Meth Comedown

Overcoming the Meth Comedown and Finding Recovery

If you are struggling with a meth addiction, you are not alone. In fact, research has shown that among people ages 12 and older, 0.9 percent of people acknowledge taking methamphetamine in the past year. This stimulant drug can be quite addictive, but it is possible to live your life without substance abuse. However, that does not mean that it will be easy. Meth comedown is a serious part of the detox process that will require professional help.

Rehabs Of Armerica can assist you in finding a facility that has a detox center skilled in helping you with the withdrawal process.

If you want to know what to anticipate from some of these addiction treatment services, keep reading to learn what you need to know about meth comedown symptoms and how to find help now!

What is Meth Comedown?

One of the downsides of using crystal meth or other forms of methamphetamines, especially with P2P meth, is that it can physically alter the chemistry and biology of the brain. This stimulant drug makes its presence known in your brain, giving you intense cravings just to feel normal or happy.

In some cases, the dependence on the drug is psychological. You might depend on it to process difficult emotions or to cope with day-to-day activities. Remaining balanced emotionally may feel easier whenever you have the drug in your system.

If you struggle with other mental health disorders such as severe depression, you might be more susceptible to psychological dependence on meth. Dopamine and serotonin levels in the body are often altered when under the influence of drugs. It can be challenging to level out some of these neurotransmitters in the aftermath of sobriety.

You may require pharmaceutical help from licensed medical professionals to cope with depression or anxiety.

However, you can also become physically dependent on the drug. It can actually alter the makeup of your brain chemistry. This is where meth comedown often comes into the picture. It can feel physically uncomfortable to be going through meth withdrawal because the body has become dependent on the drug to function.

What are the Symptoms of a Meth Comedown?

Meth users will find that their most intense and severe withdrawal symptoms will take place in the first week without active drug addiction. While learning to live without meth will take more time, the first week is when you may want to consider enrolling in a meth detox center with one of the Rehabs Of Armerica’ partners. You can have a medically supervised detox that is safer and easier, making it less likely that you will cave and use again.

The first day of meth withdrawal tends to be relatively mild. You may feel like you lack the energy to do much, but the most prominent symptom is often mood changes. For example, many meth users find that they are extremely angry or irritable during the first 24 hours without drugs in their system.

From here, days two and three are the hardest. Your body will want more of the drug that it has become used to, surfacing in extreme cravings. If you are not in a safe space away from your daily routine, you might find it difficult to stay sober during this phase of withdrawal.

In addition to cravings, you may also have symptoms like:

• Extreme exhaustion
• Sleep disturbances
• Lack of appetite
• Difficulty concentrating
• Struggles with retaining new information
• Anxiety or depression symptoms

As you near the one-week mark, you will have strong cravings but most of the physical symptoms will have disappeared. Keep in mind that sleep patterns and appetite may continue to be challenging. You will have to adjust to life without meth addiction, and this will require professional help.

How Meth Addiction Treatment Can Help with Withdrawal Symptoms

Meth abuse, particularly if it has been going on for a long time, is a challenging thing to give up given the intense cravings you will have and the uncomfortable detox period. Here are a few reasons why you may want to consider rehab instead of going it alone.

Impossible to Use More Crystal Meth Under Supervision

For many people who struggle with substance abuse, the process of coming down off their drug of choice is a struggle. Your body will crave the substance more than anything else. If you cave into these cravings on days two and three, you will miss out on the opportunity to make it to that one-week mark when some of the intense cravings pass.

A rehab facility allows you to rest assured that you will not go back out in search of more crystal meth or other forms of stimulant drugs. You will be monitored by a team of skilled doctors who can do their best to keep you comfortable during your comedown period.

While the temptation to use may feel right around the corner, you are safe while under the care of a team of professionals who are experienced in this feeling. They can get you through the worst of the withdrawal process and do their best to minimize withdrawal symptoms to keep you as comfortable as can be during this period.

Learn How to Handle Cravings

Even if you are not struggling with the physical symptoms of crystal meth withdrawal, you are likely to face psychological ones. The reason you turned to drugs in the first place is likely because you had a difficult time processing challenging emotions. When you go through meth withdrawal, those complex feelings are still there and can be difficult to confront and deal with.

To this end, you need intense therapeutic services to teach you how to sit with your emotions and how to cope with them in a healthier way. Rehabs will equip you with coping skills during individual and group therapy sessions.

