Addiction Treatment
HomeAll drugs of abuse are a five year battle for the patient's life. It is only at the five year clean and sober point that the relapse rates drop to around zero. Methamphetamine and all drugs damage brain and it takes awhile for the damage to be reversed.
Here is a SPECT scan of a normal brain and a brain with years of amphetamine abuse taken by the www.amenclinic.com. For more brain scans go to www.brainplace.com.
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You can see the damage that has to be corrected over many years with sobriety and a healthy lifestyle. That is what amphetamine treatment is all about; teaching the patient how to feel good without drugs. This usually takes the patient several weeks in an inpatient setting and then several months or years in a halfway house. Continued monitoring is mandatory for compliance to the treatment program. At first the patient may feel incredibly irritable and depressed. They may even be psychotic and need antidepressant and antipsychotic medication. The patient may need these medications for weeks months or years. Withdrawal is not difficult if the patient follows the instructions of the treatment center and takes their medications as directed.
Amphetamine treatment means the patient needs to get honest, go to NA meetings and help others there and get on a spiritual journey to God. Honesty, helping others and a spiritual journey gives the patient peace and with this peace the desire to use drugs goes away.
Methamphetamine is described by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA www.nida.nih.gov) website as an addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. Methamphetamine is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. Both drugs have some medical uses, primarily in the treatment of obesity, but their therapeutic use is limited.
Methamphetamine is made in illegal laboratories and has a high potential for abuse and dependence. Street methamphetamine is referred to by many names, such as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." Methamphetamine hydrochloride, clear chunky crystals resembling ice, which can be inhaled by smoking, is referred to as "ice," "crystal," and "glass."
Health Hazards
Methamphetamine releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates brain cells, enhancing mood and body movement. It also appears to have a neurotoxic effect, damaging brain cells that contain dopamine and serotonin, another neurotransmitter. Over time, methamphetamine appears to cause reduced levels of dopamine, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinson's disease, a severe movement disorder.
Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), by intravenous injection, and by smoking. Immediately after smoking or intravenous injection, the methamphetamine user experiences an intense sensation, called a "rush" or "flash," that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria - a high, but not a rush. Users may become addicted quickly, and use it with increasing frequency and in increasing doses.
Animal research going back more than 20 years shows that high doses of methamphetamine damage neuron cell-endings. Dopamine- and serotonin-containing neurons do not die after methamphetamine use, but their nerve endings ("terminals") are cut back and re-growth appears to be limited.
The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death.
Methamphetamine causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of methamphetamine include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme anorexia. Its use can result in cardiovascular collapse and death.
A study in Seattle confirmed that methamphetamine use was widespread among the city's homosexual and bisexual populations. Of these groups, members using methamphetamine reported they practice sexual and needle-use behaviors that place them at risk of contracting and transmitting HIV and AIDS.
Extent of Use Monitoring the Future Study (MTF)*
MTF assesses the extent of drug use among adolescents (8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders) and young adults across the country. Recent data from the survey indicate the following:
- In 2004, 6.2 percent of high school seniors had reported lifetime** use of methamphetamine, statistically unchanged from 2003. Lifetime use was measured at 5.3 percent of 10th grade students.
- Eighth-graders reported significant decreases in lifetime, annual, and 30-day use.
Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG)**
Results reported at the most recent CEWG meetings indicate that methamphetamine abuse and production continue at high levels in Hawaii, west coast areas, and some southwestern areas of the United States—but methamphetamine abuse also is continuing to spread eastward.
The percentage of adult male arrestees testing methamphetamine-positive in 2003 were highest in Honolulu (40.3 percent), Phoenix (38.3) San Diego (36.2), and Los Angeles (28.7).
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)***
According to the 2003 NSDUH, 12.3 million Americans age 12 and older had tried methamphetamine at least once in their lifetimes (5.2 percent of the population), with the majority of past-year users between 18 and 34 years of age. Significant decreases in past year use were seen among 12- to 17-year-olds.
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