I have kept my addiction hid from everyone I know for 20 years. But now I gotta do something. What is it that methadone does. And can I take ambien with it? Any help would be nice....
needs a hand up,
In answer to your question, methadone is long-acting, synthetic drug that has been used since the 1960's as a maintenance treatment for drug addiction. It is an opiate "agonist" which means it acts in a way that is similar to morphine and other narcotic medications.
When used in proper doses in maintenance treatment methadone does not create euphoria, sedation, or an analgesic effect. Being on the correct dose for you as an individual is key to stop the craving to use.
Methadone is different from other opiates because methadone lasts longer. When you are using you have to fix multiple times during the day to not be sick. With methadone you take one dose a day which lasts from 24 to 48 hours. Methadone is intended to do 3 things.#1
Keep the patient from going into withdrawal,#2 keep the patient comfortable and #3 free from craving street drugs and to block the effects of street opiates.
It wont control your desire to get high but an adequate dose of methadone should prevent the overwhelming physical need to use street drugs. This is where meetings at your clinic or elsewhere come in, to get to the bottom of why you used and to help you learn how to live your life free of drugs.
When I first went on maintenance I was so happy, I knew this was the answer to my many failures at trying to not use on my own.Now I take my dose every morning right along with my other meds for thyroid, high blood pressure etc. No difference to me.
The longer you have used the longer you may need to be on methadone. If you used for 20 years, I wouldn't expect to be on methadone for 6 mos and be done with it. Look on the left side of this site, down to "Most popular topics". "Your brain on opiates " is a real eye-opener about how addicts brains get rewired after using opiates for so long. Another good read is the "Pie Chart". You'll be amazed at how much of our lives were ruled by our addictions and how you can turn that around too.
I went from losing myself, my home and all I had to owning my own home again and being a legal guardian to my teenaged grandchildren. Now I try to give back and show how my life is today, because of methadone, by volunteering at my clinic and chairing a weekly meeting for those addicts that are new patients or are returning for a 2nd, 3rd, or 10th time to try again to get it right this time. It is possible, you just have to want it bad enough.
Good luck my friend. I hope I answered your questions without too much junk added in.
granny
In answer to your question, methadone is long-acting, synthetic drug that has been used since the 1960's as a maintenance treatment for drug addiction. It is an opiate "agonist" which means it acts in a way that is similar to morphine and other narcotic medications.
When used in proper doses in maintenance treatment methadone does not create euphoria, sedation, or an analgesic effect. Being on the correct dose for you as an individual is key to stop the craving to use.
Methadone is different from other opiates because methadone lasts longer. When you are using you have to fix multiple times during the day to not be sick. With methadone you take one dose a day which lasts from 24 to 48 hours. Methadone is intended to do 3 things.#1
Keep the patient from going into withdrawal,#2 keep the patient comfortable and #3 free from craving street drugs and to block the effects of street opiates.
It wont control your desire to get high but an adequate dose of methadone should prevent the overwhelming physical need to use street drugs. This is where meetings at your clinic or elsewhere come in, to get to the bottom of why you used and to help you learn how to live your life free of drugs.
When I first went on maintenance I was so happy, I knew this was the answer to my many failures at trying to not use on my own.Now I take my dose every morning right along with my other meds for thyroid, high blood pressure etc. No difference to me.
The longer you have used the longer you may need to be on methadone. If you used for 20 years, I wouldn't expect to be on methadone for 6 mos and be done with it. Look on the left side of this site, down to "Most popular topics". "Your brain on opiates " is a real eye-opener about how addicts brains get rewired after using opiates for so long. Another good read is the "Pie Chart". You'll be amazed at how much of our lives were ruled by our addictions and how you can turn that around too.
I went from losing myself, my home and all I had to owning my own home again and being a legal guardian to my teenaged grandchildren. Now I try to give back and show how my life is today, because of methadone, by volunteering at my clinic and chairing a weekly meeting for those addicts that are new patients or are returning for a 2nd, 3rd, or 10th time to try again to get it right this time. It is possible, you just have to want it bad enough.
Good luck my friend. I hope I answered your questions without too much junk added in.
granny
