices. I find a locked cabinet, pull out the key ring, and open it up. Inside are some family pictures of the guy I'm replacing, a small stack of those cheap air filter masks, and a tall paper cup with a kleenex rubberbanded over the top. None of it smelled like anything other than filter masks and kleenex. I know virtually nothing about drugs, and all I can think of is a scene from some movie where one of the characters, a doctor, huffs ether. What could this stuff be used for?

It's the the supply room of a clinic, so there's access to a bunch of medical stuff like rubbing alcohol and lidocaine, and other low-level meds that get distributed to the area. Assuming this is something illicit, he could probably get his hands on it and then hide it. He's a nice guy, though, everyone here loves him, he seems clean-cut, blah blah, but if he has a problem and is good at hiding it...

Thoughts?

I want to stop coughing, damnit!

Reverend John — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:16:28 -0800

A few years back I was diagnosed with pneumonia after being sick on and off for about three weeks. When I was finally diagnosed I seem to recall that they gave me antibiotics and a codeine based cough syrup. This combo worked like a wonder. The codeine knocked out my cough and let me sleep, and the antibiotics killed the pneumonia. At least that's how I remember it. Fast forward to today. After being sick all week I visited the local acute care facility (man, if I had only made my regular doctor's sick call yesterday!) and was diagnosed with pneumonia. OK, no big shock, I'm just glad to know what it is and how we're going to attack it, EXCEPT: the doctor refused to prescribe me any codeine (he did prescribe Levaquin, and Albuterol with an inhaler, which I'm somewhat dubious about). He claimed that I had to cough up the stuff in my lungs, and that suppressing my cough would be a bad idea.

I'm shocked at this, given my past experience. Am I remembering this wrong? Or is this guy full of baloney and I should contact my regular doc asap.

Anxyliotics for draconian drug laws in S E Asia?

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:06:02 -0800

Can I take my benzos in transit through KL international airport? I will be catching a connecting flight through Malaysia and want to know whether I will be able to bring prescription drugs safely. I am aware of arrests of drug smugglers who were just passing through Malaysian and Singaporean airports as well as the problems people such as Grooverider have experienced in similarly draconian countries such as Dubai. I also appreciate that, if in doubt, it's best not to take a risk.

Regardless, I want to know if there is a substantial difference between carrying illicit drugs and medicines through the airport. I have a flight connection at Malaysia and want to know whether am I actually allowed to bring my benzos with me. How risky actually is it? Will I need to bring a valid prescription or will that not help me. Or is it fine as long as I am bringing obviously legit medicine rather than unlabelled baggies of loose powder. For obvious reasons I'd rather avoid any run-in with the authorities but part of me has to believe that the drug laws are vaguely reasonable with respect to medicines.

everywhere else it's coke

generalist — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:09:16 -0800

In Chicago the standard term for bags of heroin sold on the street is "blows." I've also heard the word used as a verb, e.g. "You blow?" Does anyone have any clue as to the origin of the term?

What should I do about my dishonest job interview?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:22:41 -0800

I was not truthful about my past drug use in a job interview. Now I have a job offer and need to get a secret security clearance. What should I do? I smoked weed five days a week for most of this year (from maybe January to halfway through August) before quitting and moving out of the college town. In the past couple years before that, I have a smattering of other drug uses (shrooms, coke, addy; 3-5 times each and in small quantities). I might be able to make a case that I was in a different situation then since I had become a member of a fairly drug laden crowd which I'm now completely disconnected from.

Two weeks ago, I went in for a job interview at a defense contractor and things went smoothly. Towards the end, the interviewer asked me if there was anything that would prevent me from getting a secret level security clearance and listed off a couple of things such as bankruptcy or a criminal record. I said no. After I said no, he made some joke about drugs and we laughed. I silently realized that my drug use might be an issue, something I hadn't thought about until that point. I'd previously figured they'd give a drug test, I'd pass, done deal. Last week, I got call from them saying they were going to be offering me a job.

I've been doing research on security clearances and realized that past drug use can definitely be grounds for clearance denial, but the details on how much use and how long you've been “clean” are fuzzy. I'm not sure if I should even be thinking about accepting their offer. I'm nervous about going for the clearance and ashamed that I ended up being dishonest to the interviewer (even though it was mostly accidental). As soon as he mentioned drugs, even though it wasn't a direct question, I should have piped up but I didn't and now here I am.

