Yes I've searched high & mighty, but I have my own questions that I would like answered without having to red a billion different stories & trying to piece all the info together to best fit my situation... So, here it goes..
Im on 400mg/day of Oxy for hte last 2.5 years..
I can't seem to start/stay on Suboxone, so doc said i should tr the methadone route...
Some questions...
1) When I start, will this affect my work life within the first week? Will i be ok? What about my 2nd week and moving forward? I have an important job & I deal w/ people all day, every day.. Just want to make sure something is not obviously 'wrong' with me?
2) What else can I expect.. The good, the bad, the ugly..??
For users that went this route... did u take Oxy AS WELL as Methadone for the first little while until you got your dose correct?
Did you use oxy at all when you were on meth say after the first month or 2? (i dont want too obviously, but just wondering)
-What were some issues that you came across? Falling asleep while at work? Low sex drive?
-Did you drink alcohol at all? Im just talking about a glass or 2 of wine at dinner as I dont really drink much anyway...
-Why does my pharmacy seem to think I will be on this for a longgggg time, where the doctor says I will absolutely come off within 18-24 months... kind of strange? Doctor knows much more about me than my pharmacy but just wondering why they would say that..
-What else can I really expect from being on it??
Im super scared of going this route.. I don't want yellow teeth, I don't want to lose my hair I don't want low sex drive... BUT, I do want to get clean ASAP.
ANY HELP is appreciated.. anything you think I should know, please inform me.
Thank u
Hi BMW,
I will do my best to answer your questions and I'll work backward.
The reason the pharmacy probably said what they said about being on Methadone for a long time, is because although your doctor may know you better, they see the addicts come dragging back in. Methadone is an extremely hard drug to get off of... The withdrawals are about 4-5 times as long as regular short acting opiates. It's not always easy to convince a doctor to give you a script for SubuTEX, to avoid something called "precipitated" withdrawal. Most doctors want to give you SubOXONE and it's not science. It ends up being a guessing game about whether or not you're far enough into withdrawal, enough Methadone is out of your system to painlessly switch you to SubOXONE, short term, to help with the worst part of Methadone withdrawal. If they give SubOXONE to you too soon, you will go into "precipitated" withdrawal which is like withdrawal on steroids. In short, Methadone withdrawal is HELL, most people can't do it the first time around. Or at least do it without going inpatient, so they keep dragging back into the pharmacy and end up being on it much longer then anticipated.
For myself, knowing what I know now and having gotten a pretty good taste of recovery, I would only go back on Methadone for 2 reasons: 1. If I was dying and I needed good pain relief ( Methadone was the best drug I ever took for pain, when it still worked ) and 2. If I just knew I had no hope of ever getting sober. To ME- This is ME ONLY... Methadonia was the most hopeless time of my life. Conversely, I hear people sing it's praises. So take your pick, it's up to you anyway.
Will you nod out? If you keep upping your doses, yes. You'll look just like some junkie that just shot heroin. I remember one Christmas, I was wrapping gifts at the dining room table. My oldest daughter had her new boyfriend over. The first time I meet this guy, I apparently nod out. I wake up an hour later with scotch tape stuck to my forehead and drool all over the Christmas paper. For ever 10 mgs of Methadone you take, it's the equivalent strength of 20 mgs of Morphine. My maximum daily dose was 60mgs of Methadone a day. So that would be the same as me taking 120mgs of long acting Morphine. Now, I also abused it. Taking as much as 90 mgs/day or 180 mgs of Morphine. You mentioned 400 mgs of Oxy/day. That could turn out to be a helluva dose of daily Methadone. They will give you the option of continuing to up your dose of Methadone until you feel NO cravings. My advice? Keep it as low as you can stand it, without feeling like you are going to race out an score. I started low... OR else, if you keep upping it, every time you sit down ( aren't actively moving around ) you're gonna nod out. Not the kind of thing that's good for instilling confidence in your job performance...
You can't take Oxy and Methadone or Sub at the same time. It won't matter either way with the Methadone, it'll just be a waste of the Oxy. If you're on Subs and you try and take it, it won't work until you've been off of suboxone for a while. If you should get mixed up and take a Sub again too soon after taking Oxy, you'll throw yourself into precipitated withdrawal. They drug test you, why push it? It'll take about 3 days for the actual Methadone BUZZ to kick in. But you'll not feel withdrawal. It's helps with withdrawal and pain, right away. It's only the BUZZ that takes 3 days or so to kick in. Methadone is a killer... It's a back burner drug that builds in your system for about 72 hours before finally releasing the euphoric effects. I have known so many people who didn't get that initial buzz they were expecting after about 30 mins. So they kept taking another Methadone and another... In 3 days time, every single dose you take kicks in all at once and people die. Don't ever mix it with Xanax, that's another killer. Alcohol works very similarly to Xanax... I have never mixed anything with Methadone, I've seen too many people die on it. I have respect for that drug more so than any other drug I ever took. I did mess with my daily dosages in the last 2 years on it, but I had a big tolerance by then. And I wouldn't do it again... By the grace of God, I'm still here. I'm not implying that you are just gonna fall over dead with Methadone, but just be aware that you can't screw with the dose like you could short acting opiates. And if you try, just know you may be risking your life. If you decide to take Methadone, take it as prescribed.
