Mdone& -teeth,weight,liver,immune System

Myth: Methadone is worse for your body than heroin.
Fact: Methadone is not worse for your body than heroin. Both heroin and methadone are non-toxic, yet both can be dangerous if taken in excess, which is true of everything, from aspirin to food and even water! Methadone is safer than street heroin because it is a legally prescribed medication and it is taken orally. Unregulated street drugs often contain many harmful additives that are used to "cut" the drug.



Myth: Methadone harms your liver.
Fact: The liver metabolizes (breaks down and processes) methadone, but methadone does not "harm" the liver. Methadone is actually much easier for the liver to metabolize than many other types of medications. People with hepatitis or other liver diseases can take methadone safely.



Myth: Methadone is harmful to your immune system.
Fact: Methadone does not harm the immune system in any way. In fact, several studies suggest that HIV-positive patients who are taking methadone are healthier and live longer than drug users who are not on methadone.



Myth: Methadone rots your teeth.
Fact: Occasional dental problems are normal in human beings, even if they have never used drugs. When patients go on methadone maintenance therapy, they begin to abandon the drug seeking behavior that has dominated their lives in the past and to notice things they have ignored for a while, like the fact that they may need dental work.



Myth: Methadone makes you get fat.
Fact: Methadone does not influence the weight of a patients body in any way. Some patients do report that they enjoy the taste of their food a lot better now that they have eliminated drug use as the center of their lives, and so they may actually be eating more

-For website & information sources
http://mental-health.emedtv.com/met...done-facts.html
Thank you Jack!!!

In Every newsletter we put a myth and answer about just such tales to put the myths to rest.

Did you get ta chance to read the newsletter I emailed you??
I remember occasionally hearing all kinds of crap about methadone - sometimes even people on the program are pretty good at spreading nonsense. This is especially true true when they are pissed off at the clinic.

I remember one girl who had been on methadone for a few years and usually was very positive about it. Then she had a complete change of attitude, saying it was being in liquid handcuffs. She complained that she had to go to the clinic every day, could not go out of town, etc. etc.

I mentioned that you weren't really trapped.. True you had to go to the clinic to get youur dose, but that was a lot better then having to go to the hood a couple times a day and risk being harmed or ripped off. Also methadone gave you the freedom to not have to shoplift, pawn allyour jewelry, etc etc. (The most she had been paying in NY was $5.00 a week for her dose.

Finally I said, you get take outs so you don't have to go dayly & if you want to go out of town they will work out extra take outs or have you serviced as a visitor wherevor you go on vacation.

THEN THE TRUTH CAME OUT. SHE SAID: "They only do that if you are clean."

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AS FOR GAINING WEIGHT ON METHADONE: I remember the first time I was on it, I did gain about 40 LBS. in a few months. I have also seen other people have significant weight gains. But most people don't seem to gain a lot of weight like I did.

But I know why I gained weight. I had been leading a high stressed drug filled life where food was not a priority. The methadone program relieved me from the cycle of addiction. Not only was I out of that terrible cycle , food suddenly tasted damn good. I really began to enjoy it. Being at least 20 lbs underweight, I had no concerns at all about gaining weight. I remember I used to eat bowl after bowl after bowl of CAPTAIN CRUNCH. I loved it. I also got hooked on vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I would eat a whole container (I can't remember if its a half gallon or a gallon) in one day. So methadone didn't make me gain weight. I just started really tasting food again for the first time in years. I ate like a pig.

There are many other misconceptions, often by people in the medical field that should know better. I remember this one Dr. being sarcastic to me and referring to my dose like I was getting a fix. Being ignorant is one thing - but if you are a medical professional and ready to express a negative opinion about methadone, you have a obligation to be honestly informed about it.

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I have also heard that methadone gets in your bones. This is not true.

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I know that methadone maintenance has been a life saver to many addicts. Unfortunately , it still has a bad reputaion.
Hey Brown Dog where have you been all my life???? LOL!!!

We need more positive people like you on this site and in our corner. The whole reason I asked for this site was so addicts or their families could come and get honest,correct information about methadone. Thanks for your help!!!

Granny
way to be informed BD- -Its not for everyone, but if you choose this way you need to be educated about the facts and myths-
Many do not need to be on methadone with the advent of the sub drugs. but for long time opiate addicts it is a safe option.
Even with frustrating klinic rules, minor side effects (which drugs dont have side effects?)and of course the negative stigma , this medicine has turned around many lives

edit to say- - love the newsletters granny
The MD in the UK is saturated with sugar to take the bitterness away, and this can affect our teeth but if you ask the chemist there is a sugar free alternative
Good post Jack. Both times i've been on M-done I have gained weight but, this time i'm taking more control of it. I'm closely watching what I eat getting daily exercise. I'm in the states the pamplet the clinic gives out says that methadone can cause sugar cravings. So i'm not gonna say it causes weight gain clearly eating more causes a gain but, I know so many people who crave sugar on it and who say real food don't taste as good but, anything with sugar is like the BEST EVER taste so good!. The #1 complant I hear is about Constipation and sweating/sweats. I'm on vitadone a vitamin for people on m-done it helps a ton with energy and constipation and sweating. After a year on this time I hardly have any side effects at all just feel ok eveyday no low no high my teeth are fine but, even using I went to the denist I had insurance.
Hi Zerogirl,

