Medically Reviewed By: Dr. Patricia Sullivan, MD MPH
Meth and Weight Loss
Can Meth help you lose weight? Yes.
Meth weight loss is only one aspect of the effects methamphetamine can have on your body. However, the cons far outweigh the pros, and being skinny is not worth your life.
A surprising number of people turn to meth for weight loss. However, the detrimental effects that meth has on your body are considerably worse than being overweight. Meth is highly addictive and can ruin your life.
Although using meth makes you lose weight, it is a highly addictive substance that can kill you. Furthermore, meth can cause severe bodily, mental, and emotional damage.
If you or someone you know is using meth, for weight loss or otherwise, please consider reaching out for help. Addiction specialists are available to answer any questions you may have about treatment options, therapies, and rehab services that best suit your needs.
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Quickly find the answers you need regarding the question: does meth make you lose weight?
How Bad is Meth?
You have probably heard the famous quote, “Meth. Not even once.” You may have even thought that “not even once” was an overreaction. On the contrary, using meth can damage and reconstruct your brain to start feeling hungry for more. That hunger is the beginning of developing an addiction, and meth addiction can be fatal.
Meth works by manipulating dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter in the brain that causes you to feel happy and controls motor function. Therefore, when meth gets into your system, it floods the user with feelings of euphoria. Though that may sound exciting, the cost of feeling that euphoria is devastating to your body.
Additionally, meth manipulates the reward center of your brain. The risk-reward calculator in your brain becomes warped, making the temptation to continue using meth seem worth the risks. Unlike other stimulants, meth can stay in the brain longer, giving the substance more time to cause damage.
Health Risks
When someone uses meth for weight loss, they severely affect more than just their weight. Meth charges a heavy toll on your heart, teeth, mental health, and behavioral patterns. Additionally, thought processes and emotional cognizance are harshly disturbed, some of which become irreparable.
Moreover, the potential diseases and health complications that meth invites into your body can follow you for the rest of your life.
Serious health risks that can occur are:
- Substance dependence or addiction.
- Heart diseases and strokes.
- Severe mouth decay is also referred to as “meth mouth.”
Additionally, meth users are at high risk for developing Parkinson’s Disease, contract varying degrees of hepatitis, and experience extreme dehydration.
So, why does meth make you skinny? Because meth sucks the life out of you and your bodyweight along with it. Meth decreases your appetite, but in a way that makes your body eat itself. In that regard, the phrase “beauty is pain” does not apply to meth.
People often respond to weight issues with diet and exercise. However, for some people, diet and exercise are not enough. Therefore, turning to meth may seem like the only way to lose weight. However, underlying medical issues may be at work, requiring health specialists and therapy to address the core issue.
Short and Long-term Effects of Meth Use
It is common for people to believe that it will take a long time for an eventual death if a drug is fatal. However, short-term side effects can get out of control and result in death.
Short Term Effects of Meth Use
The short-term effects can include:
- Inability to sleep or eat.
- Irregular heart rate.
- Hypothermia and convulsions.
Moreover, when hypothermia sets in, your chances of experiencing convulsions significantly increases. If left untreated, these two symptoms combined can kill you.
Meth does not pick or choose the parts of your body to eat at, such as your weight. Therefore, when you invite meth into your body, it not only eats at your weight, but devours the rest of you along with it. Meth is not a weight-loss tool, but rather an indifferent and ravenous parasite.
Long-Term Effects of Meth
Chronic meth use over time can cause irreparable damage to your body. Though some symptoms can subside after quitting, some elements can remain for the rest of your life.
For instance, as dopamine controls motor function, long-term substance abuse can diminish your ability to bend and move. If this happens, it’s possible that years of physical therapy would be required to bring your motor skills back to function.
Additionally, chronic meth users are almost guaranteed to experience dental problems. In the event of severe tooth decay or rot, your adult teeth can deteriorate and become permanently damaged or lost. This condition is referred to as “meth mouth” and requires intensive dental surgeries.
