No one should assume the information provided on Addiction Resource as authoritative and should always defer to the advice and care provided by a medical doctor. Crystal meth, a highly addictive stimulant, poses severe health risks, including the potential for fatal overdose. Methamphetamine overdoses can occur quickly, with symptoms ranging from severe agitation and hyperthermia to heart attacks and seizures. Critics of expanded access to methadone outside OTPs sometimes argue that the medication should not be offered without accompanying behavioral treatment. In wait-list studies, methadone treatment was effective at reducing opioid use on its own, and patients stayed in treatment.
Risks of Meth Use
Methamphetamine is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In 2021, almost 1% of the U.S. population aged 12 or older said they’d used meth in the past year. In comparison, around 4.8 million people said they used cocaine in the same timeframe. The chances you’ll take too much meth are higher if you inject meth, but harmful or life-threatening health problems can happen no matter what method you use. Withdrawal can make you feel so bad that you can’t stop using meth. If you have serious psychological symptoms, you may hurt yourself or someone else.
Meth Addiction
Only trained and licensed medical professionals can provide such services. If you or anyone you know is undergoing a severe health crisis, call a doctor or 911 immediately. However, the duration of overdose symptoms can be equally alarming. Methamphetamine half-life has been reported as 10.1 hours (range 6.4–15 hours). Since meth remains active in the body for an extended period, side effects, such as delusional thinking, can last for up to 15 hours.
What Causes a Meth Overdose?
The primary effects of opioid agonists such as heroin include analgesia, euphoria, and respiratory depression [46]. On the other hand, methamphetamine has both acute and chronic effects on the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems [20], and has been implicated in various underlying cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases that result in death [47]. Respondents described a constellation of psychological and physical symptoms that they characterized as “overamping,” experienced on a continuum from less to more severe.
- They may unintentionally take dangerous amounts of methamphetamine, which can lead to an overdose.
- Methadone may even be preferable for patients considered to be at high risk for leaving OUD treatment and overdosing on fentanyl.
- You can’t take medication specifically approved to treat meth.
- KPS took part in conceptualization, data curation, project administration, supervision.
Public Health
After an initial round of coding, the coded transcripts were reviewed and discussed with team members and codes were further defined and refined, while memos were expanded to capture emergent ideas. Quotes are provided using a unique respondent identifier (e.g., “R13”), ethnicity, race, sex, age, location of interview, and drugs used most often by the respondent. Amphetamine type stimulants account for a significant share of illicit drug use globally [1,2,3,4,5]. Among amphetamine type stimulants, the most widely and commonly used is methamphetamine [5]. In the early 2000s, the highest prevalence of methamphetamine use was in Asian Regions [2].
Under this strategy, in 2023, HHS eliminated the X-waiver requirement for buprenorphine. But in the fentanyl era, expanded access to methadone too is essential, although there are even greater attitudinal bath salts abuse and addiction and structural barriers to overcome with this medication. People in methadone treatment, who must regularly visit an opioid treatment program (OTP), face stigma from their community and from providers.
Low-level exposure to methamphetamine could damage as much as 50% of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (brain chemical) that gives you the feeling of pleasure or happiness. Drug Enforcement Administration Schedule II classification group. This means that this drug has a high potential for abuse and can cause physical and psychological dependence.
Other related compounds include MDMA, (‘ecstasy,’ ‘Molly,’ ‘E’), MDEA, (‘Eve’), and MDA, (‘Sally,’ ‘sass’). If you or someone you know is experiencing a meth overdose, the safest step is to contact emergency medical services immediately. This can sometimes be difficult if the individual is also struggling with hallucinations or paranoia; however, the priority must remain on the safety of the individual experiencing an overdose. If you are with someone who experiences an overdose, it is important to let the first responders know what substances the person may have abused if you are aware. This can assist the medical professionals in reversing the drugs’ effects.
It cannot be stressed enough that medical care is essential in reducing the risk of serious medical complications during and after a meth overdose. Many antidepressants and similar medications target the same chemical receptors interacting with meth. This is done to help stabilize the effects of prices on alcohol use and its consequences pmc those who struggle with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and psychotic conditions. Pharmaceutical stimulants use chemical variants of amphetamine (e.g., Adderall) to assist individuals with conditions such as ADHD; however, in much smaller (and safer) dosages.
People who use meth for a long period of time experience many negative health outcomes as a result of their long-term use. A sudden overdose occurs when someone takes too much meth, either accidentally or on purpose, during a https://soberhome.net/a-proclamation-on-national-youth-substance-use/ single-use. If the overdose involved opioids, the person may be unconscious. Calling 911 and then helping them to breathe is key—through administration of naloxone (Narcan) and rescue breathing as instructed by 911 operators.
You fucking think someone’s coming or they’re out to get you or just whatever. Others talked about their hallucinations as more frightening, including one respondent who thought the devil was coming for her soul. Data were collected by trained qualitative interview staff using a loosely structured interview guide, in a private or semi-private location that was acceptable to the participants. In some cases, interviews were conducted in private rooms at our partner agencies’ offices, while in others they were conducted outside (e.g., in an encampment, at a participants’ dwelling).
It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Treatment can help people overcome chronic methamphetamine abuse that can lead to overdose. At meth addiction treatment, clients receive evidence-based care that fits their specific needs. Addiction Resource is an educational platform for sharing and disseminating information about addiction and substance abuse recovery centers. Addiction Resource is not a healthcare provider, nor does it claim to offer sound medical advice to anyone. Addiction Resource does not favor or support any specific recovery center, nor do we claim to ensure the quality, validity, or effectiveness of any particular treatment center.
In general, people use it a little less often than other stimulants such as cocaine. Most of the crystal meth and other meth products used in this country are made by transactional criminal organizations (TCOs)in Mexico. In addition to these Mexican “superlabs,” there are many small home labs in the U. S. Making meth is a dangerous process because of the chemicals involved.
