Detox from Meth: Symptoms, Side Effects, and How to Get Help

So you or someone you know is addicted to methamphetamine. First, understand you aren’t the only one. More than 1 million Americans had abused or become dependent on meth in 2018, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Now it’s time to get help to not only combat the addiction but also limit its long-term effects on your physical and mental health. Thankfully there are plenty of treatment options to battle meth addiction, ranging from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to individual or group counseling to medically-assisted detox. In fact, the first step usually is a medically-assisted detox to flush methamphetamine from your system.

“While many people believe that there is very little withdrawal from methamphetamines, in reality detox from methamphetamines may be very difficult depending on the amount and the length of time the drug has been abused,” Vonnie Nealon, LCDC, a licensed therapist and chemical dependency counselor, tells ishonest Connect to Care.

Meth Detox Symptoms

If you’re going through detox, you’ll experience symptoms in two stages: acute withdrawal symptoms (typically 24-48 hours after use ends) and post-acute withdrawal symptoms (which can linger for weeks or months depending on the history of use).

According to Hadelzon Betty Ford Foundation, acute withdrawal symptoms of meth detox include:

• Fatigue
• Increased appetite
• Irritability
• Anxiousness
• Depression
• Intense cravings

After overcoming this hurdle, you will deal with post-acute withdrawal symptoms including:

• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Meth cravings (which lessen as time passes)
• Psychosis (hallucinations or delusions)

How Long Does It Take To Detox From Meth?

As with any addiction, the severity of use and abuse directly affects how long it takes to detox, and ultimately recover. “Normally the longer a person has been on meth, the worse the withdrawal symptoms will be,” Nealon says.

Meth addicts who are currently detoxing will experience acute withdrawal symptoms during the first 24-48 hours after cessation, while combating post- acute withdrawal symptoms for days, weeks and even months after use depending on the severity of the addiction.

Once the withdrawal symptoms subside, you can begin in outpatient or residential inpatient treatment programming, depending on your individual needs..

Don’t Wait. Get Help Now.

If you or a loved one is struggling with meth addiction, ishonest Connect to Care Advisors are standing by to help.

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