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The Sober Life Project does not provide treatment for addiction or any other illness, does not claim to provide medical or psychological intervention for any disorder, nor does it diagnose addiction. The Sober Life Project is a public awareness clearing house for drug abuse and addiction information, resources, referrals and peer support only.
Meth
Methamphetamine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug. Methamphetamine hydrochloride is approved by the United States Food and Drug Admin-istration (USFDA) under the trade name Desoxyn for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity
in adults and children and is sometimes prescribed off label for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. It is rarely prescribed due to concerns involving human neurotoxicity and its high potential for recreational use, among other concerns, and the availability of safer substitute drugs with comparable treatment efficacy.
In low doses, methamphetamine can elevate mood, increase alertness, concentration and energy in fatigued individuals, reduce appetite and promote (initial) weight loss. At higher doses, it can induce psychosis, rhabdomyolysis, seizures and cerebral hemorrhage. Chronic high-dose use can precipitate unpredictable and rapid mood swings, prominent delusions and violent behavior. Recreationally, methamphetamine's ability to increase energy has been reported to lift mood and increase sexual desireto such an extent that users are able to engage in sexual activity continuously for several days.[18] Methamphetamine is known to have a high addiction liability (i.e. compulsive methamphetamine use) and dependence liability (i.e. withdrawal symptoms occur when methamphetamine use ceases). Heavy recreational use of methamphetamine may lead to a post-acute-withdrawal syndrome, which can persist for months beyond the typical withdrawal period. Unlike amphetamine, methamphetamine isneurotoxic to humans, damaging both dopamine and serotonin neurons in the CNS.[19][20][21] This damage includes adverse changes in brain structure and function, such as reductions in grey matter volume in several brain regions and adverse changes in markers of metabolic integrity.
How Does Methamphetamine Affect the Brain?
Methamphetamine increases the amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine, leading to high levels of that chemical in the brain. Dopamine is involved in reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure, and
body movement and motor function. Methamphetamine’s ability to release dopamine rapidly in reward regions of the brain produces the euphoric “rush” or “flash” that many users experience. Repeated methamphetamine use can easily lead to addiction—a chronic, relapsing disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use.
Psychological
The psychological effects of methamphetamine can include euphoria, dysphoria, changes in libido, alertness, apprehension, concentration, decreased sense of fatigue,
insomniaor wakefulness, self-confidence, sociability, irritability, restlessness,
grandiosity and repetitive and obsessive behaviors.
Methamphetamine use also has a high association with
anxiety, depression, meth-
amphetamine psychosis,
suicide, and violent behaviors.
A methamphetamine overdose may result in a wide range of symptoms. A moderate overdose of methamphetamine may induce symptoms such as: abnormal heart rhythm, confusion,
difficult and/or painful urination, high or low blood pressure,
high body temperature, over-active and/or over-responsive reflexes, muscle aches, severe agitation, rapid breathing,
tremor, urinary hesitancy, and an inability to pass urine.
An extremely large overdose may produce symptoms such as adrenergic storm, methamphetamine psychosis,
substantially reduced or nil urine output, cardiogenic shock,
brain bleed, circulatory collapse, dangerously high body temperature, pulmonary hypertension, kidney failure,
rhabdomyolysis,serotonin syndrome, and a form of stereotypy
("tweaking"). A methamphetamine overdose will likely also result in mild brain damage due to dopaminergic and serotonergic
neurotoxicity. Death from methamphetamine poisoning is typically preceded by convulsions and coma.
Abuse of methamphetamine can result in a stimulant psychosis which may present with a variety of symptoms (e.g. paranoia,
hallucinations, delirium, delusions). A Cochrane Collaboration
review on treatment for amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, and methamphetamine abuse-induced psychosis states that about 5–15% of users fail to recover completely. The same review asserts that, based upon at least one trial, antipsychotic medications effectively resolve the symptoms of acute amphetamine psychosis. Methamphetamine psychosis may also develop occasionally as a treatment-emergent side effect.
Physical
The physical effects of methamphetamine can include loss of appetite, hyperactivity, dilated pupils, flushed skin, excessive sweating, increased movement, dry mouth and teeth grinding (leading to "meth mouth"), headache, irregular heartbeat (usually as accelerated or slowed heartbeat), rapid breathing, high blood pressure,
low blood pressure, high body temperature, diarrhea, constipation, blurred vision,
dizziness, twitching, numbness,
tremors, dry skin, acne, and pale appearance.
Methamphetamine that is present in a mother's
bloodstream can pass through the placenta to a fetus and is or may be secreted into breast milk. Infants born to methamphetamine-abusing mothers were found to have a significantly smaller
gestational age-adjusted head circumference and birth weight measurements.
Methamphetamine exposure was also associated with neonatal withdrawal symptoms of agitation, vomiting and fast breathing. This withdrawal syndrome is relatively mild and only requires medical intervention in approximately
4% of cases.
Methamphetamine users and addicts may lose their teeth abnormally quickly, regardless of the route of administration, from a condition informally known as meth mouth. The condition is generally most severe in users who inject the drug, rather than swallow, smoke, or inhale it. According to the American Dental Association, meth mouth "is probably caused by a combination of drug-induced psychological and physiological changes resulting in
xerostomia (dry mouth), extended periods of poor oral hygiene, frequent consumption
of high-calorie, carbonated beverages and bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching)".