Student, 22, suffered heart attack after using popular study drug and needed intense operation to keep her alive
Warning: This article contains discussion of drug abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A 22-year-old mom learned she had 'blown out her heart' after taking drugs in an attempt to give herself more time in the day to study and enjoy life as a student.
Like many students, Mandi Masterpole, from Hamilton, New Jersey, was juggling a lot during her time at school.
She went to college to become a mortician, and balanced her days by working, studying and partying - but Mandi realized that she could force herself to avoid sleep if she took certain drugs.
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Needless to say, this isn't a healthy way to manage time, but by the time Mandi realized the impact the drugs were having on her body, it was almost too late.
Mandi first tried Adderall and Ritalin when she was 17 years old, but she began taking the substances more frequently at college.
Both are drugs sometimes prescribed to treat ADHD, however, they can be abused as so-called 'study drugs'.
Mandi explained: "I remember my eyes lighting up, the colours seemed to be brighter. Everything seemed to be bright... I realized work would go so much faster. I wouldn't have to sleep so I could use my nighttime hours to study and then I could go to work."
She told herself she was 'getting so much done', so she kept abusing the drugs more and more. Before long, she was snorting them up to four times a day and spending her entire weekly paycheck of $600 on the habit.
Not only that, but Mandi had also stopped correctly taking her insulin, which was intended to help with the type 1 diabetes she had been diagnosed with at age 15.
Things only changed for Mandi when, at 21 years old, she became pregnant - something she had been dreaming of for 'the longest time'.
She said: "I was at my worst probably right before I got pregnant... I told myself that this would put me on the right track. I would stop doing the drugs and I would take care of my kid.
"I knew that if I had a baby then I would have a reason to stay clean. All I wanted was a person to be clean for."
Everything went to plan during Mandi's pregnancy, but during labor, she suffered with chest pains which an EKG scan later revealed to be a heart attack.
She recalled: "I knew when I went into labor, I was telling my mom, 'something's not right'. The doctors asked me if I had taken anything, I ended up telling them that I had abused drugs and they basically said I had blown out my heart...
"The drugs had weakened my heart, plus the diabetes had made it so weak that when I went into labor my body couldn't handle it.
"[The doctor] said that taking the drugs on top of not taking the insulin just made my heart ridiculously weak. There was nothing to it, he was like, 'you just shattered it.'"
During labor, Mandi's heart stopped twice and she recalled everything going 'dark'.
Thankfully Mandi and her daughter, Shae, both survived the ordeal, but Mandi had to be put on life support for a week before she underwent an operation to have a mechanical heart pump fitted. She has since been fitted with a pacemaker and defibrillator, and she is on the transplant list.
Due to her weak heart, the mom often needs to use a wheelchair for outings and has been told she cannot have another baby because of the stress it would put on her body.
She's now hoping to warn others of the dangers of abusing drugs and taking medication that haven't been prescribed to you.
"I would tell people to steer clear of these drugs completely," Mandi said. "It's not worth it. It may make you feel good but it's going to tear everything apart."
"It's not the quick fix I thought it was. Everybody should know it's not what you think, it will lead you down a way that you do not want to go."
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.
Emily Brown