Author: James Anderson

Methamphetamine overdose: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

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. During World War II, soldiers took meth to stay awake. People have also taken the drug to lose weight, ease depression, and manage attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

That means more than half of people who use meth go on to misuse the drug. Meth is extremely addictive, and you may find yourself pulled toward using it more often once you feel the positive effects. You may continue to use meth because of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that come once the drug leaves your system.

1. Meth contains chemicals that are similar to amphetamine, a drug used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy.
2. Psychosis and paranoia may last up to 1 year, even with aggressive medical treatment.
3. Medicines that are legally used to treat cold symptoms, such as decongestants, can be made into methamphetamines.
4. Crystal methamphetamine usually looks like glass chunks or shiny bluish-white rocks.

Doctors may use physical restraints in overdoses (or acute intoxication) to prevent harm to themselves or others. Physical restraints may be bandages or cuffs restricting a person’s movement. Scars can form in your veins when you put drugs into them with needles.

Meth Addiction Treatment

Methamphetamine can have drug-alcohol or drug-drug interactions. Doctors may administer a crystalloid intravenously to eliminate the drug through the urine. Crystalloids are mineral salts and other small, water-soluble molecules.

A much weaker form of the drug is used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Medicines that are legally used to treat cold symptoms, such as decongestants, can be made into methamphetamines. Other related compounds include MDMA, (‘ecstasy,’ ‘Molly,’ ‘E’), MDEA, (‘Eve’), and MDA, (‘Sally,’ ‘sass’). Also called “ice” or “glass,” it’s a popular party drug. Usually, people who use crystal meth smoke it with a small glass pipe, but they may also swallow it, snort it, or inject it into a vein.

People say they have a quick rush of euphoria shortly after using crystal meth, but it’s dangerous. It can damage your body and cause severe psychological problems. Psychosis and paranoia may last up to 1 year, even with aggressive medical treatment.

Long-Term Side Effects of Meth Use

You’ll typically pay less out-of-pocket if you go to “in-network” providers. Always call 911 or go to the hospital if you or a loved one has signs of a meth overdose. Tell emergency responders or doctors about the drug use. Health professionals aren’t there to report you to the police. You can have physical and psychological symptoms when you stop using meth. How you’ll feel off the drug depends largely on how often you use it and at what doses.

Polydrug use is when you mix drugs or take one drug while under the influence of another drug. You can have serious side effects and health problems from drug use. Some can affect your physical appearance while others can be fatal. If you use meth while you’re pregnant, you may give birth early or have a baby with a low birth weight. You may use meth to make sex more pleasurable or to lower your inhibitions.

Too much of this drug can fatally cause a heart attack or stroke. Drug Enforcement Administration Schedule II classification group. This means that this drug has a high potential for abuse and can cause physical and psychological dependence. In 2021, almost 1% of the U.S. population aged 12 or older said they’d used meth in the past year. In comparison, around 4.8 million people said they used cocaine in the same timeframe.

Before Calling Emergency

In the past, middle-aged white people used this cheap drug most often. But over the past decade, rates have gone up among Black people and younger folks aged 18-23. Almost 2.5 million people in the U.S. aged 12 or older say they use meth every year. 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.

All of these can cause serious, life threatening injuries and conditions. This is what happens shortly after you stop taking meth. Your withdrawal symptoms will be strongest during the first 24 hours or so and typically last about 7-10 days. Most of the crystal meth and other meth products used in this country are made by transactional criminal organizations (TCOs)in Mexico.

Meth is typically a white pill or powder that doesn’t have a smell but tastes bitter. Crystal methamphetamine usually looks like glass chunks or shiny bluish-white rocks. If crystal meth comes as more of a powder, it’ll have a bitter taste like other kinds of meth.

Meth Complications

You may seek out more meth to make these feelings go away. How well a person does depends on the amount of drug they took and how quickly they were treated. The faster a person gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery. When this happens, you could become disoriented and lose good judgment.