Stimulants What are the consequences of meth? (opinions from users)

[boofythe]

Do you ever take days off? How long for and how do they go? Do you crash?

I think it also depends on the person/tolerance because I’ve witnessed people that dosed the same amount as me and they’ll have a shitty time coming off

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

Got it, thanks.
Does this "rule" applies even to pure medical drugs, like morphine and other 100% pure opiates/narcotics that they use for operations/anestesia? I guess they might be not very healthy, but at least they do damage slower than street drugs?

I've actually asked the question about shooting up before and the responses were what I restated. But I'd assume at that point it would have to do with the viscosity of whatever substance is going to be sent through your veins. If the material is not totally tired into finer liquid it would probably have more ramifications on your veins. I just think that most addicts who shoot up regularly prioritize getting their fix over properly preparing the substance before IV'ing it. Most addicts don't really have professional medical training or prepare the substances they're about to IV correctly. I don't know people who are on morphine drips as many times as an addict is shooting up heroin. At a certain point though, I really don't know and I'm just a stranger on the internet lol. I'd bet in Europe or places where heroin is allowed as detox treatment (iirc this is only in Europe right now) they have the diamorphine prepared as much as possible so there is such minimal damage to the veins. However, I have never heard about anyone complaining about hospital treatments causing vein damage from anything that they've been IV'd while under medical assistance.

To each it’s own. I wake up and smoke meth but not avoid crippling depression but to avoid not getting anything done. Not saying it’s good but it’s better than staying at home all day smoking weed and drinking having 0 motivation and 0 income. It’s my cup of coffee

I get what you're saying but I've never seen chronic meth use lead someone to a place other than darkness I'd bet that higher quality meth causes less side effects, but it's unnatural to have that much dopamine released on a regular basis and eventually the brain would become ultra dependent on meth for mood stability. Anhedonia is definitely a long term side effect of heavy stimulant abuse. Tolerance is the enemy of addiction. Literally any addiction eventually within time results in something becoming "unfeelable," so you'd need higher and higher doses to get any effects and your tolerance just keeps escalating. It's good to take breaks if you can, especially with stimulants because diminishing returns is so fast for that class of drugs. Using stimulants on a daily basis inevitably causes tolerance to get sky high. There were one or two weeks where I was taking high dose adderall quite regularly because at the time my tolerance was starting to scare me. It was quite a miserable week and I stopped benefitting from using it at all. So when it comes to stimulants I just try to take 2 weeks off or more if I can. I mostly use pharmaceutical stims for recreational purposes over actually needing them to get work done. Stimulants in general are far more effective when you've let your brain regenerate some natural dopamine--which doesn't happen if you're using daily. If you look at the MDMA abuse threads the side effects of users lasts even years if not permanently. Some of these side effects include anhedonia, heavy anxiety, memory problems, etc. Stimulants can also turn you into an anti-social hermit as perpetual use can create social anxiety and paranoia. It's weird talking to someone while stimmed out and your mind is racing 100 miles per hour and they're completely sober. You start thinking that they're thinking thoughts they absolutely aren't thinking and become detached from reality. Out of any drug I know meth causes people to absolutely go bonkers and lose their saneness entirely. Probably from psychosis. The scariest part is that they never seem to realize how detached they have become and it's always anything but the drugs that lead them to insanity.

I think people often forget that methamphetamine and heroin are harder drugs. The euphoria is light and in the beginning they always seem less devastating than the media makes them out to be. Problem is when you actually try to quit, the positive effects are so engrained in your life that it's such a severe struggle to cope day after day without them. In addition, the withdrawals are mentally quite severe to the point that the user is miserable. And not just for a week or so, it can take months to feel remotely even normal again. You only realize how powerful the drugs truly are when you try to become sober and can't. It's not going to be fun anymore in a year or two. And you probably will get fed up with the quitting process and how difficult it is to just endure every second of a life without dopamine while your brain replenishes it's natural balance. No one wants to quit meth or heroin. They quit simply because they are forced to. You don't want to hit rock bottom. Get out when you realize it's starting to negatively impact your entire life. It's the opposite of fun when you repeatedly relapse just to feel baseline again. Pretty sure almost every addict has been there before.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I was in the ER this week and they could not draw blood from me to do tests - that's the result of IV meth use. Not a usable vein to be found. Scared the hell out of me too. Curiously they did not ask me if I was a drug user.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

^harm reduction is making an impact.

