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Monday, May 20, 2013
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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Monday, May 20, 2013
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Addiction and Substance Abuse |
Long Term Brain Damage from Cocaine Use06/25/2010 |
Hello, My boyfriend abused cocaine for a period of his life, probably several years, and has been relatively clean for at least 2 years, but still an occasional user when he gets stressed. He is somewhat moody and emotional by nature (I think) but we have had a prolonged period of frequent fighting where it seems he is absolutely off his rocker! I am 40 years old and have been in other relationships. I have a PhD and I know I`m not crazy but some of the things that upset him make no sense at all to me or any of the other rational people I know. He seems to have issues bordering on paranoia and cognitive problems (i.e. relating one situation to another where there are parallel trends/events, reasoning/judgement based on parallel events). I am wondering what types of behavioral or emotional alterations might arise as long-term consequences of cocaine use and, if some of his behaviour is the result of brain damage, can I expect it to ever get better the longer he stays clean?
The long-term consequences of cocaine use vary greatly depending on many factors, including an individual's genetic vulnerability, the amount and duration of drug use, co-occurring mental illness, and so on.
In general, I would say that some of the behavior you described should improve with continuous abstinence. However, I did note that you said that he occasionally uses under stress. Each time he uses again, he is exposing his brain to a powerful relapse trigger.
The paranoia you describe could indeed be an effect of cocaine use, but it could also be a part of a personality disorder or of a major mental illness (such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia). If the paranoia and cognitive symptoms persist despite continuous abstinence, then it's likely that something else is the cause of it.
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Christina M Delos Reyes, MD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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