meth, chalk. In its smoked form, it is often referred to as ice,
crystal, crank, or glass.
Those are all street names for
Call it what you may, but meth use and its
symptoms are one in the same.
If it's taken in large doses,
methamphetamine's frequent effects are irritability, aggressive
behavior, anxiety, excitement, auditory hallucinations, and paranoia
along with delusions and psychosis.
Meth abusers tend to be violent.
Mood changes are also common, and the abuser can rapidly change from
friendly to hostile.
The paranoia produced by
results in suspiciousness, hyperactive behavior, and dramatic mood
appeals to drug abusers because it increases the body's metabolism
and produces euphoria, increases alertness, and gives the abuser a
sense of increased energy.
High doses or chronic use of meth,
however, increases nervousness, irritability, and paranoia.
extreme paranoia that meth abusers can experience is often associated
with a distorted tendency toward violence.
Adverse consequences of
meth abuse include the risk of stroke, heart failure, and prolonged
use has three patterns: low
intensity, binge, and high
abuse describes a user who is
not psychologically addicted to
drug and who administers the drug by swallowing or snorting
and high-intensity abusers are psychologically addicted and prefer to
smoke or inject meth to achieve a faster and stronger high. The binge
and high-intensity patterns
differ in the frequency in
which the drug is abused.
While the binge pattern of abuse has seven
stages within its cycle: rush, high, binge, tweaking, crash, normal,
and withdrawal-the high-intensity abuse pattern usually does not
include a state of normalcy or withdrawal.
which are referred to those who are at the most dangerous state of
meth abuse, is a meth user who is tweaking.
This meth abuser
probably has not slept in 3-15 days and, consequently, the symptoms
would be irritability and paranoia.
A tweaker does not need
provocation to behave or react violently, but confrontation increases
the chances of a violent reaction.
If the tweaker is using alcohol,
his negative feelings and associated dangers intensify.
hours after the last meth use, the individual experiences a drastic
drop in mood and energy levels.
Sleep begins and may last for a long
period and, upon awakening, severe depression exists that may last
While users are in this depressed state, suicide is a major
These meth abuse symptoms occur after meth use and may be
reversed by taking another dose of methamphetamine, thereby fitting
the definition for a withdrawal syndrome.
abuse symptoms are increased alertness, sense of well-being,
paranoia, intense high, hallucinations, aggressive behavior,
increased heart rate, convulsions, extreme rise in body temperature
(as high as 108 degrees which can cause brain damage and death),
uncontrollable movements (twitching, jerking, etc...), violent
behavior, insomnia, impaired speech, dry and itchy skin, premature
aging, rotting teeth, loss of appetite, acne, sores and numbness.
of the effects that meth abuse has on the mind are also symptoms of
These meth use symptoms are disturbed sleep, excessive
excitation, excessive talking, panic, anxiousness, nervousness,
moodiness and irritability, false sense of confidence and power,
delusions of grandeur leading to aggressive behavior, uninterested in
friends, sex, or food, aggressive and violent behavior, and severe
excessive meth abuse, there are long
term effects as well, such
fatal kidney and lung disorders, possible brain damage, depression,
hallucinations, disorganized lifestyle, permanent psychological
problems, violent and aggressive behavior, weight loss, insomnia,
behavior resembling paranoid schizophrenia, decreased social life,
malnutrition, poor coping abilities, disturbance of personality
development, lowered resistance to illnesses, liver damage, stroke
and the inevitable, death.
are also withdrawal symptoms that a meth abuser will partake in when
coming off of meth or "crashing".
If you see the symptoms
of severe cravings, insomnia, restlessness,mental confusion or
depression, chances are that the meth is exiting their system.
in the privacy of your
own home with
home urine drug testing kits, saliva drug testing kits
and hair drug testing kits.