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Recognizing and Responding to Meth Overdose
Key Points
- Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug.
- A meth overdose can cause a heart attack, stroke, or seizure, all of which can be life-threatening.
- A meth overdose requires immediate medical attention and gives the person the greatest chance at recovery.
- Good Samaritan Laws protect people who call for medical help and those who are experiencing an overdose. This law was enacted to reduce drug overdoses.
Recognizing and Responding to Meth Overdose
Symptoms of a meth overdose include a rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and high body temperature. These symptoms can cause serious health emergencies such as a heart attack, stroke, or seizure. If you suspect someone is experiencing a meth overdose, call 911 immediately; without emergency medical attention, there is a high risk of death.
What is Meth?
Methamphetamine is a strong, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system.[1] It is a white crystal-like powder that is odorless but bitter-tasting. It can easily be dissolved in liquids, including alcohol. It can be smoked, snorted, taken orally, or injected. Illegal methamphetamine is also known as meth, crystal meth, crank, speed, glass, teak, chalk, Tina, and ice. [2]
Methamphetamine and amphetamine are chemically similar, but methamphetamine was not derived from amphetamine specifically for use in nasal decongestants or bronchial inhalers. Both drugs are central nervous system stimulants; however, methamphetamine has a stronger and longer-lasting stimulant effect compared to amphetamine. Methamphetamine is a much stronger stimulant than amphetamine. This means that methamphetamine has a higher potency and longer duration of action in the brain, leading to potentially more severe effects on the central nervous system compared to amphetamine.[3]
Meth can cause people to experience [4]
- Increased activity
- Increased talkativeness
- Increased attention
- Decreased appetite
- Decreased fatigue
- Euphoria or a pleasurable sense of well-being
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Other common side effects of meth include [5]
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fast heart rate
- Insomnia
- Upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation
- Tremors
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
Signs of a Methamphetamine Overdose
Meth can have some serious side effects that require immediate medical attention. These dangerous side effects are also considered meth overdose symptoms. They include [6]
- Cardiovascular problems: chest pain, fast heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, difficulties breathing, numbness, cold extremities, skin color changes in extremities (blue fingers or toes), heart attack or stroke
- Psychosis: hallucinations, behavior changes, aggression, paranoia
- Seizure
- Hyperthermia: high body temperature
- Muscle twitches
- Vision changes, including enlarged pupils
Responding to a Methamphetamine Overdose
If you believe someone has overdosed on meth, they require medical attention immediately. A meth overdose can be life-threatening. Call 911
While you are waiting for emergency medical help:
Be cautious around the person if they appear paranoid or are experiencing delusions or hallucinations.
If the person is experiencing a seizure, protect their head by placing something soft under it. Position them on their side to keep the airway clear and help prevent choking if they vomit. Do not restrain them or put anything in their mouth.
If the person is overheated, which can include symptoms of sweating a lot, having hot, red, or dry skin, pale, cold, clammy skin, or feeling nausea, having a headache, or confusion. Help them cool down with a cold, wet towel, ice pack, sitting in front of a fan, or by sipping on cold water or suck on ice. [8]
If the person is unconscious, try to wake them by calling their name or shaking them gently. If there’s no response and you suspect an opioid co-overdose, administer naloxone (Narcan). Naloxone is ineffective against methamphetamine but can be lifesaving in cases involving opioids. While naloxone does not treat a methamphetamine overdose, many overdoses involve multiple substances; half of all meth overdoses include an opioid such as fentanyl. [9]
Monitor the person’s breathing and heart rate. If they stop breathing, you can provide rescue breathing. If their heart is not beating, begin CPR.
Treatment of Methamphetamine Overdose
Emergency room healthcare providers will monitor the person’s heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature and treat their symptoms as required. Common treatments include [10]
- Activated charcoal and laxatives: If the methamphetamine was taken orally
- Blood and urine tests
- Breathing support: This may involve providing oxygen or a breathing machine if the person cannot breathe independently.
- Chest x-ray: if the person has abnormal breathing or has vomited
- CT Scan: especially if a head injury is suspected.
- Electrocardiogram: if the person is having heart issues.
- IV fluids: these are often used to treat pain, nausea, anxiety, agitation, seizures, and high blood pressure.
- Drug screening: people do not always report or know that they have been exposed to multiple substances. A screening gives healthcare providers an accurate understanding of what is happening with the person and what needs to be treated.
- Other medications are needed to treat muscle, heart, brain, or kidney complications from the overdose.
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Post-Methamphetamine Overdose
How well a person can recover from a meth overdose depends on the amount they used and how quickly they were able to receive medical care. The quicker a person overdosing receives medical care, the greater their chances of recovery are.
A person can experience psychosis and paranoia for up to a year after an overdose or using methamphetamine, even with receiving rapid medical attention.[11] Some effects can be permanent, such as memory loss, sleeping problems, skin damage, and tooth loss. The person may also experience long-term disability if they had a heart attack or stroke. One’s kidneys can also be damaged so badly that they have kidney failure and require dialysis.
Frequently Asked Questions About Meth Overdoses
It is estimated that 32,537 people died from an overdose that involved methamphetamine in 2021.[12]
Long-term methamphetamine use can lead to significant psychological problems, such as[13]
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Extreme paranoia
- Extreme mood swings
- Insomnia
Long-term meth use can lead to physical problems such as
- Missing & rotted teeth
- Reoccurring infections
- Extreme weight loss
- Abscesses on skin
Methamphetamine, under the brand name Desoxyn, is indeed prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While it is prescribed infrequently compared to other ADHD medications due to its high potential for abuse, it remains a viable option in specific cases where other treatments have failed. If it is prescribed as an ADHD treatment, it is at much lower levels than the levels people use recreationally.
Smoking and injecting meth get the drug into a person’s bloodstream very quickly, giving them a “rush.” This rush is extremely pleasurable but only lasts for a few minutes. Snorting meth takes 2-3 minutes to feel the results, and taking it orally takes 20-30 minutes. Both snorting and orally ingesting meth result in a sense of euphoria but not the rush that smoking or injecting gives.
Methamphetamine’s pleasurable effects begin to wane before the blood concentration of the drug falls. The person then takes more of the drug to maintain the high, and the blood concentration of the drug continues to climb. This is where the risk of overdose grows. This binge and crash pattern can lead to a person going on a “run,” meaning they stop eating and sleeping for days in an attempt to keep the high and avoid the crash. [14]
Overamping is a term used for overdosing on a stimulant. It is frequently caused by [15]
- Using too much meth
- Staying high too long
- Using meth with opioids (heroin, fentanyl), benzodiazepines, or alcohol
- Using drugs alone (when no one is there to help if problems come up)
In most states, Good Samaritan Laws provide legal protection for individuals who seek emergency help during an overdose, shielding them from prosecution for minor drug offenses. This is designed to encourage bystanders to report overdoses without fear of legal repercussions. [16] The goal of the Good Samaritan Law is to protect people who call for medical help during a drug overdose and prevent drug overdoses.
The Naloxone Access Law protects people who administer naloxone during an opioid overdose. Forty-seven states and Washington, D.C., have Good Samaritan and Naloxone Access laws. Kansas, Texas, and Wyoming do not have Good Samaritan laws but do have Naloxone Access laws.
There is a pattern of lower rates of opioid-related overdose deaths in states that have Good Samaritan laws when compared to the state’s overdose death rate before enacting the law and when compared to states that do not have Good Samaritan laws. People are more likely to call 911 when they know the law. Unfortunately, many are unaware of the law among law enforcement and community members, which could impact a person’s willingness to call 911.
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