I
did Crystal Methamphetamine for about a week. Smoked large amounts during the
day and also snorted a couple times during that week. This is the only time I've done it and unfortunately
I did it for a week. Problem is... I’m
now SO FUCKING depressed! While high on meth I was social, happy, and nothing
really bothered me. Now that I'm not
high I feel like a piece of shit!!! I was somewhat depressed or maybe insecure
before I did this meth, but now it's crazy! I go into the bathroom and cry like
a little fuckin' girl. I feel worthless
and it’s SO SO bad. I have no happiness in my soul right now.
What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is a powerful central nervous system
stimulant. The drug works directly on the brain and spinal cord by
interfering with normal neurotransmission. Neurotransmitters are chemical
substances naturally produced within nerve cells used to communicate with each
other and send messages to influence and regulate our thinking and all other
systems throughout the body.
The main neurotransmitter affected by methamphetamine is
dopamine. Dopamine is involved with our natural reward system. For example,
feeling good about a job well done, getting pleasure from our family or social
interactions, feeling content and that our lives are meaningful and count for
something, all rely on dopamine transmission.
A synthetic drug, methamphetamine has a high potential for
abuse and dependence. It is illegally produced and sold in pill form, capsules,
powder and chunks. Methamphetamine was developed early in this century from its
parent drug amphetamine and was originally used in nasal decongestants,
bronchial inhalers, and in the treatment of narcolepsy and obesity. In the
1970s methamphetamine became a Schedule II drug - a drug with little medical
use and a high potential for abuse.
The drug is referred to by many names including
"meth," "speed .. crank," "chalk,"-
"go-fast," "zip," and "cristy." Pure
methamphetamine hydrochloride, the smokeable form of the drug, is called
"L.A." or - because of its clear, chunky crystals which resemble
frozen water - "ice," "crystal," 64glass," or
"quartz." Since the 1980s, ice has been smuggled from Taiwan and
South Korea into Hawaii, where use became widespread by 1988. By 1990,
distribution of ice had spread to the U.S. mainland.
Negative Consequences
of Being High
Smoking, snorting or injecting crystal meth can result in a
prolonged and intense high. Many users initially report feelings of euphoria,
increased energy, alertness, heightened awareness, reduced appetite and
enhanced sexual pleasure. All of these effects can make self-medicating with
crystal meth an alluring possibility for some people who have the following
problems:
- lack of energy
- low self-confidence
- anxiety
- difficulty sleeping
- problems concentrating
- feelings of worthlessness
- being depressed
- being overweight
Crystal and
Depression
Using crystal causes ups and downs in the levels of
serotonin (your happy mood chemical) in your brain. You have lots of serotonin
when you’re high, but much less when you’re crashing. So feeling
"depressed" during the crash and between highs is typical for people
who use crystal regularly. This temporary change in mood is a short-lived, mild
form of depression. Over time and with regular or increased crystal use, your
serotonin levels can become seriously depleted. This may result in a
drug-caused depression that lasts longer but often improves once you stop
using. The brain’s ability to rebuild its own chemistry and to recover from
depression varies greatly from person to person. Some people will rebound
quickly. Others will take much longer and may even require medication.
When we think of depression, we often think of a long-term condition
that requires medication or therapy to treat. There are many types and causes
of depression and many levels of severity. Crystal use can certainly contribute
to depression, but not all users will develop symptoms that require serious
treatment.
Symptoms of depression and anxiety seem to be higher than
normal in crystal meth users both before and after using this drug. Depression
in crystal meth users can have fatal consequences. In one study, Australian
researchers found that about 50% of crystal meth users reported feelings of
anxiety before they used this drug. Afterwards, when the drug's effects had
worn off, 75% reported experiencing severe symptoms of anxiety.
Also in Australia, researchers found that about 33% of
crystal meth users were diagnosed with depression either before or after
exposure to this drug. And about 25% of Australian stimulant users (crystal
meth, cocaine and similar substances) have attempted suicide at some point in
their lives. This compares with a figure of about 5% in Australians who have
not used stimulants. Overall, these findings in crystal meth users point to a
need for mental health services.
