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How Much Meth Does It Take to Overdose?

There is no single threshold for a meth overdose. The amount of the substance it takes to overdose depends on your biology, any polysubstance abuse, and the way you ingest the drug.

Illegal meth use is always dangerous, and in some cases may be fatal. This blog post provides information on the dangers of meth abuse, meth overdose, and how you can leave meth abuse behind to reclaim a safe and sober life.

What Is a Drug Overdose?

What Is a Drug Overdose?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an overdose occurs when you use too much of a drug and have a toxic reaction that causes serious symptoms or death.

Acute methamphetamine overdose happens when you take too much meth in a single session. Chronic meth overdose develops when you consistently abuse meth over an extended period, causing long-term damage to your body.

What Is Methamphetamine?

Methamphetamine (meth) is a potent stimulant drug that affects your central nervous system. While meth has limited medical uses, it is a highly addictive drug that can cause serious harm to your physical and mental health. Crystal meth is a type of meth that comes in blue, glass-like fragments or rocks.

How Does Meth Affect the Brain?

Methamphetamine increases the amount of dopamine in the brain. This is a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) that brain cells send to communicate with other cells. Increased dopamine levels speed up activity in the brain, making people feel more alert, awake, and full of energy. However, it can also cause serious negative side effects, such as increased heart rate, high blood pressure, and psychosis.

Dopamine also plays a vital role in the human body’s reward system, a pathway in the brain that helps to reinforce life-preserving behaviors. When we engage in a beneficial activity, our brain releases a small amount of dopamine, altering neuronal connectivity along the reward pathway and making it more likely that we’ll repeat the activity.

Taking meth floods the brain with dopamine, hijacking the reward system. Repeated use leads to the strong urges and compulsive drug-seeking behavior that characterize drug addiction.

How Much Meth Does It Take to Overdose?

How Much Meth Does It Take to Overdose?

The amount of meth someone needs to take to overdose varies depending on individual characteristics, the method of ingestion, and whether they mix meth with other drugs.

Some variables that can affect the overdose threshold include:

  • a person’s approximate age
  • a person’s body mass
  • a person’s metabolism
  • whether they are swallowing, snorting, smoking, or injecting meth
  • co-occurring physical health conditions
  • polysubstance abuse

Unless you are taking methamphetamine exactly according to a doctor’s prescription, there is no safe amount of meth to take. An illegal street drug may be mixed with other substances, so you may not know the real quantity of or combinations of drugs you are taking.

The best way to avoid meth overdose is to avoid any illicit use of the substance and leave meth abuse behind. While this may not be easy, effective addiction treatment and support can guide you to recovery.

Understanding Polysubstance Abuse

Polysubstance abuse is when you abuse multiple psychoactive substances. Polysubstance abuse is extremely dangerous and can increase the risk of overdose on both substances, especially when the effects of each drug reinforce each other.

Currently, a significant proportion of drug overdose deaths involve combinations of methamphetamine and opioid drugs. In some cases, a user may intentionally take meth with other substances. In other cases, cheap but potent synthetic opioids are added to meth without the user knowing, in order to increase its potency.

Signs and Symptoms of Acute Meth Overdose

Methamphetamine overdose can cause serious damage to a person’s health and, in some cases, is fatal. Knowing the signs of acute meth overdose can help you spot a potential meth overdose in yourself or others, so you can seek immediate life-saving medical treatment. Common meth overdose symptoms include:

  • breathing problems
  • low or high blood pressure
  • paralysis
  • chronic anxiety or paranoia
  • agitation
  • chest pain
  • coma or loss of consciousness
  • seizures
  • intense stomach pain
  • aggressive behavior
  • personality changes

How Can You Treat Meth Overdose?

Meth overdose treatment aims to alleviate or reverse the symptoms and conditions caused by the drug, such as stroke, kidney failure, or heart attack. Medics may try to help the overdose victim by:

  • restoring blood flow to the brain
  • restoring blood flow to the heart
  • treating organ failure

The quicker someone receives treatment, the greater their chance of full recovery. However, some people may continue to experience paranoia, psychosis, and memory loss even after aggressive medical treatment. If someone experiences a stroke during a meth overdose, they can suffer permanent brain damage.

What Is the Scope of Meth Use and Meth Overdoses in the United States?

Meth Addiction Treatment and Recovery

Meth is a highly addictive drug and addiction can build very quickly. Because meth addiction involves physical changes in the brain that lead to compulsive drug-seeking behavior, it can be hard to quit using meth by yourself. Most people who live with meth addiction require effective and long-term treatment to achieve lasting recovery.

The good news is, there is plenty of support available to help you overcome meth abuse and reclaim a sober life. Decades of scientific research have uncovered a range of evidence-based treatment methods proven to effectively support addiction recovery.

Drug addiction treatment options include:

  • cognitive-behavioral therapy
  • support groups
  • medication-assisted treatment
  • family therapy
  • dual diagnosis
  • complementary therapies such as yoga and meditation
  • life skills development

Every individual is different and no one treatment works for everyone. Effective treatment programs usually combine a variety of options, tailored to each client’s needs. They typically offer comprehensive aftercare to support individuals in the months and years following addiction treatment, promoting lasting change.

Begin Your Journey to Wellness With NP Addiction Clinic

Begin Your Journey to Wellness With NP Addiction Clinic

NP addiction clinic is a leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Our evidence-based programs combine scientific innovation with compassionate care, promoting holistic healing and lasting recovery. Our expert team works with you to identify the underlying causes of your addiction, developing individualized treatment plans that reflect your unique needs.

At NP Addiction clinic, we believe in healing through connection. We stay by your side throughout the treatment process, starting from our exceptional detox programs and going through to our comprehensive aftercare. We believe everyone deserves to be free from drug addiction, and we will do what it takes to get you there.

If you are living with a meth or stimulant addiction or other substance use disorder, contact us today to begin your journey.

Begin the first day of the rest of your life

To find out more contact our team

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Kim L. Buckner

Facilitator

As a Substance Abuse Motivational Speaker, Pastor, Peer Advocate, and Facilitator. Kim helps clients avoid relapse by understanding their triggers. Those people, places and things that can cause craving, as well as internal triggers like feelings, thoughts, or emotions. Kim also clients with identifying and building healthy relationships now that they’re clean and sober.

Kim’s background includes extensive experience as a motivational speaker and work in faith-based organizations helping youth and adults alike. She says she is motivated by giving back to the community, understanding, and not judging who she comes into contact with. Kim’s favorite quote is by Dr. Raymond Johnson: “The respect given to others rebounds to the giver to deny the scared in the Other is to deny it in oneself.”

Caty Burns

Clinician

Caty graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minors in Counseling and History. Throughout her undergrad, she worked at the local CASA program, supporting volunteers advocating for children who had experienced abuse and neglect. Caty worked for seven years at a community mental health center (CMHC), partnering with children, adults, and families.

During those seven years, she taught life and coping skills as well as behavior management, provided case management and peer recovery services, and facilitated treatment teams that included the client, family, providers, and community members. I have also worked at an IOP providing group therapy services. She is currently working towards my Master of Social Work.

In her free time, Caty enjoys reading, especially historical fiction, spending time outdoors and having movie nights with her family. Disney World is her happy place, and she dreams of living among the elephants.

Madison Knowles

Mental Health Therapist

My name is Madison Knowles, I am a Mental health therapist at NPAC. I am a single-mother of two and I have a daughter who is globally delayed and has been diagnosed with autism. I have been in this industry since I was 16 years old, as I was fascinated with human behavior. I obtained my masters in applied behavioral analysis and started off working with people with disabilities. I then found my love for counseling when I worked with juveniles who had mental health and substance use issues. I then decided to go back for my mental health therapy license after that and working in a forensic treatment center. I went on to obtain my therapy credentials and since 2017, I have also been working on my PhD in forensic psychology in which I am currently working on my dissertation. I am inspired by change and how resilient people can be. My favorite inspirational quote is “Some will, Some won’t, So what, NEXT!!!” This quote has inspired me to try, try, and try again no matter how hard life gets, someone will give you a chance eventually. As a therapist at NPAC, I have been given the opportunity to work with diverse populations such as in substance use and mental health and I am known for my work with people on the schizophrenic spectrum as well as with other clients with other severe conditions including personality disorders.

Megan Carmona, LMHC

Lead Therapist

Our Lead Therapist, Megan, is a bilingual Licensed Mental Health Counselor who specializes in working with adults who struggle with addiction, anxiety, depression, and trauma. As Lead Therapist, she provides individual, family, and group therapy sessions to our clients.  Megan says “I am very passionate about therapy, especially about supporting my clients in exploring their strengths and identity. My goal is to provide individuals with the tools that can help them achieve independence in coping with their challenges and facilitating personal development.” In her free time, Megan enjoys watching docu-series and playing video games with her family. Her dream is to own acres of land so she can care for vulnerable animals, especially old dogs, cats, and horses. 

Kristen Bensley

Primary Clinician

As Primary Clinician, Kristen works with all aspects of our clinical team, from case management to primary therapy.  She has broad experience working in the mental health field. Prior to joining our team at the Neuro Psychiatric Addiction Clinic, Kristen was part of the team awarded the Evernorth Behavioral Health Center of Excellence Designation by Cigna. She says her motivation is to help people rediscover who they are and become excited about the future and all the possibilities life offers. Kristen’s favorite quote is: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

Ronn Daigle, MSW

Therapist, Utilization Review Clinician

Ronn Daigle services as a Therapist and Utilization Review Clinician at the Neuro Psychiatric Addiction Clinic. He has been working in the field of substance use disorder treatment since 2011, with experience in all facility-based levels of care. Ronn earned, both an Associate of Arts in Psychology (2013) and Bachelor of Science in Human Services, with an Addiction Studies Concentration (2015) from Indian River State College. 

Ronn additionally earned a Master of Social Work degree in 2021 and is a current Registered Clinical Social Work Intern working toward licensure (LCSW). He describes himself as detail oriented, and solution focused.

Ronn says: “There is nothing more fulfilling than working with someone who doesn’t believe in himself or herself, and being there in the moment with them when the belief begins. We work with individuals who come to us at a point and time in their respective lives where they do not believe that change for others is possible; let alone for themselves…throughout the process they eventually come to a point where they realize that change is not only possible, but achievable.”

Erika Melecio, LMHC, MCAP, CEI

Assistant Clinical Director

Erika Melecio, LMHC, MCAP, CEI is the Assistant Clinical Director at Neuropsychiatric Addiction Clinic who specializes in the treatment of LGBTQ, addiction, as well as mental health disorders ranging from depression and anxiety, to Bipolar Disorder, trauma, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, and eating disorders. Erika utilizes a number of modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Mindfulness amongst others. Erika has been in practice for close to a decade and has earned her license in Mental Health Counseling, as well as being a Master’s Certified Addiction Professional. Erika has worked with many individuals including couples counseling and family therapy, and is fluent in Spanish.
 
Throughout my years of practice, one of the things I enjoy helping people find is inner peace. Whether you are in the deepest parts of depression, overrun by your anxiety, controlled by your addiction, or there are certain issues in your life that are negatively impacting your ability to function, and have a happy, healthy life, maybe now is the time to talk about it. I am a big believer in empowerment, working hard in therapy, and utilizing different techniques to help you regain that inner peace that may have been lost along the way. I want to work with you as a team because with two people, absolutely everything is possible. I want to be there as a therapist, to help build you up, support you, but also help you be honest with yourself and accountable. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, my biggest goal for you is going to be simple….for you to no longer need my services. Why? Because if you no longer need my services, it means that you have regained your peace, you have regained your strength, you have regained your confidence. It means that you now have the tools to address any issues that try to derail you, and best of all, you will have the insight to overcome and thrive. So let’s begin this journey together, and get you to the place you want to be, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, and in your sobriety.

Aurelio Ayuso, MSW, LCSW, CAP, ICADC

Clinical Director

Aurelio has worked with those that suffer from the disease of addiction in adults and juveniles alike for over 10 years, beginning in the United States Navy where he proudly served for 20 years, working with those that were succumbed by addiction due to trauma and continuing his passion for helping those in need locally in Central Florida.

He specializes in both Addictions and Trauma, he has worked first as a therapist then as the clinical supervisor to both the Juvenile and Adult Drug Court programs in Brevard County. Aurelio has been instrumental in developing substance abuse treatment programs directly tailored to help those that also suffer from complex trauma due to their addiction. He has been recognized by several organizations for his forward thinking and ability to tailor treatment to individuals in the most restrictive environments.

Mr. Ayuso received his Graduate Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker as well as Certified Addictions Professional in the State of Florida, and Internationally Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor. Aurelio specializes in the treatment of Addiction, Trauma, and Abandonment using strength based strategies deeply rooted in Solution Focused, and Mindfulness Therapies. At the Neuropsychiatric Addiction Clinic he passionately develops holistic curriculums that foster the belief that through addressing the mind, body, and spirit together, the Disease of Addiction can be addressed successfully.

Robert Lehmann, MHSA

Chief Operating Officer

Bob Lehmann is the Chief Operating Officer at the Neuro Psychiatric Addiction Clinic. He has a Master’s Degree in Human Services Administration with a concentration in Mental Health Administration and over twenty-five years of experience as a senior executive at addiction and mental health treatment facilities.

One of the reasons for his commitment to excellence in addiction treatment was his experience related to family members who suffered from the disease of addiction. Bob has been actively involved in community organizations throughout his career. Recently he was one of the founders of the Florida Addiction Treatment Coalition (FATC) and is its present Vice President. FATC was designed to bring together treatment executives in Florida to advocate on behalf of treatment facilities and the clients they serve adhering to a foundation of integrity and service excellence.

Jose R. Toledo, M.D.

Medical Director

A well-rounded and accomplished individual, Jose R. Toledo, M.D., is the Medical Director of Neuro Psychiatric Addiction Clinic.

Dr. Toledo is a neurologist with 25 years of experience and has been in private practice since 1991 on the Treasure Coast of Florida. He completed his neurology training at the State University of New York and his Fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology.

He also completed 24 months of acute inpatient psychiatry at the Western Missouri Mental Health Center, University of Missouri in Kansas City. In 2008, Dr. Toledo participated in and was certified in the continuing medical education activity entitled “Buprenorphine and Office-Based Treatment of Opioid Dependence” from The Medical University of South Carolina during which began his quest to found and head Neuropsychiatric Addiction Clinic.

Dr. Toledo is a brain specialist with particular competence in addiction medicine and out-patient detoxification treatment and integrates the fields seamlessly. He is certified to prescribe Buprenorphine (Suboxone). He incorporates his background in neurology into the addiction field. Dr. Toledo is member/fellow of The American Medical Association, The Florida Medical Association and The American Society of Addiction Medicine