The Effects of Stimulants

The long-term effects of using stimulants are also devastating. They include weight loss, a rash that looks like chicken pox, boils, gum disease, distorted vision, lung problems, uncontrollable shaking, and brain damage.

There are many other dangers. Users may suffer from fever, convulsions, high blood pressure, depression, severe fatigue, intense anger, nausea, vomiting, stomachaches, paranoia, blackouts, and suicidal tendencies. They could slip into a coma, and may even die.

Lately, Susanna had been reading a lot of fashion magazines. She envied the slim hips and flat stomachs of the models on the glossy pages. Susanna had always been chubby, and seeing all these beautiful, thin women made her feel bad about herself. She decided that she wanted to be just like them. One day, Susanna made a vow: She would lose weight and be as thin as a model.

She went to a drugstore and looked in the weight-loss section. There were all sorts of drinks and pills to choose from. Susanna picked up a pack of weight-loss pills and thought, “This could be so easy. Instead of starving myself, I could just take one of these pills a couple times a day and pretty soon I'll be as thin as those models.”

Susanna bought a few packs of the pills and started taking them that same day. She didn't feel as hungry as she usually did, and as the weeks wore on, she found herself getting thinner and thinner. The pills seemed to be working. But she still wasn't satisfied with her weight, and decided to take a few more pills. If one or two did the trick, she thought, imagine what four or five could do.

She started taking more pills, and the next week she felt like she needed something even stronger. She went to a friend of a friend who sold methamphetamines and bought some. Pretty soon, Susanna felt like she couldn't function without the pills, but she wasn't feeling right. She got rashes on her skin and would yell at her little sister and brother for no reason.

Susanna's parents noticed that she wasn't acting like she normally did, and she confessed that she was taking pills to help her lose weight. They called the doctor and got her an appointment with him right away. Dr. Moss said that Susanna was lucky to have come in when she did. If she had kept taking the pills, he said, her heart could have been over-stressed and she might have died.