When users take the drug that makes them feel on top of the world, it can be tough when they crash back to earth and reality hits.

Counselors to methamphetamine addicts agree there hasn’t been much hard data or research done on the long-term effects of meth or its addictive nature. However, through their own experiences with meth users, they do believe meth is strongly addictive and both physically and mentally harmful. Because of this, treatment can be both intensive and time consuming.

Being on meth is like having a constant adrenaline rush, said Renee White, clinical director at the Lafayette House. White counsels women who come to the Lafayette House for help with substance abuse, family violence and sexual violence. She said about 80 to 90 percent of the women who come to Lafayette for substance abuse have used meth before and for 60 percent of them, meth is their drug of choice.

They begin using meth because it seems like the answer to their problems, White said. Good feelings, plenty of energy and feeling like they are on top of the world are common among meth users. Meth gives women enough energy to work the two jobs, take care of the children and do things around the house, White said. Then comes the crash. By the time they come to Lafayette for help, they’ve lost the two jobs, lost the home and the Division of Family Services has taken away their children, she said.

“Custody of children is a big issue with women who are drug addicts,” said Louise Secker, director of community services at Lafayette.

Ben Spurlock, psychotherapist at St. John’s Regional Medical Center and certified advanced substance abuse counselor, said using or making meth while children are in the home can be dangerous and the meth users know this, but while they are on the drug, they just aren’t thinking straight.

Meth affects people’s abilities to think rationally, Spurlock said. Within maybe a year of use, it can also cause brain damage.

Del Camp, supervisor of outpatient services at Ozark Center’s New Directions, said animal studies have shown that long-term meth use can cause damage to dopamine receptor sites in the brain. It can also have toxic effects on the brain’s ability to measure metabolism. He said a 19-year-old college student might take meth to help lose weight, but it’s dangerous because the drug ends up damaging the brain’s ability to regulate the body’s own metabolism.

Whether by choice or by force, when it’s time for an individual to quit meth, counseling is one of the main forms of treatment.

“Methamphetamine is always harder to quit than people think it will be,” Camp said.

At Ozark Center, one of the first things that is done for addicts is an assessment.

“We set them up with the appropriate level of care,” Camp said.

If patients are unable to maintain sobriety on their own or live in an environment where it would be difficult to quit meth, they may be directed to inpatient care. Residential inpatient care puts the patients in a therapeutic environment and disrupts their drug pattern, Camp said. Other times, outpatient care is better. In this instance, the patient comes in weekly or monthly to meet with a counselor and receive either group or individual counseling.

The success rate for those who try to quit meth is similar to a person who is trying to get over a chronic disease, like cancer, Camp said.

“It just depends on the individual,” he said.

“We try to use medication as a last resort,” White said.

Those with the addiction disease can easily get addicted to the medications, she said.

At Lafayette, letting the meth user sleep is the first step toward treatment. Persons who use “speeder,” as meth is called, usually stay up for days or weeks at a time and urgently need to let their bodies recuperate, White said.

After they catch up on sleep, counseling, exercise and nutritious food are prescribed. Getting back into a normal routine is important, White said.

“The drug lifestyle is so very different from the traditional lifestyle,” she said.

Meth is physically and psychologically addictive, but the psychological addiction can be harder to get over, she said.

Irritability, pacing, chaotic thinking, being paranoid and cravings are all symptoms of meth withdrawal.

No one ever thinks they’ll become an addict, Spurlock said.

“Anyone who experiments with a drug is taking a chance of getting addicted to that drug,” he said.

Camp said he’s had patients tell him they felt addicted to meth from day one.

“Psychological addiction to meth is really strong,” he said.

Camp said sometimes Amantadine is prescribed just to help with the cravings. Other medications such as antidepressants can be used as well.

“Those can be quite helpful,” he said.

White believes one of the reasons meth is so popular and pervasive in Southwest Missouri is because of its cost.

“Methamphetamine is one of the cheapest street drugs around,” she said.

“I think [meth] is an epidemic. That’s how bad I think it is in the area.”

Spurlock describes the meth problem in Southwest Missouri as “horrendous” and believes drug abuse has no place in the life of anyone who wants to live by logic and reason.

Camp said between counseling meth and alcohol addicts his schedule is constantly kept busy.

“Methamphetamine use has certainly exploded in the last five years,” he said.

White said an important tool in counseling is trying to build an addict’s coping skills.

“Most drug addicts have had some sort of trauma in their life or something bad they’re trying to escape from,” she said.

She said the counselors try to instill the idea that drugs don’t have to be used to solve the problem. After all, the high and escape meth brings “can only last for so long.”