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It's these users that typically turn up in emergency departments and pose a challenge to medical staff, said David Caldicott, an Emergency Consultant at the Calvary Hospital in Canberra. This is caused by methamphetamine's release of another neurotransmitter (brain chemical) called noradrenaline, which induces a fight or flight response. This can escalate to feelings of intense paranoia or psychotic episodes. Once you start taking higher doses you may also start to feel jumpy or anxious, hostile and aggressive. Physically this might involve a racing heart and increased breathing rate, a rise in body temperature, a dry mouth and sometimes nausea and vomiting.Īt critical toxicity or overdose levels, people can also have stroke or heart failure, and occasionally seizures. Once users start to take ice at higher doses or to use it more frequently, the pleasurable effects tend to give way to less pleasurable ones, Dr Lee said. "The 'come down' period is like a hangover, a recovery period after which people may move into withdrawal if they are dependent," she said. Some people may also feel very irritable or have mild psychotic symptoms like paranoia and hallucinations.
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You may feel exhausted and want to sleep for a day or two, although you may have difficulty sleeping, Dr Lee said. It's pretty common to feel flat, depressed, jittery and anxious.
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You may also have headaches, blurred vision and start to feel hungry. So you'll have trouble making decisions, poor concentration and difficulty planning. If you're coming down from methamphetamine you're likely to feel the opposite of what you feel when you're high.
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"Mostly people will smoke, inject or swallow a pill," she said. How quickly you feel the effect of methamphetamine depends on the form, the route of administration and how much of it you use, Dr Lee said.
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