1. Crystal Meth

This form of meth is a highly addictive and strong drug that impacts your body’s nervous system and can cause serious psychological issues.

This drug is available in a powder form that can be snorted.

This form of meth gets its name from its crystal-like appearance. What makes it so dangerous is that it is highly purified, as extra refining is performed to remove impurities.

The Feelings You Get from Crystal Meth

The potent rush that individuals experience when using the crystal form of this drug causes many of them to become hooked on it right away.

When you use crystal meth, a chemical known as dopamine floods areas of your brain responsible for regulating pleasure feelings. You may also feel energetic and confident.

If you continue to use the drug to experience the rush that comes with it, you’ll eventually develop a tolerance to it. As a result, you’ll need higher doses of meth to experience the high you used to experience with smaller amounts of it.

Unfortunately, the larger your doses of crystal meth are, the greater the risks.

The Effects of Crystal Meth

When you use crystal meth, your pupils will remain large, and your eyes may move rapidly. In addition, you’ll feel like you can’t keep still, and you’ll become talkative.

People who’ve developed an addiction to meth also typically complain about experiencing withdrawal symptoms if they go days or even hours without using the drug.

These withdrawal symptoms include the following:

  • Feeling violent
  • Feeling depressed
  • Breaking out in cold sweats
  • Experiencing panic attacks
  • Feeling hungry
  • Feeling tired

In addition, meth may drive up your body temperature, thus causing you to pass out. You could even pass away as a result of this.

People may notice a dramatic change in your looks as well. For instance, your skin might become dull, and you may start to age quickly. You may also quit caring about your appearance.

You might even develop pimples and sores that are difficult to heal. Other apparent signs that you’re having a problem with meth are rotting, stained, and broken teeth.

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Additional Crystal Meth Use Signs

One of the most severe side effects of becoming addicted to meth is feeling paranoid.

For example, you might see and hear things that are not there. These hallucinations may drive you to hurt other people or yourself. You could also feel like bugs are crawling under or on your skin.

Crystal meth is also dangerous in that it lessens your inhibitions and affects your judgment. For instance, you might be more inclined to practice unsafe sex, thus putting you at greater risk for HIV and AIDS.

Here are some other indicators that you’re struggling with a crystal meth addiction:

  • Dry mouth
  • You are constantly picking at your skin or hair.
  • Odd sleeping patterns, like going days without sleeping
  • Erratic, jerky movements, including facial tics and twitching
  • Exaggerated or animated mannerisms
  • Appetite and weight loss
  • Mood swings and angry outbursts

You might also find yourself stealing, selling your possessions, or asking to borrow money often to support your meth habit.

2. Glass (Also Known as Ice)

Crystal meth and glass are often used interchangeably. This is because glass is rock hard and crystal clear, thus resembling crystal meth.

However, the chemical make-up of these two forms of meth is different.

Glass is between 90% and 100% meth whose crystalline form resembles rock salt. As a result, it is the most powerful and purest form of meth.

Crystal meth, on the other hand, is a powder with varying purity levels, as mentioned earlier.

Glass, which goes by the names of shabu, ice cream, and crank, can be injected when it’s heated. You can also swallow, inhale, or smoke it. However, most users smoke it, which provides them with an even greater level of euphoria that they can’t get with snorted crystal meth.

Since glass is a lot purer than crystal meth, it’ll give you a more extended high than crystal meth can. You may still feel high 24 hours after using it. This synthetic drug’s high purity level also makes it far more addictive than crystal meth.

The Effects of Glass

Here are some common side effects of using glass:

  • Psychosis
  • Paranoia
  • Anxiety
  • Hallucinations
  • Teeth grinding
  • Dilated pupils
  • Meth mouth
  • Meth sores
  • Bacterial infections
  • Malnutrition

If you use too much of this manufactured drug, you could easily overdose and lose your life as a result.

3. Speed

This is the form of meth that you can typically purchase on the street.

Unlike glass, speed is greasy, powdery, and poorly cut. Part of its draw is that it’s a lot cheaper than glass, but that’s because it’s less pure.

In some cases, it’s just 1% meth.

With moderate or low doses of meth, you may experience the following side effects:

  • Hallucinations and paranoia
  • Increased libido, or sex drive
  • Feelings of excitement and happiness
  • Increased motivation
  • Feelings of superiority and power
  • Greater strength
  • Increased talkativeness
  • Quicker reaction times
  • Dizziness
  • Headaches
  • Aggression, irritability, and hostility
  • Panic, agitation, nervousness, and anxiety
  • Repeating simple acts
  • The feeling of being alert and awake
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Shifts in your speech and thinking
  • Uncomfortable itching
  • Increased sweating and body temperature

When it comes to your physical health, you may also experience stomach cramps if you swallow the drug, along with the dry mouth and enlarged pupils.

