Addiction - PCP - Signs-and-Symptoms-of-PCP-Abuse

Signs and Symptoms of PCP Abuse

Signs and Symptoms of PCP Abuse

PCP stands for phencylidine, a crystalline synthetic drug. At one time, it was used as an anesthetic but the severe side effects caused it to fall out of use. In addition to deadening pain, there's a long list of signs of use, most of which can be unpleasant and some that can be downright dangerous.

Signs of PCP abuse include:

Sedation
Immobility
Amnesia
Numbness
Slurred speech and other speech difficulties
A sense of invulnerability
Blank stare
Rapid, involuntary eye movements
Hallucinations
High blood pressure
Rapid heartbeat

There are other symptoms that may show up in a person who has used PCP over a long period of time, such as:

Stuttering
Impaired memory
Inability to think clearly
Inability to speak
Suicidal thoughts
Anxiety
Depression
Isolation and withdrawal

How PCP is Abused

Powdered PCP can be snorted or mixed with marijuana or another green herb and smoked. Some people dissolve PCP or get it in liquid form and dip a marijuana cigarette in the solution. The cigarette is then dried and it can be sold or smoked later. This type of joint is known as a "dipper." Very small quantities of PCP are normally used at any one time, with 5 to 10 milligrams being typical.

It is mostly young people who abuse this drug, such as teens in high school or young adults. It first became popular in the 1980s, leading police departments across the country to spread alerts about the dangers of trying to arrest people who had taken this drug. While some stories of the danger may have been exaggerated, it is true that some people who were hallucinatory would not feel pain even if they were shot and might even break their own hands to get out of handcuffs. The intensity of the psychosis and the anesthesia resulting from PCP combined to make these people hazardous to be around.

Addiction to PCP

As if these symptoms of PCP abuse were not bad enough, it is also addictive. A person will build a tolerance to the drug, meaning that more needs to be taken to get the same effect they want to experience. And they will go through withdrawal symptoms when they quit using it.

This means that no matter what damage, injury, danger or other harm is being experienced by a person from using this devastating hallucinogen, they will continue to buy the drug and consume it. A PCP addict is in serious and immediate need of recovery from this addiction.

Unfortunately, PCP has become more popular in the last few years. This is a highly unpredictable drug that could put any user or anyone in the vicinity of a user at risk. Publicly available video footage shows PCP users lying in the road, walking around naked and attacking people and objects around them.

When a family discovers that a loved one is abusing PCP, the only safety is in getting that person into an effective rehabilitation program as soon as possible.

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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.

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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 ...

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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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Take One Day at a Time

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You’ll feel better, you’ll sleep better, you’ll crave less and your health will improve....

Eat well

Good for your health all round. A healthy body is much more able to quit than a strung out, starving one....

Water

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

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