Another five year study conducted with thousands of local teenagers
by University of Montreal researchers’ revealed that those who used speed
(meth/ampthetamine) at fifteen or sixteen years of age were significantly more
likely to suffer elevated depressive symptoms the following year.
Crystal Effect on
Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters are essentially the brain’s chemical
messengers that work together to perform many different tasks. We already
mentioned that neurotransmitters are substantially affected by short-term and
long-term use of crystal. Let’s review the effect in more details, focusing on the
following neurotransmitters linked to the emotional and mental well-being: dopamine,
norepinephrine, epinephrine, and serotonin. The sad reality is that these
transmitters are all affected by meth and can suffer long-lasting damage even
after just one trial with this dangerous drug.
Dopamine
Dopamine (DA) is the neurotransmitter that plays a part in
controlling movement, thought processes, emotions, and the pleasure centers of
the brain. When a person physically works out or accomplishes a difficult task,
the brain releases excess dopamine into certain areas of the brain. Any release
of dopamine induces a sense of euphoria and well being. When a person takes
meth, a chain of events occurs at the dopamine synapses.
When meth stimulates these transmitters to excessively
release dopamine into many different areas of the brain, the safety mechanism
would normally react by reabsorbing and transporting the excess chemicals back
into the synaptic vessels, but meth
blocks dopamine re-uptake, and a gradual chemical buildup occurs.
This chemical buildup has many different effects on a
person's behavior. For the meth user the chemical buildup resembles a dangerous
rollercoaster ride. As dopamine levels rise in the brain, so do the feelings of
euphoria. This initial buildup is like the start of the rollercoaster. When the
drug finally wears off, and the dopamine levels gradually decrease, the meth
user plunges to the bottom of this ride losing all the feelings of euphoria and
well being. These euphoric feelings will not return until the dopamine system
is once again stimulated.
Dopamine is responsible for reinforcement behaviors.
Reinforcement is a psychological term that refers to a stimulus that
strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it. Meth short-circuits
dopamine levels, directly influencing reinforcement behaviors, and actually
induces drug-seeking behaviors. For the meth user, the euphoria is the stimulus
that induces the drug-seeking behavior.
Studies have shown that meth overdoses are almost indistinguishable
from those behaviors exhibited by a Type I schizophrenic. Type I schizophrenic
behavior includes psychotic episodes, delusions, hallucinations, hearing
voices, and extreme paranoia. The imbalance of dopamine levels causes this
schizophrenic-like behavior that wears off within a couple days after use has
ended.
This overload of dopamine in the brain can even lead to
further problems. Meth is toxic to dopamine synapses and their associated nerve
cells in the brain. Long-term abuse of meth causes dopamine nerve axons to
eventually wither and die. When these synaptic nerve endings die, they are gone
for good. The abuser's emotions, pains, and pleasures will be permanently and
irreversibly altered.
Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine (NE) is a neurotransmitter that plays a part
in controlling alertness, rest cycles, attention, and memory. Norepinephrine is
also called noradrenaline. Noradrenaline is the main chemical used by the body
for the synthesis of the hormone adrenaline.
From the previous explanation of how meth affects dopamine
chemicals at the synapse, one can easily understand the detrimental influence
of meth on the norepinephrine system. As seen with the dopamine system, the
drug meth can influence norepinephrine transmitters by blocking the re-uptake
mechanism. However, the main difference between the dopamine and norepinephrine
systems is that meth does not stimulate excess chemical release at the
norepinephrine synapses.
Another difference between the dopamine and norepinephrine
systems is that meth is not neurotoxic to the norepinephrine system
synapses and receptors. Meth can stimulate increases in the growth of the
norepinephrine nerve. This growth does not mean that the brain becomes
more efficient at administering norepinephrine chemicals to the different areas
of the brain as a result of this cancerous expansion. This growth could be
partially responsible for the short-circuiting of the brain, and directly
responsible for the chemical imbalance that is associated with meth usage.
