KCI The Anti_Meth Site

How long to Detox from Meth?

clickmom	How long to detox from meth? If say my bf were to quit meth, how long does it take to get over the withdrawals from it? I read on another post, that it could be just a week? If its such a short time, why is it the hardest drug to kick? I dont' understand.
Replies...
silly veronica	Re: How long to detox from meth? Not sure if the link will work or not (it's my first time trying that), but there is a post titled "Day 2 ... whole body aches" that talks about this. Withdrawals are different for everybody, plus with meth, it isn't just the physical withdrawals, it's the mental/emotional ones as well.
Hemet chik	Re: How long to detox from meth? depends upon use...meaning how much you used a day and for the period of time...it can takes months and years to fully recover... loraura post an excellent topic on foods that increase dopamine....protien...soy...stay away from sugar...increase fluids and look into exercising to help rebuild your energy level...dont do like me and suckle caffine and diet pills...for energy...it plays havock on your moods as well...
JAN2006	Re: How long to detox from meth? Crystal Meth Addiction, Effects, Detox, and Treatment for Meth Addiction Crystal meth is a stimulant and a highly addictive drug. Methamphetamine or crystal meth has many different names including, "speed", "crystal", and "meth". The drug itself resembles ice and is most commonly smoked. Crystal meth is considered the most potent form of speed available and works by overwhelming the central nervous system’s pleasure receptors. The effects of meth are felt within a few seconds of use and create a sensation that is highly pleasurable and euphoric. Crystal meth is a mood enhancer and has long-term effects including a loss in pleasure reception in the brain and a decrease in bodily movement. Crystal meth effects include increased body activity, loss of appetite and fast breathing as well as insomnia, irritability and mood swings. Meth can cause problems in blood vessels and can also lead to respiratory damage. When used in high doses crystal meth causes paranoia, agitation and compulsive behavior. People who use meth habitually develop a higher tolerance for the drug meaning it takes more of the drug to get the same "high" or results. Chronic users are subject to violent and self-destructive behaviors even if they do not intent such things. Meth users can also be victim to overdose, as well as symptoms including high fever, convulsions and coma. Once tolerance has commenced in a person’s body, addiction is soon to follow. Meth users also experience withdrawal symptoms when trying to stay off the drug. Withdrawal occurs when a crystal meth user stops using the drug for an extended period of time. Once a person has stopped putting the drug into his/her body, the body reacts because it is so used to having the drug to function. Crystal meth withdrawal can be a painful process and many people choose to continue doing drugs instead of going through the uncomfortability of detox. Crystal meth drug treatment is available through a number of programs and has been known to be very effective. For people just coming down off crystal meth, many times a medical detox is advisable so that the physical body is free of all contaminants. Once the detox has been completed the crystal meth user is able to deal with other aspects of life including the emotional, mental and physical problems that have resulted from his/her drug use. Crystal meth treatment is a very effective option for people addicted to the drug and can help them find out how to live without the burden of addiction.
forget suzette	Re: How long to detox from meth? jan? ....you forgot to mention how long detoxing takes. smiles like hemet said.. depending on length of time, amount of dope, strenghth of dope.....how bad they let themselves go. genetics, personal hygine, personal defects in the body or brain. for example: a kid rancids age, 22 can run for a year, have a psychotic episode, quit, and he was bouncing back in a few days. his whole life is infront still. ....mentally and physiclly. a person like me, who has done meth 22 years...already had ADHD so meth streched it open wider (my personal character defect is ADHD and it made it worse) I'm 40 (physical wear and tear somewhat, I say UGH! when I stoop over sometimes, now I really feel gravity) I'm STILL dragging ass on prescription adderrall, I don't always feel "together" ....hopeless despair, anxiety, like a plug waiting for a socket....only one thing will bring me back from desenstized, disorganized (yes, i'd be worse but i would'nt care) scattered, overly sensitve, brain cells that misfire....the feelings I failed...trying and pulling me into the darkness of my hearts desire. it goes on forever. ...if not for meds....I would'nt even be able to pass for OK .....I'd go back to it and die in it's arms. recovery is forever... ..... if you can take it that long. detox: from a week to the rest of your life.
