Getting help with your addiction to methamphetamine is critical to your mental and physical well-being. The first step will be detoxifying your body, ridding it of all the drugs you’ve been taking. Meth withdrawal can be challenging, as meth detox symptoms can be severe, but it’s a necessary step in your recovery. For your health and safety, you should detox under professional, medical supervision.
A Highly Addictive Drug
Methamphetamine, or meth as it is commonly known, is an addictive stimulant. It can be taken in pill form, as a powder that is usually snorted, or as a powder dissolved in water and injected. Crystal meth looks like a piece of rock or glass, is usually pale blue, and is typically smoked through a pipe.
Meth will produce an intense high that comes on quickly and then fades just as quickly. Coming down from this high can cause physical and emotional symptoms that prove difficult for the user, including insomnia and depression. Meth addiction usually follows this pattern of bingeing and crashing.
The First Step is Detox
Overcoming your addiction to meth is vital for your health and well-being, physically and mentally. The drug can wreak havoc on your life in so many ways. The first step in addressing your addiction is detoxification, ridding your body of the addictive substance. You will experience some challenging meth detox symptoms but the benefits of overcoming your addiction far outweigh any negative experiences you’ll have at this stage.
What to Expect During Detox
Meth withdrawal symptoms will typically appear within 24 hours of your last dose of the drug. Depending on how long and how much meth you’ve consumed, your symptoms can range from mild to severe. Meth withdrawal symptoms include:
- Red, itchy eyes
- Anxiety
- Depressed mood
- Difficulty sleeping
- Lack of motivation
- Decreased sexual pleasure
- Increased appetite
- Lack of energy and fatigue
- Cravings
- Paranoia
- Psychosis
Your symptoms will peak around seven to ten days after you quit using the drug.
Detox Timeline
All these symptoms will probably not hit you all at once. The timeline for meth withdrawal follows a fairly typical pattern. In the first day or two after you stop using, you will be completely without energy. You’ll be exhausted and may sleep continuously. When you are awake, you may be extremely hungry all the time.
In the first week or two, you will continue to be very tired with feelings of depression, restlessness, and paranoia. You may be unable to feel any sense of pleasure. Depression will usually decrease after about ten days but has been known to last longer. This is a particularly dangerous time as you may be so depressed that you want to go back to using meth instead of sticking with your detox plan. Remember that detoxing your body and learning how to live a healthy life with drugs will be worth all the challenges you are going through in this phase.
After this point, you may continue to experience appetite and sleep issues. For the next several weeks, you may experience lightheadedness, confusion, shortness of breath, and confusion. During this phase, you may start to go through Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS), a temporary condition that is triggered by cues that remind you of using meth. Your symptoms can include irritability, insomnia, anxiety, and cravings. PAWS can occur months after you stop using meth.
Long-Term Effects
You may experience meth detox symptoms over the long term, as meth withdrawal can cause continued cravings, depression, anxiety, irregular sleep patterns, and cognitive issues. Professionally supervised detox will help you manage these symptoms so that you can move forward with addiction treatment and recovery.
Therapy and support groups can help you stay motivated and resist temptations to use again. It can be extremely dangerous to attempt to detox and withdraw from this addictive drug on your own. Medically supervised detox can also help address your sleep issues, cravings, challenges with cognitive abilities, and depression.
Contact Recovery Without Walls for Help with Meth Addiction
At Recovery Without Walls, we understand that it can be difficult and even dangerous to stop using and abusing methamphetamine without help. We are here to guide you through safe and effective withdrawal from meth so you can move forward with improving your physical and mental health. We personalize your treatment based on evidence-informed research, exceptional psychotherapy, nutritional support, and integrative healing methods designed to treat your whole body. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
