Panic attacks and ecstasy.

[brentcat]

Hi guys, recently new to panic attacks, had my first one after smoking some marijuana not too long ago, then one or two the span of a few, highly stressful days.

Just curious as to if anyone who suffers panic attacks has tried ecstasy before? I would really like to do it, my friends all tell me it's amazing, but i am very concerned i may panic.

Has anyone got an relevant advice or experience they could share?

[Carys]

My advice is it would be a really bad idea.

Here is an old article, but still very relevant.....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/jan/15/mentalhealth.drugsandalcohol

---------- Post added at 13:40 ---------- Previous post was at 13:32 ----------

Here's another article, more up to date and easier to read....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/addictions/ecstasy.shtml

Why would you take the risk ?

[sickandtired]

i really would not bother with ANY recreational drugs.
In my younger days,I dabbled in LSD,speed,pot,skunk,magic mushrooms and later Ecstacy
Although I can put alot of my mental health problem down to my childhood,Im pretty sure taking all that crap hasnt helped matters....
Ive suffered PND twice and now OCD and PTSD panic attacks,depression....the whole kit and kaboodle!!!
its no fun i tell you
half these drugs are cut with so much crap,you have no idea what you are really taking.......and these are really mind altering drugs,so who knows what long term effects they will have??
there are much better ways of enjoying yourself safely,please dont risk it xxx

[Harribo]

My anxiety was caused by cocaine, I started off taking half a gram over the weekend towards the end before I quit I was taking 5-6 grams everytime I went out partying, iv worked it out and iv spent around 20,000 pound on drugs. It destroys lives. I have only personally had 2 pills and they did nothing for me.

In England there was a girl called Leah bets I believe her name was, she just turned 18 I believe and went out clubbing. She took a pill and ended up dieing as she drowned her body where she drunk too much water in a short space of time.

I'm not saying your going to die all drugs are filthy in my oppinion and each carry risks, your body might not agree with you taking an E and you might die or you might love it. Not to be rude but if you suffer from anxiety you have got to be hella stupid to take drugs when suffering from anxiety and it will only make it worse.

[sickandtired]

I agree!
and when i have panic attacks,come to think of it,it is rather like having a whitey!!
I look back and realise I only took that crap to get out of it with my mates.....I very rarely had a good trip....
LSD and magic mushrooms are seriously mental......I saw bloody Freddie Kruger's stomach (with the screaming children) on the side of the co op
and i thought my face was melting.....not a good feeling at all and I thought the hallucinations would never end....it was dreadful.
and Ecstacy....well you lose all your inhibitions and want to hug,kiss and sleep with everyone......
I ran naked through a hotel once......oh the shame.....it really isnt a good idea,Im telling you.

[Carys]

Hey sickandtired, that has scared me !!!!!! :scared15::scared15::scared15:

[Kate21]

You'll probably have a great time.
It's in the long run that it MIGHT mess you up a bit.
My friends an I used to do them every weekend when we were young, some of them are fine now and got on with their lives, but I know of at least 4 of us including myself suffer from some form of anxiety/agoraphobia.
I'm not saying this is the route of the problem at least not for me, but I'm sure it made things a lot worse.
take care whatever you decide x

[flossie]

brentcat, can you explain to us why you want to take ecstasy and what you are hoping it will do for you?

[FRANKIEISBACK]

I used to smoke lots of weed and do lots of speed

I had a good time

BUT.......IF YOU HAVE OR DEVELOP A MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM ....THEN ITS TIME TO GIVE UP ......INCLUDING BOOZE

SIMPLE AS THAT

[Anxious_gal]

Go to askfrank.com.
Don't ever do drugs alone .
If its your first time , stay indoors , somewhere quite .
Do your own research and don't just go on what your friends say.
You have no way of knowing what the drug is cut with , lots of rubbish are added into street drugs .
Basically you have no way of knowing what you are putting into your body and how it will affect you .
Over all stay safe , it's good to have a sober friend to watch over you .
If you freak out your gonba need someone that's sober .
The other part with drugs it can affect your mind too.

[Carys]

....or better still, just don't do drugs at all !

Its a pretty serious game of roulette with your life.

[Bravedart]

I did drugs for many years and have read this thread with interest. I am certain doing this is one of the main reasons I now suffer with Panic and anxiety. I have a simple message. IF YOU HAVE ANXIETY DO NOT TAKE ANY SORT OF DRUG AS YOU WILL AT SOME POINT FREAK OUT.

Stay safe and realise life is far to short to risk it for one night of drug taking. Believe me.....I know only to well.

Brave

[swanlinnet]

I am certain one, single, dose of pure MDMA (Ecstasy) ... measured to the individuals' body weight ..... would do no lasting harm.

