New Studies Show Long-Lasting Effects of Meth Addiction

Drug addictions can have long-lasting effects on a person's mind and body. Even years after a person has become sober, they may still experience the temptations of drug use, and their brain may function differently because of it. Quitting drugs and becoming sober is a process, and it is difficult. A drug addict cannot simply wake up one day, decided to abstain from drugs, and go on to lead a normal life. Recovery can take years, and even after becoming sober, the effects of prior drug use can come to haunt recovering drug addicts.

Long-Term Effects of Meth Addiction

Recent studies conducted by the University of Florida have revealed that even long after people that are addicted to meth quit using the drug, their brain may still function differently. From research done on lab mice using the crystal meth drug, researchers found that mice that had been given the drug had impaired brain activity and problems remembering things two weeks after stopping use. Two weeks in the life of a mouse is equal to about a year in the lifespan of a human, indicating that even one year after stopping the use of meth, recovering addicts may still suffer from impaired brain activity.

In addition, researchers attributed this impaired brain activity to withdrawal. Even one year after quitting people with drug addictions to crystal meth can still suffer from withdrawal symptoms. This can be disconcerting to hear for meth users that are trying to become clean and sober. Withdrawal can be dangerous and painful, especially from a drug as harsh as crystal meth. In recent years, meth use has become a nationwide epidemic. It is cheap and relatively easy to manufacture, and it is highly addictive. Withdrawal from the drug can include symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, depression, nausea, and insomnia. Depending upon how long a person has been using the drug and how much they have been taking influences how serious their withdrawal symptoms can be.

Drug Addiction & The Brain

When people develop substance abuse problems, their brain chemistries change. The patterns in which their brains function are altered due to the increased levels of serotonin and dopamine that are released upon drug use. As discovered by the researchers at the University of Florida, this can have long-term effects on a person's brain activity. They stated that the way that a meth addict's brain functions during recovery and long after becoming sober is similar to that of a person with Parkinson's disease.

These findings further strengthen the argument and idea that drug addiction is a chronic disease, and recovery can be a lifelong process. Even years after a person with meth addiction has gone to rehab treatment and participated in the standard drug rehab programs, they may still suffer from the consequences of their drug use. The best way to avoid this is to simply not use drugs in the first place. Drug prevention programs, especially at a young age, are essential in teaching young people the dangers of drug addiction. Not only can meth addiction and other drug problems ruin lives, they can also have serious effects on recovering drug addicts long after they have ceased use. 

New Studies Show Long-Lasting Effects of Meth Addiction

Drug addictions can have long-lasting effects on a person's mind and body. Even years after a person has become sober, they may still experience the temptations of drug use, and their brain may function differently because of it. Quitting drugs and becoming sober is a process, and it is difficult. A drug addict cannot simply wake up one day, decided to abstain from drugs, and go on to lead a normal life. Recovery can take years, and even after becoming sober, the effects of prior drug use can come to haunt recovering drug addicts.

Long-Term Effects of Meth Addiction

Recent studies conducted by the University of Florida have revealed that even long after people that are addicted to meth quit using the drug, their brain may still function differently. From research done on lab mice using the crystal meth drug, researchers found that mice that had been given the drug had impaired brain activity and problems remembering things two weeks after stopping use. Two weeks in the life of a mouse is equal to about a year in the lifespan of a human, indicating that even one year after stopping the use of meth, recovering addicts may still suffer from impaired brain activity.

In addition, researchers attributed this impaired brain activity to withdrawal. Even one year after quitting people with drug addictions to crystal meth can still suffer from withdrawal symptoms. This can be disconcerting to hear for meth users that are trying to become clean and sober. Withdrawal can be dangerous and painful, especially from a drug as harsh as crystal meth. In recent years, meth use has become a nationwide epidemic. It is cheap and relatively easy to manufacture, and it is highly addictive. Withdrawal from the drug can include symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, depression, nausea, and insomnia. Depending upon how long a person has been using the drug and how much they have been taking influences how serious their withdrawal symptoms can be.