Welcome to the methadone board. We havent had any new people for a while,nice to see it. You are a real oldtimer as far as this site goes though. I came here in August last year and have found some really interesting folks here that brighten up my life al the time. It sounds like you are a real giving soul to all who need you,I do hope some of those same ones are there for you when you need them.
I am intrigued about the vitadone you spoke about. I would like to try it but I've never heard of it before and I have been on methadone maintenance for many years. Where do you get it?? From a health food store or somewhere like GNC???? I would be interested in trying it and if it works as well as you say I may introduce it to the patients at our clinic.

Thanks for the good words.

Granny23
Granny my m-done clinic sells vitadone right at the clinic it's $27.00 US 90 pills you can take up to 3 a day but, most people do ok on 2 others on just 1. It will give a energy boast but it's not a buzz boast or coffee boast it feels like a natural energy hard to explain. It also regulates the bowels and can help with sweats and sugar cravings. It has two BRAND names vitadone or nurtodone http://www.nutridone.com/ I take the vitadone cause that is what my clinic sells but, it;s the same as nutrodone.It is not cheap in my experience it helps MORE then just a regular vitamin. It is more then a multi vitamin it has a few herbal things in it also. Nutridone's formula was developed to assist in nutritional
restoration of the body in methadone patients.
The Nutridone formula helps to balance your metabolism while on methadone
or off. Nutridone also is the answer to methadone side effects of
sugar cravings, sweating, constipation, and low energy. Nutridone has no iron because it interferes with hepatitis C patients and increases constipation.
A LOT of clinics near me sell it I go to a clinic in Indiana I live in Ohio I pay $198.00 every 2 weeks + 27.00 a month for the vitadone so kinda costly but, I think it's worth it.
To Jack of Hearts-
You may be getting your info from the mmtp counsellors , who are schooled / told to quote a text book written by the Lily drug Corp , manufacturers of methadone. Instead of using their eyes . The head counselor at Bellvue mmtp showed it to me when she said, " methadone doesn't make you gain weight " and I asked " What makes you say That ?" She showed me the counselor text book aka " party line " book . I went to the front to see who put it out and it was the drug manufacturer. A month later a nurse there showed me a clinical independent study done by nurses at methadone programs across the U.S. that Proved methadone made 75% of patients gain weight . " Thank you !" I said . Use your eyes .
You're absolutely right Lola. Methadone is the most insidiously dangerous opiate in existence. Long acting synthetic opiates will f*** your body up at an atomic level. That's why the kick is so rough and long. Only a fool would rely on the word or advice of an employee of an M'done clinic. I've been hearing it from those a'holes for thirty years. Wise up. Use your eyes. Look....and....see.
I can't believe people actually think that methadone doesn't cause you to gain weight ... LOL ... I put on 70lbs in less than 5 months !!!!!!! And let me be clear , I was totally clean without doing any drugs for 1 1/2 years and I only put on 8 pounds !!!! But I relapsed and I could never get clean again like I did that time , so I went to using methadone ! I weigh 225 pounds and I'm 48 years old ..... Never in my entire life have I ever weighed more than 200 pounds!!!!!!!
Stop believing propaganda fed do you buy the methadone clinics and the companies who produce methadone ...... Of course the methadone clinic isn't going to tell you all the side effects because they want you to keep paying that $100 a week !!!!!! WAKE UP AND QUIT ACTING LIKE A BUNCH OF SHEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lola you are EXACTLY right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the topic of weight gain. I've been on methadone 2 separate times. The first time I went all the way to 120mg for about 2 1/2 years. This time I stopped where I should have at 40mg(I'm currently tapering, my dose is at 18mg) and it's a world of difference. When I was way over-nedicated I was exhausted and craving nothing but sugar, not exercising. I gained about 50 lbs.

This time I made the decision to eat healthy and exercise and not get on too much medication...and that seems to be key. Ive actually lost 75 lbs.

So I don't think methadone is responsible for "making you" gain weight, it's all about how you take care of your body.
I think if most people are honest with themselves they will see that they gain weight on methadone because they are replacing the time spent on drugs with food. Instead of using drugs when we are bored, sad etc, many of us turn to food instead. We gain weight because we are taking in more calories then we burn. If you don't over eat, you won't gain weight, even if you take methadone. Unfortunately, many drug addicts, once they put down the drugs, become compulsive overeaters and then must deal with this new "addiction".