Meth Help

Many parents might wonder, what does tweaking mean? In reference to drugs, it is important to know the signs and symptoms of a drug user, which includes answering the question, what does tweaking mean? Many meth addicts tweak as a symptom of their drug use.

Crystal methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that causes symptoms like tweaking. Those who may have heard the term before but still wonder, what does tweaking mean, can now discover that tweaking means; the drug user will exhibit symptoms like shaking, high blood pressure, paranoia, aggressive and psychotic behavior. Many drug users become addicted to the high feeling they get during the tweaking process, regardless of the fact that severe tweaking can lead to cardiac arrest and other life threatening issues if the drug is used long enough or in enough quantity.

What Does Tweaking Mean?

Crystal meth is comprised of a variety of dangerous and toxic chemicals like drain cleaner and laundry detergent, which is why no meth mixes are ever exactly the same. The drug is also usually injected or snorted or even smoked in a pipe. The feelings of exhilaration and euphoria are what causes a person to exhibit symptoms like tweaking. These effects can last anywhere from two to 16 hours depending on the amount of the drug ingested and if the person has ever done drugs before or not.  The effects that the users enjoy when tweaking occurs because the chemicals (amphetamine) in meth replace the brain's natural production of dopamine, which is known for giving the mind and body pleasure. Because the meth interferes with that, the brain stops producing dopamine on its own. The body then becomes addicted to the drug because it can no longer experience pleasure and  happiness in the same way that it used to before the user started doing the drug on a regular basis. Because the memory of the activity that continues to reward the brain with that pleasure, is the reason why so many users keep on going back for more with the drug. This perpetual state of tweaking is what so many of the users strive to accomplish by continually smoking or snorting the drug.

Effects of Crystal Meth:

In addition to the tweaking symptoms, there are also other effects that users get with meth including paranoia, short term memory loss, mood swings, irritability, damage to the immune system and aggressive behaviors. There are also other physical symptoms like rotted teeth, poor skin and hair and aging effects. Many users who use the drug for a year continually often times look like they have aged 10 years in the short period of time.  Other health risks include the possibility of overdosing on the drug, which most often results in death for the user. Convulsions, circulatory and respiratory collapse, coma and death is what occurs when someone overdoses as the result of doing too much meth. However, some users have been known to overdose after only ingesting a small amount of the drug because they are more prone to the effects of meth. 

Treatment for Tweaking and Crystal Meth Use:

Those who enjoy tweaking are putting themselves at a risk to experience these unsettling symptoms that can result in serious health issues down the road or even death. However, there is hope for recovery despite meth being one of the most addictive drugs. If you are someone that knows a loved one or friend that is into meth, it is important to help them get help and treatment as soon as possible. Treatment is not an easy road but it is possible. Treatment involves seeing a professional, usually a doctor or therapist. These treatments for meth addiction are common at drug rehabilitation centers or residential treatment facilities. These facilities are great places to start the recovery process because it requires the user to be completely clean of the drug and to go through the withdrawal process without being distracted by their normal day-to-day activities that used to lead to drug use. 

While in a treatment center like this, the user can go through the withdrawal process in a medically safe environment and can also immediately receive emotional help through therapy that can address the reasons the user began smoking meth in the first place. After being able to resolve those issues, the user is less likely to relapse into doing the drugs again. The brain also needs time to recover from the interference of the amphetamine in order to begin naturally producing dopamine in the brain again. This is another factor that may help prevent users from going back into their old ways of using drugs.

Users also have to make a firm commitment to change their entire lifestyle including friends, activities and hangouts they used to frequent in order to really prevent themselves from getting back into meth and tweaking. From this point, support groups and surrounding themselves with a supportive environment is the best way to stay clean and avoid going back to tweaking to be happy.

Sources: methawareness.org, urban75.com