Health

The Damaging and Deadly Side of Meth Addiction

Using meth on a regular basis can bring about a variety of unfortunate side effects. Some of these include short-term memory loss, hyperactivity, paranoia (leading to bouts of severe paranoia), mood swings, an explosive temper, an increase in blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, sweating, and the fear of cardiac arrhythmia and stroke. Damage to the immune system can take place, and the user may experience severe depression that can lead to aggression, dangerous acts, and thoughts of suicide. It is not uncommon for individuals who use meth to suffer from auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, and paranoid delusions. Meth addiction can be broken down into three different patterns:

  • Low intensity
  • Binge
  • High intensity

When a person is abusing meth at low intensity, the person is using the drug on a more or less casual basis and is snorting or swallowing it. However, they have not become psychologically addicted to the drug. 

Those who are binge users and/or high-intensity users of meth have developed a psychological dependence on the drug. These individuals are inclined to inject or smoke the drug in order to achieve the powerful high as quickly as possible.

Binge users fall somewhere in the middle of usage as compared to their low-intensity and high-intensity counterparts. They use more than low-intensity users but less than those who are high-intensity. Meth is a very highly addictive drug psychologically; however, there is no evidence to support the fact that meth brings about a physical addiction in users.

Damaging and Deadly Side of Meth Addiction

Meth addiction has been rapidly growing over the past few decades. Many people try meth because it brings with it a pleasurable rush or flash that is then followed by a high that can last anywhere from six to eight hours. 

Some individuals start using meth in order to shed pounds, while others do it as a means of staying awake longer and also to have more energy if they work long hours. Still, others take it in the hope that it will give them more self-confidence and will increase their libidos. 

Unfortunately, the allure of meth can easily turn into a full-blown addiction to the drug that then requires the need for drug rehab. Methamphetamine is a drug that is extremely addictive and can cause damage to a person’s physical body, as well as cause emotional and mental problems. 

The downside of meth is the many negative attributes that accompany its frequent use. These problems include:

  • Increased heart rate
  • Increase in blood pressure
  • Increase in body temperature
  • Insomnia
  • Convulsions or tremors
  • Problems with breathing
  • Problems with memory
  • Decrease in appetite (potential for anorexia nervosa to develop)
  • Damage to the liver, lungs, and/or kidneys
  • Irreversible damage to the blood vessels found in the brain can lead to strokes

Increased risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS or of transmitting it to other people. The same can be said for hepatitis B and C and any other diseases that are related to sharing needles

The sooner a meth addict can receive addiction treatment, the better. Meth addiction does not simply go away on its own. The rate of recovery of the brain after using meth is not entirely understood by the scientific community. Meth addiction can cause injury to brain cells that continue to show months after the person stops using the drug. Even mild or moderate use of meth can lead to brain damage that cannot be reversed.

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