My main question:
How should I approach this? Should I call them up and say “I've made a mistake and was dishonest, take me or leave me”? Maybe it's not as bad as I think and they can still work with me. It would be a nice job if I get it. Or should I turn down the offer, give some vague reason, and make the problem go away? I don't need the money and have plenty of time to keep looking for other jobs. I'd still feel bad about the whole thing, but nobody would have to know.

The third possibility, which I've been rejecting as unethical, is not saying anything them, accepting the offer, and then acting surprised if my clearance ends up being denied.

Secondary question:
What are the chances of me actually getting a security clearance given my habitual drug use until three months ago?

Related question

"Are you high?" + "Yes" = Laughter and ?

ramenopres — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:36:54 -0800

Why don't celebrities get in trouble for confessing to drug use on talk shows? I've seen late night talk shows where the guest, and sometimes the host, confesses to using or handling drugs. This might happen in the context of an awkward moment or reminiscence. Sometimes it looks like the guest has used something before the interview (you know, when they come on glassy-eyed and don't know what's going on and the host has to cover for them). Why don't they get in trouble for this? It's confessing to a crime, right? Can police use that information to search their belongings or support a charge in court?

How Long Will Antique Drugs Still Work?

esereth — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:15:00 -0800

Ancient drugs...opium, morphine, even absinthe. Can they still be potent after decades? If you were to find your great-grandma's cocaine cough syrup, or her opium-based migraine reliever, would they still have any power left in them?

Could someone pour hot water in a 90 year old opium bottle with sludge at the bottom, swirl it around, and ease their pain with the remnant of the residue?

Similarly, what about ancient alcohols? I know wine is supposed to keep for a hundred years, but what about something as toxic as absinthe? Does it continue to ferment? Does it turn to poison? To vinegar? Does it became harmless?

For the record, I'm not trying to get wasted on old sticky medicine bottles....just research for a story. Plus now I'm really curious.

My google fu has failed again...just keep getting ask-yahoo pages about two-year-old vicodin.

Any experience or observations?

security clearance + previous drug use?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:44:40 -0800

If a person smoked pot in early July 2009, what is the likelihood of that person getting a secret security clearance for summer 2010 federal government internships? Is there anything that person can do now to maximize chance of getting a clearance? Other relevant details: various drugs used from 2004-2006 (though in relative moderation except for high frequency of smoking weed), then 1x or 2x a month marijuana usage from then on. Came to a full stop after July 4, 2009 before starting graduate school and have no plans to resume drug use ever.

Various websites say that the general rule is "12 months of no drugs," but it is ambiguous as to whether that is for top secret or secret.

Again, this person is looking for secret clearance rather than top secret, and this is for non-intel positions with the US government. And most internships start in May.

Basically, is it worth it to even apply for positions that require applicant to eventually get a secret clearance for the summer? Is there anything that can be done to help get this thing? (and, uh, if the answer is "there's no way in hell that you'll get the clearance," does anyone know of any federal agencies that don't require clearance?)

Throwaway gmail account that I'll check: governmentandsmoking@gmail.com

Drug addiction in the 50's-70's

TheJoven — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:02:08 -0800

Was there a measured increase in drug addiction due to the hippie movement? What were the drug addiction rates like in the 1950's compared to the 60's and 70's. Are there any resources that have historical data on addiction rates and the particular substances popular at the time? This spawned from a discussion I was having with a coworker about the drug war and he claims that drug use increased greatly due to the loosening of social mores and the liberation of permissible actions. Is there any data out there that covers drug use and addiction for the transition from the more conservitive 50's early 60's and into the more liberal late 60's and 70's?

The dude who said too much.

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:19:50 -0800

Told my doctor I smoked pot, now I just got a disconcerting letter from my insurance company. First of all I live in Ohio, in case that matters. I experienced a heart arrhythmia a few months back and went to the ER for it. When meeting with a cardiologist about it afterwards we went through a number of lifestyle questions one of which was do you do any drugs. I answered honestly that yes I do smoke pot once or twice a week.

I asked if this could be a cause of the problem and he said that was highly unlikely and as long as I used in moderation that shouldn't pose any specific problem with my heart.

Now I just got a letter from my insurance company saying before they could process my claims for the incident they need more information.

