Meth Withdrawal Symptoms: 5 Symptoms to be Aware Of

Methamphetamine, primarily known as meth, is a highly addictive drug. Meth addiction comes with various types of withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms of meth withdrawal are generally associated with severe physical and mental agitation. If the symptoms are not treated properly, they can permanently harm an individual.

Here are some common meth withdrawal symptoms and genuine ways to deal with them.

What are the Symptoms of Meth Withdrawal?

A meth-addicted body will start to show withdrawal symptoms if one stops the dosage. And it will happen within the first 24 hours of the last consumption. The initial phase is generally 2 weeks long.

Here is a list of immediate and long-term symptoms of meth withdrawal:

Now, let’s look at the 5 most common signs of meth withdrawal.

5 Most Common Signs of Meth Withdrawal

Signs of meth withdrawal may vary from individual to individual, but there are some specific symptoms that are most frequent.

Here are the 5 most common signs of meth withdrawal:

Insomnia and Hypersomnia

During the meth addiction phase, an individual may feel highly energetic and unable to sleep. During the first week of withdrawal, the individual starts feeling incapable of physical activities, fatigued, and sleep-deprived.

At the end of the first week, the signs of fatigue will be most prominent. Then hypersomnia will take effect, making the individual sleep for 11 to 12 hours.

Meth Cravings

After discontinuing or even lowering the intake of meth, an individual will experience stronger cravings for the substance. This is because the scarcity of meth in the system makes the brain dopamine deficient. A brain habituated with a highly abnormal amount of dopamine will try to regain the balance to feel normal again.

The intensity of the cravings is so strong that it becomes impossible for someone to cope with it without external help, be it from other people or medication.

Psychosis

Psychosis after discontinuation of taking meth varies significantly among individuals due to its mental nature. However, can be divided into three common symptoms:

Disturbing and Puzzling Thoughts

Disturbing, uncontrollable, and puzzling thoughts are one of the main symptoms of meth withdrawal. In addition, one can find the individual speaking constantly in a confused manner.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations may include various physical experiences ranging from seeing things to tasting things that are not even there.

Delusions

People undergoing meth withdrawal can experience delusions, where they will start firmly believing in something false.

Anxiety

Understandably, a person going through all of these symptoms is under a lot of stress. Unfortunately, all the stress accumulates, but does not get any way out, and causes the person to suffer severe anxiety disorder.

In most cases, getting out of the loop of distress, mental or physical, becomes impossible without professional help.

Depression

A continual lack of interest in daily activities, mood swings, and manic episodes are the signs of depression as well as meth withdrawal. It takes 3 weeks to regain normalcy from depression and drug addiction for most people, but for some, it can continue further.

How Does Meth Work?

Meth floods the brain with excessive dopamine, a hormone on which feelings of accomplishment, victory, concentration, motivation, bliss, euphoria, etc., depend. The substance stimulates such feelings in the brain and reinforces it to crave the substance and makes it depend on it.

People can take meth by smoking, swallowing, injecting, and inhaling. However, the "high" from a dose does not last very long, so many people take frequent doses compromising their eating and sleep cycle.

What are the Effects of Meth Abuse?

Meth abuse and meth addiction generally come with both instant and long-term effects on the human body.

The immediate effects are:

Meth abuse and mental health are closely related. A prolonged phase of meth addiction may permanently affect the individual's mind and body. However, for any patient, a proper meth abuse treatment will surely help to regain the semblances of everyday life.

What is the Duration and Severity of Meth Withdrawal?

The duration and severity of the symptoms of meth withdrawal depend on individual circumstances. For instance, the symptoms may vary if an individual is “binging and crashing” or he or she is someone who takes a limited amount of meth daily for an indefinite period.

Let’s look at how long meth withdrawal lasts with the help of this timeline:

Days 1-2

The most challenging meth withdrawal phase, known as the "crash", happens within 24 hours of not using the drug. During this phase, an individual is the most vulnerable. A decline in usual mental functions and physical strength is coupled with strong bouts of abdominal cramps and nausea.

Additionally, a patient detoxing from meth must stay under surveillance due to the risk of overhydration.

Days 3-14

Days 3 to 14 are the time when the symptoms of meth withdrawal peak. It is the time when anxiety and depression kick in completely. The body fails to meet the abnormal dopamine deprivation, and the mind cannot find a single way to satiate it.

It is the phase where complete fatigue makes the individual completely burned out, and physical symptoms of muscle spasms appear.

Days 14-30

Now, it is time for most of the physical symptoms to fade away gradually. However, some individuals can still feel powerful meth cravings.