I don't use meth, nor have I knowingly done so. But there is a general trajectory. Look up the stages of amphetamine use. Meth is like that, but much more powerful.

Someone takes some adderall to study. They then get the idea to use it to party. It starts becoming more frequently used. The user, usually a student or office worker, uses it more and more often. But it becomes expensive. They at this point don't really know what they're doing, but someone gets them into using meth instead.

People begin using small doses of meth instead, in moderate doses, and it doesn't make a huge impact on their functionality. Then, they use it more and more that it becomes daily, as they are no longer able to chip. Then, they use is every day to be functional, at higher and higher doses, and perhaps some multi-day ultra binges. At this time, their physical well-being is in jeopardy as the drug literally burns the brain out. They don't feel normal without it, but are already using toxic doses just to maintain life. Then they get into other manners of using, and make it all the worse in the end. Starting as a little recreation, it now is really controlling much of their life.

They start to use other drugs to make the ever-worse comedown less hard. They become dependent on these substances, minor tranquilizers and opioids. They may, at this point, switch their addiction to hard opioids for a time-being, to calm down. That's generally how it happens. In one region there is a meth epidemic, followed by a heroin epidemic, and it cycles through this way.

Now, using 100's of milligrams daily, they have burnt out their reward tract. The drug is both necessary to function and gives very nasty side effects and crashes. Permanent psychotic effects are very likely, even after recovery. PAWS makes the addiction that much more difficult to kick. Nothing is indicated for stimulant addiction. Nothing can pour dopamine into your receptors like meth.

They say that after about six months of abstinence, the brain largely goes back to normal, but it's at least double that with meth.

As days of abstinence increases, so does the brain begin to repair itself. Years clean, and cravings are much less intense and frequent.

 

[Nagelfar]

Legal repercussions have been the most predominant consequence for myself.

 

[Jabberwocky]

^harm reduction is making an impact.

People begin using small doses of meth instead, in moderate doses, and it doesn't make a huge impact on their functionality. Then, they use it more and more that it becomes daily, as they are no longer able to chip. Then, they use is every day to be functional, at higher and higher doses, and perhaps some multi-day ultra binges. At this time, their physical well-being is in jeopardy as the drug literally burns the brain out. They don't feel normal without it, but are already using toxic doses just to maintain life. Then they get into other manners of using, and make it all the worse in the end. Starting as a little recreation, it now is really controlling much of their life.

They start to use other drugs to make the ever-worse comedown less hard. They become dependent on these substances, minor tranquilizers and opioids. They may, at this point, switch their addiction to hard opioids for a time-being, to calm down. That's generally how it happens. In one region there is a meth epidemic, followed by a heroin epidemic, and it cycles through this way.

Now, using 100's of milligrams daily, they have burnt out their reward tract. The drug is both necessary to function and gives very nasty side effects and crashes. Permanent psychotic effects are very likely, even after recovery. PAWS makes the addiction that much more difficult to kick. Nothing is indicated for stimulant addiction. Nothing can pour dopamine into your receptors like meth.

This description definitely characterises a lot of BL members - based on people's positings. However, if you look at the sheer size of the meth market and the statistics of people who have used it at least once they suggest that perhaps the majority of people don't get hooked into the "trajectory" you describe. Or if they do they must be damn good at hiding the negative consequences. I don't disagree that its a horror hard drug that often leaves a trail of destruction (definitely so for me though thankfully I am allergic to opiods) but I suspect that many people quietly make it work for them for a long time. For every burned out tweaker reaching for opiods there might be a dozen Friday night benders who comfortable manage to front work on Monday after just doing a point or two. But maybe the situation is different in different geographies. It's very hard to know.

