With stimulants playing a role in 59% of overdoses, amphetamine addiction is a serious condition that requires immediate treatment. Various factors contribute to substance use disorder, but regardless of the cause, inpatient care is the first step toward a full recovery. A medically supervised detox, group and individual therapy, medication management and aftercare programs offer the best shot at reducing the risk of relapse and finding happiness again.
What Is Amphetamine Addiction and How Does It Develop?
Substance addiction is a chronic and progressive disease. A person may receive an amphetamine addiction diagnosis if they have developed both a physical and psychological dependency on the drug. Being dependent one way or another is still serious and may require treatment, but amphetamine addiction involves more than just physical dependency. It can also entail mental and behavioral dependencies on the drug in question.
People who abuse amphetamines or take prescribed amphetamines for a long period of time are at increased risk of developing an addiction. A person who develops a tolerance to their current dose of amphetamine and must increase that dose to get the same effects as before may have a dependency on the drug. Establishing a pattern of tolerance and dose increase often paves the path to full-blown physical dependency and, often, addiction. Physical dependency is not the same as addiction if the psychological dependency is not present.
A person can also quite easily develop a psychological dependency on the drug. In the case of amphetamines, a person might feel they “need” the drug to perform better at work or school. These drugs are known to increase alertness and energy. When a person feels a compulsion to use amphetamines and mentally relies on them on a regular basis, they may have developed a psychological dependency on them. Amphetamine abuse typically precedes amphetamine addiction, but the time it takes for addiction to develop varies from person to person, the amount of the drug they abuse, and the manner in which they abuse it.
Common Amphetamines
Individuals can get a prescription for brand-name amphetamines or buy them from illicit sellers. Common brand names include:
- Adderall
- Ritalin
- Dexedrine
- Sanorex
- Mazanor
- Fastin
Street names for amphetamines include “uppers,” “crank,” “ice” and “speed.”
Signs of Amphetamine Addiction
A person may not be aware that they have developed an addiction. Often, people who are addicted believe they have control over their drug use. Regardless of their own thoughts on their drug use, though, they may receive a substance abuse disorder diagnosis if they have developed both physical and psychological dependencies on the drug. A surefire way to diagnose physical dependency is the presence of withdrawal symptoms if the amphetamine is not taken within a certain period of time. It may be harder to establish the mental dependency, but often, people addicted to powerful amphetamines will repeatedly try to quit but fail. They may feel preoccupied throughout the day with using the drug or obtaining a supply of the drug.
When a full-blown addiction sets in, the individual may exhibit many of these signs and symptoms:
- Mood swings
- Depression and anxiety
- Decreased sex drive
- Reduced appetite
- Insomnia
- Dry mouth
- Nausea and vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Headaches
- Irregular heartbeat
- Hallucinations
In general, people struggling with amphetamine addiction may doctor shop in order to increase their supply of the drug. They may turn to street amphetamines for recreational use or when they can’t obtain the drug through a physician. People who abuse or become addicted to amphetamines may experience reduced performance at school or work. They may engage in risk-taking behaviors when under the influence of the drug, like needle sharing or unprotected sex.
Long-Term Health Effects of Amphetamine Addiction
Both using and abusing amphetamines can change the chemistry of the brain. A person who becomes addicted to amphetamines, like other addictive substances, can experience temporary or permanent changes in their brain. These changes can include the development of mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, paranoia, hallucinations, and psychosis. Some people who have acute psychological symptoms are often likened to schizophrenia sufferers.
Amphetamine addiction can have serious short-term and long-term effects on physical health, too. Amphetamine abuse and addiction can cause heart irregularities that may or may not be corrected. For instance, if a person experiences a heart attack owing to their amphetamine addiction, the damage will likely be permanent. Common health conditions associated with amphetamine addiction include high blood pressure, heart irregularities, erectile dysfunction, skin disorders, muscle tension, tics, chest pain, frequent headaches, increased breathing rate, and malnutrition.
What Happens When Someone Quits Cold Turkey?
A person experiencing amphetamine addiction — whether to amphetamine salts, meth, or prescription stimulants — is not advised to quit cold turkey, and certainly shouldn’t attempt detox at home. Withdrawal symptoms can be serious and even cause life-threatening emergencies, including heart attack, seizures, and thoughts of suicide.
Common withdrawal symptoms include headache, insomnia, intense cravings for the drug, nausea, vomiting, tremors, chills, shakiness, and depression and anxiety. Rather than endure these symptoms alone, which could lead to health complications, medical detox is the safest option. During the medical detox process, medical caregivers can treat these symptoms to reduce their severity and decrease the risk for serious health complications.
