Meth Addiction Treatment in Los Angeles
Meth use is disturbingly escalating across California. It can take a lot of effort and mindful work to recover, from asking for help to working through the personal cycle of addiction.
But it is possible to recover from meth addiction, and help is available. It’s never too late to come back from addiction. We at Recovery Zone LA are ready and equipped to help you come back to yourself and shake off the grip of methamphetamine addiction.
What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamines are classified as a Schedule II controlled substance, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States. This means it is considered a highly addictive compound that has severe restrictions and distribution limitations within the parameters of approved prescriptions. However, since methamphetamines are strictly used in medicine as narcolepsy and ADHD medications, most meth forms are synthetically made for illegal recreational use.
Common Forms of Meth
Meth comes in two forms, crystal or powder. They each have very distinct appearances and administration methods. Meth’s crystallized form is predominantly consumed by heating crack pipes so the smoke can be inhaled. Powder forms of meth, on the other hand, are intended to be snorted, injected, or orally ingested. All forms of meth are dangerous for several addiction and potency-related reasons.
Signs of Meth Addiction
It’s important to know the various behavioral, mental, and physical characteristics of methamphetamine dependence to get appropriate medical assistance.
Meth is not only addictive, but a costly habit. Funding a meth habit can put a person in financial discord very quickly. This manifests as difficulty paying bills, late payments, or consistently needing or being out of money. If this is not dealt with quickly, it can have the greatest impact on your life, resulting in job, possession, or home loss. If this describes you or a loved one, don’t let another moment pass without consulting our superior treatment staff.
While meth has stimulating effects while under the influence, it comes at a cost afterward with overwhelming fatigue and drowsiness. This renders you mentally and physically incapable of performing even the simplest tasks or sleeping for unusually extended periods. If you find yourself struggling to get out of bed or have an utter lack of energy, get meth addiction treatment in Los Angeles now.
Drug addiction reveals itself in your behavior and performance, or lack thereof, on the job. An individual with a persistent methamphetamine habit may begin to forget important deadlines, tasks, or procedures. Work ethic will likely suffer as a result of insufficient energy levels. Proceeding with these work shortcomings in conjunction with a drug habit can eventually result in life-altering job loss if a person doesn’t seek help.
When meth becomes the focus, all determination for your meaningful goals, aspirations, or passions become extinguished. This means the person has reached severely drug-dependent levels where drug use has taken precedence in their life. This means that all of their passions, desires, and efforts fuel the financial drive to feed that next high. Exhibiting this symptom is often when the risk of overdose and death is at its peak.
Involuntary tremors, tics, or shaking is a very evident side effect of someone suffering from a drug addiction. These body shakes can occur anywhere in the body without warning. This symptom is commonly associated with methamphetamine withdrawal symptoms when an individual is too far removed from their previous use. Withdrawal-related tremors, among other withdrawal experiences, are a difficult, uncomfortable symptom that often fuels relapse.
Meth is a stimulant that will keep you up for long periods, especially with frequent use. This can mean going hours, days, or even weeks without sleep as drug use persists. Depending on the individual, even abstaining from meth use can cause serious sleep disruptions. Thus, meth-dependent users experience frequent nighttime awakenings or are incapable of falling asleep regardless of how tired they are.
Short-Term Side Effects of Meth Addiction
Immediate or short-term effects of meth use and abuse are temporary side effects while under the influence. While the following short-term effects of the high seem harmless, these temporary tolls eventually lead to long-term health consequences.
As methamphetamine stimulates the central nervous system, it has a trickle-down effect through the body. This includes stimulating the cardiovascular system, resulting in dangerous blood pressure elevation. Increased blood pressure in conjunction with overstimulated neurobiological chemical releases overloads the body, sometimes with fatal consequences.
High blood pressure and constricted blood vessels are a dangerous, yet simultaneous side effect of meth’s immediate effects. These dilated vessels occur because methamphetamines release a chemical called norepinephrine, a hormone that naturally constricts blood vessels. Prolonged meth use can lead to permanent blood vessel damage. Permanent damages can even occur in some individuals after meth use.
Meth can overstimulate dopamine receptors, resulting in an abnormal production and flooding of these pleasure cells on these receptors. This creates the euphoric sensations associated with meth use. The problem is that exposing the brain to this abnormal release of pleasure-focused neurotransmitters triggers a destabilization of neurobiological frequencies. These neurobiological shifts are your body adjusting to meth’s presence in your system, which activates physical dependence on the drug.
Methamphetamine’s effects trickle down from CNS stimulation to cardiovascular stimulation. This can induce a rapid or irregular heart rate that causes the heart to palpitate or “skip a beat.” In some cases, these palpitations can lead to cardiac arrest when under extreme duress. For some, this can even occur upon first use if the body can’t handle meth’s demands.
As a stimulant, meth can lead to hyperactivity through accelerated speech or movements. Speech can be rapid to unintelligible degrees, and movements can be sporadic, staggered, and often unpredictable. The user may become restless and incapable of staying still for too long. This is an example of a combination of accelerated heart rate and high blood pressure in effect.
Long-Term Effects of Meth Addiction
Your body can only take so much damage from meth before it succumbs to the induction of permanent long-term health defects. Those defects consist of, but are not limited to, the following consequences:
Persistent cardiac strain can eventually lead to permanent heart defects like heart disease, murmurs, or other related heart problems. These conditions include potential damage to the aorta or surrounding heart valves that are conducive to congestive heart failure.
Meth’s manipulation of neuronic balances lead to permanent neurobiological deficiencies in the long-term. This can have permanent impacts on cognitive or natural memory retention capabilities. Medical detox programs can help you reverse some of these long-term brain deficiencies while stopping dependency in its tracks.
Meth abuse is linked to causing symptoms of anxiety and other poor mental health effects. Depending on the depth of the addiction and the extent of use, some mental health afflictions may be treated.
Long-term meth use is heavily linked to permanent memory loss and greater risks for dementia. Excessive and prolonged meth use may also be tied to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Thankfully, most short-term memory issues can be resolved before they become long-term concerns with the proper rehab techniques. Consult a physician to assess your addiction severity and its impact on your memory.
Treatment Options for Meth Addiction
Meth rehab requires very personalized tactics since every meth battle faces unique obstacles. That’s why our meth addiction treatment in Los Angeles incorporates the most individualized techniques through the following treatment programs:
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): IOP treatment programs are high-quality therapy for individuals who need more schedule flexibility to balance work and home life. However, these outpatient services are a cut above traditional outpatient programs, retaining similar care levels to PHP.
- Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP): A PHP is the strictest form of treatment that involves full-time care at an on-site facility. If you need higher monitoring or a more hands-on approach, a PHP may be the right program for you.
- Outpatient Program: An outpatient program can be considered the “graduate” phase of PHP, offering maximum location and scheduling flexibility. In these comfortable settings, individuals learn how to incorporate practical relapse prevention techniques in everyday life.
- Outpatient Detox: Outpatient detox programs offer all of the same care levels of on-site medical detox, but with more flexibility. Individuals in this program can participate in detox services but still feel free to go home at night.
- Dual Diagnosis Treatment: Dual diagnosis therapy is treatment specifically designed to treat addiction and mental health conditions simultaneously. This can be very helpful in preventing future relapse.
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