Category: Sober Living

Pharmaceutical stimulants use chemical variants of amphetamine (e.g., Adderall) to assist individuals with conditions such as ADHD; however, in much smaller (and safer) dosages. Death is the most serious negative consequence of a meth overdose. A June 2017 report from The Conversation states that many of these deaths occur because a person’s heart suddenly stops beating. Some people go on binges, using the drug continuously for several hours or days at a time. This, combined with a person’s poor nutrition if they have been taking meth for a long time, puts a person at risk of overdose. Our writers and reviewers are experienced professionals in medicine, addiction treatment, and healthcare.

Once help arrives, the priority for paramedics is to stabilize the person. This will include addressing hyperthermia (high temperature), checking electrolyte levels, and providing medication to stop seizures. If a person is lying down or unconscious, turn them on their side and tilt their head to prevent choking in case of vomiting. Meth overdoses can quickly become fatal, and every minute counts.

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

Like other drugs that are easy to abuse, meth is known to cause an overdose. People may not show outward signs of overdose that are common with other substances. If you believe someone has overdosed on meth, call 911 immediately. Before calling, be ready to provide the person’s age and weight.

Short-Term Side Effects of Meth Use

These could be telltale signs that a person has taken too much meth. Because meth is so strong, overdose signs may be evident more quickly than with other drugs. Cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational incentives have shown effectiveness in treating meth addiction. CBT assists people in recognizing, avoiding and coping with situations that lead to drug use, while motivational incentives use rewards to promote sobriety. Currently, no drugs are available to counteract the effects of methamphetamines or those caused by long-term abstinence. One study has suggested that people who once took methamphetamine have a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (a gradual nerve system disorder that impacts movement).

An overdose involving meth is a medical emergency and can result in life-threatening situations without proper medical interventions. This drug is sold as a powder, and it can be snorted, swallowed, or smoked. Some people create a liquid solution and inject it into their veins. Once the high of meth wears off, feelings of depression take over. People start using meth again to make these negative emotions go away.

Determining the crystal meth overdose amount is not possible. Various factors can influence an individual’s susceptibility to a methamphetamine overdose, including tolerance, route of administration, presence of other substances, and overall health. Psychostimulants with abuse potential are a subset of stimulants that have a higher likelihood of being abused due to their staying motivated in recovery effects on the central nervous system. Psychostimulants with abuse potential include both illegal drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy, as well as prescription stimulants.

1. If possible, turn their head or body to the side in case they vomit.
2. The rapid onset of overdose symptoms is particularly dangerous because it leaves little time for intervention.
3. Doctors may administer a crystalloid intravenously to eliminate the drug through the urine.
4. This high level of toxicity results in several serious conditions within the body, many of which can be life-threatening.
5. Taking meth sends the drug rapidly and directly into your bloodstream, which can increase the risks for a potentially dangerous or life-threatening overdose.

Remember that the first thing you should do during a suspected meth overdose is call 911 and follow their instructions. If Narcan (naloxone) is available, it can be life-saving in cases where opioids are also involved. Methamphetamine addiction is one of the hardest to overcome.

Treatment for an Overdose

Contact 911 right away if the person exhibits one or more of these signs. First-time meth users are at a particularly high risk for experiencing an overdose because their bodies are not used to the drug. They may unintentionally take dangerous amounts of methamphetamine, which can lead to an overdose.

The drug then crosses into your brain, where it causes the release of the brain’s feel-good chemical dopamine. Unfortunately, high levels of dopamine can cause a significant impact on your cardiovascular system, increasing your temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. Meth is often sold illegally on the streets, which makes its chemical compound even more dangerous.

Since meth remains active in the body for an extended period, side effects, such as delusional thinking, can last for up to 15 hours. Methamphetamine, known as “meth” or “crystal meth,” is a highly addictive psychostimulant drug and the most widely used amphetamine-type stimulant. These include the high risk of impurities or other substances hidden in meth, like fentanyl, which also increases the risk of a fentanyl overdose.

These symptoms often demi moore sobriety lead to life-threatening situations when experiencing a meth overdose. Crystal meth, a highly addictive stimulant, poses severe health risks, including the potential for fatal overdose. Methamphetamine overdoses can occur quickly, with symptoms ranging from severe agitation and hyperthermia to heart attacks and seizures. A much weaker form of the drug is used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Medicines that are legally used to treat cold symptoms, such as decongestants, can be made into methamphetamines. Other related compounds include MDMA, ('ecstasy,' 'Molly,' 'E'), MDEA, ('Eve'), and MDA, ('Sally,' 'sass').

