Meth Rehab

Effective Programs for Meth Treatment at Icarus

Over the past few years, crystal meth consumption has skyrocketed in the United States. Meth is a highly addictive and destructive drug that can have devastating effects on the user and their loved ones.

This highly addictive drug is increasingly becoming more accessible, making it a significant concern in New Mexico. If you or a loved one are battling methamphetamine addiction, you need help. Meth addiction therapy can be a long and challenging process. Icarus Behavioral Health can help ensure a successful and lasting recovery through our meth treatment and rehab programs.

We offer various evidence-based meth treatment programs to match your unique requirements. To ensure a sustainable recovery, we will focus on supporting you and your loved ones as you recover from substance abuse.

Keep reading to find out what makes up an effective meth rehab program, and learn more about finding recovery with Icarus today!

What Is Methamphetamine?

Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant that is both potent and highly addictive. It’s a white, bitter-tasting, and odorless crystalline powder that dissolves quickly in water or alcohol.

This drug was first created in the early 20th century from amphetamine and was initially used in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. Methamphetamine has similar effects to amphetamine, including a heightened sense of energy and sociability, decreased hunger, and an overwhelming sense of happiness.

Meth is also a stimulant, but it is significantly more potent than amphetamine since more of the drug reaches the brain at the same dosage. It also has longer-lasting and more severe effects on the central nervous system. These unique characteristics increase the potential for widespread misuse.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has classified meth as a Schedule II stimulant that is highly addictive and prone to drug abuse. Methamphetamine is only legally available in the United States via a non-refillable prescription. Its medical benefits are restricted, and it is rarely recommended.

While meth can be prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or help reduce weight, prescribed doses are significantly lower than those frequently misused.

What Makes Meth So Addictive?

Meth, like other amphetamines, causes users to become more active, eat less, be more outgoing and chatty, and even experience pleasurable and euphoric states of mind. However, compared to an equivalent dose of amphetamines, meth is a more potent stimulant because more of the drug is absorbed into the brain.

There are various modes of administration for meth including, smoking, snorting, and oral ingestion. When smoked or injected, the drug produces a rapid and intense high that wears off swiftly. You’ll feel euphoric after snorting or ingesting meth orally for a few minutes, but it won’t be a powerful high.

Users typically strive to maintain the high by taking more of the drug, sometimes forgoing food, sleep, and other duties as they binge on the drug for many days. These euphoric effects persist longer than cocaine but are still relatively transitory.

The brain’s chemical dopamine, which is involved in motivation and the reinforcement of rewards, is increased in response to meth usage. Contact our rehab center now for more information about our proven and evidence-based meth treatment approaches.

What Are the Different Types of Meth?

The methamphetamine available on the streets now is usually sold in powder or crystal form. Meth, in its powdered form, can be smoked, snorted, or injected. It is common practice to use a glass pipe with a rounded bulb (often called a ‘pookie) for smoking crystal meth. The substance is known by a wide variety of slang terms and street names, including:

• Crystal
• Crank
• Ice
• Glass
• Zoom

After the DEA classified methamphetamine as a Schedule II prohibited narcotic, illicit dealers learned they could “cook” the drug with various everyday, legal household items. These easy-to-obtain ingredients include:

• Automobile battery lithium
• Chemicals for clearing drains
• Brake fluid
• Fertilizers
• Antifreeze

Meth production is exceptionally hazardous and creates a very toxic environment. The chemicals required to synthesize the medicine are highly flammable, which increases the risk of an accident. When meth is cooked, toxic and deadly fumes are discharged into the air.

What are the Signs of Meth Addiction?

Until drug abuse or addiction has set in, it is often impossible for others to tell if someone is using drugs. It’s very easy for a frequent meth user to progress from use to abuse to addiction because of the drug’s strong addiction potential.

The Physical Signs of Meth Abuse

Both first-time users and those growing increasingly reliant on meth will exhibit some of the same physical symptoms. Some medical symptoms or risks that may occur due to meth use include:

• Sores or acne on the face
• A weak and thinning body
• Meth mouth, which refers to teeth that are badly decayed
• Droopy facial skin
• Liver problem
• Abnormally high body temperature
• Convulsions
• Stroke
• Reduced immunity
• Heightened sexual desire
• Sudden death
• Intense itchiness

Meth usage might put a person at risk for a wide variety of STDs due to the enhanced libido that the drug produces. Meth can boost adrenaline levels, stimulating sexual activity and leading to a more intense sexual experience.

