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Long-Term Physiological Factors of Meth Use

Methamphetamine use can have many long term psychological and physiological effects on the human body. Many of these effects are still being studied and determined. While every person is different, there are several long term effects that are common among chronic meth users. Unfortunately, many of these effects are irreversible.

  1. Tooth Decay

    • Long term methamphetamine usage leads to a condition known as "meth mouth." While the meth itself causes staining of the enamel of the teeth if it is smoked, it is a secondary need for sugar that is to blame for rampant tooth decay. Methamphetamine users consume large quantities of sugary soft drinks while under the influence and they don't always display proper dental hygiene while using, especially over time. Chronic meth users will typically display extreme tooth decay, and over time, every tooth may be affected.

    Scarring

    • Methamphetamine use can cause the user to feel as though he has bugs crawling under his skin. This feeling can be present anywhere on the body, but is normally felt intensely on the face and arms of the user. This leads the user to pick at his skin, causing injury to himself. These scabs cannot heal properly, thanks in part to the drug and scarring is very common. In addition, meth use can throw off the body's chemistry leading to an increase in acne, which can also leave scars.

    Changes in the Brain

    • The changes inside the brain are still being studied, but it appears as though long term usage can cause serious brain damage. A brain of a 16-year-old chronic meth user can be compared to the brain of a 70-year-old patient with Alzheimer's. The "pleasure" cortex of the brain begins to atrophy with long term use of this drug and over time, dopamine receptors become damaged. This leads the user to have to ingest more and more of the drug to feel the same high. In time, the user may not be able to feel any form of pleasure at all once the receptors are completely destroyed. While the brain can regenerate itself once methamphetamine use is stopped, this is a slow process and the brain may never be right again.

    Internal Organs

    • Methamphetamine use also causes damage to the internal organs, namely the heart and liver. The heart of a meth user is put under constant strain when the drug is in her system. Meth causes the heart to race much faster than normal and eventually, it may fail under the strain. The lungs of the meth user can be adversely affected if the drug is smoked and the damage is more severe than that caused by smoking cigarettes. The liver cannot process the toxins in this drug correctly and over time it may harden and become diseased before finally failing.

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