The Crystal Trap

As with many other Amphetamines, methamphetamine can be snorted, smoked, injected, and eaten.  How it is introduced into the body has a lot to do with how hard and fast the effects take place and, to a degree, how damaging the Drug is for that one instance.   It can even effect how quickly the abuser becomes addicted.   

     First Date

Smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user experiences an intense “Rush” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable.   The initial effects of meth  can last from a few minutes to a half hour, until the body becomes more tolerant to the drug’s influence and the feelings subside to some degree.  But the effects of the drug aren’t over at that point.  

After the initial rush from methamphetamine subsides there is a period of high wakefulness and hyperactivity that can last several hours to half a day.  

Both the rush and the high are believed to result from the release of very high levels of the Neurotransmitter Dopamine into areas of the brain that regulate feelings of pleasure and wakefulness.

That first intense experience can be alluring and when the rush passes, some users will try to maintain the high by continuing to use more and more of the drug.   This leads to a phenomenon known as binging and crashing.   The user attempts to keep the highly pleasurable sensations of the rush going while trying desperately to avoid the pain of coming down, known as the crash.   

Now the rush is over and to experience it again means to take more of the drug.  But this time the body has developed a bit of a Tolerance to this particular toxin, meaning it will require a higher and higher dose to approach the feelings of that original high.  This tolerance builds faster in some drugs than in others.   Methamphetamine is one drug to which the body builds a tolerance relatively quickly and higher doses and faster re-dosing only serve to further speed the Addiction process along.    

     The Thrill is Gone

As a tolerance to the drug builds, users tend to take higher and higher doses with greater and greater frequency, eventually leading to addiction.   Now the pleasures experienced when first using the substance are only memories and the goal now is to simply maintain.   

But that is getting harder and harder too.  

The toll that methamphetamine takes on addicts is tremendous and is much less obvious to the drug users than to those around them.   Appearance and hygiene are all but ignored.  Sleep is rare and unsatisfying and body weight drops like a rock.  Other side effects include:

Dependence
Addiction
Psychosis
Paranoia
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Stroke
“Meth Mouth”,  (Rapid rotting of the teeth and gums)
Aggression
Cardiac arrhythmia
Welts or sores on the skin
The term “Tweaker” is a pretty descriptive slang term referring to these meth addicts.  Reality is not their strong point anymore.  They’ve whittled themselves down to shadows of who they were before meth and one of the things they’ve lost most is judgment.  

    Meth Robots

Meth addicts are functioning for one purpose, to use methamphetamine and kill the pain or get high.   Whatever they say or even think is colored by their addiction and cravings.  An unfortunate fact with addicts is that their honesty and dignity are, although loudly proclaimed, non-existent.   Compulsive drug seeking and intense cravings don’t leave much room for things like integrity.    

As counselors in the rehabilitation field, we know that the person who walks in for help with meth addiction is merely a shell of who they really are.  The actual person is likely to not show up for a week or two, and then only briefly.  Until the drug is out of their system and even the toxic residues that lodge in the fatty tissues of the body are eliminated, we’re only going to see the actual personality of this individual for moments at a time.   

In our centers, we address both the physical and mental aspects of Meth addiction.   The process of Withdrawal is gone through with a minimum of discomfort and in all but the most extreme cases without the use of other drugs.   

Then the toxic residue is cleansed from the former addict’s body, removing the most major impediment to recovery.    

Finally, the process of rebuilding begins.   Already, the robot is gone and the person who was buried under addiction, perhaps for years, re-emerges.   

     Recovery from Meth Addiction

Although meth is a very addictive drug and one of the hardest to recover from, rehabilitation can be achieved.   Everyday in our centers, former meth users are accomplishing goals and reaching for the lives they deserve, without the fear and ruin that WAS their only possible destination had they continued to use.   

This recovery cannot occur unless the first step is taken.  Whether the user is a family member or friend or even yourself, the first step is to ask for help.  Call for a free consultation.  The sooner you call, the easier the recovery. 

Call 888-966-3784 now and speak with one of our counselors.   It could make all the difference.   Call now.