Some particularly severe health effects of speed are a more rapid breathing rate, increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, and chest pain.

If you consume large doses of speed, you can also experience the following serious issues:

  • Tremors
  • Blurred vision
  • Losing your coordination
  • Breathing irregularly
  • Collapse
  • Stroke
  • Seizures
  • Coma
  • Rapid heart pounding

If you frequently use heavy doses of this drug, you could also experience hallucinations, and paranoid delusions, and your behavior may become violent or aggressive.

As this drug’s effects start to wear off, you may feel exhausted and lethargic. You could even feel depressed, anxious, tense, restless, and irritable.

However, these symptoms typically go away several days after you quit using speed.

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Why Meth Addiction Is So Serious

Whether you decide to use crystal meth, glass, or speed, the drug can quickly take a toll on your health.

For instance, you may end up suffering from liver and kidney problems, as well as stroke. You may also be more susceptible to Parkinson’s disease.

When you look at the research, the health-related dangers of meth are especially apparent.

Data from 2017 show that the number of people who pursued medical help after taking meth was greater than the sum of people who sought help after consuming alcohol and cannabis combined. This makes it one of the most deadly drugs.

Meth also appears to negatively impact women more than it does men, although researchers aren’t sure why. A little more than 8% of women needed medical help after taking meth compared with nearly 4% of men.

What makes meth addiction particularly troubling is that this drug produces an extremely pleasurable feeling that can dissipate before the drug’s concentration in your blood decreases. As a result, you can easily binge on it.

The severity and length of a meth binge vary among users. However, it’s not uncommon for people to neglect eating or sleeping for several days. After that point, medical treatment might be necessary.

A Glimpse at Meth Treatment

If you are struggling with meth addiction, your loved ones may encourage you to seek treatment. After all, they may be worried about the harm you are doing to yourself.

The reality is that you’re better off getting help now before you get arrested for taking illegal drugs. In this situation, the choice will no longer be in your hands.

Also, since meth can have such a severe impact on your brain and other organs long term, it’s critical that you intervene sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, treatment centers and professional interventionists are available that have experience with fighting meth addiction.

Your first step? You’ll need to inquire about the type of coverage available to you through your insurer. Then, you can look for a rehab center and treatment facility that meets the particular criteria that addiction to meth requires.

Meth addiction is among the hardest addictions to beat. Between 30 days and 60 days is required to detox. Then, you’ll need extra time to tackle those underlying issues that resulted in your addiction.

An individualized and comprehensive treatment program that will cover you for the long haul is recommended.

Note that detoxification on its own simply isn’t enough to overcome your meth addiction. It’s paramount that you complete therapy as well to avoid relapse. If a person relapses, they might not get a second chance at kicking their drug habit.

Behavioral therapy is considered to be the most powerful treatment for addiction to meth.

Additional Considerations

Other effective parts of the drug addiction intervention process include family education, the positive reinforcement of activities not related to drugs, drug testing, and counseling.

As of now, no particular medications have been approved to be used in meth addiction. However, clinical research is currently in progress that is looking at vaccine or medication used for treating this type of drug addiction.

Also, a drug called bupropion (Wellbutrin), which is prescribed for depression, has been proven to decrease moderate or low meth cravings when used along with behavioral therapy. It’s believed that bupropion prevents the re-uptake of dopamine and norepinephrine in a drug user.

The most important thing, though, is that you find a program that has strong inpatient treatment and a solid aftercare component. This will ensure that you have the support you need to transition to healthy, drug-free living.

How We Can Help

We offer top-notch treatment services to help families find a personalized drug rehab that will accept your insurance.

Many treatment centers are willing to guide you into recovery from the three types of meth discussed above. The question is, how exactly do you choose the best one for your needs?

Our goal is to make the decision much easier by providing you with dependable input on various treatment providers.

When you talk to individual rehab centers, you may feel like you’re repeatedly being sold to. This is why many people who are struggling with addiction turn to us before talking to rehab center staff members.

We are dedicated to making sure that you choose a center that will effectively meet your unique needs.

Here is our four-step process. First, we’ll help you to pinpoint a starting point for your treatment. Second, we’ll help to secure intervention services for you.

Third, we’ll work directly with your insurance provider. And finally, we’ll help you to select the best rehab center.

Get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help you to finally break free from the grip of meth addiction and get your life back.