A combination of medications and therapeutic measures should be employed by highly trained medical, mental health, and addiction treatment professionals. The consequences of methamphetamine misuse are terrible for the individual—psychologically, medically, and socially. Using the drug can cause memory loss, aggression, psychotic behavior, damage to the cardiovascular system, malnutrition, and severe dental problems.
Effects of Meth Addiction and Long-Term Use
Methamphetamine hydrochloride (Desoxyn) is the only legal methamphetamine in the U.S. It’s a pill approved to treat ADHD, but https://ecosoberhouse.com/ doctors don’t prescribe it very often. Almost 2.5 million people in the U.S. aged 12 or older say they use meth every year.
Meth Addiction Treatment
Methamphetamine was developed early in the 20th century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. Like amphetamine, methamphetamine causes increased activity and talkativeness, decreased appetite, and a pleasurable sense of well-being meth addiction or euphoria. You can’t take medication specifically approved to treat meth. But substance use treatment with medical detox and behavioral therapies for addiction can help you recover from meth use disorder. Methamphetamine is a man-made stimulant that’s been around for a long time.
Commonly Used Drugs Charts – National Institute on Drug Abuse
Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
Posted: Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Is dependence the same thing as addiction?
Other reasons meth addicts cite for seeking out the drug include rapid weight loss and the way it lowers inhibitions and increases libido. Some people turn to crystal meth after their tolerance to a different drug has grown so much that they can no longer get high from that substance. Crystal meth can not only provide the high the addict is looking for, it also costs less and lasts longer. Common physical effects of „coming down“ from the drug use include body aches, heartburn and feeling extremely lethargic, nauseous and confused. When meth wears off, dopamine and serotonin are both depleted, resulting in anxiety and depression. Long-term methamphetamine abuse has many negative consequences, including addiction.
Everything you need to know about crystal meth
- SUD is a medical condition that requires proper medical treatment.
- Crystal meth produces feelings of euphoria for up to 12 hours, and people crave its powerful effects again and again.
- Meth can also cause rapid weight loss, a higher libido, and intense feelings of alertness and concentration.
- Meth addiction is an addiction many Americans face, one that can be overcome with proper intervention, and ongoing treatment.
Detox, alone, is typically not sufficient to help an individual maintain lasting recovery. It is typically the first step in a more comprehensive treatment plan. Long-term use of meth can cause significant damage to the brain and the cells that make dopamine as well as to the nerve cells containing serotonin. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns that chronic and prolonged meth exposure can damage as many as half of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain and potentially even more of the serotonin-containing nerve cells. Meth addiction describes when a person develops SUD as a result of meth use.
- This person may also be aware they are addicted but are unable to stop despite trying to ween back their dosage.
- The proportion of fentanyl pill seizures compared to the overall number of fentanyl seizures was also highest in the West, with 77.8% of all law enforcement seizures of fentanyl in the West being in pill form in 2023.
- But their creation turned out stronger than they expected — too strong for most people to use safely without the risk of overdose or addiction.
- Analyzing these data can therefore help identify trends in availability of illicit substances and act as a type of early warning system to shift public health education or interventional resources more quickly.
- Common physical effects of „coming down“ from the drug use include body aches, heartburn and feeling extremely lethargic, nauseous and confused.
- But some changes may take years or longer to resolve or never get better.