Questions & Answers about Meth Addiction and Recovery

• Mar
  28

  Paranoia

  Question:
  After usage has stopped, what can be done to prevent or lessen thoughts of paranoia?

  Answer:
  For the most part paranoia decreases after detoxification is completed. For chronic meth users, they can suffer from paranoia for well over a year. There have been cases when the chronic long term user continued with paranoia symptoms for the rest of their life. A lot depends on the individual and what their drug history is too. Sometimes there has been so much damage done to the brain it?s unable to repair itself and the damage is permanent.

  If a person wasn?t a chronic long-term user of meth and still suffers with symptoms of paranoia several months after they?ve stopped using they should seek medical attention. There could have also been mental health issues before drug use even started and meth enhanced the symptoms.

  Followup Question:
  I know a guy who stopped for a week but now has really bad paranoia and it seems like he is brain damaged. He?s been doing crank for about 2 years. What is going on?

  Answer:
  Sometimes a person suffers from a mental illness and isn?t aware of it. If a person uses meth and other drugs that cause paranoia and they have a pre-existing mental illness, their paranoia can get worse not better. This isn?t to say the person you know has but there is always that possibility. If his paranoia symptoms continue to get worse or if they just don?t get any better he needs to seek professional advice from his physician. Taking meth again or other drugs to help with the paranoia will only make things worse so make sure that doesn?t happen.

  Followup Question:
  I smoked meth heavily for about 2 years and then off and on for the next 5 years. Now it has been about 4 years since I touched meth and I am still craving meth and have had real bad paranoia. Will this ever go away? Is there something wrong with me?

  Answer:
  When a person uses meth, fragments get stuck in tissues inside the body and if they become dislodged they can produce symptoms similar to what a person experienced during use. Sometimes these fragments are large enough that the user could experience cravings and other symptoms quite a while after they stopped. It?s important to drink plenty of water every day to flush your body of these toxic fragments. You never know when fragments will become dislodged, years later this can happen.

  I would suggest seeing your physician to rule out any form of mental illness that possibly existed even before drug use began. A lot of people who seek treatment for their addictions are diagnosed with dual diagnosis which is a mental health issue along with their drug addiction. This is actually common among long term drug users.

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  Posted on March 28th, 2011

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