wtf is wrong with my brain/body??

ThailandTom

I had a certain degree of trouble deciding where to allocate this thread, it is a question which I require answers to and is some what serious, but nothing remotely buddhist..

Basically me and a friend of mine have been discussing something lately referring to my brain and or body. I have come to realise that I have never gotten hangovers from drinking too much alcohol, when I use to foolishly binge ecstasy as a teen, I never had the 'downer day' or days afterward. I also drink very little water on a day to day basis. It is not a matter of me deciding not to, I simply do not get too thirsty. I literally have to force myself to drink water and if I drink very little, I do not get headaches or feel lethargic.

Me and my friend have been trying to figure out why this is happening, and if it is at all damaging to me. Is it simply that I for some reason do not need to drink as much water as everybody else, or is it something to do with neurological signals not being sent and received? Even here in hot Thailand, I normally drink about a litre of water a day maximum, whereas my friend drinks 3 litres, sometimes more!

Anybody here with medical or biological knowledge care to shed some light on this? or anybody with an opinion... Thanks,

Tom

Cloud

Wait, your conclusion after considering all of those things (no headaches, no hangover, no need for excessive water) is that somehow there must be something wrong with you? I think there must be something right with you!

ShiftPlusOne

What's the problem? It just means your body is able to take abuse without showing signs of degradation... for now.

ownerof1000oddsocks

You must have a door in the back of your head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H1blQckNw0&feature=related

Mountains

Tom, rest assured that your body is no different from any other body. That said, everybody's body *is* somewhat different, so, as the car ad says, your mileage may vary. Don't compare what your body does in reaction to abuse to what someone else's does.

Also, don't forget - you're very young. Young bodies have an amazing ability to absorb punishment. But don't be fooled into thinking it will stay that way, because (for a fact) it won't.

Also, for what it's worth, by the time you experience the sensation of thirst, you're already quite dehydrated. You should never (or rarely) allow your body to reach that point, as it's not healthy in the long run.

And it's also a good idea not to do things like binge on anything - drugs, alcohol, food, sex, or Humphrey Bogart films. Although the latter is probably the least harmful to your health

ThailandTom

lol, It is a rarety for me to binge out on Humphrey Bogart films I must say. Yea, moderation is a great value to hold in life, something I learned a couple of years ago coming out of my abusive years as a teen.

Wait, your conclusion after considering all of those things (no headaches, no hangover, no need for excessive water) is that somehow there must be something wrong with you? I think there must be something right with you!

My logic was that I may have cause some temporary or permanent neurological damage due to my ecstasy binge. Ecstasy cause your brain to release huge amounts of serotonin which leads to neurotoxicity if you take too much. This then causes neurological pathways and receptors to be damaged. Seeing as I took close to a thousand Es throughout my party years, I concluded that I may have done a fair bit of damage. So when I am thirsty or I or damaged in some way, maybe the messages sent from my body to the brain do not get properly sent... This was my logic. I am not overly worried about it, just a tad curious.
Yesterday I made myself drink more water, I drank 2 and a half litres of water and I actually had a mild headache and felt slightly feverish lol...

Cloud

Ah I see. Wish I ever had the opportunity to do some E. A friend of mine who lives waaaay down in Florida now used to talk about "rolling" on E, and I'll try anything once (for the experience) as long as I'm reasonably sure it won't be the last thing I ever do, lol. Well not anything.

ThailandTom

Thing is with E is, the government hypes it up to be so so deadly, when it isn't. In the UK it kills around 15 people a year, alcohol killing 40,000. That isn't the problem with E, the problem with E is, it ruins your relationships with people and your brain. I believe in limited moderation it is not so bad, but I got to the stage where I would take 10-12 pills each saturday, every saturday. The most I took in one night was 16 smiley faces I think as buddhists we should be mindful of these substances, at the time I was just experimenting with many things and loved E as it made me connect with friends, whilst under the influence in such a way that guys normally do not. It is not like alcohol where you 'love' people in a messy hazy manner, on E you generally feel very compassionate, overly loving and everything is so clear. Music is 10 times better, well everything is lol, it is not called ecstasy for nothing. Saying that, it is not actually physically addictive like heroin or crack/cocaine, it is more of a social.mental addiction. Still, try it if you wish, I would go through a friend who knows what is what as the quality of pills these days is horrid. MDMA crystal would be a safe bet.

Mountains

The clinical jury is still very much out on MDMA (Ecstasy). There is evidence both ways - harmful and not harmful. But a lot of clinical research needs to be done to establish that once and for all. It is currently being investigated as a potential treatment for PTSD - but at MUCH lower doses than most people take recreationally. At those much higher doses there is good evidence that MDMA may cause long term damage to the neurons (nerve cells) of the central nervous system.

Just because you take it and you don't die doesn't mean there aren't long term consequences. You may not see them until you're 60. You may end up a drooling idiot someday as a result, but we don't know. It's just not worth the risk. Not to mention the fact that as an intoxicant, ingestion for other than purely medicinal purposes would violate Buddhist precepts.

nanadhaja

Hi Tom.Going back to your OP and shifting away from what is starting to sound like some kind of E sangha I took drugs from the age of 13 up until the age of 40.Everything from smoking dope to popping pills,speed,coke,heroin,E's and numerous other uppers and downers without too much in the way of ill effects on myself.I guess now I see it as a result of kamma.I was not meant to waste this precious life that I have been given and perhaps due to past virtuous kamma I have largely been spared some of the terrible things that drugs could have caused me to suffer.There are some people who have fried their brains taking LSD once,others as you are probably aware who have died on their first ever E.I am glad that you have been spared some of the nastier side of drink and drugs,but my friend,perhaps you too,should say It has been good while it lasted,thankyou body for putting up with all of this and move on.
You never know if the next one is going to be the big bummer.
Just a little friendly advice.
I for one have lost too many good friends who were sure that they had a grip on there habits,includind one mate who had said he was going to have one last hit of heroin.It was his last alright.
With metta

ownerof1000oddsocks

nanadhaja wrote: »

You never know if the next one is going to be the big bummer.
Just a little friendly advice.

All the fatalities I know of are accidental overdosing, high speed driving, badly cut powder, 1 liver fatality.

Often people gamble their lives away and lose the ability to make sensible choices while 'innebriated'; risk is thrilling, but chance favours the prepared mind.