Drug Addiction & The Brain

When people develop substance abuse problems, their brain chemistries change. The patterns in which their brains function are altered due to the increased levels of serotonin and dopamine that are released upon drug use. As discovered by the researchers at the University of Florida, this can have long-term effects on a person's brain activity. They stated that the way that a meth addict's brain functions during recovery and long after becoming sober is similar to that of a person with Parkinson's disease.

These findings further strengthen the argument and idea that drug addiction is a chronic disease, and recovery can be a lifelong process. Even years after a person with meth addiction has gone to rehab treatment and participated in the standard drug rehab programs, they may still suffer from the consequences of their drug use. The best way to avoid this is to simply not use drugs in the first place. Drug prevention programs, especially at a young age, are essential in teaching young people the dangers of drug addiction. Not only can meth addiction and other drug problems ruin lives, they can also have serious effects on recovering drug addicts long after they have ceased use. 

Treating Methamphetamine Addiction

The production and use of methamphetamine has been on the rise since the 1990's, especially in rural Midwestern communities. This epidemic caught many treatment centers and hospitals off-guard, and was thus termed untreatable. However, there are so many people suffering from methamphetamine addiction that researchers have recently begun to take a closer look at this highly damaging substance in hopes to uncover new possibilities for treatment.

To discover how to treat an addiction like methamphetamine, the course of the addiction must be studied, starting at the beginning. Getting hooked on meth is easy, according to addicts across America. Some people smoke it for the intense rush it produces. Others take it orally or snort it for functional reasons. When used in this way, it acts as an appetite suppressant used for weight loss purposes, or for a boost in energy that can last for more than 12 hours. This extended high happens because of the way methamphetamine reacts with the nerve cells in the brain. Meth actually attaches to this chemical nerve cell, causing dopamine to cascade throughout the brain. The chemical dopamine is generally associated with feelings of pleasure and euphoria, but too much of this chemical can result in aggression, irritability, and schizophrenic-like behavior. The abuse of methamphetamine is also linked to serious medical complications such as heart damage, stroke, and psychosis. The most frightening result of methamphetamine abuse is by far the long-term neurological damage that is unlike any other drug addiction result.

Through research, scientists have discovered that the neurological damage caused by methamphetamine addiction is done mostly to the dopamine centers and transporters. Because of the addiction, a meth addict's brain does not register that dopamine transporters are necessary – the brain has become accustom to having a regular dose of methamphetamine to release a flow of dopamine for an extended period of time. But, what does this decline in dopamine transporters mean for the addict and their recovery? Studies have shown that former meth users have an average of 24% loss in the total number of dopamine transporters in their brain structure. This loss has been linked to the cause of slowness in motor skills and poor performance on verbal and memory tasks. The higher the loss of these transporters, the higher the damage in necessary brain function. This same loss in dopamine transporters is reported in Parkinson's disease patients, but these patients experience this loss on a larger scale. 

When the abuse of methamphetamine traveled to the rural communities of the Midwest, treatment centers in those areas deemed the addicts untreatable. These centers had never really been exposed to the treatment of cocaine or heroin, and so meth was seemingly impossible to treat. However, many of the treatment facilities in larger urban settings have done the best they can to treat meth addiction, and have concluded that it is very treatable. The physical withdrawal is not as severe as a person might expect, but the psychological withdrawal is beyond intense. A methamphetamine addict may feel an inability to experience pleasure because of the very low levels of dopamine being produced in the brain. According to a rehab center in L.A., this inability can last for months, and many patients experience a relapse around six months into their recovery.

The only currently available treatment that is proven to work for methamphetamine addiction is behavioral therapy. However, there are hundreds of treatment centers and thousands of patients taking part in different types of treatment in order to discover the best method for treating a methamphetamine addiction. There is never a complete loss of hope. The misconception of meth being untreatable has been proved false time and time again. Meth may be dangerous, but there is hope of a healthy recovery.