"Faces of Meth" Syndrome...Causes?

[Lady Codone]

I was just watching a special on meth and couldn't get over how shitty the people looked--deep facial wrinkles, sad looking eyes, fucked up skin, etc--the typical "faces of meth" thing. Anyway, I was wondering exactly what it is about street meth that causes premature aging, bone loss/hair loss, and all the other physical symptoms, and why some users look like that and some don't who've been using the same amount of time?

And do people on long-term PRESCRIBED amphetamines get these features? (I wouldn't think they did or it wouldn't be considered ok for medical purposes.) I know food/sleep deprivation is hard on the body, but highly doubt it causes permanent changes in appearance like that on its own.

No interest in trying meth, I was just curious lol.

 

[sonic]

It's simple. It's from malnutrition, picking at your face, lack of dental hygiene, etc. All indirect effects of the drug. Meth is neurotoxic and it will deplete your body of nutrients, and most meth heads aren't worried about staying healthy. This is the major problem. Some meth users I've known have managed to take good care of themselves and they didn't turn into a faces of meth poster person. Those people were just more responsible to begin with and even though they were meth addicts, they didn't let the drug completely run their lives. There are many different degrees of addiction.

 

[95Land]

^All of that is definitely true. Another big factor is sleep, or lack thereof. When I was using meth regularly I always tried to never go more than 24-48 hours without sleep. That's still a really long time but I knew some people that would stay up for a week smoking the shit. People that do that obviously wear themselves out severely, mentally and physically. Over time it also shows itself through your looks. Long time users age very, very quickly. You are not supposed to live at that speed.

 

[Gldm]

I would say sleep is probably the primary factor. Without adequate sleep the body will deteriorate rapidly. Some people say they can "smell meth on you", but usually what they smell is the product of bad hygene, increased sweating, and exhaustion. The skin problems may be from just that or in combination with amphetamine psychosis symptoms like constantly feeling like bugs are on you and scratching at them.

A dentist recently told me that the current consensus among their community is that the tooth decay comes from a combination of craving for sugar and having an appetite suppressant in the system, which leads people to consume a lot of sugary drinks while on meth. Not sure if that's true but considering what my appetite is like on dexedrine I'd say it's probable.

If you're on prescribed amphetamines, what you eat or supplement can have a big impact on you. I recommend switching to drinking things with sucralose (splenda) to placate any sugar cravings without causing dental problems. My current favorite is the instant mix stuff 4C makes, which is quite good. Aspartame, which is a much more common artificial sweetener found in things like Crystal Light or Diet Coke, may cause unwanted interactions with prescription meds due to breakdown to phenylalanine. At least it did in my case. Taurine, which is found in Red Bull and most other energy drinks, also caused a bad interaction with amphetamine for me, so be careful of that one as well. Glutamine, which can protect against muscle loss that's common with amphetamine use, seems to be fine though and I take it nightly. For getting to sleep, people have recommended theanine to me but I haven't tried it yet. My neuropharmacologist is of the opinion that it may be a worthwhile substitute for low dosages of klonopin (0.5mg) as it's non-prescription and way cheaper, so I'll be experimenting with that shortly as per her directions.

If you're going to be taking prescription amphetamines long term for the first time, you should consider logging how many calories you're eating per day for at least a month or until your dosage stabilizes. Particularly if you're normally slightly overweight, since you may not instinctively eat enough to maintain yourself and have to start planning meals with a bit of care to stay healthy.

 

[Lady Codone]

Good, thorough answers guys! Thanks!

 

[theWorldWithin]

Even and attractive person will look horrible in a state of misery, do not underestimate the mental toll affecting mood and thus appearance either.

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

Theres some seriously nasty byproducts can be created with a shoddy synth.

***Snipped - Mr Blonde.***

 

[Jabberwocky]

Pure Speculation:

I think meth depletes or wears down collagen through the bad nutrition and excess wear and tear with little recuperation. I think that is some of the pronounced sunkeness and loose skin.(I know weight loss accounts for this as well) Vitamin C is a co-factor in collagen synthesis but the synthesis is complex and involves many other factors.

 

[Coolio]

It's simple. It's from malnutrition, picking at your face, lack of dental hygiene, etc. All indirect effects of the drug. Meth is neurotoxic and it will deplete your body of nutrients, and most meth heads aren't worried about staying healthy. This is the major problem. Some meth users I've known have managed to take good care of themselves and they didn't turn into a faces of meth poster person. Those people were just more responsible to begin with and even though they were meth addicts, they didn't let the drug completely run their lives. There are many different degrees of addiction.

ding ding ding

 

[Mr Blonde]

Please don't go into synthesis discussion; I've had to unapprove a few posts in here. Such talk is against the rules.

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

I was under the impression that talking about toxic byproducts, and cleaning of drugs was allowed under the BLUA, I wasn't giving any specific info for anyone wanting to synth meth.

Nasty stuff anyway, even minus aziridines and other crap

 

[Mr Blonde]

I was under the impression that talking about toxic byproducts, and cleaning of drugs was allowed under the BLUA, I wasn't giving any specific info for anyone wanting to synth meth.

You can discuss purifying and the toxic byproducts that may be found in the product; but discussion of the techniques that cause this is not allowed. I suppose that the posts that were made were somewhat of a grey area, but this was brought to my attention by other mods and a senior mod as well who agreed that that sort of talk is borderline at best.

Feel free to talk about the byproducts, their effects and how to clean though; that is mos def harm reduction.

 

[Coolio]

I think ESPECIALLY with methamphetamine synthesis talk it's best to be overly cautious. Law enforcement has tunnel vision when it comes to chemistry, and they're focused on meth production almost entirely.

 

[sonic]

Which by-products are supposed to cause physical defects? I'm just curious.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ Lol, Sonic you can read unapproved posts.

 

[alicat72]

lack of sleep....that's all it is...lack of sleep.........

restorative sleep produces growth hormones...it regenerates the biological system.....

an old friend of mine used to be amazed at how much youger she looked after a good nights sleep with xanax.....go figure