The substance use disorder patients who have used Methamphetamine Drugs in the past might worry about the long-term effects of these stimulants. Medical experts are constantly learning more about all the effects of methamphetamine stimulants. The patients who have stopped using these substances have every reason to predict that their health will improve in many ways.
Cognitive Skills
Patients are often particularly concerned about the neurological effects of using methamphetamine stimulants. Individuals who have been using these substances for years may have noticed that some of their cognitive skills have suffered. They might assume that they won’t regain the exact abilities that they may have lost, which could be discouraging.
However, there is evidence to suggest that the substance use disorder patients who successfully stop using methamphetamine stimulants will be able to improve their verbal abilities and motor skills within a year or so. The patients who have not taken the methamphetamine drugs for a full year might actually have the verbal and motor skills of people who have never taken these substances at all.
Substance use disorder patients who expect to see an immediate improvement may become frustrated. It’s possible that the patients in this situation are distracted by the short-term effects of substance use recovery, which could affect their other cognitive abilities.
Individuals who initially have unsatisfactory performances on certain formal or informal tests may have gotten those results for many reasons. It’s possible that they had high levels of test anxiety at the time, since methamphetamine stimulants can certainly make patients much more anxious.
It should slowly become easier for patients to concentrate on various tasks, including tests of all kinds. People who have strong verbal skills might still struggle with tests on verbal abilities if they have a difficult time focusing on those tests. Once those fundamental abilities improve, a patient’s other skills might noticeably get better.
Methamphetamine stimulants can certainly injure the brain. However, researchers are constantly learning more about the brain’s ability to successfully heal itself. Substance use disorder patients who give their brains enough time to regenerate may start noticing the difference once half a year has passed.
A patient’s neurological transporters and receptors can become healthier at that point. The patients who want to learn more about the medical aspects of recovering from methamphetamine use should be able to discuss it with different medical professionals.
Anxiety Symptoms
Methamphetamine use disorder patients may still feel anxious or depressed after they’ve completely stopped taking the substance for over a year. Their anxiety levels should still decrease over time.
However, some methamphetamine use disorder patients may find that they’ll regain their former cognitive abilities before they’re able to substantially reduce their anxiety levels. Methamphetamine drugs are stimulants, and almost all stimulants can make a person more anxious.
Methamphetamine use disorder patients also frequently experience depression. The overall combination of both anxiety and depression can cause additional issues. However, both of these symptoms will usually subside.
The symptoms that can cause those specific symptoms to become more intense can also become less severe. For example, methamphetamine use disorder patients often have extremely vivid nightmares, which can interfere with their sleep cycles. Some patients might not feel as if they’ve rested once they wake up, which will give them less energy throughout their days.
Those nightmares will start to become less common when patients complete more of the methamphetamine use recovery process. Patients might soon start to get more sleep as a result. The patients who are able to sleep more consistently will often continue to recover more easily as well. These individuals will start to feel calm and stable gradually.