It says - Diagnosis: History of Cannabis Abuse
and asks for first date of symptoms, treatment and my drivers license number. Where I've sought treatment, when I started, when I quit and how often I used.

I am pretty much shocked, I assumed my statement to the doctor was going to be safe and confidential.

So yeah, anyone else experience this? Am I screwed? Will I get my license revoked? How do I respond to date stopped when I used just a few days ago. Are the insurance folks permitted to share this info with the police? Is this just an attempt to scare me out of filing the potentially expensive claim with them?

Any info or advice would be much appreciated.

"He took too much LSD in the '60s".

bunky — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:42:26 -0800

"He took too much LSD in the '60s". No, really. Any number of Americans approaching old age are doing so with long-term illegal drug habits. If you've seen the Osbournes on TV, Ozzy seems the picture of the sort of cognitive impairment you can expect someone to have after years of illegal drug use. Is this typical of such a person? Can someone be rendered mentally incompetent by means of a history of long-term illegal drug use? Would someone with obvious cognative impairment like Ozzy still be considered legally competant?

What does a long pinky fingernail mean?

desjardins — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:16:24 -0800

When I was in college, I had a wild friend with a long pinky fingernail (and only her pinky, and only on one hand). I asked her about it once, and she gave me a "knowing look" and laughed it off. But I don't know what it was for, and fearing I'd look stupid, I never asked her again. Possibly relevant: she told me (in another conversation) that before we met, she was addicted to speed. I don't know if she really recovered from that, but she was definitely an alcoholic when I knew her. Once I was at her house and someone was passing around a bag? jar? (can't remember) of something. Most people partook of whatever-it-was. (Bonus question: what would that have been?)

She was bisexual and was dating a woman when I noticed the fingernail. The only reason I mention this is in case it's a fetish or lesbian thing (though I've been around plenty of both and have never seen it).

This is in Montana, late 90s.

How do I graph pharmacokinetics?

ladypants — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:42:36 -0800

How can I visualize the pharmacokinetics of a drug? Is there a way to create a graph of the blood plasma levels of a drug including the fluctuations caused by time of administration? To make a long story short, my doctor changed one of my prescriptions and I'm curious how it will affect the plasma level of the drug.

I can find the half life and some other pharmacokinetic info on the drug through the FDA web site and the prescribing information, but I'm having trouble understanding the steady state level of the drug and fluctuations in blood plasma levels due to different time release formulations and times of dosage. I haven't been able to find any blood plasma curves drawn out. Basically, I wanna SEE what's going on.

How can I create a graph of this information using Excel or some other software? Is there some magic software or website designed to do precisely this? Ideally I'd like to be able to input different doses and times of administration to see how they affect blood plasma levels over time. I have access to MatLab if that helps (but no idea how to use it), Excel, SPSS. I haven't done calculus in about a decade but consider myself competent at basic algebra and number crunching. I'd be up for some calc review if it ill help me wrap my head around all this.

I took acid for the first time have many questions

ascetic — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:10:59 -0800

Okay, my friend from work came over and then he, my roommate, and I were supposed to just take ecstasy and just chill out to trance music. Somehow my friend convinced us that we should take ACID. I have always told myself that I would never do it because I was afraid of going completely and utterly insane. So we literally tripped for almost 24 hours (each took several hits of the acid and around 4 rolls of E). It was REALLY weird and easily the most awesome experience of my life. I will never look at my house the same EVER AGAIN.

The most noticeable thing me for was that we became very obsessed with perspective. Is that normal? We all took turns "sitting" in my refrigerator and we literally BECAME the fridge. I sat there yelling "OOOHHHH MYYYYY GOODDDDDD" as my friends pretended to take condiments out of me. We also started speaking in gibberish and I could somehow understand them. We also started using a British accent (which scared the daylights out of my dog!!! I could also control the tempo of the music with my mind and I somehow synchronized the lights with my arms. If I raised my arms up in the air, the lights got brighter. As I lowered my arms, the lights dimmed.

I have a few questions though:

1) Is it normal it be really depressed and somber the day after? I got really emotional and cried uncontrollably at some points. I think that is from the E

2) Our trip is just in our head right? I mean, we slid around on our bellies on my kitchen floor and we were sliding like we were on a skating rink. What would it look like to someone who was not on acid? And what about the British accents? In our head, or where we really talking like that?

