Pubdate: Mon, 13 Jun 2005
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Suzanne Boyer, Saskatchewan News Network
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH USE QUICKLY DAMAGES THE BODY

MOOSE JAW -- The immediate high from crystal meth may be unbeatable, but 
long-term use of the the drug could ravage the human body and mind.

"It causes severe damage not just to your brain and by producing 
psychiatric symptoms, but also it causes severe damage to other systems 
like the cardiovascular system and central nervous system," said Dr. 
Dhanapal Natarajan, chief psychiatrist for Mental Health Services in 
Regina. "If you ignore this in the early stage, you will end up with a 
permanent psychotic state."

Dr. Leo Lanoie, Medical Health Officer for the Prince Albert Parkland 
Health Region, emphasized the psychiatric and psychological effects are 
only half the story where methamphetamines are concerned.

"They make your heart rate go up, your blood pressure go up, they make you 
sweat, they make your pupils dilate," said Lanoie, a specialist in 
addictions medicine.

"With overdoses people get so much muscle contraction that they get a 
break-down of muscle . . . which can actually cause kidney failure (because 
of muscle particles entering the blood stream)."

Heart attack and stroke can be deadly effects of an overdose. With 
long-term meth use, bodies lose normal control over blood pressure and 
pulse rate, arteries harden, the heart is damaged. Neurological changes 
make users weak and twitchy. Men can experience erectile dysfunction.

Crystal meth and other forms of methamphetamine are stimulants which act on 
the pleasure centre of the brain. Meth causes that nerve centre to release 
excessive amounts of dopamine, which controls the release of adrenaline.

Meth use can also cause hypersexuality, leading to indiscriminate, 
unprotected sex, increasing the incidence of AIDS and other sexually 
transmitted diseases.

The powerful release of pleasure hormones is what makes meth so addictive. 
When a user comes down from such an extreme high, the crash is a harsh 
contrast and that the person may develop the abstinence syndrome, a 
psychological type of withdrawal.

"The withdrawal symptoms are very, very unpleasant . . . they get into a 
very depressive mood and increase the aggression associated with that," 
said Natarajan. "They're craving for the drug and the easy way to get out 
of these unpleasant symptoms is to take one more dose. So that sustains the 
habit. That way, you get hooked on this with probably less than five uses."

Meth users are also prone to seizures and quickly develop a tolerance to 
the drug, which means higher doses are required to create the same level of 
euphoria originally created.

The end result of chronic use can be brain damage which impairs memory 
function in a way similar to Alzheimer's disease. Former users of meth may 
experience difficulty retaining new information.

Psychotic flashbacks can be triggered by meth and may reoccur for as long 
as two years after users are clean. Lanoie explained that these are known 
as pseudo-hallucinations.

"If you have a true hallucination, you're not aware of it. If you have a 
pseudo-hallucination, you see it, but you know it's not real -- and that 
scares the heck out of people."

Auditory and tactile hallucinations are a common result of high doses. With 
the tactile hallucinations, users experience the sensation of something on 
their body.

Users can also experience paranoid delusions coupled with aggression, which 
makes even emergency medical treatment difficult. Recovery from chronic 
methamphetamine use is extremely difficult as people develop depression and 
what's known as anhedonia.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom