Meth Addiction Treatment & Rehab

Important Notice Regarding Meth Addiction

Are you or someone you know struggling with an addiction to meth? If you are, you should know that you are not alone in this fight. Countless Americans struggle each year with various substance use disorders, including meth abuse. The silver lining is that there is hope, and through the proper treatment, you can be well on your way to a life…recovered.

If you suspect someone close to you is battling an addiction to meth, it is important to be prepared. You can do this by educating yourself on meth abuse, the warning signs and symptoms, the withdrawal symptoms associated with the disorder and how to find quality treatment.

If you or a loved one needs immediate help, please contact us today.

Understanding Meth Addiction

Meth (methamphetamine) is a central nervous system stimulant with a particularly strong addiction rate. It is cheap and easy to make, and as such is one of the most popular illegal drugs available on the market. For some regions in the United States, meth is even more common than other big names like heroin and cocaine. It begins to make long-term changes to the brain after only its first use, and as a result greatly increases the chance of addiction for anyone who tries meth. Overtime, a user is likely to develop a dependency to meth and their body will begin to see the drug as a necessity for survival.

Meth addiction has a long list of dangerous side effects and depending on the duration of use, some side effects can become permanent.

Breaking free from a meth addiction is an incredibly challenging task, but it is not impossible. With the right tools and professional help, the chance at a life free from meth is possible.

What is Meth?

It may come as a surprise to many, but meth was once legally prescribed by doctors as a decongestant, antidepressant and weight loss aid. The reason for this is that meth is a central nervous system stimulant and anorectic (an appetite suppressant), and up until 1971 it was available in tablet or injectable forms. However, in 1971 it was mostly illegalized with the Controlled Substance Act. Only one type of meth remains on the market and is used to treat obesity and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). All other meth in the United States is made illegally as a street drug that has been popular since the 1980s.

Meth falls under the same drug class as cocaine and shares many of its addictive properties. The process for creating meth is relatively simple but very dangerous. Its main ingredients are usually Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine, which are stimulants and water. When they are manufactured into a consumable form, it gives off gas and spillage which are toxic and highly combustible byproducts. For this reason, meth “laboratory” explosions are a common and deadly risk to drug suppliers.

The drug can come in two forms: meth and crystal meth. While these are the same ingredients, what makes them different is their appearance and means of use. Meth is a powder that is usually smoked and comes in a white, yellow, pink or brown color. It has a bitter taste and odor and can be dissolved in a liquid for intravenous use. The other common means of use are snorting and smoking the drug, and on rarer occasions it can be found as a pill.

Crystal meth is, as the name implies, meth in a crystalized form. It will be clear or blue and is frequently described as looking like small bits of ice. In this form, it is usually smoked.

How Addictive is Meth and Why?

Meth is three times more powerful than cocaine and has one of the highest addiction rates, making it one of the most difficult drugs to quit. In order to break free from a meth addiction and achieve long-term sobriety, it is imperative to seek professional help.

What makes meth so addictive is how it affects the brain with each use. When used, meth gives the individual a rush followed by a strong and powerful high. It does this by prompting the brain to release strong waves of dopamine and norepinephrine through the body. Norepinephrine is another name for adrenaline and is responsible for the rush, while dopamine is a pleasure endorphin that causes the high. Both affect the body’s limbic system, which manages emotion and memory.

While these chemicals are naturally occurring in your brain and nervous system, meth prompts them to occur in large quantities, gradually overriding the brain’s sense of control. This retrains the body to crave the chemical more than it should, making the brain believe it cannot survive without the presence of the chemical at all times.  While addiction is unlikely to develop after the first use, changes within the brain happen immediately, strongly urging the user to try meth again.

While the first few times trying meth will be a conscious choice, it will soon move from the prefrontal cortex to the hindbrain due to the drug’s effects. Once there, it shifts from a choice to a non-voluntary requirement on par with breathing and blinking. This renders the individual truly addicted as use becomes a survival mechanism.

