Bob is a paranoid schizophrenic. Bob used to be nuts but now Bob takes his medicine, Abilify, and leaves a happy, productive life at a top university in the midwest. If Bob were to use amphetamines heavily, could he get amphetamine psychosis? The only reason I ask is that amphetamine psychosis is said to have the exact same symptoms as paranoid schizophrenia so if Bob were taking medicine to keep those symptoms from happening the medicine might make it so he can't have the symptoms of amphetamine psychosis. Also, is it O.K for a doctor to prescribe amphetamines to treat add for someone who also has schizophrenia?
not a good idea. he'll probably be fine due to the meds but not worth it really, amp psychosis is from to high dopamine levels in the brain, if a perfectly normal person does a ton of speed they with suffer from it but it goes away. if bob gets it it'll probably be more severve and last longer but not indefentaly and eventually probably be fine but it's not worth it really. >>>Also, is it O.K for a doctor to prescribe amphetamines to treat add for someone who also has schizophrenia? short anwser- no
yeah thats what i was thinking too. ill ask him about that. see the thing is that bob was never actually diagnosed with schizophrenia but his doctor has him on anti-psychotic meds. i dont think the doc has enough info to diagnose him as schizophrenic yet but it's still odd that he has prescribed both amphetamines and anti psychotics to the same patient. oh and schizophrenia is believed to occur for the same reason that the dopamine causes it. high levels of dopamine cause positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia) and low levels of dopamine cause negative symptoms(lack of effect, blunting of emotion, blah blah blah blah blah).
