While withdrawal symptoms from amphetamines may feel insurmountable at first, with proper treatment and dedication they should subside within two weeks. The stronger the amphetamine and how regularly it is abused increases the risk of harmful side effects. For instance, chronic meth abuse causes rapid tooth decay (meth mouth) and skin damage from constant scratching. With the right support, many people who have experienced SUD go on to live happy lives with strong relationships and positive health outcomes.

How amphetamine misuse and SUD can occur
- It can lead to euphoria, and it suppresses the appetite, which can lead to weight loss.
- Tell your doctor right away if you or your family notice any unusual changes in behavior, including an increase in aggression, hostility, agitation, irritability, or suicidal thinking or behaviors.
- Used outside the medical context, stimulants can have severe adverse effects.
- This analysis has revealed that the stimulants, including amphetamine, are still accepted to be the most efficacious drugs available.
- Staying connected to these resources can make a significant difference in sustaining long-term recovery and personal growth.
Treatment for amphetamine addiction isn’t one size fits all; different treatment options may or may not work for different people. It’s important that anyone suffering from the disorder, or suspects that they might be, speaks with a medical professional to ensure they receive the proper support. Doing so will give them the best chance of recovery and avoiding relapse.
It isn’t fully understood how it works for narcolepsy, ADHD, or weight loss. If you are taking amphetamine for narcolepsy, your doctor will probably start you on a low dose of amphetamine and increase your dose gradually, not more often than once every week. People with a history of drug abuse or addiction should not use amphetamines.
What causes amphetamine dependence?
Your doctor may also prescribe other medications to help relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and aggression. Detoxification can be accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms, such as fatigue, depression, and intense cravings. However, medical interventions, counseling, and support can help individuals manage these challenges. Amphetamine addiction takes a significant toll on an individual’s health and overall lifestyle. The short-term and long-term effects of amphetamine use can be devastating.

How are amphetamines abused?
Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine may worsen certain mental health conditions. Tell your health care provider if you have ever misused alcohol, prescription medicines, or street drugs. Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine is a controlled substance and may be misused.
What Are the Symptoms of Amphetamine Addiction?
Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you https://quranforme.com/stephen-stills-has-his-personality-back-three/ know how this medicine affects you. Tell your doctor right away if you or your family notice any unusual changes in behavior, including an increase in aggression, hostility, agitation, irritability, or suicidal thinking or behaviors. Also tell your doctor if you or your child have hallucinations or any unusual thoughts, especially if they are new or getting worse quickly.
You may be unsuccessful at cutting down or stopping your use Halfway house of amphetamines. You may continue to crave the stimulant even though you know they’re causing persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problems. You’ve built up a tolerance if you need larger doses of amphetamines to achieve the same effect that lower doses once created.
Psychological Symptoms
Using this drug for a long time may slow a child’s growth or keep them from gaining weight. Your child’s doctor may monitor your child’s height and weight during treatment with this drug. If you think you’ve taken too much of this drug, call your doctor or local poison control center. If your symptoms are severe, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away.
Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines. There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding.
- Use with medications that increase stomach or urine alkalinity, including sodium bicarbonate, acetazolamide, and some thiazide diuretics (water pill) should be avoided.
- It is now just over a hundred years since amphetamine was first discovered.
- Abuse and medical use of amphetamines has continued to increase over the past decade.
- Hospitalization may also help if you have negative mood changes, including aggression and suicidal behavior.
- Currently, medical professionals do not recommend using amphetamines and their derivatives to help reduce obesity.
Medication & Treatments
Based on these data, the likelihood that lisdexamfetamine will be widely abused by the intravenous or nasal route is very low. The PK parameters for plasma d-amphetamine observed after oral versus intravenous administration of lisdexamfetamine (50 mg) are also summarised in Table 4. The AUC0-infinity shows that the Amphetamine Addiction overall drug exposure was identical irrespective of the route of administration. Importantly, intravenous injection of lisdexamfetamine did not either significantly increase the Cmax of d-amphetamine, nor did it significantly reduce its tmax. Consistent with the mechanism described above, in vitro experiments have unequivocally demonstrated that amphetamine’s d- and l-isomers non-selectively release 3Hmonoamines from preloaded slices or synaptosomes prepared from rat brain. There are experimental reports stating that d-amphetamine releases 3H noradrenaline, dopamine and 5-HT from synaptosomes (Holmes and Rutledge, 1976; Rothman et al., 2001) and brain slices (Heal et al., 1998).
Stop taking amphetamine/dextroamphetamine and call your health care provider if you have any of the following signs that a seizure is happening or could happen. Rehabilitation plays a crucial role in amphetamine addiction treatment, as it addresses the psychological and behavioral aspects of addiction. Amphetamine addiction rehabilitation programs may involve individual counseling, group therapy, and participation in support groups.
For individuals with ADHD, amphetamines improve concentration and reduce impulsivity, making daily tasks more manageable. In cases of narcolepsy, they are effective in combating excessive daytime sleepiness, helping individuals stay awake and alert. Long-term users also frequently develop co-occurring mental health disorders, including severe anxiety, treatment-resistant depression, and sometimes persistent psychotic symptoms. The combination of neurochemical changes and mounting life problems significantly increases suicide risk, which remains elevated even during early recovery. Effective treatment must address not only physical dependency but also the psychological, social, and practical consequences that accumulate over time. While amphetamines have valuable therapeutic applications for conditions like ADHD and narcolepsy, they present a complex picture of potential benefits weighed against significant risks.