 

[Auranova]

The OP posed some great questions, ones I’ve been thinking of asking for some time. There’s no question that media hype has branded meth users as destined for a downward spiral into face-pocked psychosis but I can assure you there are functional users out there as I consider myself one of them. How many of us are functional is anyone’s guess because no-one wants to advertise their relationship with meth to the mainstream. Despite considering myself a functional user, I still carry the fear that one day down the road my long term use will catch up with me and result in some kind of nasty health surprise like cancer or perhaps a stroke the next time I push the plunger. To answer the OP’s question in a meaningful way requires some context though because there’s a huge number of variables at play such as:

How often do you use?
How much do you use?
How long have you used?
What is your ROA (route of administration)?
How pure is your meth?
Do you get a sufficient amount of sleep?
Do you get proper nutrition?
Do you get exercise?
Do you have any underlying medical conditions?
How old are you?
Etc. etc.

Every one of those factors can significantly affect your answer to the OP’s question but ultimately, how hard your meth use is on your body will come down to one thing: Do you allow your body sufficient time to repair itself between each use. The human body has an amazing capacity to self-repair but if you keep beating it down before it can recover, eventually things will start to break down. Heavy daily use is unlikely to end well, ever. It might take years or even a decade or more, especially if you’re young and healthy when you start, but eventually it will all catch up.

Sleep deprivation is extremely hard on the body and may do as much or even more damage than the meth itself. Recent studies have discovered that during sleep is when your brain rids itself of accumulated toxins. Mix sleep deprivation with a meth binge and you are hammering your brain! I was reckless when I started and sometimes stayed up for 2 or 3 days straight and kept redosing over and over, at my worst using up to 1.5 grams in a day.

Meth depletes the nutrients in your body, stresses your organs and wreaks havoc on your immune system, and the older you are, the longer it takes your body to recover. I’ve definitely pushed my own limits and on that note, I’ll provide some context for my answer to the OP’s questions. I’ve been using every 7 to 10 days for 6 years, averaging about a half gram per 2-day binge, which typically starts with slamming about 0.2 grams and then moving to other ROA’s. I lose a full night’s sleep each time, but make it all up in between binges. I exercise three times a week and eat a healthy, well balanced diet. I rotate my ROA frequently to give my body parts a break. I always test my dope and it is consistently high quality from a reliable source.

Do I think I’ve damaged my brain? I notice some effects for the first 2 to 3 days afterwards: my memory is a bit worse and I’m a bit ‘sad’ for lack of a better word, but after about 4 days I feel pretty normal and after 10 days I feel essentially like I always did. It’s possible I’ve irreversibly fried some of my dopamine receptors but I can’t say that I perceive any difference in my mood after 10 days.

I’m not condoning meth use in any way and may just be one of the lucky ones who can control their cravings – and believe me I have plenty of cravings. If meth use had no negative physical consequences, I’d chase that rush every day. But over time, I’ve found that the quality of that rush and the ensuing high is so much better after a break! It also gives me something to look forward to, a reward for being responsible and hard working in between. Ultimately, if I’m honest with myself, I still think I use too much and too often. I think a person could likely use for decades and maintain a normal life if they used once every one or two months.

The cons? Already mentioned that I worry about my health over the long term, but the other one is that when I’m high, I’m trading away quality of life with my loved ones – time with my kids that I’ll never get back. That one really bothers me. Interestingly enough, the comedowns have gotten better and better over the years because of tolerance and because I haven’t allowed myself to increase my dose or frequency of use for many years. In fact, the comedown is relatively mild now compared to my first couple years when they were nothing short of horrific. I used to suffer from insomnia for decades, but now sleep better than ever, although I do toss and turn during my sleep.

 

[Crimsonliar78]

I've actually asked the question about shooting up before and the responses were what I restated. But I'd assume at that point it would have to do with the viscosity of whatever substance is going to be sent through your veins. If the material is not totally tired into finer liquid it would probably have more ramifications on your veins. I just think that most addicts who shoot up regularly prioritize getting their fix over properly preparing the substance before IV'ing it. Most addicts don't really have professional medical training or prepare the substances they're about to IV correctly. I don't know people who are on morphine drips as many times as an addict is shooting up heroin. At a certain point though, I really don't know and I'm just a stranger on the internet lol. I'd bet in Europe or places where heroin is allowed as detox treatment (iirc this is only in Europe right now) they have the diamorphine prepared as much as possible so there is such minimal damage to the veins. However, I have never heard about anyone complaining about hospital treatments causing vein damage from anything that they've been IV'd while under medical assistance.