Other long-term effects of meth can produce:
- Addiction
- Hallucinations
- Aggressive or violent behavior
- Weight loss
Furthermore, chronic meth use can cause paranoia, memory loss, mood disturbances, spasms, or twitches. Meth causes your brain to malfunction, and everything that the brain controls along with it. Since your brain controls your entire body, you can imagine all the deficits in thinking, moods, and behaviors that meth can cause.
When considering meth for weight loss, please consider all the damage meth can cause to the rest of your body, and how it can ruin your life.
Statistics on the Increase of Meth Use
In 2017, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported a staggering 1.6 million people who experienced a meth use disorder in that same year. Furthermore, in one month’s time, 774,000 people were reported using meth in the same survey.
It is important to remember that drug use studies and surveys can only account for those who participate. Therefore, the actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher than reported.
Addiction is blind. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, and at any age. In 2017, the same year the drug epidemic was declared in the United States, around 964,000 people aged 12 years and older reported health problems, disability, and significant impairment as a direct result of meth use disorder.
The number of reports rose significantly in a years’ time, as 684,000 people reported their meth use disorder in 2016.
American Drug Crisis
Drug overdose is a severe problem in the United States today. Since the declaration of the drug crisis, addiction has recruited more addicts than in previous years. Addiction is a disease that reconstructs brain chemistry to hunt for more drugs, regardless of who it hurts along the way.
Like any other disease, addiction requires medical treatment to recover from. Consider getting help for your meth use disorder before it rips your life away, piece by piece. As the epidemic grows, it is imperative to reach as many people as possible to save lives.
If you or someone you know is struggling with meth use, consider reaching out to an addiction specialist at the number on your screen. An agent can provide education, resources, and information about rehab centers, treatment options, and available services.
Get Help for Yourself or a Loved One
If you are using meth for weight loss, please consider rehab care to remove meth from your life and replace it with healthy and effective ways to lose weight safely.
Rehab offers treatment for all aspects of your life that have been affected by drugs. Health specialists, nutritional experts, therapies, and resource programs are only a few services offered to recover addicts.
With the devastating statistics mentioned above, educating as many people as possible is crucial. Education and compassion are the keys to a successful recovery. Please know that your life is worth saving, and you deserve better than anything meth can provide for you.
In all honesty, life is hard enough. Between a drug epidemic and a worldwide virus at large, a substance use disorder or drug addiction is the last thing you need to endure. If you are struggling with meth weight loss, consider safe alternatives so that you can live long enough to enjoy healthy weight loss.
Healthy Weight Loss and Getting Help for Meth Addiction
Some people have tried to lose weight by diet and exercise with no results. Many people do precisely what doctors tell them to and become frustrated when no weight is lost. This can indicate a deeper underlying issue that is yet to surface.
As a last resort, people often turn to drugs to finally be rid of unwanted weight. Though the desperation is real, the outcome is far from a happy ending.
Most people don’t realize that by the time they begin to lose weight from meth use, the damage to the rest of the body will cost you far more than the weight you lost.
Conversely, addiction treatments inside rehab, such as therapies and health specialists, can take an in-depth look at not only the core issue but also adopt a customizable treatment plan to help you tackle the underlying problem.
Moving Forward
Using meth for weight loss is dangerous and potentially fatal. Amid the drug crisis in the United States, more people develop a substance addiction every day. As a disease, addiction has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, with no plans to stop.
To recap:
Does meth make you lose weight? Yes, but by the time you experience weight loss, your body has likely suffered irreparable damage.
Why does meth make you skinny? Because meth creates a type of drought inside your body, forcing your body to starve itself of nutrients.
Should I use meth for weight loss? Put, no. Meth is highly addictive and can cause severe physical and emotional dysfunction.
What should I do? Consider calling an addiction specialist to learn more about treatment options, therapies, and health specialist programs that fit your needs.
You deserve better than meth. Your life is worth saving, and you are not alone. It can be frustrating when regular diet and exercise do not work, but you and your rehab team can find the underlying issue and create a plan by seeking treatment.
You can do this.
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