Meth Addiction Treatment: How to Quit Meth

Users of crystal meth report initially feeling euphoric, experiencing an intense, long-lasting rush after the first use. This is because methamphetamine floods the brain with dopamine, the feel-good chemical responsible for pleasure, reward and motivation. Blood pressure spikes, thoughts race, users often have to keep moving even though they’re accomplishing nothing.

How Are Methamphetamines Misused?

Methamphetamine, a powerful and highly addictive stimulant, can quickly take a toll on your body and mind. It delivers an immediate, short-lived high, but its long-term consequences are severe and often irreversible. From physical deterioration to mental health issues, meth addiction damages lives. Here’s how to recognize the signs of meth use and intervene early to get life-saving help.

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In general, people use it a little less often than other stimulants such as cocaine. Crystal meth is often made with a common cold medicine ingredient called pseudoephedrine, which helps ease congestion. Because it’s used to make meth, the federal government closely regulates products with pseudoephedrine. Meth contains chemicals that are similar to amphetamine, a what is alcoholism drug used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. Find out the differences between Adderall and methamphetamines, as well as amphetamines vs. methamphetamines.

Does it interact with alcohol and other drugs?

• Meth is extremely addictive, and you may find yourself pulled toward using it more often once you feel the positive effects.
• CBT is particularly effective because it helps individuals identify and change harmful thought patterns and behaviors that drive meth use.
• The substance is similar in chemical composition to amphetamine, which is a drug doctors prescribe to treat conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy.
• Recognizing the signs of meth addiction is critical for early intervention.
• As a powder, it can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected.

The side effects, which arise from the use and abuse of methamphetamine, include irritability, nervousness, insomnia, nausea, depression, and brain damage. Drug Enforcement Administration for more information about methamphetamine. If snorting the drug in crystal meth form, the high will come on in three to five minutes; if swallowing methamphetamine, it can take 15 to 20 minutes.

If you or a loved one are struggling with meth addiction, reach out to resources for support and assistance. These include helplines, treatment locators, and medical professionals. Chronic methamphetamine users may encounter challenges in experiencing pleasure from sources other than the drug. This fuels the cycle of substance abuse, perpetuating their dependency. Methamphetamine addiction is a brain disorder that causes a person to misuse meth for the resulting feelings of pleasure and euphoria despite adverse consequences.

• If you have a loved one struggle with meth addiction, call American Addiction Centers (AAC) today.
• Start your journey to a life free from meth by seeking the help that you need today.
• This high is addictive and causes people to crave the drug repeatedly in order to achieve it.
• But you may not think clearly when you’re high or make the same decisions as when you’re sober.
• Using methamphetamine during pregnancy can cause the baby to be born prematurely and to have a low birth weight.
• But don’t worry—finding the proper help doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

Addiction and mental health therapy tailored to your needs

• Alternative therapies and support groups provide complementary approaches to traditional methamphetamine addiction treatments, focusing on holistic well-being and community-based recovery.
• There are currently no available medications that counteract the effects of methamphetamine or help to prolong abstinence.
• Most meth sold in the US is manufactured and distributed by Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
• Over time, users may transition from smoking to injecting to achieve a more intense high.
• As previously mentioned, medically managed detox allows the body to rid itself of the meth and other toxins under medical supervision, which means you will remain safe and as comfortable as possible as you experience withdrawal symptoms.

By law, pharmacies and retail stores must keep pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products behind the counter. They also need to keep a log to track who buys it and in what meth addiction amounts. The drug acts on parts of the brain involved in reward, which makes taking another dose tempting. If someone is showing signs of overdosing on meth, it is crucial to call 911 immediately.

• Healthcare professionals also prescribe it off-label to treat narcolepsy.
• This makes it more and more difficult to simply stop taking the drug.
• According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), around 2.6 million people aged 12 years and older used methamphetamine in the United States in 2019.

A sample of 350 treatment admissions from a large county substance use disorder (SUD) treatment system was randomly selected (within gender, race/ethnicity, treatment modality strata). Retrospective self-report data are from natural history interviews (NHI) conducted approximately 3 years after treatment and a follow-up 2-3 years later. Relapse is defined as any use of MA with time as the number of months of continuous MA abstinence after treatment discharge until relapse. This outcome was constructed from a monthly MA use timeline using NHI data. For some, misusing methamphetamine is a way to cope with a mental health condition.

Several alternative explanations should be considered in further analysis. Some background factors may diminish in influence as the substance use life course progresses, and predictors of abstinence and relapse may differ at =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ varying points in the post-treatment period. Further research should include more detailed temporal patterns of personal and contextual characteristics concurrent with or proximal to substance use measures over time.

How Methamphetamine Affects the Brain and Body?

People have also taken the drug to lose weight, ease depression, and manage attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Substance use disorders and addiction aren’t choices you make — they’re mental health conditions that can have long-term effects on your health and well-being. Seventy-seven percent of the observable sample was abstinent during month 36, 80% during month 48, and 79% during month 60. A study of the natural history of MA use provided data for a sample of MA-using clients admitted to the publicly funded Los Angeles County SUD treatment system. A random sample (within gender, ethnicity, modality outpatient, residential strata) of admission records was selected from the California Alcohol and Drug Data System, primarily from 1996. Seventy-five percent of these admissions were located and 76% of those located were interviewed, yielding a sample size of 350 for the current analysis (Brecht et al., 2004; von Mayrhauser et al., 2002).