Nerd Mentality

Doctors have revealed details of the biggest recorded user of ecstasy - a man estimated to have taken 40,000 ecstasy pills in his life.

At the height of his use, the man - known as "Mr A" - was taking 25 tablets a day, Psychosomatics journal revealed.

The 37-year-old still had trouble with short-term memory problems seven years after he stopped taking the drug.

Doctors at St George's Hospital, London said Mr A's case was extreme, but showed ecstasy's long-term effects.


It is possible to become psychologically dependent on the feelings associated with ecstasy but heavy daily use is extremely rare and it is not thought that people can become physically dependent
Martin Barnes, DrugScope

The doctors said it was the largest reported ecstasy lifetime consumption by one person, the previous being around 2,000 tablets.

Writing in Psychosomatics, they say Mr A reported he had used ecstasy between the ages of 21 and 30.

For two years, he took five tablets every weekend, rising to an average of 3.5 tablets per day for the next three years, then soaring to 25 tablets a day over the next four years.

After "collapsing" three times at parties, Mr A stopped taking ecstasy.

The team say that, while much of the information on Mr A's drug use was self-reported, and therefore could have been affected by his memory problems, his history was confirmed by medical notes taken just after he stopped taking the drug.

'Behavioural consequences'

Writing in Psychosomatics, the medical team led by Dr Christos Kouimtsidis, said: "For a few months, he felt as if he was still under the influence of ecstasy and suffered several episodes of 'tunnel vision'.

"He eventually developed severe panic attacks, recurrent anxiety, depression, muscle rigidity (particularly at the neck and jaw levels)."

Mr A also experienced hallucinations and paranoid ideas.

When he saw doctors at the addiction centre at St George's Hospital, Tooting, south London, he was still using cannabis, and said he had previously taken solvents, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, LSD, cocaine, and heroin.

There was no mental illness in his family and no previous psychiatric history.

When the doctors carried out tests on Mr A it was found he had memory impairment and "major behavioural consequences of his memory loss" such as repeating activities several times.

This meant that he could not concentrate well and had very poor short-term memory, forgetting the time or what he had put in his supermarket trolley.

However, he seemed unaware he had these problems.

Reducing his cannabis use meant Mr A's paranoia and hallucinations disappeared, and his panic attacks were reduced, but his other symptoms persisted.

He had no family history of psychiatric problems, and his medical record showed he had not had any difficulties prior to his drug use.

A brain scan failed to show any obvious damage or atrophy in his brain, but Dr Kouimtsidis said such a scan was "not sensitive enough".

'Extreme case'

He told the Guardian: "This is probably an extreme case so we should not blow any observations out of proportion.

"But if this is what is happening to very heavy users, it might be an indication that daily use of ecstasy over a long period of time can lead to irreversible memory problems and other cognitive defects."

Mr A discharged himself before doctors were able to complete their assessment and, although they continued to support him, he started to use cannabis again and dropped out.

They tried to regain contact with him, but lost touch about a year ago.

Martin Barnes, chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said: "It is possible to become psychologically dependent on the feelings associated with ecstasy but heavy daily use is extremely rare and it is not thought that people can become physically dependent.

"The short-term effects - in terms of impaired memory, sleep problems and the 'mid-week hangover' - are well documented, but less is known about the longer-term effects, particularly of prolonged use."

Im just speechless.
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The sounds of DKL screaming and yelling in agony is magical and relaxing.

Girly

WTF ecstacy is expensive, how the hell could he afford that many?

Also, drugs are bad so don't do them!

Drugs are bad, MMMKAAAY
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The sounds of DKL screaming and yelling in agony is magical and relaxing.

RAMPART

is it a bad thing i dont do drugs.....? should i go out and get so high that i lose all feeling in my body? Maybe it would be fun to go get drunk and drive off a cliff....or maybe i should snort some cocaine and spend all the money i ever get on drugs instead of more usefull things.

