Please help them find a treatment center and verify insurance coverage so they can focus on their recovery. Be prepared to uphold your healthy boundaries for their well-being and yours. With long-term use, it can also cause weight loss and lead to a more active sex drive.

More on Substance Abuse and Addiction

Recognizing the signs of meth addiction methamphetamine addiction in someone you care about is often the first step toward recovery. The sooner intervention happens, the better the chances of preventing long-term effects. This list is not exhaustive but provides a starting point for things to look out for if you believe a loved one might be using meth. In New York’s gay community, where meth has been popular since the late 1990s, it has contributed to an increase in infections of HIV/AIDS, which, until recently had been declining. “In New York, we’re seeing about 1,000 gay men every year become infected, and that’s just unacceptable,” says Staley, now an anti-meth activist in the gay community.

Adderall vs. Vyvanse: Similarities, Differences, and Effectiveness

Meth addiction is one of the hardest drug addictions to treat, but it can be done. If you know someone who can’t control their drug use, ask for professional help. You may grind your teeth, get dry mouth, or skip good dental hygiene practices when you use meth. People who frequently use meth often have teeth that break, turn black, rot, or fall out.

• Taking meth typically produces a rush of pleasurable feelings.
• Depending on how a person uses it, it may keep someone awake and alert for many hours.
• Methamphetamine, or meth, is a powerful stimulant that can make you feel more awake and active.
• The sooner intervention happens, the better the chances of preventing long-term effects.
• “When she was high, which was almost always, she had to be on the computer — diddling with programs to make them run faster, ordering freebies on the Internet,” writes Singer.

What Does It Mean To Have a Substance Abuse Problem?

Users are well aware that such feelings can quickly be countered by another dose. If a drug is so dangerous, so addictive, and so debilitating, why do people use it? Primarily, crystal meth is easy to get and cheap for how long the high lasts. For instance, a small amount of crystal meth that costs maybe ten dollars could allow one or two people to stay high and keep partying for a full day or longer.

Here, you will benefit from various medical interventions to help restore healthy functioning and deter relapse. It’s possible that some meth overdoses can be treated or reversed with immediate medical attention. Seek emergency care or call 911 if you believe you or someone else is experiencing meth toxicity or a drug overdose. It affects dopamine levels in the brain, creating a euphoric rush that’s hard to walk away from — even when you want to. Someone who uses methamphetamines will likely experience a high with a rush of energy.

Other NIDA Sites

• Behavioral changes are often the first signs someone is addicted to meth.
• Below, we’ll discuss all the physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms to watch for.
• You can only get it from your doctor, but it’s not used very much.
• If you’d like to stop using meth, you have options for confidential support and treatment.
• With the right support, tools, and evidence-based care, you can regain your energy, rebuild your focus, and reconnect with the life you deserve.

Using meth can cause long-term damage to the person’s health, which often persists even after the person has stopped using the drug. Listed below are the short-term and long-term effects of using meth. Since the effects of the drug start and fade quickly, people often take repeated doses in what is known as a binge and crash pattern. In fact, some people go on a “run,” which involves bingeing on the drug every few hours for several days at a time, without food or sleep. However, recreational use of meth is illegal because it is a highly addictive drug that impairs brain function and changes the person’s thoughts and actions.

Other reasons meth addicts cite for seeking out the drug include rapid weight loss and the way it lowers inhibitions and increases libido. Some people turn to crystal meth after their tolerance to a different drug has grown so much that they can no longer get high from that substance. Crystal meth can not only provide the high the addict is looking for, it also costs less and lasts longer.

Signs of Meth Use & Addiction

Methamphetamine hydrochloride (Desoxyn) is the only legal methamphetamine in the U.S. It’s a pill approved to treat ADHD, but doctors don’t prescribe it very often. Almost 2.5 million people in the U.S. aged 12 or older say they use meth every year.

Health Conditions

Since the treatment involves abstaining from the drug, the person may experience withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue, severe depression, anxiety, psychosis, and intense cravings for the drug during the detox process. There are many short-term and long-term effects of using crystal meth. Some of these effects will naturally subside on their own within a few hours while others could Drug rehabilitation take days or more to go away even after the last dose of crystal meth was administered. When diagnosing an SUD, a doctor may physically examine someone and discuss their medical history with them. A healthcare professional may wish to screen for psychiatric symptoms in order to rule out other disorders with similar symptoms.

Find more top doctors on

Sober living is a powerful bridge from treatment to independent life. For many, outpatient treatment is more accessible and sustainable — especially if you’re working, raising a family, or easing back into routine. CM retrains it using incentives like vouchers, gift cards, or privileges to rebuild motivation and self-control. It helps you identify the thoughts and triggers that fuel your addiction and replace them with healthier coping strategies. Mentally, it often coexists with conditions like Generalized Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, and Panic Disorder.