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What Are The Side Effects Of Taking Poppers?

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Posted on Mon, 4 Aug 2014
Question: Hi i recently took poppers will i be ok i have only done it about twenty times over the past seven years but didnt realise they were a drug. I have ocd aswell?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (4 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Please see details below.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I can understand your concern regarding consuming poppers. Poppers are definitely not something which is recommended as it can cause many health issues. But as long as you are not having any symptoms, you should not be worrying about anything for now. The best thing that you can do is to stay away from it an any other addictive drug the rest of your life.

Regarding OCD, I think you should seek a psychiatric consultation and initiate treatment. It s a condition which is amenable to treatment. Medications like fluvoxamine, sertraline, etc, are highly effective for OCD. In addition you can also opt for cognitive behavior therapy in form of exposure and response prevention for OCD. You can discuss with your psychiatrist regarding the same.

I do hope that I was able to answer your query. Please let me know if you have any further questions. I will be glad to help.

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sunil Gupta (5 hours later)
Hi thanks for your response i am takiing classes for ocd to help but was just wondering would i be ok for taking poppers only a handful of times as i didnt realise they were a drug until now and feel so stressed and worried all the time but dont know if this my ocd or not? Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (39 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
It can be due to anxiety

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thanks for following up.

I would liked to know what are the exact symptoms that your are terming as OCD. You are highly anxious, that is pretty evident. That is what is leading you to worry excessively about taking poppers. One of the obsessions that can lead you to this is doubts. In this, a person has repeated doubts regarding something and despite repeated confirmation is not able to remove the though from his head.

In any case, you just have to relax about having taken poppers in the past and just make sure that you don't do it again in future.

I also do hope that the classes for OCD is helping you reduce the symptoms. In case it is not, please do consider taking medicines for OCD in addition to the class. That will help achieve better response and also reduce your anxiety.

I do hope that you get better soon and are able to relax better. Please let me know if I can be of any further help. It will give me immense pleasure to help you out. In case you decide to close the discussion, please do rate the answer.

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sunil Gupta (15 minutes later)
Yeah i am taking anti depressants to control my ocd but when i have a drink i think i have done something bad or someone is going to get hurt or maybe i have done something bad to myself like taking poppers. My ocd can get really bad after a night out and for instant say me taking the poppers i will worry myself sick to the the point i am really stressed and worried incase something bad happens to me. I have a few classes coming up so hope they will help. I just wanted advice that taking poppers about twenty times
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (13 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
No need to worry about poppers taken in past

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks for following up. I can really understand your distress that the thoughts of possible harmful effects due to poppers must be causing you. You really don't have to worry about taking poppers in the past. It definitely is not good for health but since you have been doing fine without any problems related to it, you don't need to worry about it.

Your current worry regarding poppers definitely seem to be part of OCD and I would recommend that you try out some relaxation exercises or some of the methods that would have been taught in your classes to control your anxiety. Its nice to note that you area already on medications and I am pretty sure that you will be fine soon.

I again repeat that the poppers that you have taken in the past is not going to trouble you or cause any problem. It is not going to result into something bad. So, you can completely relax about it. Just make sure that you avoid any such drug or even alcohol in the future. It is the best way to make sure that such substances don't affect you in any way.

I hope that you are able to relax yourself regarding poppers. Please feel free to ask any further questions that you may have.

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta



Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sunil Gupta (1 hour later)
My other question is that does aniexty bring on pains in your chest. When i am worrying so much i get pains across my chest and start getting panicy? Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (29 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Yes, anxiety can cause chest pain

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks foe following up.

Chest pain is one of the common symptoms of anxiety. Chest pain and palpitations are two initial symptoms of anxiety which increases the worry that one might have some cardiac problem. This further worsens anxiety and leads to development of full blown panic episode.

The only way to get over this to get anxiety treated. You can start exercising daily and add meditation and relaxation exercises like deep breathing to your routine which will help in controlling your anxiety symptoms.

Hope that answers your query. Please do let me know if I can be of further help to you.