Yes, yes, yes and yes!
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right for you again and again my velvet goldmine

RAMPART

is it a bad thing i dont do drugs.....? should i go out and get so high that i lose all feeling in my body? Maybe it would be fun to go get drunk and drive off a cliff....or maybe i should snort some cocaine and spend all the money i ever get on drugs instead of more usefull things.

I don't recall telling you to drink and drive or get addicted to cocaine. Maybe it's for the best you stay away from substances. You don't sound too bright.
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Coconut

Like videogames.

after i had posted and read what i said, i was actually wondering if someone would say that. Guess it didnt take too long

Doctors at St George's Hospital, London said Mr A's case was extreme, but showed ecstasy's long-term effects.

Yay doctors at my uni found this out. Anyway wow, how did this person afford it?

Girly

WTF ecstacy is expensive, how the hell could he afford that many?

Also, drugs are bad so don't do them!

If he is from the UK then they aren't that expensive. 3 or 4 for 10 quid is pretty much standard down south. If you buy them 100 at a time you can usually get them for about a pound each.

Batist - The Frenchy formerly known as Majinbuu -

... and Knight of Cydonia. die. just die. die in a hellpit of fire from satan's ass.

Majin-Link δ

I think quid actually sounds quite a lot cooler than pound...
It's a pitty there isn't a cooler slang name for the euro yet... though I have heard dutch people refer to euro's as euri's... that just sounds plain stupid...

Well at least the euro looks a hell of lot better than most/every other currencies I've seen...

it does look pretty, but it's a hella inconveniant

different sizes bills (wtf?)
8 different coins (wtf?)
no 1€ bill (wtf?)

that's all my hate for the euros. the rest I like.
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The Dragons are Gone!

Majinbuu

it does look pretty, but it's a hella inconveniant

different sizes bills (wtf?)
8 different coins (wtf?)
no 1€ bill (wtf?)

that's all my hate for the euros. the rest I like.

* Well, think of the blind people, the euro's have been specially designed to fit their needs too...
* Well, yes I agree we could do without those 1 and 2 eurocents, Finland has even stopped production and common use of them... but in the end they have their benefits too, if you had to give money to some charity you didn't like for example, nowadays you can simply give them 1 eurocent where as in the olden days you had to give them an entire frank... Evil, I know...
* What the hell would anyone want a 1 euro bill for? A euro hasn't got enough value to make a bill for, as far as I'm concerned... Plus coins are way more fun, if it were up to me all bills would be replaced by coins... of course THAT would be inconvenient and perhaps not very safe either ...
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Batist - The Frenchy formerly known as Majinbuu -

... and Knight of Cydonia. die. just die. die in a hellpit of fire from satan's ass.

Majin-Link δ

* Well, think of the blind people, the euro's have been specially designed to fit their needs too...
* Well, yes I agree we could do without those 1 and 2 eurocents, Finland has even stopped production and common use of them... but in the end they have their benefits too, if you had to give money to some charity you didn't like for example, nowadays you can simply give them 1 eurocent where as in the olden days you had to give them an entire frank... Evil, I know...
* What the hell would anyone want a 1 euro bill for? A euro hasn't got enough value to make a bill for, as far as I'm concerned... Plus coins are way more fun, if it were up to me all bills would be replaced by coins... of course THAT would be inconvenient and perhaps not very safe either ...

*i'm sure blind people shop everyday just like that by themselves. Not really. It's no conveniant at all, especially when the bills barely fit in your wallet because they are too big.

*It's still retarded (the 1 and 2 cents).

*Trust me, it would be a lot more conveniant to have 1€ and 2€ bills instead of coins because it would make it lighter on the wallet. It's like that in the US and it's a lot better.
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The Dragons are Gone!

Back off topic: there are lots of stupid slang words for dollars: greenbacks, dead presidents, beans, clams. Curiously the word dollar is in use in parts of the UK as a slang name for pounds.

Where? i have never heard it used in that way.