| Methamphetamine Effects | | | | Addiction |
| As with many other Amphetamines, | | | | Psychosis |
| methamphetamine can be snorted, smoked, injected, | | | | Paranoia |
| and eaten. How it is introduced into the body has a | | | | Hypertension (high blood pressure) |
| lot to do with how hard and fast the effects take | | | | Stroke |
| place and, to a degree, how damaging the drug is | | | | "Meth Mouth", (Rapid rotting of the teeth and gums) |
| with each use. It can even effect how quickly the | | | | Aggression |
| abuser becomes addicted. | | | | Cardiac arrhythmia |
| | | | Welts or sores on the skin |
| Smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the | | | | The term "Tweaker" is a descriptive slang term |
| user experiences an intense "rush" that lasts only a | | | | referring to these meth addicts. Reality is not their |
| few minutes and is described as extremely | | | | strong point anymore. They have whittled |
| pleasurable. The initial effects of meth can last from | | | | themselves down to shadows of who they were |
| a few minutes to a half hour, until the body becomes | | | | before meth. One of the things they have lost is |
| more tolerant to the drug's influence and the rush | | | | their good judgment. |
| becomes less intense. But the effects of the drug | | | | Meth Robots |
| are not over at that point. | | | | A fully addicted meth addict is functioning for one |
| After the initial rush from methamphetamine subsides | | | | purpose, to use methamphetamine and kill the pain or |
| there is a period of high wakefulness and | | | | get high. Whatever he or she says or thinks is |
| hyperactivity that can last several hours to half a | | | | colored by their addiction and cravings. An |
| day. | | | | unfortunate fact with addicts is that their honesty |
| Both the rush and the high are believed to result | | | | and dignity are, although loudly proclaimed, |
| from the release of very high levels of the | | | | non-existent. Compulsive drug seeking and intense |
| neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain | | | | cravings do not leave much room for things like |
| that regulate feelings of pleasure and wakefulness. | | | | integrity. |
| That first intense experience can be alluring and when | | | | Drug rehabilitation counselors know that the person |
| the rush passes, some users will try to maintain the | | | | who walks in for help with meth addiction is merely a |
| high by continuing to use more and more of the drug. | | | | shadow of who they really are. The actual person is |
| This leads to a phenomenon known as binging and | | | | likely to not show up for a week or two after |
| crashing. The user attempts to keep the highly | | | | detox, and then only briefly. Until the drug is out of |
| pleasurable sensations of the rush going while trying | | | | their system and even the toxic residues that lodge |
| desperately to avoid the pain of coming down, | | | | in the fatty tissues of the body are eliminated, we're |
| known as the crash. | | | | only going to see the actual personality of this |
| Now the rush is over and to experience it again | | | | individual for moments at a time. |
| means to take more of the drug. But this time the | | | | In our detox rehab centers, we address both the |
| body has developed a bit of a Tolerance to this | | | | physical and mental aspects of meth addiction. The |
| particular toxin, meaning it will require a higher and | | | | process of withdrawal is gone through with a |
| higher dose to approach the feelings of that original | | | | minimum of discomfort and in all but the most |
| high. This tolerance builds faster in some drugs than in | | | | extreme cases without the use of other drugs. |
| others. Methamphetamine is one drug to which the | | | | Then the toxic residue is cleansed from the former |
| body builds a tolerance relatively quickly and higher | | | | addict's body, removing the most major impediment |
| doses and faster re-dosing only serve to further | | | | to recovery. |
| speed the addiction process along. | | | | Finally, the process of rebuilding begins. Already, the |
| The Thrill is Gone | | | | robot is gone and the person who was buried under |
| As a tolerance to the drug builds, users tend to take | | | | addiction, perhaps for years, re-emerges. |
| higher and higher doses with greater and greater | | | | Recovery from Meth Addiction |
| frequency, eventually leading to addiction. Now the | | | | Although meth is a very addictive drug and one of |
| pleasures experienced when first using the substance | | | | the hardest to recover from, rehabilitation can be |
| are only memories and the goal now is to simply | | | | achieved. Everyday, former meth users are |
| maintain. | | | | accomplishing goals and reaching for the lives they |
| But that is getting harder and harder to do. | | | | deserve, without the fear and ruin that was their |
| The toll that methamphetamine takes on addicts is | | | | only possible destination had they continued to use. |
| tremendous; it is much less obvious to the drug users | | | | This recovery cannot occur unless the first step is |
| than to those around them. Appearance and hygiene | | | | taken. Whether the user is a family member or friend |
| are all but ignored. Sleep is rare and unsatisfying and | | | | or even yourself, the first step is to ask for help. Call |
| body weight drops like a rock. Other side effects | | | | a center for consultation. The sooner you call, the |
| include: | | | | easier the recovery. |
| Dependence | | | | |