A Medication-Assisted Treatment For Meth Addiction Shows Promise : Shots Health News : NPR

The voucher’s monetary value increases the longer you go without using meth. CBT addresses the learning processes underlying drug addiction and other harmful behaviors. It involves working with a therapist to develop a set of healthy coping strategies. Studies have found that CBT is effective at reducing meth use, even after only a few sessions. If you — or your loved one — are ready to get treatment, you may find it helpful to bring a supportive friend or family member into the fold.

Treatment Options

• 10-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reduces heroin cue craving in long-term addicts.
• Expecting complete abstinence may be unrealistic in some cases and can even be harmful.
• If you’re unable to control your use of meth or other substances, it may be time to enter treatment.

Meth also places severe stress on the liver and kidneys, potentially leading to organ failure. Over time the brain becomes dependent on meth for dopamine release, reducing its natural production. Methamphetamine, or meth, is a potent stimulant that alters the brain’s dopamine system, leading to addiction. For years, addiction specialists have relied on a handful of tried-and-true methods to combat meth addiction. Let’s take a closer look at these conventional approaches and their limitations. Accreditation shows a rehab is committed to high standards of care and safety.

• With dedication and the right aftercare resources, you can minimize the risk of relapse and learn to live comfortably without crystal meth.
• You experience mental and physical effects (withdrawal) if you stop taking the drug.
• An essential feature of 12-step programs is attending meetings to build fellowship with others battling addiction.
• Even after a meth lab has been shut down, the chemicals involved can affect the surrounding environment for years afterward, causing health problems for local communities.
• AdCare’s admissions process is simple, and you can get started right away.

Let us help you start your virtually journey to recovery.

Structural and functional changes in the brain, particularly in areas responsible for emotion regulation and impulse control, contribute to erratic behavior and increased susceptibility to mental health disorders. The damage to brain cells and neurotransmitter systems caused by methamphetamine use is long-lasting, with some effects persisting even after prolonged abstinence. Maintaining long-term recovery from meth addiction requires ongoing support and care.

Ongoing Mental Health Support

• Treatment may also address other underlying conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or anxiety.
• Additionally, changes in sleep patterns and increasing bouts of paranoia or aggression can also be indicative of meth abuse.
• In the future, a combination of cognitive therapy(ies) with medication(s), followed by an anti-METH vaccine to maintain low METH intake long-term, will likely work the best against MUD.
• The goal of treatment is to help you lead a healthy life without using meth.
• The disease can be treated on an inpatient or outpatient basis, depending on the patient’s needs.

“I was shooting up every day, sometimes two to three times a day,” she says. “It’s almost like methamphetamines are falling from the sky right now, with the amount that’s coming through the border and on boats and planes,” says Matthew Donahue with the U.S. “As we understand the complexity of the human brain, it becomes very much of a magical thinking that one pill will solve the problem of addiction,” she says. Continued efforts to find MUD therapy have produced several interesting findings. Recently, exercise and music therapy were shown to help maintain METH cravings 74, 116.

Get in touch with therapists who specialize in helping people stay in recovery to ensure long-term success. There might be time for meditation, exercise, or learning new life skills. These self-help groups are managed and run by other people who are working through recovery themselves. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. Meth is now made from different ingredients, including hydrochloric acid, lye, acetone, cyanide, and sulfuric acid. An example of a meth variant that is becoming increasingly common is P2P (phenyl-2-propanone).

The 12-step facilitation therapy actively engages people who abuse addictive substances in help groups, so they achieve abstinence from them. Three key ideas are meth addiction (1) acceptance of one’s addiction, (2) surrender to/acceptance of fellowship and support structure, and (3) active involvement in 12-step meetings and related activities. Matrix model therapy incorporates the 12-step program as one component of treatment for MUD and was shown to effectively reduce METH use and improved craving management 98. From the cognitive‐behavioral perspective, substance use is considered the result of coping deficits and maladaptive thinking.