Methadone Withdrawl

I havent been posting much on this thread but am desperately seeking out some advise.
My husband is on methadone maintenance(a high dose) and has to attend a clinic daily for his dose.Finances are tight and not too sure how much longer he can afford to continue with it.I have been pleading for him to check in to a local hospital for detox and he is refusing.I have heard terrible things about methadone withdrawl and Im afraid of what it is going to do to him if he will not seek help to get off from it.The methadone has not been good for him in any way.He is very depressed and tells me every day that he wants to die.He looks terrrible and has lost about 20 pounds and honestly he does look like he is dying.He isnt able to work at the present time and he can never seem to keep his thoughts clear.Any advise?
Hi my name is Rae and I have some suggestions. I would look into rehab, out-patient treatment something. If he is on a high dose then maybe he should tell the clinic that his funds are getting low and they need to start weaning him down to a lower daily dose... It will be easier to quit on a lower dose.
If he looks like he is dying already and has lost 20 pound then he needs medical attention.
Once he is in a methadone withdrawl he will lose even more weight. I detoxed from it back in 2002 and I lost a few pounds and felt horrible about myself and depression was very strong. So please try and find him medical attention he is going to need it. He can do it at home but it is very hard,especially off a high dose and already being so thin. My ex-husband and I both detoxed at home but we were only on 10-20mgs a day..and believe me it was painful. Good luck to you! Rae
Hi , i just wanted to say that Methadone is HORRIBLE WITHDRAWL!!!! i was on 120mgs years aga and had no choice but to detox CT! and let me tell u he will need to go to detox, i was so misrable, no thats not even the word for it, i wish the best of luck, take care and i hope that people on here can help u out!! god bless....
I have never been on methadone so I won't be much help here.....

If you're husband is that depressed and looks that bad, he needs medical attention ASAP.

I saw a girl at work the other day who was strung-out on methadone and she looked sooooo bad.... Her skin was gray, she had dark circles under her eyes, she was sooooo skinny.... Her hair was like straw, she had sores all over her body.... It was the saddest thing.

Could you call the clinic he goes to and tell them what's going on? Would he be willing to see a medical doctor for a checkup just to make sure he's healthy enough to go through detox?

Good luck. My prayers are with you.
Danielle
Thanks to those of you who responded.
I have beentrying to talk to him about this and he is getting close to going(I think).A really good friend of ours was over this evening and they talked about it for a while so I am praying that he will stop fighting the inevitable.It is hard enough right now,I can not watch him try to do it cold turkey.There have been a few methodone related deaths in our area recently and this crap scares the crap out of me.I just know thar he can not do it here in front of our daughter.
Yes I agree it would be best he if went to a rehab away from the house. this way he will have medical staff to help him and counsel him as needed. I pray he gets the help he needs. I really do. Methadone can and will take a toll on someone's body and withdrawl from it is not a pretty site. Rae
Hi, I just wanted to add that maybe if you speak with the clinic about the finances, they will get him into a detox program right there. I do know that some clinics will help out with that. It can't hurt to ask. A slow, easy detox from Methadone is the only way to ensure the withdrawals not reeking havoc on him.

If the clinic is no longer an option, the he really needs to be under the care of detox facility. Methadone detox is not something I would ever recommend to anyone on their own. Listen to the people here who are saying how bad it really is.

Methadone in my book is something that should not be entered into lightly. I tell people to really think about this long and hard, as I believe it should end up being a life long commitment. Methadone is so very hard to detox, and that is why most who do choose this form of recovery, do choose it for life. All other measures have failed them, and they turn to this as a last resort. I have been in a MMTP for almost a year now, and it is not something I entered into lightly, nor will I have my life without it either. It is my choice, and I know that this is my life choice with recovery.

As for you husband, if this is something he wants, far be it from anyone to say no, but if it is not, then he needs medical help. This is one of the hardest detoxs out there. There is help out there for MMT detoxs, and I have information coming out of my ears. I would be happy to send you whatever information I have. I do have my email listed in the other post I made earlier today. It is yours, just send me a place to send it all.

Most of all, I wish the both of you the best, and I will pray for the both of you. You are a pretty great woman to stand by him through all this, and I sure hope you have been getting some counseling as well. Addiction damages everyone it touches. May God stand with you, and offer you both comfort and peace.

God Bless,
Lady M
If he is going to detox from meth please make sure its inpatient and he gets his dose as low as possible first (25 to 30 mgs) at the most.