3) I noticed that several times throughougt the night, I would say stuff like "This is really fununununununun" and repeat the last syllable over and over. I felt very "manic" and would make "omomomomomom" noises over and over, and REALLY fast. What's that about? One person said from the meth in the E.

4) Lastly, what are the long-term effects of acid? I mean, say you use it once or twice a year? I am in college and get good grades and I am worried about ruining my cognition and/or memory. I value my ability to compute algebra problems.....

5) If I use the LSD spiritually and therapeutically, could it actually make my life better somehow? I would like to try to have healing sessions with my friends where we express ourselves artistically and talk about how we would like to improve our lives...

Anti-depressants: do they eventually stop working?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:11:48 -0800

Anti-depressants: do they eventually stop working? I have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I started receiving treatment ~2 years ago. The first drug I tried was Lexapro and it worked great, for a while. After 2-3 months of use, I started to becoming increasingly drowsy and unmotivated.

Next, I tried Prozac for it's reported 'activating' effects. I was on this drug the longest, but eventually started to experience side effects similar to those of Lexapro.

Now, I am on Cymbalta and am starting to think these exact same side effects are setting in.

Is this a common phenomenon? Is there something else I could try? Should I bring this up (again) to my doctor ASAP?

I have considered getting off SSRI's / SNRI's but they do, in fact, work very well at controlling my anxiety. I did realize but I had spent most of my (relatively short) life with pretty severe anxiety. I managed to find different mechanisms to control it and would outwardly appear very collected. There was a specific (and common) incident in college where I had to give a group presentation about a topic that I was very knowledgeable about--and I thought I was going to vomit moments before it was my group's turn to present. However, before starting medication I wouldn't have considered myself to have social anxiety. But certain things trigger an anxious response that I couldn't stop.

For what its worth, my anxiety and depression have diminished after starting these medications. The reason I bring this up is because today I felt "high" and "floaty" even though I didn't miss a dose of my Cymbalta and it got me thinking...

Automtaed Drug Discovery?

mpls2 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:58:30 -0800

A question about automated drug discovery What are the obstacles to completely (or nearly completely) automated drug discovery, where machines use AI algorithms to come up with potential drugs, the molecules are produced, and then tested against an array of targets (similar to DNA microarrays)?

Thanks!

How can I get my sister help for her addiction/depression?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:15:07 -0800

My sister has an alcohol and/or prescription and/or depression problem. What can I do to help her, and in what order? Apologies for the long e-mail, but this is anonymous so I want to get as much of the story here as I can.

My sister was in town this weekend (from 250 miles away), and did some things that really alarmed us. She is a few years older than me, in her mid-30s, married with a boy and a girl who are 6 and 3. I see her a couple of times a year. My two girls are near in age and love to play with their cousins.

This weekend, my sister drank 2 bottles of wine each night by herself while everyone else (her husband, me, and my wife) had either soda pop or one beer each. She would get progressively more angry/aggressive (verbally) as the night went on, but was never in a rage. Just noticeably sharp-tongued and at the same time boasting about herself.

Then overnight last night things got really bad. Apparently, after everyone went to bed she woke up (or never went to sleep) and snuck downstairs. She either drank more (but we couldn't find anything she could have) or popped some pills (again, not sure what they were or could have been). She was up into the night posting incoherently on her blog and on Facebook. Then on her way back to our guestroom she fell on our stairs and bloodied up her face, and fell over into a door (this was at 5:30). When her family left this morning at 8:00, her husband had to literally pick her up off the floor, then support her as she stumbled down the stairs and out the door. He flopped her down into the car and they were gone.

Talking to my parents, this is at least the 3rd time something like this has happened recently. My sister appears to be in complete denial that there is any trouble, and for whatever reason I think her husband is not willing or able to address the issue proactively (or at least not initiate action himself).

My wife and I think she needs help, now. For herself, for her kids, for her husband, and for the rest of our family. Complicating factors are that she has been generally depressed for as long as I can remember, she has MS, and she is without a job (recently) and being chased by creditors (for a long time).

I don't know if we need an intervention or a direct talk with her. I don't know if we should talk to everyone and get them on board behind her back (which could infuriate her and set her off if someone tells her) or address her first (which could set her off into a denial/aggression cycle before all the pieces are in place to convince her to get help). I don't know whether insurance will pay for rehab. I don't know whether I can or should call her own therapist and express my concern/get his advice. I've never done this before but think that my family will look to me for leadership. I am concerned that she could hurt herself; she will surely be defensive/dismissive/angry when confronted. I love my sister and want to help her. She will not be happy that this is happening.

