Length of effects of amphetamines (d-meth in particular) on sleep cycles.

[Jktm]

I have no idea in mind on how to search for this information myself using a search engine without getting anything but those layman (however I do realize I am a layman in comparison to many on this sub-forum...sucks being in between lol) websites when I search for anything containing the words meth and sleep cycles (perhaps I should say desoxyephedrine as opposed to meth).

I already know that amphetamines significantly reduce time spent in REM sleep, but for how long does this happen after your last dose (and I realize dosage, length of use, etc.) will play into this, but I'm just looking for a general answer.

I have a sleep study session tonight, and I last dosed approximately 44 hours prior to my appointment tonight (to be specific I dosed about 350mg IV of significant, but unknown purity) and had done approximately half a gram prior to that dose throughout the day, and had not touched it in months). I'm just wondering how skewed my results could be, as I already know they will be skewed to some extent (almost 4 half-lives so that's good, but there's no way of telling how much was excreted as is, how much has been metabolized - and to what - and so on and so forth.

If any of you neuro/pharm geniuses could reply to this, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lightning-Nl]

Actually...

Dopaminergic stimulants where actually seen to increase amount of time in REM sleep when take in super low doses. Methylphenidate specifically was administered right before sleep (5MG's and 10MG's) in 30 individuals with sleep problems and all but 8 of them had decreased sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep) and Methylphenidate (very surprisingly) increased the amount of time spent in REM sleep.

However, the increased time of REM sleep was very minute. Only a couple minutes or less if I remember correctly. But, with that being said, it was noticeable enough to produce significant changes in sleep architecture, significant changes in brain activity and it also increased the amount of time the person stayed asleep. Recreational doses of Amphetamines/Stimulants in general will result in the inability to sleep though.

But that's not your question though. It will not effect your results at all. The half-life of Methamphetamine is only 9-12 hours. It should be long gone from your system. In fact, if it really has been 44 hours, most of it's metabolites are gone too. I wouldn't worry about and I definitely wouldn't mention that you've taken meth.

However, if you really do need to make yourself feel better about it, pee as much as you can, acidify your body, and take nothing else.

To make yourself pee, drink tons of water. You want to be peeing every hour so. Drink as much water as you can handle. This will quickly flush your intestines and it can actually speed up liver function. The liver is what breaks down and excretes some of it into your urine, however, that function is mostly mediated by your kidneys. However, water has to be present for the kidneys to be able to excrete impurities into your urine so that's where water really helps.

Taking Vitamin C will both acidify your body and your intestinal track. Amphetamine is metabolized much quicker in acidic conditions. Vitamin C also "sticks" to amphetamines. This better allows the kidneys and liver to "catch" it excrete it.

 

[yaesutom]

If i truly wanted to get an accurate sleep study done, i'd cancel and reschedule the appointment.. Even if the amps aren't in my body, if i've taken them days ago it still seems to take like a week for my brain to totally get back to normal.. but that's just me

 

[ebola?]

swampfox: citation? This is clearly based on inference from a single study, for the most part.

most of it's metabolites are gone too.

Conversion to active metabolites is actually still pretty minor with meth--it's mostly excreted unchanged.

ebola

 

[Lightning-Nl]

swampfox: citation? This is clearly based on inference from a single study, for the most part.



Conversion to active metabolites is actually still pretty minor with meth--it's mostly excreted unchanged.

ebola

Nothing about meth specifically. I just remember reading this brochure that came with a drug test I bought once - it said "amphetamines and methamphetamine are detectable in urinal excretion for up to 3 days after last use."

 

[ebola?]

you made some very specific points about pharmacological influences on REM sleep.

 

[tweex]

Nothing about meth specifically. I just remember reading this brochure that came with a drug test I bought once - it said "amphetamines and methamphetamine are detectable in urinal excretion for up to 3 days after last use."

Doesn't say much about effects. They are actually technically detectable for somewhat longer, but the cutoff for a positive drug test is not the same as the detection limit. This is also only true of rather large doses, I test negative around 24-36h post 10mg of d-meth. Large doses of meth in fact can cause a positive test as far out as a 5-6 days, from anecdotes I've read.

Regardless, having enough of it in your urine to fail a drug test doesn't mean it is having a noticeable effect on you. The SAMHSA cutoff is 50ng/ml, which is so low that you can take a non-psychoactive dose and still test positive.

 

[Jktm]

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00432138
as
effects of amphetamines and pentobarbital decrease REM sleep.

I found that I had no issues with REM sleep when I got my results from my sleep study. In fact I was in the perfect range (my levels were 12.5%); however, my SWS (NREM 3) I got none of. Unfortunately, this is where you get you're restful sleep. At least now I know why I don't feel rested when I wake up. Albeit I take 6mg of Alprazolam daily as well as 4mg of Estazolam at night (if I don't take extra of either). Perhaps I can get some information on how to increase NREM 3 sleep in another thread as this is a bit different of a topic.