Symptoms of Meth Addiction

Below are the following early signs and symptoms of methamphetamine addiction:

Methamphetamine can be snorted, injected, eaten, or smoked. Users may leave behind small bags of white powder or pieces of foil or syringes. Disassembled ball-point pens may be left behind since the hallowed-out shafts can be used to snort methamphetamine.

When smoked, methamphetamine will give off a pungent odor, like the smell of burnt plastic or cleaning chemicals. User’s pupils will appear dilated when under the influence of methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine is a powerful and dangerous drug and comes with a risk of overdose. Signs include:

Methamphetamine can cause dangerous overheating and can induce a heart attack, convulsions, stroke, and eventually, death.

Long-term effects of methamphetamine are horrible for the user. They may experience chronic depression and anxiety, as well as memory problems and psychosis. Methamphetamine is made of harsh and caustic chemicals, and the effects on the body are hard, aging many users well beyond their years.

Chronic meth use causes the user to experience extreme paranoia and in some cases, hallucinations. Also, long-term meth users report experiencing tactile sensations, or the feeling of ‘bugs crawling beneath the skin.’ With these sensations, coupled with paranoia and faulty thinking, users will compulsively pick and scratch at their skin.

Drug addiction causes the user to stop taking care of themselves. Often, the picking and scratching lead to open sores, which become infected. Users will not seek treatment for these sores, and many active meth users will present with numerous scabs and open wounds on their faces, arms, and legs. Open, infected skin sores can cause other adverse health consequences, such as staph infections and more severe cases, MERSA or septicemia.

Methamphetamine addiction is deadly and can cause long-term, adverse health effects on the recovered addict. But the sooner a person seeks treatment, the less likely they are to experience life-long problems related to meth use.

In a rehabilitation facility, users can detox in a safe environment under the supervision of medical staff. Since methamphetamine cessation can cause depression and psychosis, it is not recommended that users attempt to detox at home. In a medical facility, doctors can prescribe safe, legal drugs to lessen the effects of methamphetamine withdrawal, lowering the risks of relapse.

After detox, patients can receive the care they need from trained counselors so they can live a life free from the dangers of methamphetamine addiction. In therapy, counselors help individuals cope with life stressors and adverse events with emotional resilience and positive thinking and reinforcement. Equipt with these new skills, people in recovery are less likely to relapse and can move on with their lives once a methamphetamine addiction is broken.

Addiction to methamphetamine is a pernicious, stubborn substance use disorder and particularly hard to recognize when a person makes an effort to hide their abuse of this highly addictive substance. Fortunately for friends and family of the one affected, there are some revealing indications and early signs of methamphetamine addiction to look for.

While using meth, people often show these early signs:

If you or someone you care about is abusing meth, call us at (855) 491-7694. We want to craft a completely personalized addiction treatment program to help you or the one you care about regain his life.