The Post-LSD Syndrome
Diagnosis and Treatment
by
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The author calls attention to a previously undescribed condition, The Post-LSD Syndrome, in which patients who have had prior exposure to LSD experience distressing and debilitating symptoms. He describes in detail a triad of unique symptoms consisting of a sleep disturbance, anxiety attacks, and mental instability. He points out that these symptoms remarkably can occur after decades and after even only one exposure to LSD. Dr. Roth describes in detail a variety of case studies which illustrate the various, most common forms of pathology which the condition can manifest. He first describes the typical cases which consist of a fairly clear and direct presentation of the triad of symptoms. He then describes common atypical cases in which other symptoms appear to predominate, such as depression and addictions. Situations in which other conditions coexist with The LSD-Syndrome and reenforce each other, such as PTSD and psychosis, are also described. The good news is that the condition is relatively easily treated, though not cured, and treatment and prognosis are described. Dr. Roth also reviews the history of LSD, the Psychiatric literature on the topic, and other issues. The book is written not only for physicians and mental health professionals, but also for the public in the hope of deterring peope from using a dangerous drug, and facilitating the treatment of a condition which has not been treated heretofore.
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About the Book
The author proposes the recognition of a condition, which he terms The Post-LSD Syndrome, in which patients who have had prior experience with LSD experience a triad of distressing and debilitating symptoms. This triad of unique symptoms consists of a sleep disturbance, anxiety, and forms of mental instability which are described in detail. These symptoms can occur after decades of even only one exposure to LSD. The author describes in detail a variety of case studies which illustrate the various forms of pathology which the condition can manifest. Typical cases which consist of a fairly clear and direct presentation of the basic triad of symptoms are described, as are atyplcal cases in which other symptoms may appear to predominate, such as depression and addictions. Situations in which other conditions may coexist with The LSD-Syndrome and in which they reenforce each other, such as PTSD, are also described. The book is written for the benefit of the general public as well as for professionals, in the hope of helping people obtain proper treatment.
About the Author
Dr. Roth was born and raised in East Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Adelbert College and The Medical School of Case Western Reserve University. He then trained in Pediatrics at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx, New York, and was drafted from his Residency to serve in the USAF during the Cuban MIssile Crisis. He served in Spain and Morocco in The Strategic Air Command (SAC) as a Pediatrician. Upon his discharge, he returned to Cleveland for a Residency in Psychiatry and a Fellowship in Child Psychiatry at University Hospitals of Cleveland. After a year as Child Psychiatric Consultant to B&C Hospital, he became Director of the Child Psychiatric OPD for six years. He became a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology and of the American Board of Child Psychiatry. He went into full time private practice in 1975 and was a Treatment Team Leader at Bellefaire Residential Treatment Center, and a Consultant to Cuyahoga County's Juvenile Court, Metzenbaum Children's Center, and Hudson Boys' School for many years. His main focus, however, has been direct clinical practice. He graduated from the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Insititute in both Adult and Child Psychoanalysis, and has engaged in the full time practice of Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry and Adult and Child Psychoanalysis for over 30 years. After relocating to Palm Desert in southern California in 1997, Dr. Roth began to become aware of the patients who became the subject of this book. Working in his private practice and a as a part-time Psychiatrist for Riverside County Mental Health and then for the California Department of Corrections at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, he came in contact with patients who presented a different pathology than he had noted before. He became incresingly aware of the existence of this condition, The Post-LSD Syndrome, and its surprising lack of recognition. He then researched the literature intensively, only to find a lack of recognition in the literature. Because of the severity of the disturbance, its attendant suffering, and the relative treatability of the condition, Dr. Roth felt The Post-LSD Sydrome should be brought to public attention.