Meth Slamming and the Risks Involved

A Factual Look at IV Meth Use and the Many Consequences

The risks and side effects of ‘slamming meth,’ also known as IV meth use, are profound.

Meth slamming is a serious issue that comes with long-term consequences for your health physically and mentally. Drug users who turn to intravenous administration will often require medical help to get sober and ensure they aren’t at risk of developing serious consequences associated with shooting meth.

So, what can you or your loved one expect to experience with intravenous methamphetamine abuse?

Injecting drugs leads to increased rates of addiction. It also increases your odds of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, Hepatitis B and C, infections, deep vein thrombosis, and infective endocarditis. Some are at a greater risk of experiencing meth psychosis as well.

The best thing you can do to get substance use under control is to enroll in a detox program followed by a stint in residential care. Icarus Behavioral Health is proud to offer help for those facing meth addiction of any kind. Learn more about the risks of IV drug use and how you can seek help here.

Looking at 8 Proven Long-Term Health Risks from Injecting Meth

While meth slamming may get you high faster while producing a stronger high simultaneously, it isn’t without long-term risks. Here are a few things you may want to consider before you inject meth. Or, if you are already engaging in this risky behavior, provide solid, compelling reasons to stop shooting meth.

1) Increased Risk of Meth Addiction

Taking illicit drugs in any form can result in addiction as your body and brain crave the same momentary relief associated with the high. The problem with slamming meth is that your body becomes tolerant of the drug over time, resulting in a need for more meth on a more regular basis.

The result is meth addiction — and a dangerous one at that.

When you start injecting meth, your body will quickly become used to the drug. Because of your new and increased tolerance, it’s much easier to overdose in your search for the same high you once got from a lower dose. This puts you at serious risk of death.

Meth users who find that they aren’t achieving the same high should seek treatment immediately. The initial withdrawal symptoms might be difficult but it could just save your life.

2) Increased Risk of Dangerous Sexual Practices

According to research, people who engage in methamphetamine abuse are at a greater risk of indulging in risky sex practices. This could include unprotected sex and sex with multiple partners.

Oftentimes, meth users have an increased sex drive while under the influence which leads to these risky acts with minimal thought of the consequences. This opens the door to health problems like HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

3) Risk of HIV and Hepatitis B and C Due to Shared Needles

Many people who use an intravenous drug are thinking about chasing the next high and aren’t as concerned about their long-term physical health. It’s not uncommon to find that people who are injecting meth will share needles with their friends and other users.

Even if you are not among the population of gay men where meth use is common at sex parties, shooting meth with anything other than a freshly opened syringe can be dangerous.

The problem is that there is a serious risk to sharing needles including increased rates of HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and even tuberculosis.

4) Infections When Injecting Crystal Meth

Not only are you at greater risk of methamphetamine addiction and disease, but your body is a lot more prone to infection with IV drug use. Researchers found a high degree of soft tissue infections among a population of intravenous injection users. This can include both infections and abscesses.

Almost half of those struggling with intravenous drug use will have an abscess at some point in time, though many people won’t seek medical attention for it. This leads to further infection and issues with the healing process.

5) The Risks of Psychosis Increase while Slamming Meth

While physical symptoms from meth are common among those with a history of abusing the substance, serious mental health disorders can also come to light. Slamming meth has the potential to cause your mind to break away from reality and enter into the realm of psychosis. Methamphetamine psychosis happens more frequently than you may imagine.

The most prominent symptom of these psychological effects is paranoia. However, it can evolve into a delusion over time, particularly if you continue slamming meth while already in the throes of psychosis.

For many people, they may wonder what dose of crystal methamphetamine will lead to this effect, but it varies significantly. In people who are already predisposed to psychiatric concerns, it may not require a lot to trigger an episode.

6) Alterations to Your Physical Appearance

While meth slamming might help you avoid telltale signs of drug use such as meth mouth, it isn’t without risk to your physical appearance. When you inject meth, there will be signs on your body including track marks, bruises, and puncture marks from inserting the needles into your veins.

Another concern for those who are slamming meth is collapsed veins. This will make it much harder for you to continue injecting drugs as well as make it hard to administer medication in a hospital setting if and when you decide to seek meth addiction treatment.

7) Acute Endocarditis from Non-Sterile Syringes

Another very serious concern of slamming meth is its impact on the cardiovascular system, while the injection method does get the drug into the body system faster, meth still stays in your system for a similar amount of time when it comes to a drug test. Plus, when you inject any drug into the bloodstream, you run the risk of injecting bacteria along with it. If you don’t use sterile syringes, the risk of this is even greater. The result is inflammation, known as acute or infective endocarditis.

While the condition is treatable with an aggressive round of antibiotics, the problem is that most people who develop it continue to slam meth even in the aftermath of treatment. This leads to a recurrence of the issue, especially with medical non-compliance.

Among those who inject drugs, infective endocarditis accounts for 5 to 20 percent of hospitalizations and 5 to 10 percent of deaths.

8) Increased Risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis

Slamming meth affects more than just your central nervous system. it can also lead to long-term health concerns such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This is the technical term for blood clots in the veins which may not surface for quite some time.

In most cases, deep vein thrombosis surfaces roughly eight years after the first injection of the drug. Some people refer to this condition as a silent killer because most people will never know they have it until too late.

DVT can lead to inflamed veins, leg ulcers, and even pulmonary embolism (a clot that gets stuck in the artery of the lungs).

Seek Meth Addiction Treatment at Icarus Behavioral Health

Are you ready to kick the risk of these consequences to the curb and seek high-quality treatment options for your substance use issue? Icarus Behavioral Health offers a comprehensive program to meet you wherever you are right now, whether that means meth slamming or smoking crystal meth.

Start with a medical detox for meth and a stay in our inpatient treatment program before you transition to a lower level of care in partial hospitalization. This gives you the foundation and coping skills necessary to return to life without meth abuse.

Allow our warm and welcoming enrollment team to answer your questions about substance abuse treatment today. We can even verify your insurance benefits and help you take the first steps to live your life without the draw of drug abuse. Call us today to learn more!

References

1. Corsi, K. F., Kwiatkowski, C. F., & Booth, R. E. (2009). Predictors of methamphetamine injection in out-of-treatment IDUs. Substance use & misuse, 44(3), 332–342.
2. Pollini, R. A., Gallardo, M., Hasan, S., Minuto, J., Lozada, R., Vera, A., Zúñiga, M. L., & Strathdee, S. A. (2010). High prevalence of abscesses and self-treatment among injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico. International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 14 Suppl 3, e117–e122.
3. Glasner-Edwards, S., & Mooney, L. J. (2014). Methamphetamine psychosis: epidemiology and management. CNS drugs, 28(12), 1115–1126.
4. Jain, N., Avanthika, C., Singh, A., Jhaveri, S., De la Hoz, I., Hassen, G., Camacho L, G. P., & Carrera, K. G. (2021). Deep Vein Thrombosis in Intravenous Drug Users: An Invisible Global Health Burden. Cureus, 13(10), e18457.
5. Ji, Y., Kujtan, L., & Kershner, D. (2012). Acute endocarditis in intravenous drug users: a case report and literature review. Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives, 2(1), 10.3402/jchimp.v2i1.11513.