Are You a Pill Popper? How Many Pills Do You Take?

Our culture has instilled in most of us a need to take pills for anything and everything. Things like preventative cold medicine, vitamins, pain relievers, psychotropic drugs and everything in between have become the way of life. There’s a pill for everything. Most of us probably don’t even pay attention to the amount of pills we take in a month, or even in a week. 

Do you take vitamins or preventive cold and flu pills? Do you take something when you get a headache? How many prescriptions do you fill in a year? Do you know the side effects of all the pills you’re taking or which ones have been recalled? Probably not, right? Well don’t feel bad neither did I. It’s just how things are. We take pills not only when we don’t feel well but we even take them to prevent feeling unwell.

Why Are People Trading Coke for Speed

I haven't been in the drug scene for a long time but even I've noticed speed pills growing popularity in my community. People seem to be ditching coke for amphetamines claiming it's cheaper and it last longer. Another major contributing factor to this trend was the bad coke that was being passed around. People eventually got fed up and looked for their high elsewhere.  They believe they know what they're getting when buying a pill because it can't be tampered with as easily as a powdered drug. That kind of thinking is dangerous. 

You can never really know all the ingredients in a pill sold on the streets but some people still believe this type of drug to be safer. If only they knew how similar amphetamine is to crystal meth maybe they wouldn't be so quick to deem it safer than cocaine. The more potent crystal meth breaks down into amphetamine once it gets metabolized in the body. The side effects of using either one of the drugs are dry mouth, dizziness, shakiness, insomnia, rapid heartbeat and can eventually cause mental psychosis.

Despite being less potent, amphetamines still have severe side effects such as becoming hostile, violent, and paranoid. They can also experience fevers, sweating, headaches, blurred vision, chest pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Not to mention amphetamine psychosis which I've recently seen in more than one of my old high school friends. I often wonder if they would have fared better if they would have just stayed with doing coke instead of switching to amphetamines. 

The symptoms of amphetamine psychosis can include hallucinations, paranoia, and bizarre and violent behavior. These symptoms are thought to go away once the person stops using the drug but sadly that isn't always the case. My old high school friends who did quit still experiences the paranoia and the bizarre behavior. Reality seems to be a little blurred for them.

I think it's important to get the severity of these symptoms out there with this growing speed trend things can only get worst. I hope I can share this information with as many people as possible and hopefully raise awareness of the dangers in using speed pills. I've seen the long term effect first hand and they aren't pleasant. Even when they reach sobriety their perceptions are altered and their relationships suffer. 

Let me know in the comments if you've also noticed a rise in amphetamine use or if you know anyone who's suffered long term effects from it.

You can also check out the very personal article I wrote on how I was able to escape addiction even though it runs in my family @ http://www.floridabeachrehab.com/breaking-the-family-cycle-of-addiction#  

Thanks

Charmed

Where to Turn for Support When A Loved One is Addicted

Author: Alyssa Craig

When it comes to addiction, there is of course a large focus on the addict and helping them to overcome this painful and difficult trial. But you are not the addict. You are their spouse, their partner, their sibling, their parent, or their friend. This addiction has weighed on you heavily since the beginning and has only continued to cause you stress and heartache. Whether or not your loved one is ready to take on the next step of recovery, you can start receiving the help and support you need to persevere. Here are some ways you can attend to your own needs during this turbulent time.

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