What does meth do to your lungs?

Lungs are organ that provides oxygen to all parts of the body. Your cells need a constant supply of oxygen. This oxygen came from our lungs. While doing meth (crystal) your air passages became relaxed and opened. This makes situation in which more oxygen can pass into your body. Materials used to cut crystal can block blood vessels in your lung. Long term use can forever function of your lungs. This is especially important if you already had lung problem.

Concerns of long term use include: damage to nerve cells, depletion of neurotransmitters, paranoia, psychosis and increased chance of stroke.

Smoking meth may present irritation to the lungs leading to breathing problems. Those with breathing disorders are at higher risk for complications through this method. Users may eliminate some risk by keeping in mind the speed in which it takes to get off and that the high is more intense and more addictive. Try to set limits on how much and how often you smoke.

Sharing inhalers and smoking offers similar risks to injecting since these methods can spread diseases like HIV and Hep B& C. Users may eliminate the risk of spreading disease by cleaning inhaling instruments in between use.
The ingredients used to make crystal can actually block the lungs blood vessels. Long term use can permanently reduce the amount of air the lungs are able to take in.

There are other risks and physical & mental effects, so be cautious.

I smoke meth about every couple weeks for a few days, maybe I should start by saying I am a 29 year old grl that if u looked at me u would never know that I have serious substance abuse problems in addition to the ice I also am very addicted to roxies, somas, and weed the meth is a once in awhile thing. I smoke weed everyday,and the roxies I can't physically live without i am so scared of opiate withdrawal because I started to get once when I didn't take any opiates one morning and I would rather die than ever feel that way again so needless to say I haven't gone a day without them for about 2-3 years now. My problem is weird in the fact I know it's bad for me but i was raised that drugs are pretty much normal at least everyone I know smokes weed, I am close with my family but there's a catch they all do drugs too!! My dad is an alcoholic and receives methadone, percocet and somas from a Dr. From his neck injuries 15 years ago, my mom is the same she goes to the same dr. And occasionally does ice too. My brother is severely addicted to any drug he can use and has severe mental health issues as well. I have a son and fiancé I live with and I am a very gud mom and wife I went to school to be a nurse and am pretty stable I'd say on the outside my life looks great!!! I kno my health is suffering from this exspecially the ice, every time after I do it the first day I get this awful dry cough and migraine from hell!! The Roxie addiction is as bad it rules my life because I kno that if I don't have it I will get soooooo sick I won't be able to get up n do anything the problem is I have many enablers so if I'm out my mom will give me meds cuz she doesn't wana see me dope sick. Idk what I'm babbling on about or even the point of writing this but it feels gud to get it out!!! It's hard cuz my fiancé is total opposite he doesn't do drugs, he has dabbled here n there in the past but he doesn't understand addiction and doesn't understand anything he knows about everything but the ice......he knows I did it in the past and I quit (which I did) but he's totally against it.... I dnt wana tell him at all cuz he's very judgmental.....I feel I do drugs because I'm bored and have no fulfillment in life, plus I'm addicted of course. I dnt kno what to do but I want to feel happy again and ambitious n beautiful idk WTF to do I'm just hoping someone will see this and have sum realistic advice for me

Hi guest4/2/2012, I read your post. I was addicted to meth for over 15 years, I hated the thought of waking up without it. I now how 5 years clean and it feels great. First thing I did was I stopped associating myself with other people that use meth. maybe harder for you since you mention that your family uses. maybe could think of a clever way to tell them like I'm trying something new in my life and I'll call you when I feel better. at least your husband doesn't use and your own home( or room if u live with your family) can be you're safe place. try to remind yourself during any mood swings that home is way better than rehab. I wouldn't feel too bad about not telling him it sounds like you're being hard enough on yourself. anyway after separating myself from the world I was able to start doing bible study, exercising and I the one thing that helped me the most hypnosis. download some hypnosis on your smartphone and listen to it on some ear bugs everyday as many times as you can. this will teach you to talk to yourself the way you need to in order to get through it. having a career in the health field should help your awareness. I would also suggest going online and reading about vitamins deficiencies this may help any anxiety that you experience from all the changes. someone told me "think of your body is your car, you are the driver of your car not the drugs" I may seem hard since you doing it alone but be strong your experience in life may help somebody else one day. God bless...

I've been clean and sober 2 1/2 years.  I still have trouble breathing.  Unfortunately I started w/cigarettes, then weed, then freon, then duster, then coke, then meth, then crack and... I wish I never did any of it.  Why poison yourself?  It's really sad.  There's so many fun and beautiful people, places and things to experience in this world other than self-induced toxicity.  I was LOST.  Just b/c it felt good doesn't mean it was good.  Someone could be (unkowingly) having sex w/an HIV carrier and be feeling INCREDIBLE PLEASURE. And when it's OVER, they're HIV Positive. Did it feel good? YES!!!!! Was it worth it?

You already have other things you take, things going on in life, and kids. You should slow down or quit the meth even because its one of the worst things for you. It kills off your dopamine so your brains all fried and you don't get fufillment out of regular activities. Try eating healthy, (especially proteins, fruits, vegatables, and other foods with phenelanine to replenish dopamine) and find some other daily activities. Find hobbies that you enjoy.

