Signs of Meth Use

Meth has affected the lives of many people that never thought that they might have a friend or neighbor that uses or sells meth or a son or daughter who might be addicted to the drug. Do not be surprised if someone you know, including a family member or friend is using meth. meth strikes at those people that don’t seem to be at risk of being a hard drug user. Young adults that are regulars at church, kids that are great in sports, and many others with no apparent reason to use meth, are using the drug. If you think someone you know may be using meth there are numerous indicators or signs that you can look out for that may help you help a friend.

The easiest outwardly visible sign of meth use is rapid weight loss. The amount of weight that someone looses can vary from person to person depending on their physical size and how rapidly their use progresses. On average a person can lose 8 to 10 pounds a month for several months in a row. Many young ladies are deceived by the drug by thinking it is a quick way to lose weight. Often the user goes past the point of looking normal into an appearance of looking to thin or has a sunken face. Many people look like “skin and bones”. Eating binges are common for those persons coming down from a several day meth high.

Another sign is that the user often becomes careless about their appearance and overall physical well being. Often meth use will quickly transform a normal looking person into what appears to be a vagrant or homeless person. Hygiene becomes of little concern and the user may not brush their teeth or take showers for extended periods of time. Often users will cut their hair into styles that need very little care or grooming. The skin often shows sign of use which might appear to look like bad acne on the arms, face and neck, and the user’s hands and nails may appear to look in very bad shape.

The user’s mental state of mind often changes quickly. meth produces similar characteristics in its users as that of schizophrenics and people with obsessive compulsive disorders. Aggressive behavior, paranoia of friends and family, deception and lies, and many other apparent mental disorders are a result of meth use. Watch out for those people that become closed off and secretive that used to be outgoing and open. Days of being wide awake followed by days of sleeping binges may be a sign of meth use.

The user often looses interest in anything else but the drug. The user who may have been a great and caring mother may all of a sudden not care about where her children are at, what they have to eat , or how many days that they have gone without seeing them. Watch out for friends or family members that seem to have lost interest in those things that were dearest to their heart.

Other signs of meth use may be the objects that can be found associated with the use of meth. Items such as burned aluminum foil or light bulbs that have been converted to smoking devices. Small Ziploc baggies and cut drinking straws are indicators for use. An overabundant supply of butane fuel or windproof butane lighters could be an indication of use.

Here are some signs of meth use:

1. Obsessive, fidgety behavior. As a stimulant, meth can cause users to suddenly start exhibiting behavior more commonly associated with people who suffer from OCD (like compulsive hand-washing, cleaning). Sometimes a meth user will repeatedly perform the same task over and over again.
2. Loquaciousness. A meth user often engages in constant, rambling conversation.
3. Dilated pupils and rapid, darting eyes.
   
4. Frequent sweating. Meth causes a rise in body temperature. In cases of extreme methamphetamine addiction and overdose, body temperature can rise high enough to cause brain damage or even death.
5. Tooth decay (commonly referred to as "meth mouth"). Meth abuse over a period of time causes nervous tooth grinding, saliva deficiency and extreme lapses in hygiene. The result is dramatic tooth decay.
6. Skin lesions and frequent sores that take a long time to heal. Not only does meth naturally inhibit the body's ability to fight off minor infection, but it can also cause meth addicts to nervously pick at their skin until it bleeds. Chronic meth users often suffer from the hallucination that they have insects crawling beneath their flesh.
7. Weight loss. Tragically, the goal of weight loss has actually motivated people to start using meth. But extended meth use can cause severe and unhealthy weight loss. The drug that many take in order to look more attractive ultimately leads to physical degeneration that is sometimes unbearable to witness.
8. Wakefulness that lasts for days, or perhaps more than a week. If your neighbor, roommate or family member doesn't sleep for days, during which time you observe the kind of nervous, high-energy behavior described above, there's a distinct possibility that meth abuse is the cause. Meth abuse often manifests itself in waves of "tweaking," in which an user will take repeated doses of meth, foregoing sleep for days at a time.

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