Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Solvent abuse and long term brain damage, need help.
Options
-
18-03-2014 7:50pm#1When I was 15 I spent over a year and half inhaling petrol fumes constantly and I haven't been the same since, loss of personality, loss of IQ, major depression, psychological problem's, paranoia and mild hallucinations, no real emotional output, Iv pretty much been going through hell these past 15 years and I'm really trying to make a last ditch effort to fix myself before it really is too late.
Iv seen almost every health professional there is and I'm not any better so now I'm trying to tackle the source of my problem's which is potentially brain damage, from what Iv been reading up on the brain damage could have resulted from the carbon monoxide poisoning and lead poisoning that occur's from inhaling leaded petrol, I could have some form of a toxic brain injury or toxic Encephalopathy.
Iv always told every health care professional Iv seen from GP's to psychiatrist's about the solvent abuse and expected them to know best but I doubt any of them are schooled in the damage solvent abuse can really cause, this time I demanded that I get a referral to a neurologist, had an MRI and also have to take a neuro psychological test and blood tests to check for lead poisoning.
Iv been looking a lot into hyberbaric oxygen therapy as a means to treat whatever damage there may be, it's regarded as controversial by the medical community as to it's efficacy but I have read study's showing it does work, MS patients use it here, in the U.S its now been used to treat TBI's and seeing as there no other means to treat brain injury I'm willing to give it a shot.
The Neurologist won't let me go ahead with it until there's evidence of injury which is fair enough but I'm desperate to get better my any means, I doubt the MRI is going to show this type of damage which is why I asked for a SPECT scan which would show which parts of the brain are no longer functioning correctly but again Neurologist is in charge of what's best and I seem to have no say.
I'm completely lost and alone with this, everyday is close to a nightmare in terms of depression, I would great appreciate anyone's input on this.
Thank you.0
Comments
-
When I was 15 I spent over a year and half inhaling petrol fumes constantly and I haven't been the same since, loss of personality, loss of IQ, major depression, psychological problem's, paranoia and mild hallucinations, no real emotional output, Iv pretty much been going through hell these past 15 years and I'm really trying to make a last ditch effort to fix myself before it really is too late.
Iv seen almost every health professional there is and I'm not any better so now I'm trying to tackle the source of my problem's which is potentially brain damage, from what Iv been reading up on the brain damage could have resulted from the carbon monoxide poisoning and lead poisoning that occur's from inhaling leaded petrol, I could have some form of a toxic brain injury or toxic Encephalopathy.
Iv always told every health care professional Iv seen from GP's to psychiatrist's about the solvent abuse and expected them to know best but I doubt any of them are schooled in the damage solvent abuse can really cause, this time I demanded that I get a referral to a neurologist, had an MRI and also have to take a neuro psychological test and blood tests to check for lead poisoning.
Iv been looking a lot into hyberbaric oxygen therapy as a means to treat whatever damage there may be, it's regarded as controversial by the medical community as to it's efficacy but I have read study's showing it does work, MS patients use it here, in the U.S its now been used to treat TBI's and seeing as there no other means to treat brain injury I'm willing to give it a shot.
The Neurologist won't let me go ahead with it until there's evidence of injury which is fair enough but I'm desperate to get better my any means, I doubt the MRI is going to show this type of damage which is why I asked for a SPECT scan which would show which parts of the brain are no longer functioning correctly but again Neurologist is in charge of what's best and I seem to have no say.
I'm completely lost and alone with this, everyday is close to a nightmare in terms of depression, I would great appreciate anyone's input on this.
Thank you.
Can I ask you 5 things?
1. How is your diet?
2. How is your sleep?
3. How is your social life + lifestyle? Any hobbies?
4. Do you still smoke/drink/take drugs?
5. How is your exercise?
Sometimes if one of these is out of sync it will F up your personality. Are you 100% sure its brain damage? Even if it is, getting the above under control will be important because if any one of those areas are out of sync it cam cause anxiety/lack of confidence/mental issues.
By all means get to the root of your struggle, and fair play to you for taking action and researching but my advice to you (as it is to myself) is to get those things in order first before torturing yourself into thinking that you are flawed in some way. Or at least more flawed than you actually are.
In terms of the chamber I wouldn't be jumping to that as the most efficient way of getting your brain back on track. Try emailing this post to psychology professors, neuroscientists and the like from different universities and see if you get any response that way.
Don't know if that helped but hope it has and that you can get some results. Good luck!0 -
Try a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction- co-morbidity.
Some questions:
(1. In what sense have you lost your personality?
(2. Have you taken an assessment of I.Q, do you know how much this has dropped?
(3. How intrusive are the paranoia and hallucinations?
(4. Have you been clinically diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder.
How long after taking this substance did you first notice the symptoms? did thy occur together, or was the onset over a period of time?
Was there any other issues going on in your life at that time? any significant stress, which could have influenced the occurrence?0 -
Thank you for your replys.