People who lose weight on clinics are sometimes using other drugs, my experience and one I've noticed is that people usually gain weight on the methadone clinic.
I wish you the best.
Can someone please help?? My hubby is doing a slow detox from 150 mg Methadone (now at 120). He also recently "ran out " of his valium last month. I am wondering what is he going thru w/d's from the m or the v???? He's c/o being tired all the time, "wore out", depressed, no appetitie mainly cuz he's having bad heartburn, nausea, vomitting & indigestion problems. He's been to a GI doctor, but they found nothing wrong. What are the most common symptoms of W/D, and do you experience it even detoxing slowly???
My boyfriend was on methadone for awhile..and it is expensive. They will not care if you don't have the funds..and the withdrawl is like a slow death, so he WILL need help. Have you thought about maybe a medical assistance program, or medicaid? If you qualify it might cover that. I'm sorry to sound dramatic about the withdrawls..but I'm not gonna sugar coat it..he will need help..what about family or friends can they maybe help? Hugs to you, Kimberly
tHANKS TO ALL OF YOU!
It has been a few days since my last post and with the help of his sister he has said that he will go get help and not try to do it on his own.
There is no need to sugar coat anything with me.I know that the wd is going to be terrrible.I just wish that we had knew more about methadone before he took this route.We didnt have enough information at the time and he was trying to do the right thing for himself and our family and it turned out to be something much worse.
Praise be to all of you that methadone helps but it isnt for my husband.
The clinic that he attends doesnt want to offer much help,just slowly decreasing his intake by 2mg a week.I fear that he wont make it if he has to wait that long to dose down.
We are all so worried about him and I pray every day that God will help him thru this.He is a wonderful man and I miss him because I havent seen the man I married for a long time.His comment on the methadone clinic is he walked straight thru the gates of hell-please do not be offended if it works for you.
Please continue to pray for him and me as well.I am stronger than I thought I was but sometimes I want to run and hide and do nothing more than cry.

Thank you all and may God bless each of you on your journey.
i have no experience in meth but just wanted to welcome you to the board and send some well wishes and prayers your way. if i can help otherwise you can count on me. :)

terrianne
terrianne-
thank you.praying for me is and my family is the one thing that you can do and I will greatly and sincerely appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Hi all, I'm new here but was reading the post and wanted to respond. First off I have to say I now have 97 days clean. I too was on methadone maintenance and had to attend a clinic. I started taking pain pills 10 years ago and slowly but surely became an addict. It was 10 years of pure hell. I would have done just about anything to get those pills. Thank God I didn't! However by the end of my use I was up to about 50 hydro 10/325's per day. I wasn't getting a buzz by that point, but could just nearly function. By function I mean I was puking my guts up and picking whatever pills would come back up out and eating them. I know, totally discusting. It ruined my life. However if I didn't have them I could do no more than lay on the bed, cry and wish for death. Got on methadone to try and get off of pills. BAD IDEA!!! I got rid of demons and went straight directly into the arms of the devil! Methadone is absolutely the most horrible stuff I've ever been on! I felt horrible on it. It made my muscles hurt, my extremities go numb, and my bones hurt so bad I was functioning as an 80 year old person. And I'm only 35! I was nodding off constantly and uncontrolably and I'm a smoker! I had burnt holes in my carpet, chairs, blankets and anything else in the path of the cigarette when it fell from my fingers. And on top of that I couldn't hold a straight conversation with anyone. People/family thought I'd done lost my flippin mind! I couldn't hold down a job because I was so sleepy and non-funtional! Then I started hearing about cocaine and methamphetamine and how much energy it would give me. So while on methadone I dabbled in this stuff! OMG! All I can say is I met the devil in person while looking in the mirror! My uncle saw me one day and to make a long story short I entered rehab. Yes, coming off of methadone is horrible. But coming off of any drug is horrible everyone! I stuck with the program, attend meetings and pray on a constant and consistant basis. Let me tell all of you something. The best high I ever got with drugs is absolutely NOTHING even close to the little high's I get w/o drugs. I'm not going to lie and tell you life gets great after methadone or anything else because there's horrible depression and everything that goes with it. But I will tell you, that if you WANT it, you can have anything. If u put as much effort into being clean as we did trying to get drugs, you can have anything and everything you want! God wants that for us. If anyone wants to know the symptoms of methadone w/d or anything else, just write and I'll be glad to tell more. I just hope I help. Because helping other people now makes me feel awesome about myself and in turn helps me stay clean.
This is an awesome site and I hope to make lots of new friends.
For all of you who are scared........that's the best emotion......fear only makes us strong. Don't let these stupid drugs beat you! We're all way stronger than they are!
Stace
thanks stace, I needed to hear that.
Kerry
In philadelphia its only 25dollars a week.. Is IT different in diff states???...My sister was on it under supervision, and it may have saved her life... Some people abuse while using methadone thats another reason why some look sooo wretchid...Its only good to people if watched carefully over by professionals 24/7 at a rehab..just wanted to keep it short and sweet..
im sorry there is so much pain for you and him. im guessing u live in the south, where it is expensive .In NY they go by ur income, but that doesn't help u much.
The WD depends on what dose & how long, gradual detox is not too painfull, but he needs other help if he is as depressed as u say. theoritically they have counselors at these places,but they are mostly worthless, yet there should at least be some referalls he can get fromthe clinic.
If he really is as bad as u say, look for some help for him, at this point i wouldnt expect him to do it himself.
It might take a lot on ur part to find the help he needs,but its there.