Once a person crosses the threshold from initial use to dependence and addiction, it is often difficult for them to stop without the help of professionals. If they abruptly stop use, they may find themselves in a state of withdrawal, a process where the body experiences physical and psychological side effects because the drug is removed from their system. It is highly recommended to seek the help of experienced and licensed professionals to oversee the process of detox, as these professionals can help mitigate the dangers associated with withdrawal.

Symptoms of Meth Use

Unlike some drugs, meth displays a large number of easily noticeable physical symptoms that signal use and addiction. Common physical symptoms of meth addiction include:

One particularly strange psychological symptom that is common for meth use is a feeling often described as insects crawling underneath the skin. The official term for this is formication and the “insects” are called meth mites. There are not actually insects there, but rather the sensation stems from hallucinations, sores and other meth symptoms. This symptom is a staple of long-term meth use and may be recognized visibly by how users pick and scratch at their own skin.

Dangerous Meth Combinations

To increase profits, drug dealers regularly cut meth with other ingredients so they can carry out a larger number of sales with a smaller quantity of the drug. These extra ingredients are common household substances or prescription medications and impact the effects of the drug, often presenting new risks that a user might not be prepared for.

Some of the most common drugs to be mixed with meth and their effects include:

• Alcohol – Meth hides the sedative effects of alcohol, encouraging the user to drink more than they otherwise might. This can lead to high blood pressure, hallucinations and psychosis, chronic liver damage, cancer, and death.
• Opiates – Known as a “speedball,” this combo produces a greatly enhanced high, to the point that a user may find it difficult to react to their environment, that even walking becomes a challenge. It increases the chance of being injured as well as the possibility of an opioid overdose since meth speeds up the circulatory system.
• Xanax – The anti-anxiety medication is combined with meth side effects common to the drug. This combination is overwhelmingly addictive and can cause heart failure.
• Suboxone – Prompts a milder variation of speedball since it contains a low dose of opioids with the same increased risk of overdose.
• Klonopin – Mistakenly believed to help a user come down from a meth high, this drug masks some effects of meth and increases the chance of an overdose and heart failure.
• Ecstasy – Increases energy and pleasant feelings beyond meth alone and adds a higher chance for hallucinations. The combination is likely to kill users by raising body temperature until the body’s systems shut down, also known as overheating.
• Viagra – Due to high risk sexual behaviors, it increases the transmission of sexually transmitted infections and diseases (HIV).
• Fentanyl- Overdose leading to respiratory failure and death.

Diagnosis of Meth Addiction

When diagnosing a person for a methamphetamine use disorder, patient history is a vital tool utilized by physicians, since many symptoms are psychological and spotted through major behavioral shifts. As such, it is imperative that the patient be as open and honest about their drug use as possible, so their physician may properly treat them.

Some of the criteria that doctors use for assessing an addiction include:

Demographics of Meth Addiction

Because of meth’s highly addictive nature, the Drug Enforcement Administration requires pharmaceutical manufacturers who sell the legal variant to carefully measure and track each shipment, to ensure it does not end up on the black market.

Unfortunately, due to how easy it is to make, this does not stop the spread of the drug and when viewed nationwide, meth is the fourth most common illegal drug responsible for patient admittance to emergency departments. The actual percentages vary based on region, with the highest intakes found in rural areas, particularly in western and midwestern states. Hawaii and other tropical areas also have high rates, with meth often taking the top spot as the drug with the greatest consumption and most abuse cases.

Get Help for a Meth Addiction Today

Breaking free from a meth addiction is a difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be done alone. At Brookdale, we can provide you or your loved one with the necessary medical and clinical support needed to overcome addiction. While in our care, we will assess your individual needs and tailor treatment plans to specifically address your disease.

Yes, change is often difficult and scary, but staying stuck in the cycle of addiction is worse. Let today be the day that you choose something better for yourself and those you love, because you deserve it. For more information about Brookdale and the services we offer, please contact us today at (855) 575-1292.