The Side-Effects Of Long-Term Amphetamine Use

With increasing numbers of people in the US being diagnosed with disorders like ADHD, stimulants are being used to treat symptoms of these disorders. Amphetamines are regularly clinician's drugs of choice for treatment.

 

Prescription drug use is rising in the US, with more and more people abusing prescriptions each year. This abuse includes the abuse of Amphetamine-type drugs. Abuse of these drugs can cause short and long-term health effects. If you are using Amphetamines and are unable to stop, seek treatment so you will not fall victim to the long line of negative health effects that these drugs can cause.

 

What are Amphetamines?

Amphetamines are drugs that affect the central nervous system. Prescription Amphetamines are usually formulated as pills when they can be crushed, snorted, injected, or vaporized, and inhaled by those who are abusing the drug.

 

Amphetamines are stimulants, meaning that they stimulate the central nervous system and release reward chemicals to the brain. This process usually occurs only when someone experiences pleasure, like smelling food that they like or seeing a person that they love. 

 

Feel-good chemicals are leased during this pleasant experience and are then recycled back to the brain. Amphetamines stop this recycling from happening, resulting in an excess of these reward chemicals within the brain. This is why people feel a “high” from abusing amphetamines.

 

Unfortunately, when people abuse amphetamines, they can build a tolerance to the effects of taking the drug. This means that a person has to take increasingly higher quantities of a drug, and in more frequent doses, to feel this same high. This can lead to addiction, overdose, and even death.

 

Risks of prescription amphetamine abuse

When taken as prescribed, Amphetamines are not usually dangerous. It is when they are abused that Amphetamines tend to be harmful.

 

Today, prescription Amphetamines are often abused by people wishing to take these drugs to increase cognitive performance. This use is seen in teenagers and young adults, who use the drugs to help them study. Adults sometimes use Amphetamines in this way, too, using the drugs to boost focus and performance in the workplace.

 

Like with so many prescription drugs, people don’t always recognize that there are risks involved with abusing amphetamines. Often, people abusing these drugs get these medications from someone close to them.

 

Several factors can help you to identify prescription drug abuse. If someone takes these medications more frequently, or in large doses than the doctor prescribed, they are abusing them.If someone takes prescription medicine that doesn’t belong to them, this is also abuse.

 

Other tell-tale signs that someone is abusing prescriptions involve them taking the drugs by other methods, like crushing and snorting the pills.

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What are Amphetamine use side effects?

When someone illicitly uses amphetamines, they are usually attempting to gain the euphoric effects of the drug. However, using Amphetamines for this purpose brings with it side effects. These include:

 

· Dry mouth

· Increased energy

· Increased body temperature

· Headaches

· Paranoia

· Hostility

· Pupil dilation

· Decrease in appetite

· Irregular heart rate

· Increase heart rate

· Heart palpitations

· Uninhibited behavior

 

Amphetamine abuse should be taken very seriously. Prolonged, excessive abuse may result in someone developing an addiction that can in turn lead to overdose or death.

 

Treatment for Amphetamine abuse

There are plenty of different kinds of treatment for prescription drug abuse. Treatment can help someone through the detox process, where the drugs are weaned out of the system. 

 

Recovery from amphetamine abuse also includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which teaches individuals to change their habits and thought processes, so that they can build a lifestyle that is free from the risks of substance abuse. 

 

Counseling can help people who are suffering from addiction to find positive outlets.

 

When someone seeks treatment for substance abuse, there are many things to consider. Depending on the severity of the abuse, someone might need inpatient care at a rehab center. 

 

If the person who is abusing Amphetamines has a preexisting health condition or is experiencing a co-occurring disorder, they will need appropriate care. To properly understand the decisions involved with finding a treatment center, you must have the information and professional guidance required.

 

If you or a loved one’s substance abuse is out of control, contact a detox program today.