Impact On Your Life

 Mental Health    Method of Use    Dependence    Pregnancy    Cost    Back to Amphet facts

Amphetamine use can cause anxiety, depression, paranoia and psychosis in those people who have vulnerability to mental health problems.

Meth or Ice

As methamphetamine is more potent than dexamphetamine, users are likely to experience more severe side-effects.

The effects of methamphetamine include anxiety, depression, paranoia, aggression and psychotic symptoms. Methamphetamine also increases the risk of mental health problems, so people with an existing mental health condition should be even more cautious about using this drug.

Method of Use

There are also dangerous effects associated with the method of use. Snorting can damage the fragile mucous membrane in the nasal passages. It produces burns and sores on the membranes that line the interior of the nose. Injecting amphetamines can result in blocked blood vessels that can cause major damage to the body’s organs, such as inflamed blood vessels and abscesses, blood poisoning, bacterial infections which may damage the heart valves, vein collapse, infection at injection site, bruising or more serious injuries if users inject into an artery or tissue.

Tolerance, Dependence and Withdrawal

Regular, heavy amphetamine use can lead to tolerance and dependence issues.

Tolerance – This means that a person needs more of the drug to achieve the same effects they experienced previously with smaller amounts.

Dependence – This means that the drug becomes central to a person’s life and they feel they cannot function properly without it.

Withdrawal – Unlike regular and dependent users of alcohol and heroin, some regular users of amphetamines do not use every day. Rather, they binge for a day to a week, before crashing for a couple of days. Physiologically speaking, a speed binge results in neurotransmitter depletion (dopamine, serotonin, noradrenalin), which combined with lack of sleep and inadequate nutrition, results in exhaustion, paranoia, anxiety, and depression. When eventually they do choose to stop the same crash pattern follows.

Withdrawal for heavy users usually begins two to three days after the crash, and can last for a period of months, depending on the degree of involvement with amphetamines prior to stopping use. Common short-term symptoms include aggression, mood swings, irritability, sleeping disorders and cravings. Long-term symptoms include dysthymia, a mood disorder which features a chronic depressed or irritable mood. Other symptoms may include eating and sleeping disturbances, fatigue and poor self-esteem, depression, mood swings, cravings, lethargy and sleeping difficulties. Many of these symptoms are primarily related to the reestablishment of normal neurotransmitter levels in the brain, which can take a much longer period of time.

It is important that both users and clinicians alike understand this process. It can take a long period of time (six months to a year) before the body is sufficiently replenished and normal functioning returns.

Amphetamines, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Amphetamine use has been linked with bleeding, early labour and miscarriage and can affect the baby’s development before birth. Amphetamines also cause the heart rate of mother and baby to increase.

If amphetamines are used close to birth, the baby may be born directly affected, and may be over-active and agitated. Babies of mothers who regularly use amphetamines may also experience withdrawal symptoms in the first few weeks after birth.

It is not yet known whether children of mothers who used amphetamines during their pregnancy experience long-term problems in mental or physical growth, but initial studies give some cause for concern.

Not much is known about the effects of amphetamines on the baby during breastfeeding. There is evidence that babies feed poorly and may be irritable. Injecting amphetamines also increases the risk of HIV infection and other disease for both the mother and the baby.

It is recommended that women check with their doctor (or other health professional) if they are using or planning to use drugs while pregnant or breastfeeding, including prescribed and over-the-counter medicines.

Cost

The street price of amphetamines changes depending on availability and market trends. The cost of purchasing amphetamines can lead to financial problems for both occasional and regular users.

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