I get what you're saying but I've never seen chronic meth use lead someone to a place other than darkness I'd bet that higher quality meth causes less side effects, but it's unnatural to have that much dopamine released on a regular basis and eventually the brain would become ultra dependent on meth for mood stability. Anhedonia is definitely a long term side effect of heavy stimulant abuse. Tolerance is the enemy of addiction. Literally any addiction eventually within time results in something becoming "unfeelable," so you'd need higher and higher doses to get any effects and your tolerance just keeps escalating. It's good to take breaks if you can, especially with stimulants because diminishing returns is so fast for that class of drugs. Using stimulants on a daily basis inevitably causes tolerance to get sky high. There were one or two weeks where I was taking high dose adderall quite regularly because at the time my tolerance was starting to scare me. It was quite a miserable week and I stopped benefitting from using it at all. So when it comes to stimulants I just try to take 2 weeks off or more if I can. I mostly use pharmaceutical stims for recreational purposes over actually needing them to get work done. Stimulants in general are far more effective when you've let your brain regenerate some natural dopamine--which doesn't happen if you're using daily. If you look at the MDMA abuse threads the side effects of users lasts even years if not permanently. Some of these side effects include anhedonia, heavy anxiety, memory problems, etc. Stimulants can also turn you into an anti-social hermit as perpetual use can create social anxiety and paranoia. It's weird talking to someone while stimmed out and your mind is racing 100 miles per hour and they're completely sober. You start thinking that they're thinking thoughts they absolutely aren't thinking and become detached from reality. Out of any drug I know meth causes people to absolutely go bonkers and lose their saneness entirely. Probably from psychosis. The scariest part is that they never seem to realize how detached they have become and it's always anything but the drugs that lead them to insanity.

I think people often forget that methamphetamine and heroin are harder drugs. The euphoria is light and in the beginning they always seem less devastating than the media makes them out to be. Problem is when you actually try to quit, the positive effects are so engrained in your life that it's such a severe struggle to cope day after day without them. In addition, the withdrawals are mentally quite severe to the point that the user is miserable. And not just for a week or so, it can take months to feel remotely even normal again. You only realize how powerful the drugs truly are when you try to become sober and can't. It's not going to be fun anymore in a year or two. And you probably will get fed up with the quitting process and how difficult it is to just endure every second of a life without dopamine while your brain replenishes it's natural balance. No one wants to quit meth or heroin. They quit simply because they are forced to. You don't want to hit rock bottom. Get out when you realize it's starting to negatively impact your entire life. It's the opposite of fun when you repeatedly relapse just to feel baseline again. Pretty sure almost every addict has been there before.

I snort when I'm using. Used coke for 9 years, meth for the past 4 i think. My nose is FUCKED. No holes thankfully but i do have a badly deviated septum, which causes alot of problems with sleep. My nose is constantly dripping too. It crackles sometimes and gets painfully dry inside.

 

[Crimsonliar78]

I am also a heavy, daily user. It's no joke when I say I'm going through 2-3grams each day. It's nothing to be proud of, I can tell you that. I suffer from a lot of short term memory loss, like I will go upstairs at my house to get something and completely forget what I was going to get. Sometimes I'm easily frustrated and enraged. People will tell jokes and while everyone is laughing their ass off, I'm standing there expressionless because I didn't even listen to what they said. It's a wonder some days how I even get up and go to work, but I do. I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and hit the pipe a few times and go back to sleep. I want so badly to taper down, but the habit of doing meth is wrapped tightly around me like a serpent. I smoke 30 to 40 hits before work like it was no big deal. The longest period of time I've went without doing any meth has been maybe 4 or 5 hours, for years now. These days to get really happy on meth I smoke some good pot or take a percoset and that kicks in some hapiness. It does change you, and it's most obvious on the faces of family and friends, or do I just think they are looking at me wierd? I do way too much and I know it. The problem for me is how the hell to slow it down.

I have memory problems too. I'll go to say something in conversation and i lose my words. Hours later it randomly comes back. Pisses me off!

