Some Neurological Changes Caused By the Use of Methamphetamine Drugs May Be Reversible

 

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 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.