Addiction - PCP - PCP-Short-Term-and-Long-term-Effects

PCP: Short Term and Long term Effects

Short Term Effects

The effects of PCP are influenced by the size of the dose, the setting in which it is taken, the user’s expectations of and past experience with the drug, and the user’s personality. The following psychological effects may occur and vary in intensity, depending on the dosage. Doses of less than 5 mg may produce milder effects, while doses of 10 mg or more may lead to more intense and erratic behaviour.

o Mild to intense euphoria

o Relaxation or drowsiness

o Feelings of unreality and dissociation with the environment

o Distorted sense of one’s body, including a feeling of weightlessness

o Distorted sense of time and space

o Visual and auditory hallucinations and other sensory distortions

o Difficulty concentrating and thinking

o Anxiety

o Agitation

o Paranoid thoughts

o Confusion and disorientation

o Intense feelings of alienation

o Depression

o Bizarre or hostile behavior

o Obsession with trivial matters

o Grandiose delusions

o Panic, terror, and the overwhelming fear of imminent death

The physical effects may also vary in intensity with the dose:

o Impaired motor skills

o Blurred vision and constricted pupils

o Dizziness

o Painful reaction to sound

o Blank staring

o Speech disturbances, ranging from difficulty articulating to incoherent speech or inability to speak

o Muscular rigidity

o Decreased sensitivity and awareness of pain, touch, and position

o Stupor or coma

o Irregular heartbeat

o Alternately abnormally low and abnormally high blood pressure

o Slow, shallow, and irregular breathing

o Nausea

o Vomiting

o Salivation

o Increased body temperature and sweating alternating with chills and shivering

o Very high doses may result in an overdose and lead to coma, convulsions, or death

Effects of Long Term Use

• “Runs”- Chronic users may binge use PCP, taking it repeatedly for 2 or 3 days at a time without eating or sleeping, followed by a period of sleep. These runs may occur as many as four times in a month.

• Impaired memory

• “Flashbacks” similar to those experienced by chronic LSD users

• Persistent speech problems, such as stuttering, inability to articulate, or the inability to speak at all

• Chronic and severe anxiety and depression, possibly leading to suicide attempts

• Social withdrawal and isolation

• Toxic psychosis may appear in chronic users who do not have a prior history of psychiatric disturbances. The symptoms of toxic psychosis are aggressive or hostile behavior, paranoia, delusional thinking and auditory hallucinations.

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The Have I Got A Problem website is a free online resource to help people better understand any issues or concerns they may have about mental health or addiction. The website includes resources specifically focused to; general Mental Health, Depression, Stress, Anxiety, Insecurities, Self-harm Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Anger Management, Eating Disorders, Coping, general Addiction, Alcohol, Smoking, Gambling, Drugs, Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana (Cannabis) Ecstasy, PCP, Mephedrone, Ketamine & Crystal Meth.

The site was created to give the public information to help them understand mental health and addiction issues and to assist people in making better informed decisions about their life and personal choices.

www.haveigotaproblem.com was created and is run by 'Advising Communities’, which is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 1061055)

Quotes

"Availability of the drug started lowering and lowering and after a while had to start making my own. I was so addicted I took the risk of blowing my house up (which at the time included my ex-wife and son)."

Harold

"I don't miss the fact that now when my lips move it is more than likely I am actually telling the truth."

Jane S

"I don't miss the fear that arose when I'm driving my car every time a police car hovers into view."

Steven

"My lowest point was when I realised I was stealing money from my daughters Christmas presents to fund my habit."

P. Gomez

"That's what made me think of stopping my drug habits - My Blood pressure spiked at 200/110 last week during a Panic Attack."

Maria

"Anyone being faced with the reality that their addiction needs to be conquered and their life will change is going to be scared."

Fatima

"You need to realize that the little voice in your head telling you to use is your own."

Maya

"Find out why you use, find out your triggers, and take it day by day. Any day clean is better than any day you’ve been high."

Ivan

"My goal in life wasn't living...it was getting high. I was falling in a downward spiral towards a point of no return"

John

"I ended up homeless and on the streets, living and sleeping in a cardboard box, begging and struggling to find ways to get my next meal."

Ben

"Now I see how important it is for me to be in control of every part of me. Today my body is being controlled by me. I am in the driver’s seat, and I’m driving with happiness."

Nathan

"Little did I know that my mom was upstairs crying every night that I came home late, crying because she was scared for my survival."

Nick

"I felt out of control and terrified after I take PCP. I kept on seeing people jumping about around me, screaming at me. I felt sick for days."

Tim

"I was using PCP and I got addicted to it for five years. I just could not shake it off."

Irene

"I felt so bad I suggest nobody does this ever! It sucks! I almost died!"

Alex

"I must warn that you shouldn't do too much of it in a little amount of time. That's how one of my friends ended up in a mental institution. So be careful with PCP."

Kyle

"We smoked the dip and I flipped out. I was hollering and screaming at the top of my lungs in pure agony. It was a very physical pain and at first I thought I was dying."

Anonymous

"The next thing I remember is the next morning, not waking up, not wondering what the hell happened, but simply staring at the wall. I am alive today, I don't plan on trying PCP again."

Anonymous

"The most important thing a family can do for someone who is abusing PCP is to get the person to an effective drug rehab program immediately and ensure they get all the way through the program"

Dr Jurgen Fleisch

"Phencyclidine was heavily abused at one time but between the late 1980s and 1990s PCP abuse started to decrease. Today the abuse of PCP has come back and the abuse is increasing"

Matthew Szota PhD

"It is mostly young people who abuse this drug, such as teens in high school or young adults."

Matthew Szota PhD

"Eventually, I started living in the park and my daughter would bring me food. That was really the bottom. I started selling drugs to survive. I got raped. I got beaten up. My life was incredibly dangerous."

Irene

"The first time I tried PCP, I black out. My friends tried to help me, but I kept falling and hitting my head."

Ashley

"Is PCP addictive? I don't know. But I can tell you this much: it's not worth finding out."

Silvia

More Send us your Quotes

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Follow through with counseling

Stattistics say the longer you can engage in formal treatment the better your chances. Your therapists and counselors will be the main ...

Find New Behaviors

This is something that many addiction counselors will focus on, but what are you going to do when it should have been the time for your...

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Water

Drink plenty of water. Flush the toxins from your system....

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