Meth Effects
The effects of Meth begin with a message sent to the pleasure receptors within your brain. The first noticeable effect of meth are a heightened sense of awareness and a "rush" of energy. This is because meth causes the release of Dopamine which is a chemical in the brain that carries messages to and from brain cells. When you eat, feel pleasure (after sex for instance) dopamine is usually released into the brain.
Hours after, meth causes you to release an enzyme that halts dopamine flow within the brain. Meth can effect your normal release of dopamine and one of the prolonged effects of meth is the inability to experience pleasure.
Short Term Meth Effects include:
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Increased Awareness
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Rapid Breathing
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Loss of appetite
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High Blood Pressure
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Weakening of the heart
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Burst of increased physical activities
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Irregular Heartbeat
Many of these short term meth effects can initially be perceived as positive. The lack of need for sleep and the ability to work or participate in activities for long periods of time give the user a pseudo-feeling of power and heightened ability. However, these effects are generally only experienced when one starts using meth. Even after a short time of continued use, these effects from meth become harder and harder to achieve. Eventually they are not achievable at all, no matter how much meth one takes. This is the beginning phase of addiction to methamphetamine. A chase for the "perceived" benefits that meth is thought to give.
One of the most misunderstood effects of meth is that it can be used to lose weight rapidly. While meth does initially cause a decrease in appetite, and therefore causes you to eat less, the weight loss is generally only temporary. As you eat less, your metabolism slows down as it is not getting as much food to convert into energy. As prolonged meth use goes on, a normal appetite eventually returns. However, because of your decreased metabolism, you will begin to put on weight much faster as your body is not used to converting as much food on a regular basis. Therefore meth is not a suitable or viable choice for extended weight loss of any kind plus there are many damaging effects of meth to other parts of your body that are not worth the temporary weight loss that will occur.
Other meth effects include changes and damage to the central nervous system, such as:
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Prolonged Insomnia
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Nervousness
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Seizures
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Convulsions
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Confusion
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Paranoia
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Irritability
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Increased Aggression
Also, meth can cause irreversible damage to your brain that can lead to a stroke or damage to your heart which can cause cardiovascular failure. Both of these can result in death.
Beyond the short term effects of meth, long term meth effects are much more severe and dangerous. Many long term meth users exhibit extremely violent behavior. This is because meth causes paranoia and confusion as well as extreme addiction that will cause the user to go to any means to achieve getting high. Also, many chronic meth users display psychotic behavior. Lack of sleep and auditory hallucinations are two common meth effects that when experienced for prolonged periods of time because of constant meth use, cause permanent psychotic damage to the brain. What once was an effect of getting high from meth becomes a permanent fixture in ones mind. Many long term meth users also experience delusions and paranoia. This is contributed as a direct effect from meth use, but also because of lack of sleep. The brain naturally begins to experience delusions when it is "awake" for long periods of time without sufficient rest. Meth use is also know to cause severe depression or suicidal thoughts. Meth is such an addictive substance that escaping its grips becomes an impossible task in the mind of the addict. With such a bleak outlook, depression and suicide are natural effects from extended use of methamphetamine.
Long term meth effects also include damage to the brain that is very similar to Alzheimer's disease. This brain damage can last for months or forever, even after use of the drug has stopped.
Effects of Meth also include severe dental problems. Meth is damaging to the teeth and prolonged use of meth and improper hygiene can cause permanent damage to your teeth or complete loss of your teeth. Another one of Meth's effects is what users refer to as "getting stuck". This is referring to the repeated activity that one may do over and over for hours on end for no apparent reason. An example would be picking at your skin or dismantling objects and trying to put them back together. Cleaning is also another activity that many meth users "get stuck" in.
Meth effects include permanent changes of your brain structure and function. This is a frightening consequence of using Meth as it can permanently alter the way your brain thinks, perceives, and works, essentially changing who you are forever.
All in all, the irreversible damage caused by Meth far outweighs any "believed" positive effects that one thinks Meth will provide. Meth's effects all end with the same outcome: a person who is addicted to a drug that damages not only their personal health and life, but the lives of every one around them.
