Crystal meth or methamphetamine is chemically similar to amphetamine and the neurotransmitter dopamine, but it is quite different from cocaine.
Although these stimulants have similar behavioral and physiological effects, there are some major differences in the basic mechanisms of how they work.
1. In contrast to cocaine, which is quickly removed and almost completely metabolized in the body, methamphetamine has a much longer duration of action and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged in the body.
2. This results in methamphetamine being present in the brain longer, which ultimately leads to prolonged stimulant effects. And although both methamphetamine and cocaine increase levels of the brain chemical dopamine, animal studies reveal much higher levels of dopamine following administration of methamphetamine due to the different mechanisms of action within nerve cells in response to these drugs.
3. Cocaine prolongs dopamine actions in the brain by blocking dopamine re-uptake. While at low doses, methamphetamine blocks dopamine re-uptake, methamphetamine also increases the release of dopamine, leading to much higher concentrations in the synapse, which can be toxic to nerve terminals.
Faces of Meth
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s not really that I’m wanting to leave a comment, it’s that I’m wanting help or advice. I don’t do drugs, I’ve tried them, but I just don’t have an addictive personality. I don’t drink or smoke either. I thought I fell in love with someone, and I always wondered why he would throw these little fits of rage just out of no where. I could simply mention something and he would assume I was accusing him of whatever it be I was talking of. One night he was offered dope in front of me. I yelled while he sat silent all the way home, and I told him I could never be with him if this was a problem he has, you know, because I have a straight life. He promised not to ever do it again, and about a week later he broke down crying to me telling me he couldn’t be with me anymore because he doesn’t want to hurt me. He explained to me that he had been over at his uncles house and had just got done smoking some dope after he had promised that he wouldn’t ever again. He said he bent over to pick something up and his belt broke in half, I had gotten him this belt for christmas. Then he tells me he realizes he was wearing my favorite night shirt, it fits him as a normal short obviously since hes bigger than me, so I had given it to him…. it’s a classic Gumby face on a green shirt. He told me that when the belt broke it was like a symbol of the promise he had broken to me and that he was wearing my favorite tee shirt. He kept saying don’t take me back don’t do it because I don’t want to hurt you. I wasn’t quite sure how he meant he would hurt me, but i wasn’t willing to give up on our relationship because of one relapse. I forgave him and beat it into him how much I loved him and would help him out of this. We had been getting along so well after this had happened and then we got into a fight today, and he started telling me that I needed to find someone better, that I’m too good for him. I wasn’t willing to hear that, because in my eyes he had been doing so good. He had quit smoking pot, quit taking prescription pain meds and quit drinking but maybe twice a month. At this point we’ve been working on him smoking cigarettes. These aren’t things that i have told him to give up by all means, he wanted to and he wanted my help. I wasn’t trying to change him. Well anyways, after our fight today, I kept telling him that I wasn’t too good for him because he was making himself better, and he said he couldn’t hurt me anymore, he told me he has been lieing to me and breaking his promise everyday. He’s been doing dope EVERYDAY since the night he cried to me telling me not to take him back because he knew he was no good for me. It hurt hearing him say that, but i cried a second, soaked it up, and I told him that we’ve overcome the pills, the pot, and the drinking, we can overcome this too. He said he had a problem and that he wanted to fix it, but with all the stress in our lives right now it’s going to take longer than he would like. He also mentioned that dropping all the addiction he had before didn’t help, it made it worse. He replaced dope with all of those drugs, he wasn’t doing dope when he was taking pills and smoking pot. But when we canceled those out, he doubled his dose. He pulled out gutted pen out of the console of the car to show me. I don’t know how he’s hidden it so well. I cook dinner and we eat full meals, we go to bed and I stay up later than him…. he actually sleeps on this stuff. The only thing that half way gave it away was the killer tooth pains he would wake with in the middle of the night. I know he loves me, I realized today that he tells me he loves me when he sober. There are certain time when we will spend a week together, no breaks from each other where I know hes not doing meth, not even in the bathroom, we leave the door open to use it and more than half the time use it together. We’ve discussed kids and spending our lives together. He’s a really good guy, when he’s not high. I can tell when he’s high because he can’t tell me he loves me, he feels wrong because he knows hes doing something that would hurt me. He won’t talk about our relationship or furthering it when he’s high because he feels guilty. But when we spend those lazy days at home all day and night, we’re the perfect couple. I only express all these things, yes i know it is long and drawn out, but like I said I only express these things because I need someone to realize that this isn’t a situation where he’s a nothing. He works for a living and gives me things that I need. He’s there for me, he’s my lover. But we need help. He needs to get better and we need someone to help us, but he won’t go to a rehab, so we need more of a mentor, a counselor. I don’t want this to kill him, I’m sitting in a hospital typing this right next to my father while he’s lying on his death bed. He’s dying because of meth, he did it all his life and his lungs and heart are destroyed. It gave him pulmonary hypertension, that’s a rare terminal disease. That means there’s no way out, he will die from this. I don’t need the two men I love to die of the same thing. My fathers only fourty four. My fiance’s twenty eight. If he doesn’t stop now, he’ll be in that same bed. Please help me, somebody.
Dear Rennai,
Two people need help. You and your boyfriend. I suggest that the only thing you can really control is yourself. Talk to a minister or counselor. You could use some guidance in helping yourself.
An addict who is unwilling to change, won’t. People usually stop doing drugs or drinking when the pain or consequences of continuing is too great.
If you don’t know where to get counseling start with an 800 helpline and ask for referrals.
Bill
dear reanni,
ive been going through the same thing my bf is 20 and he has been an addict to crystal meth for 8 yrs. hes my soulmate and i love him and he feels the same for me and 4 days ago he calls and tells me that hes tired of hurting me and having to lie to go to drugs he told me his addiction wont let him have me. that hurt sooo bad hearing that from him but in a way he realized his addiction and wanted help it was hard but he wanted to break up so we did..i dream of him all the time and think about him everyday i dont know what i should do so .. he also told me that i have his heart and he will all ways love me