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Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
Methamphetamines are synthetic amphetamines or stimulants that are manufactured and sold illegally in pill form, capsules, powder and chunks. Methamphetamine is a chemical that has stimulant properties similar to adrenaline. Like adrenaline, methamphetamines stimulate the CNS, and are extremely addictive. After the effects of methamphetamine wears off, it can cause severe withdrawal symptoms that are more intense and longer lasting than both speed and coke. Meth may be known as crystal meth, crank, glass, speed, crystal, ice, batu, chalk, shabu, or zip.
The high-intensity abusers are the meth addicts, often called speed freaks.
Their whole existence focuses on preventing the crash, and they seek that elusive,
perfect rush--the rush they had when they first started smoking or injecting
meth.
With high-intensity meth abuser, each successive rush becomes less
euphoric, and it takes more meth to achieve that rush. Each rush is
not quite as high as the rush before. During each subsequent binge,
the abuser needs more meth, more often, to get a high that is not as
good as the high he wants to acheive or remembers. The user gets in
tolerance stage of methamphetamine.
Tweaking for the high-intensity abuser is still the most dangerous
time to confront the person because tweakers are extremely unpredictable
and short-tempered. The crash is often spoken of in terms of "I
never sleep," or "I sleep with one eye open." In an attempt
to appear normal, perhaps because of an appointment with a doctor,
lawyer, or court official, high-intensity abusers will make themselves
take short naps; otherwise, they see no need to come down from the
high.
Methamphetamine tweakers
Tweaking for the high-intensity abuser is still the most dangerous time to confront the person because tweakers are extremely unpredictable and short-tempered. The crash is often spoken of in terms of "I never sleep," or "I sleep with one eye open." In an attempt to appear normal, perhaps because of an appointment with a doctor, lawyer, or court official, high-intensity abusers will make themselves take short naps; otherwise, they see no need to come down from the high. The fact that a law officer is confronting the tweaker makes him more dangerous, not just to the officer on the scene but also to anyone close by. When tweaking, the methamphetamine abuser could have not slept in 3-15 days and consequently will be extremely irritable and unpredictable. The tweaker craves more meth, but no dosage will help re-create the euphoric rush. The result is a strong feeling of uncontrollable frustration that makes the tweaker unpredictable and dangerous.
1. First, people who can get close enough to see the tweaker's eyes should
look for a horizontal-gaze nistagmus. This phenomenon occurs when the meth
user, who is also using alcohol, looks out of the corner of his eyes, and the
eyes jerk back and forth.
2. Second, if communication lines are open with the tweaker, ask the
tweaker if he is using methamphetamine and then if he is also drinking
alcohol.
If a strong smell of alcohol is present, but no signs of drunkenness
exist, one should err on the side of caution and approach the individual
as a tweaker using alcohol rather than assume the individual is harmless.
Because tweakers using alcohol are usually not concerned with the consequences
of their actions, a situation can rapidly lead to violence.
Stimulants is a name given to numerous groups of substances that tend
to increase alertness and physical activity. The groups include pharmaceuticals
like amphetamines and the street drugs usually called "uppers" or "speed," and cocaine.
The more commonly abused stimulants are amphetamines and cocaine. Cocaine
has limited commercial consumption and its sale and possession are
strictly restricted. Amphetamines are occasionally prescribed by doctors,
and their availability makes them prime candidates for misuse.
Consumed properly, amphetamines raise alertness and physical ability.
They are frequently prescribed to counter the effects of narcolepsy,
a rare disorder marked by episodes of uncontrollable sleep, and to
help kids with minimal brain dysfunction.
Methamphetamine is directly available and is spreading fast across the U.S. Unlike the abusers in the 1960s and 1970s, today's meth abusers cross ethnic and gender boundaries. Methamphetamine is psychologically addictive for the time of the binge and high-intensity patterns of abuse, with users becoming paranoid and unpredictable.
Immediate effects
Soon after using ice, an individual may experience a number of psychological and physical effects including: feelings of euphoria, excitement and well being, increased alertness, confidence and libido, more energy, feelings of increased strength, talkativeness, restlessness, repeating simple acts, and itching, picking and scratching, tremors of the hands and fingers, speeding up of bodily functions, such as increased breathing rate, body temperature, blood pressure, a quick and irregular heartbeat and excessive sweating, difficulty sleeping, reduced appetite, dilated pupils, dry mouth, stomach cramps, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision and severe headaches, abrupt shifts in thought and speech, which can make someone using ice difficult to understand, nervousness, panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia, irritability, aggression, hostility and “amphetamine psychosis”, including hallucinations, paranoid delusions and bizarre behaviour.
The variable purity of each batch of ice raises the possibility of negative effects and overdose.
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