Lifestyle social life virtually non existent, sleep good, diet ok, I was working yesterday for the first time in ages painting for the tidy towns did me a world of good to be out interacting again but today I wake up to the four walls again and not wanting to wake up in the morning.
All the symptoms coincided with the petrol, I started noticing all these different things were wrong and I didn't understand why, I used to be a larger then life character my brain was defintley my best asset in the way I could think in a social context but during the petrol I became a dud all of a sudden and seemed to have remained so since, this as led to a lot of frustration and anger knowing for the first 15 years of life I was so much more then what Iv been.
Theres private clinics in the U.S offering hyperbaric oxygen for all types of brain injury ranging from retardation to drug abuse and they all show improvement in the spect scans, I e- mailed my case of petrol sniffing to a Dr. James Phillips world renowned in neurological injurys and hyperbaric medicine and his secretary responded saying he supports me going ahead with 20 sessions here in Sligo.
It would be great if it worked, restored me back to something similar of what I used to be.0 -
You can't expect to think and feel the same at 30 as you did at 15. You are setting yourself up got major disappointment if you think there is some magic procedure that will restore you to how you felt then. It's not a realistic expectation.
The reason you are being given no say regarding what tests to have done is because you are not a medical professional and no offence, internet self diagnosis is a dangerous game.
Are you seeing any mental health professionals regarding your depression?0 -
Im not trying to go back to been 15 again, i havent been right since, multiple problems chronic depression, every study iv read on petrol sniffing says users end up with major depression and damage to the central nervous system which is why the anxiety was as bad as it was, im currently due to see another psychiatrist in a week or so and ill discuss with him, currently on 3 different anti-depressants that dont seem to be working.0
-
Advertisement
-
username123 wrote: »You can't expect to think and feel the same at 30 as you did at 15. You are setting yourself up got major disappointment if you think there is some magic procedure that will restore you to how you felt then. It's not a realistic expectation.
The reason you are being given no say regarding what tests to have done is because you are not a medical professional and no offence, internet self diagnosis is a dangerous game.
Are you seeing any mental health professionals regarding your depression?
You clearly have no experience with mental health issues with that kind of advice? You come off sounding almost like a snooty inexperienced medical professional yourself, the kind that will fob you off with bad medication for years and make your problems x10 worse, "no offence".
When you go through hell for that length of time its time to start trying different things, if that's what the OP has to do to get answers, that's what they have to do. Op never said they were trying to be 15 again!0 -
Thank you for your replys.
Lifestyle social life virtually non existent, sleep good, diet ok, I was working yesterday for the first time in ages painting for the tidy towns did me a world of good to be out interacting again but today I wake up to the four walls again and not wanting to wake up in the morning.
All the symptoms coincided with the petrol, I started noticing all these different things were wrong and I didn't understand why, I used to be a larger then life character my brain was defintley my best asset in the way I could think in a social context but during the petrol I became a dud all of a sudden and seemed to have remained so since, this as led to a lot of frustration and anger knowing for the first 15 years of life I was so much more then what Iv been.
Theres private clinics in the U.S offering hyperbaric oxygen for all types of brain injury ranging from retardation to drug abuse and they all show improvement in the spect scans, I e- mailed my case of petrol sniffing to a Dr. James Phillips world renowned in neurological injurys and hyperbaric medicine and his secretary responded saying he supports me going ahead with 20 sessions here in Sligo.
It would be great if it worked, restored me back to something similar of what I used to be.
I know its a chicken and egg scenario but you do realise that isolation and low mental stimulation can cause the type of symptoms you have too? http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113176/science-loneliness-how-isolation-can-kill-you
The drugs may well have affected you but is it possible that you got into bad habits to cope with that which ended up being worse for you than the actual drug damage? Just throwing out the thought. I would work on the area of isolation and hobbies before doing the hyperbaric therapy first so you'll have a better idea of what your working with. Your post comes across very articulate that's why I'm finding it hard to believe your as much of a dud as your saying. Also you say you felt so much better from doing the tidy towns painting so that could be a sign you need to work on the social aspect of your life.0 -
Cheers arf, I don't know, your right about isolation lack of stimulation been key factors in mental health, I'm probably going to go ahead with the 20 sessions, last summer I was taking a bunch of supplements to aid brain repair and noticed improvement since, my life as just been a nightmare since the petrol, was going great before it, I fried my brain and and my life fell apart, here's two examples of what's wrong, I havent been able to experience boredom since the petrol or lust, theres only a few neurons that control dopamine and seratonin and im sure Iv damaged them.0
-
The term used is toxic brain injury or toxic encephalopathy, I know Iv damaged my brain, would love it if the hbot worked.0
-
Does anyone know if the brain damage could have occurred from carbon monoxide poisoning?, that's what my Gp says when I bring up petrol and carbon monoxide poisoning is a condition to be treated with hbot.
I had a dream last night telling me my current life circumstances are a result of huffing petrol back then and I'm determined to fix it if I can.0 -
Advertisement
Advertisement