Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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curious about whether cocaine use has any lingering effects on the brain, even after the activity has been stopped? Does a dopamine addiction fuel cocaine use, or does cocaine use fuel a dopamine addiction?

I am just very interested in knowing more about this.

Thanks for your input.

edited Jun 8 at 17:52

asked Jun 8 at 17:41

foreveryoung
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Crowlover · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-08 19:29:07Z UTC

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Brains heal and this has been researched by Daniel Amen, MD using high tech brain scans called SPECT. I highly recommend you go to this website, go to the SPECT Gallery,and look at cocaine addicted brains, before and after. http://www.amenclinics.com/ Good luck.

answered Jun 8 at 19:29

Crowlover
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Wow, thanks for the link. Those are some incredible images he's gathered. I couldn't find any on specifically cocaine use though, but I'm sure there's little difference between the other addiction images. Incredible stuff. – foreveryoung Jun 8 at 19:41

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Also a product called DopaBoost by Designs for Health is very helpful for many people who need more dopamine either due to gentics or abuse. My friend has ADHD and used to do a lot of cocaine and now she takes 4 Dopaboost twice a day and is off of her Adderal! She like the Dopaboost better! Btw, that is more than the recommend dose on the bottle but its safe levels of the active ingredients according to her ND - for HER that is. I take 2 per day myself and together with Lithium orotate and 5htp, D3, diet etc its better than any Rx drug for me, for depression :) – Crowlover Jun 8 at 19:54

VB · Answer 2 · 2012-06-08 18:51:11Z UTC

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Good question, and it does... but I am too tired and too lazy to answer your question right now. The point is that drugs re-wire your brain and raise your threshold for dopamine levels, so you need more and more cocaine to achieve the same level of dopamine high.

The best website I found about addictions and how they form is the one about addiction to porn. I watched Your Brain on Porn series http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/

answered Jun 8 at 18:51

VB
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Yeah, i know it raises dopamine threshold in the short term, but what about when someone stops using it? Can you recover from being a dopamine addict? – foreveryoung Jun 8 at 19:05

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Yes you can. But you will have to go through a period of withdrawal. It is painful, but you can do it! – VB Jun 8 at 19:11

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Yes, by principle the nervous system is flexible and it can re-regulate your dopamine receptors back to normal levels over time. You will have to have patience though, find healthy ways of boosting dopamine, and resist relapses. One interesting book on the topic is "The Compass of Pleasure," you should try reading more about it to gain perspective. – Helicat Jun 8 at 19:14

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Most (or all?) addictions whether to cocaine, cigarettes, porn, gambling, sex, eating, computer, shopping etc etc are all thought to be related to issues with dopamine. – Crowlover Jun 8 at 19:32

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I forgot to mention - it is easier for your brain to go into relapse because of the way it re-wires itself. – VB Jun 8 at 19:47

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dopamine and drugs question

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