Methamphetamine Addiction

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use which is accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain. In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic methamphetamine abusers exhibit symptoms that can include violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. They also can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions. The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts. With chronic use, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. Users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while injecting as much as a gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue. Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can be coupled with extremely violent behavior.

A short stay in a rehab hospital is sometimes and important and vital beginning to the drug rehabilitation process. This is not required in all cases by a long ways. However some extreme cases of alcoholism as well as some cases of prescription drug abuse necessitate very close medical supervision. These substances can present life threatening side affects is use is ceased cold turkey. This is quite different from randomly giving out substitute drugs because someone is uncomfortable or fearful. This should be evaluated by competent medical professionals who are thoroughly familiar with the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. Most addicts do well with a drug free withdrawal process, while a small percentage are going to require a medically supervised step down at a rehab hospital.

How does one begin to decide if drug and alcohol rehab is needed for self or loved ones? Beginning with an understanding of what addiction is, offers a good starting point. Addiction is a condition characterized by repeated, compulsive seeking and use of drugs, alcohol or other similar substances despite social, mental, and physical consequences. If you or your loved one fits the above definition, or even part of it, then drug and alcohol rehab is indicated and should be seriously considered. Most addicts or alcoholics didn’t start out with this as their goal in using drugs or alcohol. As addiction progresses the individual has less and less control over their use. The progression of alcoholism leads inevitably to one of three outcomes – jail, death, or sobriety.

Addiction is a condition characterized by repeated compulsive seeking and use of drugs, alcohol or other substances despite adverse social, mental and physical consequences. Next to methamphetamine, cocaine creates the greatest psychological dependence of any drug. Compulsive cocaine use develops much more rapidly when the substance is smoked rather than snorted. A tolerance to cocaine develops quickly – the addict soon fails to achieve as much pleasure as he or she did from the same amount of cocaine earlier. Thus more and more cocaine is needed more and more often to maintain the same effect. Along with this increased use come increased health risks.

With most drugs there are short term effect, long term effects and addiction side effects which would actually be long term effects resulting from abusive use of illegal drugs and addiction to prescription drugs that can occur even at what is commonly considered ‘safe’ levels. Anti-depressants are a case in point. Many of these legal medications have serious side effects including increased violent behavior as well as suicidal ideation when taken at prescribed levels, especially in youth. Add in the fact that many of these drugs are taken at abusive non-prescribed levels as well as mixed with other prescription drugs and illegal street drugs. With the current trends in abuse and addiction inpatient medically supervised withdrawal is vital in most cases of addiction treatment.