For those who have been through this: how did you do it? In what order? With the addict's knowledge or behind their back?

Thanks for any advice you can give. Throwaway e-mail is helpmehelpmysister@gmail.com

How else to endure all those rituals?

The Whelk — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:12:22 -0800

You live at Versailles in 1658. You're nobility of the blood. You know the King. What drugs, drinks, or other ways of getting totally fucked up are available to you? How often could you partake before people started to Have A Problem with it? Aside from alcohol, of course, which would be in abundance, but what kind? Wine? Beer? What kind of spirits? I know laudanum was available, and cocoa leaves mixed with tobacco enjoyed a fad but smoking was looked down on. I think. What other ways did the French Court get totally ripped? Would coffee be around? Would it be spiked? Marijuana? Hashish? More powerful concentrations of opiates? Coca Leaves processed into cocaine? Exotically dangerous substances?

St. John's wort + ADHD medications?

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:36:45 -0800

What are your experiences with St. John's wort? In particular, have you ever taken it at the same time as ADHD medications like Ritalin/Focalin (methylphenidate), Adderall (amphetamine) etc? Some sources seem to warn against taking then together, some say only that one will might decrease the effectiveness of the other, and many don't say anything at all, so I'd like to know if there's anything to worry about. Even if you have never taken the two together, I'd still be curious to hear what you thought of St. John's wort in general.

Throwaway email: sjwquestion@yahoo.com

(Please don't tell me to ask a doctor; I'm asking because the doctors that wrote all the information I've read seem to disagree.)

Was there something in my drink?

emilyd22222 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:26:48 -0800

Is it possible that something was put in my drink? If so, what? I got way more drunk than I should have/typically get given how much I drank last night, and I also got violently ill from drinking for the first time ever. I remember the entire night. I drank the equivalent of 3 shots and a then a beer over the course of a few hours (not switching back and forth between beer and liquor). I ate dinner first. I drink socially on a weekly basis, so it's not like my tolerance is down.

I carried my cup with me all night, but I did use someone else's bottle of lemonade as a mixer, and was given the beer by a male friend who didn't try to pull anything weird once I was drunk.

I'm not particularly worried about this, more so just curious whether this is a possibility or my body's ability to cope with alcohol is on the wane.

Dating a drug-user?

clown-mustard — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:17:35 -0800

I've been seeing this guy for over 6 months now, and everything is absolutley wonderful, except that he's part of a circle of friends that are very much into recreational drug taking.. I have some experience of drugs, but am now firmly anti-drugs because of the health risks etc. The issue is, we keep having quite bitter arguments about drugs - where i'm arguing its too risky and that there arent enough advantages to recreational drug use, and he argues that they are used for temporarily removing the ego and personal growth and development, which cannot be attained (or not as easily attained) without tripping or getting high. His friends have also preached to me about the same things, and despite the fact that i feel like they are being the immature ones... i find myself being treated like this immature, "brain-washed" person who isn't at all open-minded.

I'm hoping this is something we can eventually both be mature about and just accept each others opinion.

Is there something i am obviously not understanding about drugs? (i have dabbled in the past)... This is now involving his friends, what can i do?

I'm already sick. Probably best not to do further damage.

fishmasta — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:07:10 -0800

Is it safe to mix Nyquil with Mucinex (guaifenesin)? YANMD, etc. etc. I plan on getting an appointment set up tomorrow. Just hoping a friendly pharmacist out there might know. I've searched Google and only turn up results for Mucinex DM. I have maximum strength Mucinex (1200 mg Guaifenesin) extended relief tablets as well as the newer Nyquil formula (325 mg Acetaminophen, 15 mg Dextromethorphan HBr, and 6.25 mg Doxylamine succinate). Every website I see warns about taking the Mucinex DM with Nyquil because of the Dextromethorphan in both, but nothing for the normal. I've already taken one of the Mucinex pills, but I was hoping the Nyquil would help put me to sleep. Thanks!

The Juicer List

pmaxwell — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:21:36 -0800

Is there a website that tracks which players are currently serving a suspension for steroids or performance enhancing drugs – one site many/all sports? I've only located this