[yellowsky]

My son is a cocaine addict, unsure of how long it’s been going on as he will not reveal the truth but I think it is many years to which I was absolutely clueless. I don’t know much about drugs but I believe cocaine can cause paranoia, delusions and hallucinations. He has been so paranoid and delusional for a long time accusing me of stupid things I have not done. All his life has become about is proving he is right about his deluded thoughts he has about me. He hasn’t used for about 6 weeks. Do the paranoia and delusions ever go away? Any advice welcome

[lola84]

Hello, sorry to hear this, my husband is a cocaine addict, in and out of recovery. I knew nothing of cocaine and was similar to you I had no idea he was using, but now know he has been on and off for many years. Four years ago, he was in the hallucinations stage and it got really bad, that was when he was using everyday many times and it obvs got too much for his brain. Its great that your son hasn’t used for six week, hopefully it stays this way, he will need a lot of support, but its down to him to gain that support, you cannot control, change anything. If this is new to you, then let me give you some advice that I wish I had listened to many years ago, dont bother doing anything to control this, you cant its too big for you. Get yourself to an Al Anon meeting if you can and try to surround yourself with others who understand, I’ve been going for five months and although at first I was thinking what the heck is all this about, it has massively helped me.

In answer to your questions, yes the paranoia and delusions do subside, but only if they stay off the cocaine, they will always be there lurking in the background ready to pounce again, but with him working at it then there is a lot of hope.

My husband still has relapses, but these side affects are no longer present, but he also knows that they will come back if he doesn’t quickly get back to CA/AA and work the programme.

[yellowsky]

Thank you so much for your response. Your right it is too big for me, nothing prepares you for this, I understand what you mean about not trying to control the situation, the more I have tried the more I fall flat on my face. I will have a look for local meetings near me. Can I ask from your experience is it normal for the hallucinations and delusions to continue even in withdrawal? The thing is he doesn’t believe they are hallucinations, he thinks what he hears and sees are real and he won’t be told different.he believes they are real and everyone is lying to him it’s like banging my head against a brick wall

[lola84]

My husband calls them his demons, he says that they are always there but he can usually control them, he says it’s like locking them away and listening to the other side of his brain, but it’s like he can always hear them banging waiting to be released.

He was in a v bad way four years ago and the demons were telling him o jump off a building, that was his lowest point I believe, and that was when he realised he needed to get help.

I would say its prob more likely they might get worse through withdrawal from my experience before they get better, because the drugs are not numbing the pain or the thoughts as much and when detoxing you always feel worse before better.

[donthaveaclue]

Hi Yellowsky

I’m in a similar situation. My partner (who I’m trying to leave) is an addict. Started with cocaine and progressed to turning it into crack. He has the paranoia and hallucinations…

Like your son, he truly believes they are real. He hears things that are not there and see things that are not there… he thinks people are spying on him. He is constantly banging on the walls and ceiling – he’s damaged them – in response to what he hears and sees.

He did stop at one point and the delusions/paranoia decreased but were still there… definitely not as bad though. Unfortunately, he is back on it and can’t seem to stop. I think it does permanently change the brain if they do it enough for a sustained period of time. It basically seems to then cause a mental health issue.

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