Hey, i was just skimming through some sites looking at some responses to a search id typed in google and came across your response. I dont have much advice for you, nut felt the need to share something. I too look like I pretty much have my life together... married, a son, im an EMT... and have a pretty personal relationship with jesus. This isn't meant to be preachy, just wanted to share that tid bit cuz its part of me. Im not addicted to Rx drugs although if i had them readily available im sure i would be. Id never done any drugs before in my life until about 7 yrs ago when i started smoking weed, then shortly after got pregnant and had to stop. i picked it up about a year after my son was born. he's 6 now. I just started dabbling in October... i tried coke for the first time and found i love it... and tho my life has been wrecked by tweekers and i went thru hell trying to get my husband clean from it i tried meth about a month ago. im severely ADHD so the meth affects me MUCH differently than most people... but thats not the point... i guess what im trying to say is Im realizing that what im addicted to is not so much any drug in particular as i am to altering my state of being. my thoughts get pretty heavy sometimes and i find that anything that changes me physically distracts me mentally. which is relieving. i struggle a lot with these facts cuz i want to set a good example for my son. i know its time for me to straighten up and walk a different path, he should see only the best examples of human beings since theres enough shitty examples for them out there. but i know that theres things inside me that are broken that need to be healed. i laso know from experience that counseling gives me the tools to fix myself... its just expensive. anyway, i hope you find some peace and are able to figure out your path. but your not alone. Sometimes its just nice to not always make the right rationale decision. hopefully it just doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.

Im on the path. So ashamed. But i cant help it :'(

i seen u posted this ten months ago but i just seen it for first time searchin to find out about smoking ice and how it effects your lungs. i know how u feel and been where u been and its horrible way to live i also am big on pain meds and meth i dont know which has a hold on me more i detxed so many times from the pills i dont know how i stand it i went to rehabs i was also made leader of the groups in rehab i held the meetings pick the topics to discuss im 23 i been up an down this path since 19 i relapsed the day i came home from rehab i couldnt handle the pressure i guess of knowing pills was so eay to get my hands on and meth has been a horrible part of my life i have no idea why i use i am schizophrenic also from ice i take prescribed medication an i already suffered with bi polar all my life i get chest pains left side of chest i get horrible head aches where i cnt lay head down even on pillow that it hurts my eye sight is worse an i have joint pains in hands and feet i also understand what you mean when u said u do drugs because ur bored basically so do i they make me feel some one normal because off them i feel out my element i been on drugs since 14 and got addicted to pain meds at 19 and at 21 started meth because i lost weight made me feel better bout my looks and it made me forget about pain pills for a year then it changed i started mixing them then only using meth to help my pain med detox less painfull basically im faking it till i make it i look like id never do the drugs i do and im spoiled had things handed to me all my life so it makes it easy to do bad when u live paid for an u look like you got your sh*t together. im tired of the life tho i wanna live right and normal and that keep my attention enough to do good its hard struggleing an never being happy with my self its hard on our minds an mental state i hope the best for you i really do just pray an god will help u if u show u wanna help yourself it isnt easy i wont lie but when i was clean i was happy then i stopped careing thought i was cured but addiction is a life long disease remember that when u relapse it helps your to remember that relapse is a part of our disease an it is normal for it to happen over an over so keep stronge an dont be hard on yourself when you have slip ups just keep trying good luck!

If it's that bad guest go to the doctor and tell them and they'll help you kick it slowly but surely by having you cut down on how much you use a little at a time it really works you don't have to live your life like that there are options and I hope you take my advice because I've seen what it does when it gets to the point of you not paying your bills your in the right direction by admitting you have a problem now you need to take the next stepand talk to a doctor I really hope you get better because opiate addictions make your life hell

Can't stop using.

Well, my addiction to ice has become like urs, i do it every 4 weeks or a month and am high off bomb dope for nearly 2 1/2 days. Everytime after i smoke, i feel good, then later on, in my mind, i very much think i did a bad drug. I gotta deal with my dope addiction, god knows how much longer. I get sick of the high after the come down, then 2-3 weks later i crave it bsd, i dream of it. But my only restriction is my dealer lives far from me. I dont have money as much to see him when i want . Restrictions are yhe best way to get rid of an addiction, thats how i stopped smoking cigarettes. Im 18, and i handle my addictions responsibly. I just smoke dope nd weed, no pills, i did do alot of pills tho in the past, id even did a little skittle party for myself one time. s not good. Thank god, im not addicted to opiates. I suggest u slowly restrict ur opiate dosage, by like one day as a start, then keep taking less, slowly and slowly. Less painful way to do it. I use that little method with dope, im not addicted to it, u could say, but i do smoke it nd party occasionally, sometim Ed rarely. Trust me, iv been around all kinds of addicts. Very sad for my age, but hey, what do you expect? I live in Vegas and its prettu corrupt out here. I thank god, or whoevers looking out for me, if i didnt have hope for myself, id be dead. Never stop believing you'll quit. My advice to u

Wow my heart sank my story is nearly the same as this girl just posted 4/2/12 except I'm male and was a gull blown addict got clean 8 months and now I've gone back but as a functioning addict I only use 2 a week or so my days off work which I'm finding out is harder and more depressing than using everyday. I have to put on this front everyday and act like I'm still clean and everything's fine but up stairs my mind is saying your sh*t your dirt idk why I'm writhing this either maybe cuz I need to admit my relapse cuz it's eating me up

There are long term affects from smoking meth that decrease lung function.  First; smoking causes inflation of the tissues.  The inflamation results in scar tissue forming.  The scar tissue causes the lung to stiffen, so expansion and contraction is reduced, and as a result, ventilation is reduced.  The scaring also thickens the lung tissue so it harder for oxygen to pass from the lung to the blood, so oxygenation is reduced.  Also the amount of vasular tissue is reduced, so there is less blood to oxygenate.

All this means, you can easily screw yourself by smoking meth.