You can even start to process what some of those hard feelings are and learn how to move past them in your day-to-day life.

Monitor Nutritional Deficiencies and Hydration

It is not uncommon to find that someone who has gone through meth comedown has some other health problems that need to be addressed. Because of the way the drug impacts appetite, it is quite likely that you will have some nutritional deficiencies and that you may be underweight for your height.

A doctor at a rehab center can assess your overall physical health and help you to make the changes necessary to minimize physical discomfort throughout your meth withdrawal.

For example, a doctor may note that you are suffering from dehydration, which is quite common among meth users. By helping you with fluids and encouraging you to hydrate, water can minimize your meth comedown symptoms such as headache and lethargy.

Establish New and Better Routines with Structured Rehabs

For many people who use meth, they fall into unhealthy patterns and routines such as staying up all night. You will need to adjust to normal patterns of behavior once more, but it can be a challenge to know what is typical if you are on your own at home. Particularly if you have been struggling with substance use for a while, you might have a skewed perception of what people do apart from drug addiction.

A rehab facility can provide you with the structure and routine necessary to implement healthier practices in your life such as sleeping for eight hours a night. Rehabs tend to be highly structured with activities all day long and set periods of free time. You can use this structure to start rebuilding your life as you come to the end of your meth withdrawal.

With this structure in place, you have a smaller likelihood of relapsing if you can keep it up upon your discharge. The goal is to keep your brain and body busy so that you do not have an opportunity to think about using meth or giving in to intense cravings.

Built-in Support Groups for Accountability

One of the best features of a rehab facility is that you will have built-in support from people who know and understand what you are going through. While others may be at different stages of their sobriety, a treatment center allows you to socialize during downtime and to lend support during more structured group therapy sessions.

You will feel less alone during these support groups where drug use is the norm for everyone. Oftentimes, they are overseen by someone who is far into their sobriety (such as in Meth Anonymous, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous) or by a medical professional during rehab.

People will have an opportunity to share their struggles and to learn what has proven to be helpful to others who have quit meth and faced similar struggles. You may even have a friend or two that you can call when you are dealing with intense withdrawal symptoms that leave you feeling like you might use again.

Learn How to Care for Yourself Properly

Quitting meth is often challenging because people have a hard time knowing how to care for themselves without substance use. The central nervous system is accustomed to having the drug in its system and responds by tempting you to a meth binge. You may have very little idea of how to take care of yourself after a crystal meth comedown.

Doctors can help you understand how to care for yourself, including the importance of routines like exercise. Exercise might be a great way to cope with meth cravings according to a review of the research. You can learn more about how to exercise without overdoing it in a medical setting.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Address Reasons for Using Meth

Of course, one of the biggest pieces of enrolling in a rehab is to deal with the underlying causes of your substance use disorder in the first place. You need focused sessions with a clinician skilled in therapies and treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy. This can take a look at how your thoughts and feeling influence your actions.

Eventually, you will see the point at which you would ordinarily turn to meth use to cope with a thought or a particular feeling that challenges you. Therapy helps to rewrite the script, altering both thoughts and feelings with the intention to interrupt the pattern of meth use.

You will be able to replace your drug addiction with a healthier coping skill during times when you cannot change your thoughts or feelings. Licensed medical professionals can walk you through exercises that help you stay grounded and help you cope with drug cravings. Guided imagery and meditation can both be exercises given and practiced to minimize the uncomfortable feelings of methamphetamine withdrawal.

Get Professional Help with Your Meth Comedown

As you can see, there are many great benefits to enrolling in a long-term inpatient rehab facility for your meth comedown. Whether you are most concerned with the physical aspect of your withdrawal symptoms, want a safe space where you will not be tempted, or need more support to learn how to take better care of yourself, Rehabs Of Armerica can help.

We can assist you in the process of finding the perfect place to cope with your meth use and lay the foundation for a healthy future. Call us today to learn more about what facilities may be available no matter where you are located or what type of insurance you have. Rehabs Of Armerica would love to help you take the first steps toward sobriety, so please reach out today for our confidential assistance!

Charles F.( Content Coordinator )

Charles F. has been an active part of the Florida recovery community for over 5 years. He began as a behavioral health technician at an addiction treatment facility in Ocala, Florida and has since begun training as a Licensed Addiction and Chemical Dependency counselor in Boca Raton. Charles’ passion involves the promotion of recovery and helping spread the hope of recovery to as many readers as possible!