 

[treemaan101]

Sounds like it's not worth it in the grand scheme of things. I know it's so much better than adderall--but I'm just not down to cross the bridge into a portal I absolutely cannot close lol. Methamphetamine just goes to show that psychological addiction with stimulants is just as overwhelming if not more than physical dependency (like with something like benzos/opiates). A lot of people jump into dabbling with heavy stimulants unaware of how devastating the withdrawal can be. Even though it's mostly mental, it's definitely horrible enough to constantly promote relapsing. Anyway, I was just interested in what users had to say about it over the hysteria spoon-fed to the world by the general public. I've never known anything good to happen to anyone who has dived into meth use. In fact I've yet to know someone who hasn't ruined their life with it so far. I wonder if it is even more addicting than heroin actually. It's highly hedonistic and taboo in the area where I am located. If you disclose to people that you use hardcore stimulants they will instantly avoid you.

 

[Ksilvers]

The negative consequences for me are pretty clear.

Meth makes me a loner and unsociable (because nobody else I know takes drugs I stick clear of them when high)

Meth affects my cognitive skills especially memory but also my ability to write (my job involves a lot of writing)

Meth makes me forget what rthe fuck I am supposed to be doing that day (this can occur multiple days in a row leading to very low professional productivity)

Meth makes me spend a lot of money chasing sex to mix with my meth

Meth has killed all of the veins in both my arms

Meth makes me unnaturally emotional and cry frequently during comedown (this is weird because often no context for crying)

Meth prevents treatment for my psychological / psychiatric problems working properly

Meth makes me immune to meth meaning I use over a gram a day (which is pointless and expensive but probably also physically dangerous)

Meth gives me a feeling of powerlessness because I cannot say no for verfy long (this is bad for my self-esteem)

Besides all of that I think its a wonder drug!

The crying thing happens to me to. That is so weird.

 

[Joey]

The consequences of meth use become more severe and radical by crossing wires in your brain which were never meant to be crossed. Normally your brain material isn't shrunk to have outlets closer, white matter to protect plugs and cords is melted away, and your tattered cords as they are, your neurons diminished functioning is spinning out alongside only what's left of the other neurons in total psychosis!

This demyelination, or in other words the white matter disintegration around your neurons, and thus making your post meth use brain analogous in image and function to someone with paranoid schizophrenia. Someone with paranoid schizophrenic, on meth.

Meth delusions and psychosis are rarely held under any decent resolve to having control, because predominantly it's effecting the majority to believe their delusions. Meth is equallly a deleriant as something like belladonna or high dose gravol, and I challenge anyone whose seen another person deep into their shit as what's possible to go, say meth isn't insanity.

It is so bad of an idea to start using meth if you aren't using it already. Street meth cannot be rationed out to rational levels! 5 or 10mg in USA as a last line defense! Canada, we don't even prescribe it at all! (Safer supply's up and coming not withstading)

Not even by even the most rational people who are using it! Often! It is psychologically the most, stood by substance - as being the one you can't miss, ever!

Meth fucking ruined my life.

 

[Ksilvers]

M

The consequences of meth use become more severe and radical by crossing wires in your brain which were never meant to be crossed. Normally your brain material isn't shrunk to have outlets closer, white matter to protect plugs and cords is melted away, and your tattered cords as they are, your neurons diminished functioning is spinning out alongside only what's left of the other neurons in total psychosis!

This demyelination, or in other words the white matter disintegration around your neurons, and thus making your post meth use brain analogous in image and function to someone with paranoid schizophrenia. Someone with paranoid schizophrenic, on meth.

Meth delusions and psychosis are rarely held under any decent resolve to having control, because predominantly it's effecting the majority to believe their delusions. Meth is equallly a deleriant as something like belladonna or high dose gravol, and I challenge anyone whose seen another person deep into their shit as what's possible to go, say meth isn't insanity.

It is so bad of an idea to start using meth if you aren't using it already. Street meth cannot be rationed out to rational levels! 5 or 10mg in USA as a last line defense! Canada, we don't even prescribe it at all! (Safer supply's up and coming not withstading)

Not even by even the most rational people who are using it! Often! It is psychologically the most, stood by substance - as being the one you can't miss, ever!