Meth users are more likely to have sexual encounters without taking precautions to prevent the spread of STDs because of the lowered inhibitions that accompany meth usage.

Psychological Signs of Meth Use

The psychological effects of meth use vary widely. The elevated dopamine levels in the brain brought on by meth use produce a sense of euphoria at first.

Dopamine functions as a significant chemical messenger in the brain’s reward system. There is a considerable risk of addiction to drugs like meth that stimulate the brain’s reward pathway.

However, dopamine is used for more than just pleasure in the brain. It has been found that dopamine also plays a role in learning and memory. Over time, chronic meth use will disrupt the brain’s natural dopamine levels and the functions that rely on it. That’s why meth addicts may struggle to remember things, pick up new abilities, and retain visual information in the long run.

Some people who use meth develop psychosis. Meth use can cause psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations (both auditory and visual), paranoia, and agitation.

Some people with meth-induced psychosis believe they have bugs crawling all over their bodies and scratching and picking at themselves constantly to soothe the itching. Damage to the skin, such as abrasions and rashes, is a common effect of compulsive scratching and picking.

Tweaking and the Meth Comedown that Follows

Meth users may endure insomnia for 3–15 days, a phenomenon known as “tweaking.” Tweaking may occur as part of a meth binge in which a person continues to take meth to pursue the original high.

Paranoia, anger, and disorientation are some of the adverse mental effects of tweaking. Tweaking can also lead to fast eye movements that are easily noticeable face-to-face with the person. In addition to aggressive behavior, a tweaking person may talk quickly and incoherently and walk in a jerky motion.

A meth user who has reached the “tweaked” stage of their high may engage in violent or illegal acts. Meth addiction treatment offered at Icarus can help you ease withdrawal signs and eliminate the hopeless feeling of a meth comedown.

Our rehab center is also one of few in New Mexico approved for mental health clients as a primary treatment option, meaning that mental illnesses that often develop alongside a stimulant use disorder are treated successfully at Icarus.

What are the Behavioral Signs of Meth Abuse?

Meth use, like other addictive substances, has a nasty habit of quickly becoming more than just a hobby. Problems in one’s personal life, as well as one’s professional and academic responsibilities, are inevitable when drug usage becomes a priority.

Even while people who are just starting to use meth will go to great lengths to conceal their habit, once addiction sets in, they won’t care what anyone thinks. One of the most telling signs of meth use is a preoccupation with using the drug to the detriment of other aspects of one’s life, such as relationships and responsibilities.

Many worried people won’t contact someone they suspect of meth use until they have proof. To that end, concerned friends and family members may search for meth-related materials. Drugs and drug paraphernalia might be discovered in various investigations.

How Can I Tell if a Loved One is Using Meth?

Although the discovery of drugs would seem to be the “smoking gun,” the paraphernalia itself is highly convincing and cannot be disregarded. While meth and associated paraphernalia may not have a date stamp, their presence is almost certainly indicative of recent methamphetamine use disorder.

Baggies used by dealers to transport meth are a telltale sign of meth usage. Small, self-fastening baggies are a convenient option for dealers, but a sandwich bag with a corner snipped off, resulting in a small, triangular baggie, is much more cost-effective. People will sometimes use short lengths of trash twist ties to secure these bags, or simply twist them into tiny knots.

The mode of administration determines the necessary apparatus. Meth can be ingested orally, nasally, smoked, or injected. Aluminum foil strips, torch lighters, short straws, hollowed-out pens, hollowed-out glass tubes with or without a bulb at the end, and melted or chipped light bulbs are all examples of smoking accessories.

Abusers of meth may inhale the drug’s smoke through a straw, hollowed-out pen, glass tube, or other cylindrical instruments after heating the substance with a lighter. Tools used in the production of meth usually show signs of fire damage.

People who use meth often roll their used aluminum strips into balls to use as snuff. Someone who uses meth might have a hollowed-out pen, rolled banknotes, or a straw. Syringes, armbands, and spoons are all examples of intravenous drug use paraphernalia.

If you see a loved one struggling with meth addiction symptoms, Icarus Behavioral Health can help you reclaim your life from the jaws of addiction.