Epinephrine
Adrenaline is a hormone that we are all familiar with. When
you encounter an exciting or intense situation, stores of adrenaline are
released into the blood stream and a rush instantaneously occurs. A fact that
is not readily apparent is that adrenaline also plays a minor role in our brain
as a neurotransmitter. The scientific term for this hormone/neurotransmitter is
epinephrine (E). Epinephrine’s importance as a chemical messenger becomes
evident when a drug like meth declares a territorial war in the synaptical gap
(the space in between the nerve transmitter and nerve receptor).
Meth influences epinephrine transmitters by blocking the
re-uptake mechanism. As seen with dopamine and norepinephrine, a blocked
re-uptake mechanism results in excess chemicals floating in the synaptical gap.
The meth user's physical and mental overexertion is hardly noticeable as the
brain's receptors hungrily absorb the extra chemicals. This excess of
epinephrine surging to different areas of the brain is partially responsible
for the increased energy and rush that the meth user feels.
Meth users lose their appetite as a direct result of having
excess epinephrine chemicals in circulation. The user loses weight as their
body feeds off the empty energy of this continual adrenaline rush while they
are not even thinking about taking the time to eat.
Epinephrine also plays a role in the crash that is
associated with meth use. The crash is more noticeable in meth abusers who have
used the drug for many days in a row, and their adrenaline stores are
thoroughly depleted. But this depletion also happens with first time and
recreational users. The meth user’s mind and body are working at a high speed,
just like the engine of that car would run at high speed. Eventually the user
depletes his epinephrine supply because he hasn’t rested. With epinephrine
store depletion, the crash is the resulting complication, and the user’s body
has to rest until adrenaline stores are replenished.
Serotonin
Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in many behaviors
including sleep, appetite, memory, sexual behavior, and mood. The chemical
structure of serotonin closely resembles that of many hallucinogens. A
hallucinogen like LSD can bind onto serotonin receptors, mimicking the actual
neurotransmitter, resulting in unnatural stimulation in different areas of the
brain. The actual serotonin neurotransmitter is structurally different than the
other synaptic messengers of the brain, and meth affects this system in
different ways.
One way meth use affects the serotonin systems is by
reducing the levels of chemical serotonin in the brain. This reduction can
produce radical mood changes in people and in animals. When a person has a
deficiency in brain serotonin levels, they are more likely to exhibit violent
behavior, anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, and could have a propensity
towards drug and alcohol abuse. When a person has higher levels of serotonin in
the brain, they are less aggressive, mellow, and happier.
With the introduction of the drug meth, brain serotonin
levels slowly diminish. This reduction in serotonin levels is a result of meth
blocking the synthesis and release of chemical serotonin from the synapse. The
serotonin system becomes restricted, and the chances of violent behavior and
depression increase as the effects of the drug start to wear off. The person's
need to keep taking meth far outweighs any moral and financial obligation. The
user may commit crimes for drug money, may abandon their family, or may stop
paying rent or house payments in order to keep taking meth.
An irreversible aspect of meth use is that it does kill
certain neurotransmitter synapses, and this is the case with serotonin
synapses. Even low level meth use kills serotonin axons. What does this mean
for the meth users? For the rest of their lives they are going to be lacking
the ability to produce adequate amounts of serotonin. Feelings of depression
and guilt could be theirs till they die. The meth user is going to be more
inclined towards drug and alcohol abuse. Maybe abuse will be the least of the
meth user’s problems.
While the chemical influence of meth on these
neurotransmitters is much more complicated than described above, the basic fact
is simple and straightforward. Meth kills dopamine and serotonin
neurotransmitter cells. This is an irreversible consequence since these nerve
cells do not grow back with time. Meth short-circuits the user’s brain, is
highly addictive, and many of the abuser’s joys in life will slowly vanish as
these nerve cells become weak and die.
Sources and Additional
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