Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse.

Methamphetamine also known as Methylaphetamine or as Meth is an extremely strong psychoactive drug. Meth affects both the body and the mind producing certain pleasant sensations when taken in mild doses, however meth taken at higher doses and for a long time produces extremely unpleasant and severe effects.

Immediate effects of meth:

Meth is widely used as a club drug illegally at clubs, bars and parties due to its extremely well received pleasurable immediate effects. Meth induces a massive shot of the brain's natural pain relieving and pleasure inducing dopamine to be released. This brings forth various pleasant sensations such as a mild euphoria, a sense of increased self esteem and increased sex drive along with heightened concentration, vigilance and energy.

Meth effects vary in intensity based on how it is taken into the body. Meth is taken up by the body immediately and in full dosage when injected and up to 99 percentage when administered as a suppository and around 90 percentage when smoked and around 62 percentage when taken in orally. Smoked, inserted into the anus or urethra and injected, meth brings about it's most intense effects of an extreme sense of euphoric 'rush' while snorted or ingested orally it gives much milder sensations of the same. Meth effects are widely compared to the effects of crack cocaine, just that the effects of meth last for much longer.

Meth also affects the body. Physical signs of meth abuse are dry mouth, hyperactivity, restlessness, sleeplessness, dizziness, tremors, blurry vision, constipation, diarrhea, numbness etc. Meth effects extend to a person's appearance. Acne, fatigue and pallor combined with extreme weight loss dramatically alter the person's physique.

Meth effects, though they start out pleasantly take a steep plunge to unpleasantness real fast. Listed below are the various time bound effects of meth on the body and the brain.

1) Rush: Rush refers to the intense pleasurable high sensed immediately on taking meth. A hike in blood pressure, heart rate and energy last for around thirty minutes. This is pleasure ride associated with taking meth.

2) High: This stage sees the meth taker having delusions combined with high energy, restlessness, aggression and obsessive behavior.

3) Binge: In an effort to maintain the waning effects of the drug, increasing amounts of the drug is consumed. Users soon develop tolerance for the drug that even increased amounts fail to bring the dramatic effects they crave.

4) Increased dosage and weakened drug 'high' leads the person to become aggressive, depressed, restless, and sleepless and develops various physical complaints.

5)Withdrawal effects, lack of the drug and the high it brings about can cause traumatic sensations including suicidal tendencies.

Long-term effects of meth:

Prolonged abuse of meth has severe and serious implications for the mental and physical health of the abuser. Physical effects include an exacerbation of the short term effects of meth and a drastic deterioration of teeth, kidneys, liver, lung and the brain. Psychologically the drug is known to induce schizophrenia like psychotic condition in which the person hallucinates, is delusional and obsessive, becoming completely dysfunctional.