I'm not sure if I have answered all your questions. I hope this helps. Be careful ( I just can't say that enough) and God Bless,
Persephone
I will do my best to answer your questions and I'll work backward.
The reason the pharmacy probably said what they said about being on Methadone for a long time, is because although your doctor may know you better, they see the addicts come dragging back in. Methadone is an extremely hard drug to get off of... The withdrawals are about 4-5 times as long as regular short acting opiates. It's not always easy to convince a doctor to give you a script for SubuTEX, to avoid something called "precipitated" withdrawal. Most doctors want to give you SubOXONE and it's not science. It ends up being a guessing game about whether or not you're far enough into withdrawal, enough Methadone is out of your system to painlessly switch you to SubOXONE, short term, to help with the worst part of Methadone withdrawal. If they give SubOXONE to you too soon, you will go into "precipitated" withdrawal which is like withdrawal on steroids. In short, Methadone withdrawal is HELL, most people can't do it the first time around. Or at least do it without going inpatient, so they keep dragging back into the pharmacy and end up being on it much longer then anticipated.
For myself, knowing what I know now and having gotten a pretty good taste of recovery, I would only go back on Methadone for 2 reasons: 1. If I was dying and I needed good pain relief ( Methadone was the best drug I ever took for pain, when it still worked ) and 2. If I just knew I had no hope of ever getting sober. To ME- This is ME ONLY... Methadonia was the most hopeless time of my life. Conversely, I hear people sing it's praises. So take your pick, it's up to you anyway.
Will you nod out? If you keep upping your doses, yes. You'll look just like some junkie that just shot heroin. I remember one Christmas, I was wrapping gifts at the dining room table. My oldest daughter had her new boyfriend over. The first time I meet this guy, I apparently nod out. I wake up an hour later with scotch tape stuck to my forehead and drool all over the Christmas paper. For ever 10 mgs of Methadone you take, it's the equivalent strength of 20 mgs of Morphine. My maximum daily dose was 60mgs of Methadone a day. So that would be the same as me taking 120mgs of long acting Morphine. Now, I also abused it. Taking as much as 90 mgs/day or 180 mgs of Morphine. You mentioned 400 mgs of Oxy/day. That could turn out to be a helluva dose of daily Methadone. They will give you the option of continuing to up your dose of Methadone until you feel NO cravings. My advice? Keep it as low as you can stand it, without feeling like you are going to race out an score. I started low... OR else, if you keep upping it, every time you sit down ( aren't actively moving around ) you're gonna nod out. Not the kind of thing that's good for instilling confidence in your job performance...
You can't take Oxy and Methadone or Sub at the same time. It won't matter either way with the Methadone, it'll just be a waste of the Oxy. If you're on Subs and you try and take it, it won't work until you've been off of suboxone for a while. If you should get mixed up and take a Sub again too soon after taking Oxy, you'll throw yourself into precipitated withdrawal. They drug test you, why push it? It'll take about 3 days for the actual Methadone BUZZ to kick in. But you'll not feel withdrawal. It's helps with withdrawal and pain, right away. It's only the BUZZ that takes 3 days or so to kick in. Methadone is a killer... It's a back burner drug that builds in your system for about 72 hours before finally releasing the euphoric effects. I have known so many people who didn't get that initial buzz they were expecting after about 30 mins. So they kept taking another Methadone and another... In 3 days time, every single dose you take kicks in all at once and people die. Don't ever mix it with Xanax, that's another killer. Alcohol works very similarly to Xanax... I have never mixed anything with Methadone, I've seen too many people die on it. I have respect for that drug more so than any other drug I ever took. I did mess with my daily dosages in the last 2 years on it, but I had a big tolerance by then. And I wouldn't do it again... By the grace of God, I'm still here. I'm not implying that you are just gonna fall over dead with Methadone, but just be aware that you can't screw with the dose like you could short acting opiates. And if you try, just know you may be risking your life. If you decide to take Methadone, take it as prescribed.
I'm not sure if I have answered all your questions. I hope this helps. Be careful ( I just can't say that enough) and God Bless,
Persephone
