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Recovery Connection coordinators can help you find the right treatment program to break your methamphetamine addiction. Treatment works. Our helpline 1-800-993-3869 is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our coordinators answer your questions, ease your fears and help you find the right treatment program. All calls are free of charge and confidential.
Methamphetamine is a powerful, synthetic psycho-stimulant that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Because of its powerful addictive qualities, it is classified as a Schedule II drug by the DEA. Unfortunately, most methamphetamine used in this country is manufactured in illegal domestic super labs or in foreign labs, such as those found in Mexico. That means the production of the drug is not supervised or regulated, leaving users to the whim of the producer. Unregulated production generally means more toxins and dangerous chemicals are used to increase potency without regard to the safety of the drug. It is now considered a major drug of abuse. The production of methamphetamine is dangerous and multiple lives are lost every year due to meth lab explosions.
This drug, as with other drugs, alters the neurotransmissions from cell to cell. It interrupts the regular balance and release of the naturally occurring chemical compound known as dopamine. Generally, methamphetamine is found in a white, odorless powder. Consumption can be by oral ingestion, snorting, smoking or injection. Methamphetamine is highly soluble in the blood and quickly passes through the blood-brain barrier. Though the initial effects are similar in the body to amphetamine, methamphetamines are more powerful with effects lasting 6-14 hours. Use of this drug leads quickly to addiction.
Long-term use and methamphetamine abuse will profoundly alter brain function. Because of damage to the neurons, an addict’s emotional health will be adversely impacted. These changes can be acute and sometimes permanent. It should be noted that the contents of crystal meth, the street form of the methamphetamine drug, tend to be a combination of toxic chemicals such as lye, Drano, pseudoephedrine, battery acid, insecticides, solvents, and ether. These types of chemicals are not designed to be ingested.
Once the methamphetamine drug’s initial effects wear off the user will experience a crash. This process also brings about extreme emotional responses. When people use methamphetamine in bouts, he or she can be considered to be binging. A process known as binging and crashing then occurs. The high accompanying methamphetamine abuse is known on the street as flashing.
People who are addicted to methamphetamine will exhibit the following pattern of symptoms:
Methamphetamine addicts can engage in abnormal behaviors such as repetitive washing of oneself and objects and the dismantling and reassembling of various objects.
Long-term abuse of methamphetamine has several additional severe side effects. One of most common side effects is seen in the addict’s mouth. Because methamphetamine is made from a combination of toxic chemicals, it is no surprise that it irritates and burns the teeth and mouth tissues. Symptoms related to “meth mouth” are dry mouth (meth dries out the salivary glands which leads to the acid eating away at the tooth enamel), tooth decay (especially as it originates at the gum line and the decay travels around the tooth, cracked teeth (meth addicts grind and clench their teeth) and gum disease (meth shrinks the blood vessels). (source: http://www.mappsd.org/Meth%20Mouth.htm)
Dental problems, such as missing teeth, were found in 41 percent of the users studied. The study also found that 29 percent of methamphetamine abusers expressed concern about their dental appearance. According to a report from the National Institute of Drug Abuse on methamphetamine abuse and dental health, “dentists may be able to use this concern to motivate stimulant abusers to participate in targeted behavioral interventions in the dental office or seek help at addiction treatment programs”.
(source: http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol23N5/RIB.html#Methamphetamine)
In a 2008 research study, researchers found indications that serious brain alterations due to methamphetamine use make it more difficult for meth addicts to distinguish and respond to facial expressions, empathy and self control. (NIDA, Vol. 22, n. 4, Oct. 2009)
Complete treatment for methamphetamine addiction consists of methamphetamine drug detox followed by drug rehab. Medications may or may not be prescribed during the withdrawal and detox period. Patients who are suffering from methamphetamine withdrawal typically have very low energy, depression, a lack of motivation, and eat more than usual.
Methamphetamine detox alone will not help a meth addict. It is during the methamphetamine addiction treatment process that the meth addict receives the counseling to start rebuilding his/her a sense of self esteem and the knowledge and skills about dealing with cravings and emotional stressors without using.
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