JAN2006	Re: How long to detox from meth? Hi SUZ I know I was trying to find more info on that, can you help , maybe pull up something on this? Hugs to you
forget suzette	Re: How long to detox from meth? .....says the same thing hemet says, what say, what sfjaye says.... (another EXCELLENT resource) from erowid: Addiction and Withdrawal Users of large amount of amphetamines over a long period of time can develop an amphetamine psychosis, which is a mental disorder similar to paranoid schizophrenia. The psychosis is manifested by hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. Bizarre, sometime violent, behavior is exhibited by those with amphetamine psychosis. Symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks after drug use stops. Withdrawal Symptoms Amphetamines have the potential to produce tolerance, which means that increased amounts of the drug are needed to achieve the desired effects. Withdrawal symptoms can occur when use of amphetamines is stopped abruptly. Users may experience fatigue; long, disturbed periods of sleep; irritability; intense hunger, and moderate to severe depression. The length and severity of the depression is related to how much and how often amphetamines were used. craving exhaustion depression mental confusion restlessness and insomnia deep or disturbed sleep lasting up to 48 hours extreme hunger psychotic reaction anxiety reactions Treatment (from FADAA) Medical treatments include the use of antidepressant agents such as imipramine, desipramine, amitriptyline, dosepin, trazodone, or fluoxetine (Prozac). These affect serotonin, the neurotransmitter in the brain that deals with both depression and drug craving. Sedatives such as Dalmane, chloral hydrate, Librium, phenobarbital, or even Valium are used, very carefully, on a short-term basis to treat anxiety or sleep disturbance problems. Antipsychotic medications such as Haldol, Thorazine, and others are also used to buffer the effects of unbalanced dopamine, the neurotransmitter that moderates paranoia and pleasurable sensation. In addition to treating the physical and psychological aspects of craving, treatment providers should stress group counseling and peer pressure for compulsive amphetamine users, as these forms of therapy work well for this population.
Loraura	Re: How long to detox from meth? About a year and a half. Seriously. It takes that long to replace the dopamine that meth destroys. Without enough dopamine you will feel exhausted, depressed and more.
JAN2006	Re: How long to detox from meth? Loraura HI if the user is using meth for 5 years straight, could that cause brain damage, that can not be fixed, and the user, would use meth as often as he or she could? Would it be safe to say they would never be the same person, they were before using meth? thank you
Loraura	Re: How long to detox from meth? *Quote:* if the user is using meth for 5 years straight, could that cause brain damage, that can not be fixed, and the user, would use meth as often as he or she could? Yes it can cause damage to the brain that can not be repaired. This damage happens when, due to meth use, the brain results to more drastic measures to prevent the flooding of dopamine, by shutting down dopamine receptors. Once they are shut down, they can not be brought back to a useable state. There is research showing some positive information about the brain utilizing different pathways after damage has been done. Research is ongoing and I haven't seen anything recently about progress in this area. *Quote:* Would it be safe to say they would never be the same person, they were before using meth? It is my opinion that anyone who has gone thru active addiction over a period of several years could not possibly ever be the same person as if they had not ever used. Their experiences in active addiction will forever change who they are.
clickmom	Re: How long to detox from meth? that is pretty darn bleak...
JAN2006	Re: How long to detox from meth? Loraura, thank you very much, ans Suz thank you also I will pass this on to a friend
forget suzette	Re: How long to detox from meth? *Quote:* About a year and a half. I was'nt right for 6 years when I quit the last time. .....I'll never recover.
JAN2006	Re: How long to detox from meth? suzette, YOU ARE SO SMART AND GIVE GREAT ADVICE I read that site you said to read, lots of info in there, again thank you , ill pass that on as well. This site would be lost with out you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! much love to you, and all that you give of your self, to help others in need says it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I must say your one hell of a great person, very careing, and you tell it like it is. Straight and to the point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! once again thank you
looking forward	Re: How long to detox from meth? i don't think that is bleak. for me, recovering from addiction has made me really look inside myself to see who i really am. (still working on that) i wasn't exactly the best person before meth. i was always abusing some drug, and i wasn't always very nice to people, and had lots of other shady dealings. Although I'm limited to what I have left in my brain and its capabilities, I want to use that energy in the most positive ways that I can. I'm in college now, after taking 3 years off, and actively using for 2 of those. I want to study hard (which i never wanted to do in high school) I want to have a peaceful, simple life (all I wanted to do before was be all over the place and party, and be popular) I feel like I've risen from the dead, and although I cannot undo the past or detach from it, i feel like I can be brand new and better.
Hemet chik	Re: How long to detox from meth? that is how i feel too suz..."i'll never recover"
Lives With Wolves	Re: How long to detox from meth? My son has been off Meth for about 8 months. He said he was using about 6 years (but not daily). He is only 19 now. He has severe ADHD (all his life) and the Meth made it much worse. Now though, I can see his old self starting to emerge. He is smiling, happy, starting to get it together. He has some long term goals for himself and what he wants in his life. Meth had changed him so much, made him so depressed, zero motivation, even violent episodes which is so unlike him.
Miz Ricochet	Re: How long to detox from meth? Hemet and Suz.....I'm right along with ya....doing meth changed me forever...and I have just begun to figure this out and I am learning to move on. I think I finally got to the point now, of accepting that I may never get to know the before meth me, more than the little amount that I do, but hey....I got an after meth me to explore and create a good life with. I gotta have a so what attitude, the person I am now ain't that bad. And, what if I get to know the before meth me and find out that I don't really like her? That would royally suck! Huh? Love ya girls!