Meth fucking ruined my life.

Meth is truly hell.

 

[Eligiu]

I used meth heavily in 2017 (my last week of using culminating in almost a gram a day IV) and only then did I suffer from a bad comedown. I'd been using regularly for around 7-9 months at least half a fortnight or so where money allowed and a bit extra here and there. I felt miserable for weeks, like nothing would ever cheer me up again. And I was utterly exhausted, I didn't feel like I'd have the energy or motivation to do anything worthwhile in a long time but I pulled my way through the rest of my law degree and put myself into outpatient treatment specifically for meth use.

Over 4 years post rehab I periodically slipped up 3-9 months apart (couldn't break that one year mark) and never had a bad comedown until the one time I overamped and that was awful.

Then I had 18 months off it completely and I definitely was back to normal.

Relapsed in early December and went back to using regularly again 3-4 times a week until February when I scaled back to once a week. Did that until May when I scaled back to once a month.

Didn't have any noticeable comedown effects during the past 6 months of my using more or less except for the time I overamped. Still an IV user.

I wouldn't recommend everyone else try to use meth like me. I'm addicted to the needle, not the drug. I'm not able to shoot heroin (my preferred drug) due to maintenance therapy so I use meth due to availability. Because of that and having both narcolepsy and ADHD it doesn't really have the full effect on me that it has on other users. I've never felt like I was touching god or anything after shooting up. Bit of a rush then thats it. I also don't endlessly wank and have sex, I usually just browse the forum, sit on the discord, and write in a journal.

 

[houseman5]

I've used meth like 50 times the past few years and I see no consequences from my use

 

[deficiT]

Ime, all of the bad side effects from overconsumption of meth were acute, and went away with time. But I have met some heavy meth users in rehabs and other places that clearly must've burnt out some dopamine receptors, because they can hardly crack a smile anymore and it's like the light in their eyes has gone out, even after years of abstinence from it.

That said, I have ADHD, and I really can't function without my dextroamp. I'm not sure how big of a role my extended use of meth plays into that. With that said I haven't used the stuff in quite some time (have only used it once in the past year) and I'm rather happy for that. Meth can damage your brain seriously, given enough chronic heavy use, I've seen it firsthand and there are definitely plenty of horror stories out there.

 

[Jabberwocky]

all I know is I’ve seen a lot of drugs and nothing ravages people like meth and alcohol those are the 2 that are the worst for the body in my opinion

 

[watermellon]

Thankfully I outgrew meth. I was pretty heavy in it for 5 years on and off, mostly on. About half a gram a day at the most, more when I was around other tweakers. It's been a few years now and I still feel the lingering effects. No doubt like everyone said it really got my anxiety going and I'm prone to it in the 1st place. Before weather it was meth or Adderall I could never make it last, I'd blow through it like it was going out of style. Now I very rarely use Adderall except as a pick me up a few times a month. I only use 10-15mg at time. I don't even consider Adderall in the same class as meth. Even tho they're both amps meth blows it out of the water

 

[deficiT]

Thankfully I outgrew meth. I was pretty heavy in it for 5 years on and off, mostly on. About half a gram a day at the most, more when I was around other tweakers. It's been a few years now and I still feel the lingering effects. No doubt like everyone said it really got my anxiety going and I'm prone to it in the 1st place. Before weather it was meth or Adderall I could never make it last, I'd blow through it like it was going out of style. Now I very rarely use Adderall except as a pick me up a few times a month. I only use 10-15mg at time. I don't even consider Adderall in the same class as meth. Even tho they're both amps meth blows it out of the water

Regular amphetamine is certainly more functional and useful, less prone to compulsive dosing and sketchy ROAs. Meth is absolutely something to stay away from if at all possible.

As others have said, it's pretty much in the tier of the worst life destroying drugs that include alcohol, heroin, meth, and potentially cocaine freebase or IV.

 

[Deleted member 554582]

Fried brain,damage on heart,kidneys and heart...liver also,addiction,mental health problems,libido problems,eventually law problems...so a lot of problems,if meth grabs you and cicling you years&years