Now ....from a dealer you could be getting anything. Sure all the dealers' say:
"This is the best " and " This is pure and uncut" etc. ......but beleive me, when money is changing hands people will say anything.

It is impossible for a dealer to manufacture an exact dose of Ecstasy that is a "One size fit" for everybody.

You could take one pill and it would "blow your head off". Or take another that would "barely touch the sides". Yet you could take just one and it would kill you.

Taking Ecstasy is Russian Roulette.

Unlike pot, speed, coke, ....all the things you buy on the street ... just one Ecstasy pill does, now and then, kill people stone dead.

Of course, speed and coke can kill ...but hardly in, say, a £10.00 deal unless, that is, it has been chopped with something really, really, noxious. An Ecstasy tablet, on the other hand, ...just a £5.00 or £10.00 tablet' has killed far too many people who tried it only once.

It's worth understanding Street Ecstasy is never pure ecstasy.(Nor is any street drug for that matter) But with Ecstasy, sometimes the "manufacturer" fails to get the equation right and it goes through the pill-press way, too strong. At other times ... in fact most times ... it goes through the pill-press way too weak so that the financial yeilds are high.

I cannot say to anybody: "Don't do this" or "Don't do that".

What I can say is I would think long and hard before swallowing something that comes out of the hands of a dealer.

If anything I would take a quarter ....or half first. But that said, I wouldn't take it at all. "E" is so unpredictable. And it does have the track record of killing people in one 'go'.

The odds of the winning the lottery are astronomical. And all the people who ever won it say they didn't think it would happen to them.

That's the way to approach Ecstasy. For while it may be true millions have already taken it and lived, there are people who only ever took it once and who never lived to tell the tale.

Hope this helps.

Good luck,

Vince

[brentcat]

Thank you all for your answers.

For those who asked, I want to do it for multiple reasons. From the research i have done, the physical harm of infrequent MDMA use is minimal. I play Australian rules football, and for those of you who know of the game, it requires a high level of fitness, something difficult to achieve when you're drinking to excess twice a week.

I've also been told that it's a fantastic feeling. I'm open to experiencing it because i feel these days many hear the word "drug" and instantly slam the idea, while i believe recreational use of drugs if done properly (and not regularly) can be less damaging than legal substances such as alcohol

If I were to do it, i would organise to get a hold of some MDMA caps or straight pills and, arrange to get a test kit to ensure there's no amphetamines or anything. I have close mates, who i have told me they can get me the stuff they believe to be pure or (closest to) MDMA, which i would test to confirm. I would also be with a large group of mates who i have been friends with for many years and i know would take care of me should anything go wrong.

Having said all this, if those of you who suffer from panic attacks firmly believe that it is not a good idea at all, then i will definitely listen to reason given i am new to panic attacks.

Thanks Vinnie for such an even handed response, much appreciated.

[mikewales]

Anxiety and depression, panic attacks etc... are caused by imbalances in our brains, taking substances that, despite your mates assurances, you don't really know what is in them or how powerful they are, that alter your mental state isn't really a good idea.
Unless your mate has a fully equipped lab, then he isn't going to be able to tell what you are taking, E's aren't only cut with speed.

If you look at it sensibly, at the moment you are at one level of anxiety, and havent taken an E, if you knew taking one would make your anx 10 times worse for the next 10 years, would you still take it ?

Thats the thing is that you dont know what effect it will have on you, so why bother risking it for the sake of fitting in with your mates on a night out ?

Just to add, my youngest cousin, who is 18 now, started off smoking dope, and then moved on to the really strong skunk, thinking it would be fine. He now spends his life in and out of mental hopsitals with severe paranoid schizophrenia. He will never be able to hold down a job, or have any kind of normal life.

[breathing deeply]

For every big high, there is a very big low.

All the whizzing and euphoria of E has a consequence on your body and mind.

Even if you're not prone to panic attacks, you will have (after ecstasy) a very low depressed time - two days after you've had the joy-pill.

Ask anyone who has had ecstasy, it is expected that you'll have a come-down, the day after the day after, you've taken MDMA (ecstasy).

If you do choose to rocket on the glorious loving and spaciousness experience that E is, just know that you will crash and feel mentally unwell once you've çome-down'.

If you still choose to take E, acupuncture is the path I followed (as reccemmended by a drug-use help line) to help me regain balance.

Choose other ways to feel fabulous dude. A hot bath, a cuddle with a loved one, a walk in nature... Party drugs are short-term highs with long-term health consequence.

[Rain]

People with delicate mental health should never take street drugs.It can affect you for the rest of your life. It's not worth it for a cheap quick thrill. I think you already know it's a bad idea or you wouldn't be asking us and trying to justify it to yourself.