Within today’s multi-tasking, goal-driven culture, amphetamine drugs attract students, professionals as well as the everyday recreational drug user. Amphetamine-type drugs can turn the average everyday person’s mind into a whirlwind of ideas and activity. Unfortunately, these effects only last for so long before the drug starts to take a toll on a person’s health and emotional stability.
An amphetamine comedown can occur in-between “hits” or “fixes.” Amphetamine comedowns also develop when a person stops using the drug.
Considering the uncomfortable symptoms that typify an amphetamine comedown, these episodes can be hard to bear and hard to ignore. As amphetamines in general carry a high potential for abuse, amphetamine comedowns play a pivotal role in perpetuating the drug abuse cycle.
Unless a person takes the necessary steps to break this cycle, amphetamine comedowns will become progressively worse the longer a person continues to use.
Amphetamine Effects
Whether taking prescription drugs or street drugs, amphetamines produce the same effects, though in different degrees. Prescription drugs carry a lower risk for abuse and addiction provided they’re taken as prescribed. Street varieties can vary in strength levels as well as in the types of additive ingredients included in any one batch.
A comedown from amphetamines can make people feel very unhappy.
Examples of amphetamine drugs include:
- Methamphetamine
- Concerta
- Ritalin
- Adderall
According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, an amphetamine “high” can last anywhere from eight to 24 hours depending on how big the dose taken. During that time, the body goes into overdrive as massive amounts of neurotransmitter chemicals are secreted throughout the brain.
With each successive use, neurotransmitter chemical levels skew a little bit more out of balance. Over time, these imbalances produce the amphetamine comedown effects regular users experience.
The Amphetamine Comedown
In effect, amphetamines overstimulate brain chemical functions to the point where brain structures start to weaken from overuse. When this happens, dosage levels must be increased in order for users to experience the same “high” effects.
These processes coupled with the chemical imbalances that take shape impair the brain’s ability to regulate the body’s processes as normal. These conditions produce the comedown effects users experience.
Someone coming down from an amphetamine high will like experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- Headaches
- Ongoing irritability
- Low energy levels
- Blurry vision
- Aggressive behavior displays
- Insomnia
- Chest pains
- Anxiety episodes
- Depression symptoms
- Confused thinking processes
- Drug cravings
- Dizziness
Bingeing Effects
The brain quickly develops a tolerance to amphetamines over time as the drug essentially “eats away” at individual brain cell structures. As a result, people who use amphetamines on a frequent basis will soon be ingesting large dosage amounts over time.
Amphetamines also tend to produce short-lived “high” effects so users must keep ingesting the drug in order to maintain the desired effect. Bingeing entails consuming successive doses of amphetamines within a short period of time.
Not surprisingly, an amphetamine comedown from a bingeing episode can bring on some pretty distressing symptoms, some of which include:
- Hallucinations
- Severe depression
- Extreme anxiety and/or panic attacks
- Exhaustion
- Psychotic episodes
- Sleep periods ranging from 24 to 48 hours
With continued use, users risk developing serious psychological problems and also health problems as brain functions continue to deteriorate.