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta




Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sunil Gupta (3 hours later)
Hi yeah my anxiety can get really bad. I start thinkkng what if someone else got a hold of something like the poppers and died from it. But they were not mine i never had them but i still worry that if someone got hurt because someone had brought them to a party and end up in the wrong hands. I also worry that what if it was my fault and i will be to blame. I worry like this all the time after drinking just like for example what if i had hurt someone last night? What if i said something bad to someone and cant remember. What i cant clarify if is this my ocd or is it real i get so paronoid and stressed alot of the time and get one worry out of my head and another one comes along. If you have any advice or previous experience with an ocd will be much apperciated. Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (37 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Please see details below.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Suffering from OCD really affects us so much. I can understand what you must be going through with the thoughts coming repeatedly in your mind. You seem to be having an obsession we refer to as fear of harm in which a repeated tough comes that something wrong will happen to some one. I addition you also seem to have repeated doubts about things said and done and have to check and recheck it again and again.

I see quite a number of OCD patients in my clinic on regular basis. I feel that a combination of medications and Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in form of exposure and response prevention (ERP) works the best in patients with OCD. You did mention about some classes. I would have liked to know the details about the medications that you are taking and also details about the classes.

ERP is based on the concept the we have to let our minds gets exposed to the thoughts and stop resisting them completely. The more we resist, more stronger they become. We have to bear the anxiety and not try to do anything to neutralise the anxiety caused by it. Over multiple sessions, the obsessions do come down.

I feel you can try a therapist offering ERP as treatment. In addition, on your own, try not to resist these thoughts. Just let them come and feel the anxiety. Try doing it as much as possible. You will note that the anxiety will go down substantially.

I do hope that I am being able to help you in some way. Please let me know about any further queries that you might have.

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta






Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sunil Gupta (7 hours later)
Hi doc thanks for the reply i have another question that i have been worrying about since i took a popper? I have a pulse/ heart beat of 62 beats per minute is that ok? Or am i best to get it checked as i am worrying about maybe my heart has skipped a beat? I know this sounds stupid but my ocd is really getting to me the last week i was doing really well the week before but all this worry has came on me and cant shrugg it off? Any help/ advice would be great as i have a pain in my chest but i dont know if this is just my anxiety as i know that is one of the symptoms for anxiety? Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (46 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Please see details below

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thanks again for following up. And you don't need to worry about how your question sound. I know what you must be going through and can completely understand your distress.

Your current pulse rate is fine and I don't think you have something to worry about. If you are really concerned about it, you can get an electrocardiogram (ECG) done. That will help you relax. The problem is that even after that the doubts will come back again and start bothering you and making you more worried. The only way out is to treat your anxiety and OCD in a proper way. Only then this worries and doubts will stop troubling you.

I am pretty sure that the chest pain you are having is due to anxiety and nothing else. I really feel that you should talk to your doctor who is prescribing you the anti-depressants to consider a revision in treatment as definitely it is not working the way it should be.

In addition, as I said in mys last response, try not to resist these thoughts. Also start exercising daily and practice some meditation or deep breathing. This will help you relax and feel a bit better.

Please let me know if I can help you further in any way regarding your condition. I will be glad to offer help in the best possible way.

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
default
Follow up: Dr. Sunil Gupta (10 minutes later)
Thanks doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sunil Gupta (3 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
All the best.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thanks for your feedback. In case you don't have anything more to ask, please do close the discussion and rate the answer.

In future, if you have any query and feel that I might help you in any way, you can contact me at:

http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-sunil-gupta/67657

Best wishes,

Dr. Sunil Gupta
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Sunil Gupta

Psychiatrist

Practicing since :2005

Answered : 637 Questions

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What Are The Side Effects Of Taking Poppers?

Brief Answer: Please see details below. Detailed Answer: Hi, I can understand your concern regarding consuming poppers. Poppers are definitely not something which is recommended as it can cause many health issues. But as long as you are not having any symptoms, you should not be worrying about anything for now. The best thing that you can do is to stay away from it an any other addictive drug the rest of your life. Regarding OCD, I think you should seek a psychiatric consultation and initiate treatment. It s a condition which is amenable to treatment. Medications like fluvoxamine, sertraline, etc, are highly effective for OCD. In addition you can also opt for cognitive behavior therapy in form of exposure and response prevention for OCD. You can discuss with your psychiatrist regarding the same. I do hope that I was able to answer your query. Please let me know if you have any further questions. I will be glad to help. Best wishes, Dr. Sunil Gupta