Effects of Meth
Meth does a lot of damage to people who use it. (As a matter of fact, death may not be the worst of its potential effects.) And you can find out about that type of thing in symptoms, and detecting a user.

But users aren't the only ones who are affected it effects family, neighbors and those that effected by the crime that arises from meth use.

Meth labs regularly blow up in ordinary neighborhoods, damaging ordinary people who may not even know what meth is.

And then there's meth-related crime. Its victims aren't limited to users of meth either. The truth is you don't necessarily have to be involved with meth to feel its effects.

Some of the symptoms of methamphetamine use are:

• Sleeplessness
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
• Elevated body temperature
• Skin ulceration and infection, the result of picking at imaginary bugs
• Paranoia
• Depression
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Increased blood pressure
• Seizures
• For pregnant women - premature labor detachment of the placenta, and low birth weight babies with possible neurological damage.
• For intravenous (IV) users -AIDS, hepatitis infections and sores at the injection site, and' infection of the heart lining and valves.

Range of Effects
Common immediate side effects.:

• Euphoria
• Increased energy and attentiveness
• Diarrhea, nausea
• Loss of appetite, insomnia, tremor, jaw-clenching (Bruxism)
• Agitation, compulsive fascination with repetitive tasks (Punding)
• Talkativeness, irritability, panic attacks
• Increased libido
• Dilated pupils

Side effects associated with chronic use:

• Drug craving
• Weight loss
• Withdrawal-related depression and anhedonia
• Rapid tooth decay ("meth mouth")
• Amphetamine psychosis, mainly due to sleep deprivation

Side effects associated with overdose:

• Brain damage (Neurotoxicity)
• Formication (sensation of flesh crawling with bugs, with possible associated compulsive picking and infecting sores)
• Paranoia, delusions, hallucinations
• Rhabdomyolysis (Muscle breakdown) which leads to Kidney failure

Death from overdose is usually due to stroke or heart failure, but can also be caused by hyperthermia or kidney failure.

Meth Mouth

Like other substances which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, methamphetamine causes decreased production of acid-fighting saliva and increased thirst, resulting in increased risk for tooth decay, especially when thirst is quenched by high-sugar drinks.

Sexual Behaviour
Among the effects reported by methamphetamine users is an increase in the need and urgency for sex, the ability to have sex for extended periods of time, and an inability to ejaculate or reach orgasm or physical release. In addition to increasing the need for sex and enabling the user to engage in marathon sex sessions, methamphetamine lowers inhibitions and may cause users to behave recklessly or to become forgetful.

According to a recent San Diego study, methamphetamine users often engage in unsafe sexual activities, and forget or choose not to use condoms. The study found that methamphetamine users were six times less likely to use condoms. The urgency for sex combined with the inability to achieve release (ejaculation) can result in tearing, chafing, and trauma (such as rawness and friction sores) to the sex organs, the rectum and mouth, dramatically increasing the risk of transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Methamphetamine also causes erectile dysfunction due to vasoconstriction.

Addiction
Methamphetamine is potentially addictive, particularly when injected or smoked. While not life-threatening, withdrawal is often intense and, as with all addictions, relapse is common. To combat relapse, many recovering addicts attend 12 Step meetings, such as Crystal Meth Anonymous.
In an article about his son's addiction to methamphetamine he said to his son that you need to quit being such a stupid stoner, a California writer who has also experimented with the drug put it this way:

This drug has a unique, horrific quality. In an interview, Stephan Jenkins, the singer in the band Third Eye Blind, said that methamphetamine makes you feel 'bright and shiny.' It also makes you paranoid, incoherent and both destructive and pathetically and relentlessly self-destructive. Then you will do unconscionable things in order to feel bright and shiny again.

Former users have noted that they feel stupid or dull when they quit using methamphetamine. This is because the brain is adapting a need for methamphetamine to think faster, or at what seems to be a higher level. It is possible that daily administration of the amino acids L-Tyrosine and L-5HTP/Tryptophan can aid in the recovery process by making it easier for the body to reverse the depletion of Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Serotonin. Although studies involving the use of these amino acids have shown some success, this method of recovery has not been shown to be consistently effective.

Serious drug addiction correlates with poor hygiene and general self-care, and even minor health problems can lead to serious complications when left untreated. Striking health problems popularly associated with methamphetamine addiction, such as severe tooth decay or massive skin infections, are caused by unsterilized needles and a lack of hygiene. Even long-term use does not generally result in outward symptoms, but may lead to hypertension, damage to heart valves, and increased risk of strokes.