The destructive properties of these drugs make people who abuse them feel depressed and even suicidal when they are not using the drug. As a result, cravings to keep using the drug can be very strong, making it difficult to stop use. Selling or giving away this medicine is against the law.

People can and do recover from methamphetamine addiction if they have ready access to effective treatments that address the multitude of medical and personal problems resulting from long-term use. Among injection drug users, infection with HIV and other infectious diseases is spread primarily through the use of contaminated syringes, needles, or other paraphernalia by more than one person. The intoxicating effects of methamphetamine can how long do amphetamines stay in your system also alter judgment and inhibition, which may lead people to engage in unsafe behaviors. Methamphetamine abuse may also worsen the progression of HIV and its consequences. In animal studies, methamphetamine increased viral replication; in human methamphetamine abusers, HIV caused greater neuronal injury and cognitive impairment compared with non-drug abusers. Amphetamine is made up of two compounds levoamphetamine and dextroamphetamine.

How Are Amphetamines Abused?

Talk to your doctor if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant. This drug should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records.

• Store it at room temperature and away from light, excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom).
• As mentioned above, amphetamine is a highly addictive substance.
• Schedule a time each day to take your amphetamines and stick to that schedule.

At this time, there is no medicine that can help reduce the use of amphetamines by blocking their effects. Treatment programs use behavior change techniques through counseling (talk therapy). The https://ecosoberhouse.com/ goal is to help you understand your behaviors and why you use amphetamines. Involving family and friends during counseling can help support you and keep you from going back to using (relapsing).

Causes of addiction

However, there are a number of medications that are FDA-approved for other illnesses that might also be useful in treating amphetamine addiction. Recent findings indicate that bupropion, the anti-depressant marketed as Wellbutrin, may reduce a methamphetamine-induced high as well as drug cravings elicited by drug-related cues. This medication and others are currently in clinical trials, while new compounds are being developed and studied in preclinical models.

Overdose deaths involving methamphetamine have risen in the past decade. Many of these deaths also involve opioids, especially synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which may be knowingly consumed with methamphetamine or added to or sold as methamphetamine without a person’s knowledge. Researchers don’t yet know whether people breathing in secondhand methamphetamine smoke can get high or have other health effects. What they do know is that people can test positive for methamphetamine after exposure to secondhand smoke.5,6 More research is needed in this area. Addiction happens when you use amphetamines to get high or improve performance. Addiction means your body and mind are dependent on the drug.

Dosage for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Immediate-release formulations may be preferred initially to establish an optimal daily dose, with conversion to an extended-release formulation thereafter. Because of their high potential for abuse, the substances are also classified as Schedule II drugs by the U.S. There’s some evidence that amphetamines may treat obesity by acting as appetite suppressants. A 2015 clinical trial published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology reported that patients who took amphetamine medications experienced increased weight loss and motivation. The mechanism was unclear, and more research is needed to determine if amphetamines can be used for long-term weight loss and maintenance.

In Portland, Oregon, more than 200 people died from methamphetamine use in 2016; that was three times more than just 10 years earlier, the Times reported. Portland was just one such example of a location that inundated by methamphetamine use. An amphetamine-based medication, such as Adderall or Ritalin, increases dopamine production in the connections between the prefrontal cortex and other locations in the brain, Franssen explained. Additional clinical trials found that amphetamine had positive effects on weight loss, narcolepsy and depression. It’s popularity then grew during World War II as active service members from the U.S., Japan, Germany and England were administered the drug to treat mild depression and to enhance alertness and endurance.

Before having any laboratory test, tell your doctor and the laboratory personnel that you are taking amphetamine. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. It is important to use an oral syringe (measuring device) to accurately measure and take your dose of the extended-release suspension. Ask your pharmacist for a device if it was not provided.

Pharmacists can answer questions about medication and help people understand medication instructions. Because they are the primary people dispensing medications, they can watch for falsified prescriptions or drugs that people refill too often. A person may require physical restraint or sedation to avoid self-harm or harm to others. A person may have a stroke, heart problems, or liver or kidney damage due to misuse of amphetamines. Researchers have also studied amphetamines for use in people with obesity, narcolepsy, cocaine dependence, and other conditions.