Most people on here are not good examples of why the substance mdma is bad. They are examples of the misuse and consequential results of the misuse of mdma, be it through contamination or dosage... People need to get some perspective on mdma in relation to legal drugs taxed by the governments running the countries we live in. The same governments that cause most of the issues making mdma dangerous by; not eradicating the substance but prohibiting and relieving themselves of any control of it's manufacture, giving the job of manufacturing and distributing the drug to criminals, not making anywhere near enough effort into researching it, and devaluing their own research into the long term use of mdma among regular people by making the substance illegal in the first place.
I've had some great times with MDMA and some not-so-great times. You can gain much from using it wisely (i.e., controlled environment with close friends etc.), but the most important thing to know about it is once you learn the lessons it has to offer you, you may never re-learn them. The "addiction" of MDMA is an addiction to "discovering" all those things about music/friendship/the power of dancing etc. for a second time. It took me a few months of experimenting with it to figure this out.And, most important of all - do whatever you feel is best for you. If you're gonna experiment, enjoy the ride and stay as responsible as you can. But don't pay too much attention to the "everyone should do it / no-one should do it" arguments. Not everyone who has a drink is an alcoholic, not everyone who eats is a food addict. Just don't over-do it, the ticket most definitely quickens up when you're rolling. Also, get naked and fool around with someone with some good music in the backround - it's f*****g awesome :-D
Sounds like you're having runs of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter which is a common complication of enlarged atria. I can almost guarantee that you did not have a heart attack during your drug episode or it would have been most certainly picked up on ECHOs and ECGs. Athlete's commonly have problems with atrial tachycardias because strenuous exercise can cause the atria to enlarge. Try and fight for an event monitor. It will pick something up over a course of 30 or so days. After which point, an ablation procedure or course of beta blockers may be recommended to stop the irregular heartbeat.
The ways which ecstasy can damage the heart is through ischemia (restriction of bloodflow to the heart muscle leading to a heart attack), damaging the heart valves, or causing dilation of the heart so chronic abuse. In all 3 of these cases, damages to the heart would be detectable through the extensive testing you've had. In addition, if there is a pathological reason fro your atrial enlargement (like an atrial septal defect or a valve problem) it needs to be corrected. I am 99% that is the cause of your arrhythmia
are these people for real? i realize drugs CAN do this to some. but this bad? I've been using MDMA for a couple years now, and guess what? I haven't almost died, I haven't overdosed and I consider myself to be pretty smart still. It will get to you a few tomes, but hey as long as you know what you're doing you should be fine. It does shock me to see people saying that they're rolling at 12 yrs of age. Whatever, I dont care. basically It's not fully the drug's fault, it's the user. albeit buying from a shitty dealer and not testing what you are ingesting or you take pills that are 'cut' with other substances etc etc
It sounds like most of you guys were having panic attacks.
i'm seriously getting the feeling everyone on this website is writing BS stories to scare people away from the drug... I mean, 8 pils at once, or on one night? No one is stupid enough to do that...
i'm 19 now. Done xtc three times. The drug is only addictive if you use it to compensate depressed or insecure feelings. If you use it recreational (read: 2-3 times a year MAX!), and only when you are feeling good from the beginning, at a big dance festival or something, it won't hurt you, and you won't get addicted.
Ofcourse, the week after you've taken it, you have this feeling like you want to do it again, but this is just sort of 'home-sickness' to the awesome time you had at the festival. It should be common sense not to take it again right away.
After 2 month, your body is fully recovered from one night of xtc use. That's why you should just do it no more then 2 to 3 times a year, with at least 2 to 3 month in between. This will keep the experience special, and getting addicted is impossible this way.
If people want to do xtc, they will do it anyway. So stop trying to make people scared by saying you did 8 pills at once, because that will alter their sense of what's a normal amount of pills to take... It's better to inform people on how to take it, while inform them with the scientifical proven risks, and tell them how to reduce those risks.
So, if you want to take xtc, here is some information on how to do it, what to take care of and what to expect:
1- if you take multiple pills at once, you're basicaly asking for health problems. Take one pill every 5 hours. NEVER take multiple pills at once. If, after 5 hours, you're still feeling the effect of xtc, don't take more. Just wait until the effect has clearly reduced to barely noticable before taking more.
2- Drink enough water, but not to much. Around one glass of water every hour is perfect when you're constantly dancing.
3- DON'T MIX XTC WITH OTHER DRUGS/ALCOHOL!!! This will most likely give a very unexpected effect, and increases health risks significantly!! Also, if you combine multiple drugs, the effect of both drugs is way less than you would expect, so it's also just a waist of money.
4- Doing something illegal can be very exiting, but take your responsibility when you mess up or get caught.
5- If you take a pill, and think that it's not working after 1-1.5 hour, DON'T TAKE MORE!! it is possible that you got a pill with PMA in it, instead of mdma. PMA gives the same effect as mdma, but it starts working 3 hours after taking it, and will continu working for 8 to 10 hours. If you take more after 1 hour, you will have a double dose. PMA is way more dangerous than mdma, so a double dosis of PMA will amost guaranty a visit to the Emergency Room.
6- Don't use xtc, or any other drug, to reduce depressing feelings, insecure feelings, or ANY negative feelings! This can give you a very unpleasant trip, and makes you vulnerable to addiction.
7: enjoy it!! but handle the drug with care. It's still a drug, so inform yourself about the risks, the do's and don'ts, and how to recognise and handle an overdose/unpleasant trip of yourself or someone else.
Has you pericarditis gone away? Did you take ecstasy? If so, what was done to fix it?