Meth Rehab and Addiction Treatment Options

Meth detox, counseling, and therapy are all essential components of any successful meth addiction treatment program. Meth detox helps clients get a solid start in recovery and rid their bodies of the substance while also easing them back into regular life. Through meth rehab, you can learn the skills they need to avoid relapse and stay clean for good.

Admittance to an inpatient rehab center may be necessary for someone with a severe and chronic meth addiction. Attempting to quit drug use on one’s own rarely results in a successful long-term recovery because meth misuse is one of the most challenging addictions to break free from.

At Icarus Behavioral Health, our team will work with you to choose the best course of treatment for your addiction. Comprehensive meth addiction treatment plans focus on improving your physical and mental health, and emotional well-being.

The serene environment at Icarus focuses on you and each step of your rehabilitation process. We provide the tools you need to beat meth abuse and addiction and stay clean for good.

Inpatient and Outpatient Programs

Deciding whether to enter an inpatient or intensive outpatient program for meth addiction depends on the individual. Meth abuse treatment is notoriously difficult because of the drug’s addictive properties and the complex psychological factors contributing to an individual’s drug use.

An inpatient program may be the best option if someone has been abusing meth for a long time and is experiencing really uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. A person in an unstable setting may experience a relapse and return to their previous drug-using ways. Inpatient treatment centers offer more effective treatment in a secure environment free from triggers and temptations.

The average length of one inpatient treatment program is between 30 and 90 days, though it varies based on the client’s specific requirements.

On the other hand, those with less severe addictions or with other commitments preventing them from entering a full residential treatment center may benefit from an outpatient rehabilitation program. A person in recovery can continue working or attending school during the day while participating in a part-time outpatient program. Outpatient programs usually entail attending a local detox and counseling clinic for 10-12 hours per week.

Intervention

Staging an intervention may be the first step in receiving help for a loved one suffering from meth addiction and resisting treatment. Given that some meth users can get angry or violent when approached, some may be uneasy about staging one on their own. Meth users can be challenging to approach. Someone close to you may not know what to say, even if they are trying to help.

However, an intervention can motivate a loved one to get help and encourage them to enter treatment and begin a sober life.

Detox as a Component of Meth Rehab

Methamphetamine detox is usually the first phase of meth rehab treatment. Detoxing from methamphetamines can be done in an inpatient or outpatient setting, although it is generally recommended that a medical practitioner be present to manage withdrawal symptoms.

Since doctors can monitor clients’ vital signs around the clock and provide them with drugs to keep them comfortable and stable during withdrawal, medically-supervised detox offers a safer and more successful treatment approach.

Doctors may prescribe FDA-approved medications such as benzodiazepine during meth detox. The detox process is just the first step; after that, patients can get help from counselors and other professionals to gain the other coping skills they need to stay clean for good.

Counseling and Therapy

After the detox treatment process and withdrawal symptoms have eased, the next step is undertaking a comprehensive therapy program. Meth abusers in recovery can benefit from the therapeutic process of seeing a therapist because they’ll get the tools and emotional support they need to examine and address the issues that led to their drug use.

Through therapy, former meth users can learn to resist the drug’s allure during times of high stress or boredom, and gain insight into the thought and behavior patterns that led to their addiction to meth in the first place.

Although several approaches are used in counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)is the most frequently employed. Methamphetamine addiction and co-occurring disorders like depression and anxiety have been found to respond effectively to cognitive behavioral therapy.

Our treatment center counselors also help clients’ patients in making positive behavioral changes that will pave the way to a drug-free future, and help get past the intense cravings that can often accompany the early days of abstaining from meth. We also offer group counseling, family therapy sessions, and group therapy sessions.

Aftercare Services and Relapse Prevention Planning

Joining a support group is one of the best forms of aftercare to help people stay sober after completing our meth rehab program. Crystal Meth Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and SMART Recovery are three of the most popular support groups for recovering addicts to join. Support from peers who understand their struggles in overcoming meth addiction is vital to these groups’ success.

Reclaim Your Life from Meth at Icarus Now

Though it may seem impossible to recover from drug abuse, total sobriety is attainable after battling meth addiction. Individuals can recover from drugs and lead fulfilling lives with the help of the programs for meth addiction treatment at Icarus.

Contact us today for a confidential discussion of your or a loved one’s meth use, and find out all your options for recovery now!