How To Recognize A Meth Overdose

Other names for meth (short for methamphetamine) include crystal meth, ice, speed and crank. Injuries during illegal methamphetamine production or police raids include exposure to dangerous chemicals, as well as burns and explosions. All of these can cause serious, life threatening injuries and conditions. Overdosing on meth is a very serious event that can be life-threatening.

More than 100,000 drug overdoses in 2021 were fatal, causing a truly why do alcoholics get red noses devastating amount of loss for many families, communities, and loved ones. While opioid overdoses make up the majority of drug overdoses each year, an overdose can occur when too much of any drug is consumed. People who have been taking meth for some time have already suffered irreversible damage to their cardiovascular system that puts them at risk for death.

This means that taking more meth just after the high wears off can be dangerous since it may inadvertently lead to extremely high dopamine levels in the body. If you believe someone has taken methamphetamine and they are having bad symptoms, get them medical help right away. Take extreme caution around them, especially if they appear to be extremely excited or paranoid.

It truly is one of the best choices I’ve ever made. I've spent the last seven years researching and understanding alcoholism, addiction, and how people get sober. Additionally, I examine the way mental and physical health as well as our relationships with others impact the reasons people drink and their role in maintaining sobriety long-term. I took my last drink on December 19, 2016. But, inevitably, a bad day would sneak in there. I translated bad days into personal failures.

More Questions about Treatment?

You’re probably not going to hear this anyplace else, so I should get some points for candor, even though being sober sucks it is certainly controversial to talk about the negative aspects of something so overwhelmingly positive.

Feeling Like Being Sober Sucks? 12 Tips for Feeling Better

You’re not going back to your old life, so get serious about the future. It’s going to be tough at first, but what isn’t? Anything worth having you have to work for, so get to work. If you’re lonely, it’s time to meet people. Not surprising you hate being sober at one time or another, especially in early sobriety, so you are not alone.

Drunk people become experts—and want you to know it.

Or the newcomer has unrealistic expectations and judges others unfairly. Perhaps some just prefer to behave like jerks. Acceptance of one another and each individual's right to walk her own path is the solution.

The Reality of Your Life Without Sobriety

People have strong reactions to that during this season of toasting. I wrote about some of my difficulties in sobriety last year, in a post called The Worst Parts of Sobriety. I was inspired to revisit the topic after reading a recent post by Heather Lowe, called Sober is Boring and I Have Lost Friends. Three months ago I hit the benchmark called “Advanced Recovery” and suddenly things began to fall into place like they did not do in the early days of my sobriety. I do not mean to say it takes that long for everyone (I have always been a late bloomer), but for me the two year point marked the end of my resistance and the beginning of my overwhelming gratefulness.

Yes, asking for help was already listed, but it is so important that it is worth repeating. Getting through recovery’s ups and downs requires you to do more than just occasionally show up and interact with people who may be able to support you. You have to motivate yourself, schedule it in, and consistently do the things that will help you improve your life in recovery. Instead of isolating and giving into feeling bad, reach out and connect with others who might be going through the same thing.

• I think that anyone who is considering getting sober should know the full truth — not to be discouraged, but to be prepared.
• Shame is having negative beliefs about yourself and your self-worth.
• Baked into a lot of these programs and therapy sessions are things that will push you to accept full responsibility for your past and then provide you with the tools you need to move forward from them.
• Choose to recognize that the choices you make directly impact your experience.

That doesn’t mean you won’t see some improvements immediately, just be realistic. It takes time to rebuild a life filled with satisfying things and people. Some people won’t work out, some activities won’t work out.

• And when we self-medicate with alcohol, we enter into a vicious cycle of drinking to avoid our problems and then causing new ones because, well, we drink.
• Get coffee with a friend to take your mind off relationship problems.
• How you deal with this one is you use it and you own it and you live it, because there is nothing more beautiful than a human who has no other choice but to be themself.

Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. Becoming sober isn’t just about abstaining from alcohol. If you haven’t felt what sobriety feels like, you can. It’s never too late to start feeling better, by stepping into that happier future and discovering and falling in love with the happy, whole, successful, more connected person you are when sober. The promise of sobriety is that “the way I feel stone-cold sober, even on my worst days ever … I would never trade to feel the effects of a drug and drink again,” our alumna said. She said anyone can have the same experience being sober.

How do you get better in sobriety if you have no idea where to start?

• 65% of all those in recovery gain weight, and if you struggle with an alcohol problem, there’s a strong chance you may also be fighting anxiety, depression, mood swings or compulsive behavior.
• But you don’t know until you try, and you have to genuinely try.
• If there is an alternative program to those that interest you, go for it.
• If any area of your life is out of control, it will not help you maintain lasting sobriety.