The Risks and Realities of Stimulant Overdose
When you hear the word “overdose,” what immediately comes to mind? Most people think about turning blue or a heavy nod like they might see with heroin and opioids. But stimulants can (and do) often cause overdoses. And they have a different set of risks and issues collectively known as overamping.
What should you know about the effects of stimulant overdose to safeguard yourself or a loved one?
The term ‘overamping’ is a catch-all word to describe the physical and psychological symptoms of taking too much meth, cocaine, or any other stimulant. In such situations, those using may experience severe effects such as heart attack, stroke, or hyperthermia.
There are no proven medical ways to immediately combat this condition, which makes it hard to treat and bear. Get medical help so that you can stay comfortable and safe to ride it out.
Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada offers a comfortable setting where you can get the help you need for any type of substance use issue. Our detox and residential treatment programs, as well as our array of outpatient offerings, set you up for success in recovery from meth or other stimulants.
Keep reading to learn more about stimulant overamping and what harm-reduction strategies you can put in place to minimize the consequences. And if you or your loved one want to get off the rollercoaster of meth and stimulant abuse, remember that recovery support is only a phone call away!
What Exactly is Stimulant Overamping?
Many people know the physical symptoms and side effects of an opioid overdose, usually related to a decrease in respiratory function. This is similar to alcohol as well, as both are depressant drugs.
But other drugs like stimulants have a different set of symptoms when an overdose is taken. For methamphetamine and other drugs in this class, the reality of an overdose isn’t quite the same.
Instead, overamping means that your physiological symptoms are going to become overwhelming and extremely uncomfortable. While dangerous, you aren’t likely to slip into a coma. But that doesn’t mean that the effects are easy to bear. It often comes with psychological symptoms that might necessitate a medical emergency.
Some of the psychological symptoms of overamping include:
- Confusion about your surroundings
- Restlessness or extreme agitation
- Increased anxiety or panic
- Hypervigilance
- Hallucinations, delusions, or paranoia
- Suicidal ideation
If you experience any of these symptoms after taking a stimulant, you should reach out for help. There are physical symptoms as well including an inability to sit still, chest pain and racing heartbeat, irregular breathing or losing consciousness, jerky movements, and teeth grinding.
At worst, you could have a heart attack, stroke, hyperthermia, or other serious medical conditions.
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What Factors Make Overamping More Likely to Occur?
By now, you might have recognized that you experienced overamping in the past but don’t know how to prevent it in the future. By understanding the factors that make an “overdose” of stimulants more likely, it’s possible to scale back in situations that lead to long-term effects and damage to the body.
One of the first and easiest harm reduction strategies is simply to make sure you get enough sleep if you know you will be using stimulants. Sleep deprivation can trigger overamping, especially if you’ve skipped multiple nights of solid shut-eye.
The second is similar: making sure you have enough water and food. In other words, if your body is run down in any way, you will be at a greater risk for a stimulant overdose.
Last but not least, the other factors that could make overamping more likely include being in a weird or uncomfortable environment, taking more of the drug than you usually do or can tolerate, and mixing any other substance with stimulants including other drugs and even alcohol.
National Harm Reduction Coalition and Harm Reduction Strategies
While opioids have an easy-to-administer way to reverse an overdose, the same isn’t necessarily true of overamping. Naloxone won’t have the same immediate effect on overamping as it does on an overdose of prescription opioids.
Instead, you might want to follow some of the guidelines set out by the National Harm Reduction Coalition.
Make Sure Your Heart is Healthy
While you might not be able to prevent mental health issues when taking stimulants, you can negate the physical effects of overamping simply by ensuring your health up front. Most people already know that they indulge in drug use from time to time rather than spontaneously trying it.
Always seek medical advice if you know that you’ll be taking stimulants.
Chest pain can sometimes trigger more serious issues like heart attack or long-term heart disease. This is a great time to get a full cardiovascular workup to ensure that you’re as healthy as can be. If a doctor uncovers a heart issue or defect, you run the risk of having more serious reactions to an overdose.
Get a Full Physical
Heart problems and heart attacks are common in meth overdoses, but there are other concerns that you might want to consider for long-term health. It’s a good idea to keep tabs on your overall physical health including managing high blood pressure, cholesterol, and even your circulation.
Make sure that your doctors assess that you have all the nutritional value in your diet and keep a steady stream of water pumping through your system. All of these can have a serious impact on the odds of an overdose.
It might be challenging to find a doctor who is willing to discuss substance use with you, but you should try to find an open-minded doctor who is willing to give you a physical workup to ensure that your body can handle stimulants at all.
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What to Do for Overamping Right Away
If you or a loved one have recently taken stimulants like methamphetamine or cocaine, you should know the symptoms of overamping. What should you do right away if you suspect that someone might exhibit the physical and psychological symptoms covered above?
Start by evaluating them for signs of heart attack, high blood pressure, hyperthermia, or stroke. These are all extremely serious conditions that require immediate medical attention. Dial 911 and be sure to relay to the operator that your loved one has a history of stimulant use.
Some people worry that they’ll be punished by law enforcement for substance misuse, leading them to avoid calling for medical help. However, there are no repercussions for this if there is no paraphernalia in the area. Stick to the facts and try to remain neutral.
Your loved one should get the help they need right now — and you can worry about the rest later.
Should You Stay Home or Go to the Hospital?
When most people hear the word “overdose,” they think about going to the hospital. Unless your loved one is showing the signs of a more serious complication like a heart attack or stroke, then you may let them ride it out from the comfort of home. Keep them confined in the home and monitor them as much as possible.
If they are showing signs of psychosis, mania, or meth paranoia, however, then a more structured and emergency intervention may be the best approach.
Don’t be afraid to seek help if you’re nervous about monitoring them on your own. A hospital or inpatient facility designed to deal with detox from stimulants can offer medications and monitor them for signs of heart attacks and high blood pressure that might not be visible to the naked eye.
It’s always best to err on the side of caution and opt for harm reduction in a hospital setting, whenever possible.
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Get Effective Treatment for Meth at Icarus in Las Vegas
If you start to feel overamped and are super aware of a bout of severe symptoms, then you may need help for substance misuse. Icarus Behavioral Health in Nevada can help you detox from any substance within our comfortable facilities. We can give you the medical attention you need while making sure that you have the best possible outcomes.
From residential treatment to intensive outpatient, we offer the help you need for stimulant overamping. Let our admissions team verify your insurance benefits and answer questions about our care options so that you can get the perfect level of care today!
References
- Vasan S, Murray BP, Olango GJ. Amphetamine Toxicity. [Updated 2024 May 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from:
- U.S. National Library of Medicine. (1970, January 1). Harm Reduction Strategies to Prevent Stimulant Overamping . National Center for Biotechnology Information.
- Harding, R. W., Wagner, K. T., Fiuty, P., Smith, K. P., Page, K., & Wagner, K. D. (2022). “It’s called overamping”: experiences of overdose among people who use methamphetamine. Harm reduction journal, 19(1), 4.
- National Harm Reduction Coalition. (2024, July 17).