Physical fatigue and signs of depression will continue to persist during this stage.

30 Days and More

After a month, in most cases, significant bodily symptoms completely go away. If the individual stays under the proper supervision of a caregiver and does not relapse, their recovery is almost complete.

However, stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms may still linger and continue for some months.

One can decrease the torment in these phases depending on the individual’s situation and resources for relief.

What Can One do to Get Relief?

People facing symptoms of meth withdrawal can better cope with the phases if they open up and seek help from a trusted family member or someone they can rely on.

A caregiver in this situation could provide help by:

Making More Time for Them

Taking care in the initial phases of meth withdrawal is crucial for many reasons. First, the caregiver can alter their daily routine and, if needed, cancel or postpone some of their engagements to make extra time for their loved ones.

Letting Them Be Comfortable

In times of suffering, everyone needs someone to provide care and comfort.

It can be little things, like preparing a hot bath, keeping the environment peaceful, tidying up their room, cooking a nutritious meal, ensuring that they stay hydrated, and so on, that can make a big difference.

Being Prepared to See the Worst of Them

The caregiver must also keep in mind that the person they knew might not be the same while suffering meth withdrawal.

The process of detoxification is hard both on their bodies and their minds. So, staying prepared for it will give a caregiver the opportunity to provide the necessary comfort.

Being Patient

Overall, patience is the thing that will ultimately let the caregiver see positive changes. They must remember that all the symptoms will eventually fade, and the care they are providing will make the recovery process easier.

However, taking sole responsibility for a patient suffering meth withdrawal can have adverse effects. It is always best to seek professional help in these situations.

How do Professionals Treat Meth Withdrawal?

Caregivers have to remember that meth addiction is a chronic disease. One cannot hope to just endure the withdrawal symptoms to cure the disease completely. One might need both medicinal support and meth abuse counseling to recover completely.

Any effective drug abuse treatment program should have some principles at its core. Let’s look at some of them:

A professional meth abuse treatment center will guide the patient through five phases of a principle-based treatment program to achieve complete recovery from meth withdrawal symptoms.

The five phases of treatment are:

Detoxification

The first stage of rehab for meth addiction involves monitoring the patient’s vital signs while providing necessary medication and counseling. This process continues until the patient is at ease without meth inside the system.

Residential

The next stage carries the treatment forward with a residential surrounding. It intends to acclimatize the patient to a homely environment.

This phase helps the patient to get further control over their cravings. This stage allows an individual to recover free from any triggers, negative influences, and social stigmas.

Partial Hospitalization (PHP)

A partial hospitalization (PHP) stage means that an individual can stay at his home or a sober living home while continuing the treatment. In this stage, a patient will participate in group therapy and one-on-one counseling sessions. These sessions are for an individual to gain self-knowledge, a better understanding of addiction, and what recovery means for them.

The PHP phase provides a safe space for an individual to talk and learn about issues they are facing while recovering. It enables them to transition to a freer phase of treatment.

Intensive Outpatient (IOP)

A patient is prepared for independent living at this stage. An individual will participate in therapy sessions that are concentrated on a long-term view of recovery.

In this phase the emphasis is on relapse prevention, learning life skills, and developing new meaningful and healthy relationships.

Patients can participate in their other obligations such as school or work while continuing treatment in the intensive outpatient (IOP) phase.

Outpatient (OP)

When an individual reaches this stage, it means that they have recovered completely and are suitable for living independently.

In the outpatient (OP) stage, an individual needs to attend the facility for not more than a couple of hours.

Getting relief from meth withdrawal or addiction demands serious attention, both from the suffering individual and the caregiver. With the right professional help, one can not only cure the disease but uncover their inner superhero and live the best life possible.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long can it take for an individual to overcome meth addiction?

Generally, it takes 2 to 5 years of hard work and commitment to completely overcome drug addiction. The duration can depend on various factors like how deep the people into meth addiction were, how well they are treated to get out of it, etc.

What are the stages of meth addiction?

There are generally 7 stages to any addiction, namely - Initial use, Abuse, Tolerance, Dependence, Addiction, and Relapse.

What are the primary risk factors for meth addiction?

The primary factors for meth addiction include - Peer pressure, Family history, Mental health disorder, and Lack of familial attachment.

Is addiction always treatable?

Addiction is a treatable disease. Be it meth addiction or anything else, it can be treated if the addicted individual or the people close to him takes initiative and seeks to change the condition.

What is the primary cause of relapse?

Stress is the primary reason why people revert back to substance abuse. Everyone recovering from addiction is bound to face a lot of stress throughout the process. So, they should figure out safer ways to avoid and manage stress.