I have been taking Methedone for 6 yrs now for cronic pain to my back, neck and hips since a car ran into my car. I take 30 mg a day. I have heard that meth is harder to get off than cocaine and heroin.
does anyone know whats it like to get off if i ever had to. I am nearly 50 and could possibly be on it for life, im not sure
any help would be good
thanks
christine
Christine
welcome to the board, i know nothing of methodone.
I have asked some on the heroin baord to come over hopfully help.
Or you could go on there
Good luck
Emily
We are moving your post to the heroin board, where there are more people who can answer your questions.
-the moderators
-the moderators
I am in the process of coming off methadone and switching to the Suboxone in an effort to get drug free. I have been on methadone for 10 years. Two months ago I was on 400mg. I dropped from 400mg to 200mg to 80 mg to 60 mg and today I took 40mg. I start the Suboxone tomorrow. Before you can start the Suboxone you have to be under a certain amount of methadone. Methadone is a long acting drug with a long half life. I was on other opiates such as percocet and vicodin for ten years prior to methadone. I have just stopped those drugs cold turkey style no less than 9 times. The withdrawals lasted about 7 days each time and that was pretty much it for the physical part.
But methadone withdrawals can last up to 3-6 months with the extreme withdrawals lasting 3-5 weeks. By the time the percocet withdrawals are over the methadone withdrawals are just getting started. The conventional way to get off of methadone is doing a very slow taper. Where you are ahead of the game is that you have kept your dose very low. That will be your key to success when you decide to stop the methadone.
There have been a lot of people who were borderline addicts, on the fence if you will, but after taking methadone they fell of the fence on the side of addiction. If you take methadone for physical pain only then the chances of you being a full blown addict are very low. But the trouble with methadone it is prescribed to be taken everyday and not "as needed for pain" like other painpills are. Usually folks on methadone for pain are given a different, shorter acting pain killer for what they refer to as "breakthrough" pain. But taking methadone everday will make your tolerance for the breakthrough pain meds go up and up. Methadone is used primarily for folks who have had addictions to other opiates like heroin or prescription painkillers and have had behavorial problems assoc. with things they resort to doing to maintain thei habit. Methadone is not treatment in my opinion but replacement therapy. In my case I traded a monkey on my back for a gorilla.
Methadone, since the spring up off pain clinics, is used by Drs because they like the once a day characteristic or they like the long acting properties. But these Drs are not the ones that are going to find themselves in the unenviable position of wanting to stop this drug and finding out that it is the hardest of ALL opiates to get off of. The fact that you are even inquiring about what it is like to get off of methadone tells me that you know where you are and where you could be heading. But like I said being on only 30mg is the absolute best thing you have going for you if you decide to go no further and get off of this drug. Drs prescribre it a lot of times for convienence but it will long be an inconvienence for you if you continue as long as I have. Imagine being on a dose 14 times higher than where you are presently and then coming off of it. In the past 2 months I have dropped a total of 360mg of methadone from my diet. It has not been easier but the fear, that while on methadone, was the BEST I was ever going to feel for the rest of my life was a much worse feeling and that is what has given me the strength to get off of it. But without the opportunity to take the Suboxone I do not think I would be at this point. Suboxone is a drug that is used to help folks get off of painkillers and other opiates without having to suffer great withdrawal pains. It is refered to as a detox drug but also possesses pain relieving ability also. It is not near as hard to ween off of as methadone. Methadone worked for me in the beginning ten years ago but has since done a 180 on me and is creating a lot of my inabilities to cope with everday responsibilities. Another thing I worry about is if I am ever in a position to where I need pain control due to surgery or an accident of some kind, my tolerance is such that short of knocking me out I would not get any relief. I actually had one day surgery a few years back and the doctors told me that 3 times during surgery they had to give me more meds to keep me under sedation. When you start to get older things like that come to mind ( I am 50).
So good luck to you and I hope I have answered some of your questions.
JW49
wayne.seivers@comcast.net--------------Email me if you wish
But methadone withdrawals can last up to 3-6 months with the extreme withdrawals lasting 3-5 weeks. By the time the percocet withdrawals are over the methadone withdrawals are just getting started. The conventional way to get off of methadone is doing a very slow taper. Where you are ahead of the game is that you have kept your dose very low. That will be your key to success when you decide to stop the methadone.
There have been a lot of people who were borderline addicts, on the fence if you will, but after taking methadone they fell of the fence on the side of addiction. If you take methadone for physical pain only then the chances of you being a full blown addict are very low. But the trouble with methadone it is prescribed to be taken everyday and not "as needed for pain" like other painpills are. Usually folks on methadone for pain are given a different, shorter acting pain killer for what they refer to as "breakthrough" pain. But taking methadone everday will make your tolerance for the breakthrough pain meds go up and up. Methadone is used primarily for folks who have had addictions to other opiates like heroin or prescription painkillers and have had behavorial problems assoc. with things they resort to doing to maintain thei habit. Methadone is not treatment in my opinion but replacement therapy. In my case I traded a monkey on my back for a gorilla.
Methadone, since the spring up off pain clinics, is used by Drs because they like the once a day characteristic or they like the long acting properties. But these Drs are not the ones that are going to find themselves in the unenviable position of wanting to stop this drug and finding out that it is the hardest of ALL opiates to get off of. The fact that you are even inquiring about what it is like to get off of methadone tells me that you know where you are and where you could be heading. But like I said being on only 30mg is the absolute best thing you have going for you if you decide to go no further and get off of this drug. Drs prescribre it a lot of times for convienence but it will long be an inconvienence for you if you continue as long as I have. Imagine being on a dose 14 times higher than where you are presently and then coming off of it. In the past 2 months I have dropped a total of 360mg of methadone from my diet. It has not been easier but the fear, that while on methadone, was the BEST I was ever going to feel for the rest of my life was a much worse feeling and that is what has given me the strength to get off of it. But without the opportunity to take the Suboxone I do not think I would be at this point. Suboxone is a drug that is used to help folks get off of painkillers and other opiates without having to suffer great withdrawal pains. It is refered to as a detox drug but also possesses pain relieving ability also. It is not near as hard to ween off of as methadone. Methadone worked for me in the beginning ten years ago but has since done a 180 on me and is creating a lot of my inabilities to cope with everday responsibilities. Another thing I worry about is if I am ever in a position to where I need pain control due to surgery or an accident of some kind, my tolerance is such that short of knocking me out I would not get any relief. I actually had one day surgery a few years back and the doctors told me that 3 times during surgery they had to give me more meds to keep me under sedation. When you start to get older things like that come to mind ( I am 50).
So good luck to you and I hope I have answered some of your questions.
JW49
wayne.seivers@comcast.net--------------Email me if you wish
