@ontheupandup hey man. Happy to hear you're in a program. Good for you dude. That Methamphetamine is the fucking devil and this is coming from a dope fiend, so that tells you something.
I don't want to discourage you. I do want to give you a straight answer though. The majority of "treatments" for Methamphetamine addiction are essentially random attempts by psychiatrists to fix secondary issues that arise from Methamphetamine use. For instance, a person is depressed following their withdrawal from the drug, so naturally, an antidepressant is the correct choice, right?
The majority of these treatments have little to no evidence to support their usage. There seems to be a lot more evidence suggesting the usage of more mild stimulant drugs is an appropriate option. There are studies coming out of Australia and elsewhere suggesting there is merit to this. I read a study in which chronic Methamphetamine users were given 200mg Lisdexamphetamine (Vyvanse) per day (this is ~3x the acceptable limit of 70mg). If you ask me, I feel this is the obvious choice, but we're not playing a game of science, we're playing a game of morality.
I live in New England, which is known for being a little more liberal than other areas of the country. There are definitely more and more Meth addicts getting prescriptions for Amphetamine. It seems to lead to better outcomes regarding service-engagement and of course, abstinence from Methamphetamine.
I've never found the "antidepressats' of any variety to really do much of anything. In the best of circumstances, it seems most people reply saying "I might feel better, I don't know" and in the worst cases, endure negative side effects that are life-altering.
I'm highly skeptical of the entire category of psychiatric drugs. I know few people for whom they truly made the difference. They seem to be a good way of providers indicating they "did something" for a person. Hell, who in the world doesn't want to be depressed?
Mirtazapine (Remeron) has a pretty common side-effect of stimulating appetite to extreme extents. I've take nearly every medication that I talk about on here, including Mirtazapine. Want to know what else? I got all of these prescriptions to treat my Opioid dependence in the same way that they're throwing them at you to treat your Methamphetamine addiction.
