Methadone Withdrawals

Methadone is the worst drug. There are alternative ways to detox from opiates. I experienced cold turkey withdrawals after being on methadone for 12 years (90 mg. daily). Living hell. Severe withdrawals lasted two weeks, but less severe withdrawals lasted two months. Further withdrawals lasted for months. I couldn't think, walk, write... I was so miserable. If you are on Vicodin, Norco, etc., don't switch to Methadone. You have no idea what you're playing with. Trust someone who's been there (clean date: 2/1/2005)

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Hello, Caowens! How are you? I'm very sorry about what you've been through, but also congratulate you on sticking it out and becoming clean.

Your post is very much appreciated, because many people do seem to see Methadone as a miracle drug, but they don't pay attention to the possible side effects and the fact that it is well known to cause very severe withdrawals.

The FDA classifies it as an opiate, so it has the potential to be habit forming and may cause side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation.

Are there any questions or comments from anyone?

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I have been on methadone for 13 years, at 140mg a day, and i am trying to figure out how to come off of it fast without being in alot of pain. Is this possible? Is there anything that can help the withdrawal process not be so painful?

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Depends how fast you wanna go. There is no way to go from 140 to zero in a week painlessly.

I have suggestions, though I'm not sure how well it would work if you pushed it a lot faster than the 4-5 months I have been taking (I wasn't in a rush).

I have been on MMT for 10 years, usually around 160mg. I'm down to 20mg, it's taken about 4 months but has been painless, and only mildly irritating.

I dropped about 10 a week from 155 to 80. Then 10 every 2 weeks (5 a week would be better but it's too hard to split these wafers) At 40mg I started feeling it about 18 hours after dosing, but just upped the amount of other meds and it was ok. Harder to sleep, some goosebumps, but otherwise fine.

I have been taking *prescribed* Propranolol (20-40mg a day), Ativan (1-3 mg a day) and Benadryl (at bedtime). These are given for panic attacks and general anxiety and are not hard to get RX.

**You can easily kill yourself with methadone and benzos*** and it could get you kicked off the clinic if yours bans them. But it helps. The propranolol seems to work like clonadine (I got that in detox once) which eliminated the sweats, yawns, restlessness.

I also have some tramadol and flexaril just in case. But I haven't needed them at all. I haven't had the worst symptoms because I haven't gone down too quickly.

I have never been on this low of a dose, even when I started. I took opiates for 9 years prior to the methadone too. So I'm surprised how well it's going. The self discipline is the hardest part now. Good luck!

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Listen to him, because you will regret the day you got on methadone! If you are withdrawaling from hydro or oxycodone just get a weeks worth of benzo's and kick without Methadone. Back in the mid 70s when i got on methadone, if you came in with a pill habit like lortab the staff would of laughed at you and tell you to go home and kick your pill habit. Because back then you had to come in with a strong opiate or dilaudid habit to get on methadone. They knew that methadone was at least as bad as H. So please take it from someone who has been on Methadone for 38 years without missing a dose. You will curse the day you got on methadone. It will change your life and you will never be quite the same if you ever get off methadone.

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So I was told that for long term opiate care, it is important to find an opiate that has a long half life, and that does not get the user "high" at all. Aside from hating the withdrawal (that's crazy you did it alone at home?) I mean I feel for you like no other. I am only in Benzo withdrawal. My doc cut me off cold turkey when I was denied this psychological care which i need because of specialization in treating my beautiful disorder that is my most acute disorder in need of care. I have enough emotional and reality avoidant problems already then to be feeling high and low on what for me was oxycontin and it got very bad quite quickly. The oxycontin 80mg i think it was, it is the longer acting, i took it two times a day. Then for break through pain, two oxycodone 10mg or was it four 5 mg? I'm not sure if Ii remember correctly.) My body just went into withdrawals so often within 8 or 9 months, none of the doses were enough but if I went higher I'd go into semi overdose, just very very ill toxic amounts of opiates for my 110 pound body. This quickly formed addiction and withdrawals may have been due to the fact that I spent one whole summer on codeine. ten years later I had to take darvocet for about eight months. It was an ulcer and I ate only fettuccine noodles and parmesan cheese. It finally healed. So, between those two pain pill short ish term addictions, I guess by the time I got oxycontin, i had an addictive reaction. I'd go through withdrawals easily and like I said, to stave them offI'd take the 20 mg of the shorter acting oxycodone. My doctor then gave me a fentanyl patch which was just too strong for me. I can take it for surgery or shock or whatever emergency needs, but not to wear the patch and have the long acting pain relief. So I went back on oxycontin until I decided f it i am going to go on methadone. I had remembered the pain doctor's p.a. told me I would end up on methadone anyway because of the addictive reaction I had to pills, in the way of tolerance. So, when I hear bad things about methadone i wonder then, why am I doing so well on it 8 years later? I have to be on an opioid.. It sucks badly. But hey,. things could be WAY worse. so when you say methadone is a bad drug what do you mean? What have you heard about it? It produces NO high. The blood levels must stay very consistent because I don't feel ill. I take it only one time a day. What other drugs were you saying were equally as good to get off oxycontin or whatever? I'm trying tapering off of lorazepam right now and I am hoping buspar helps. My psychiatrist gave buspar script to me. The same one who won't help me taper down slowly off of my benzo I called the clinical director who got back to me on a wednesday after I called monday morning. I asked my psychiatrist if he had spoken to the clinical director he said no. I told the director guy I am not begging to stay on benzos. I am trying to get help getting off. I only want like ten more pills so my body can take a quarter for a week and then an eighth pill for a couple weeks is ideal. for whatever reason my body is not doing even a little bit well with this withdrawal process. I get so scared when the withdrawals come on I pretty much panic.. The ER doctor gave me ten pills and that isn't enough. I took a quarter pill...the third day of it I was sick. When I say sick it's so bad it's hardly bearable. I'm going to run out soon and i am so scared that no one will help me, and that i will be blacklisted as a drug seeker. Well, duh, my shrink put me here!! I feel like the same doctor might be good to see, but I can't ask for him that brings attention to him. I could try the same hospital first, then go to another one. I have insurance and don't have to pay anything. but the thing is, i don't want to have to wait until i am sick because i had to drive while shaking puking and in so much pain, sweat pouring down my entire upper body just drenched then freezing so weak i had to ask someone to summon me a wheelchair to make it in. He gave me lorazepam in my iv, and I wasn't sure he was right at first, because I have gone randomly always with it, on for a few days off for a while.I was taking it for anxiety as my husband left me this year, but the last two years were so unbearable that i took it for three years by the time this doctor got into trouble by that therapist that said i don't qualify because I am on methadone, benzo and legal mj. because when he saw me he was all crazy about it showing me the poster on his wall from the surgeon general about benzos and methadone. he said "I may or may not have known about the methadone, I said oh that's bulls*** because I had to sign a release here and there so that I would even be allowed to go to that methadone clinic while taking psychiatric medication. so you actually signed that release Don't try to tell me you may or may not have known you were on methadone. It was then that I realized that he f***ed up apparently. Whatever, I should not have to suffer because I needed my anxiety medication since my husband was slowly slipping away and that caused me to react to his sudden indifference whatever we all have our reasons to look to those shiny pills that calm us. I can't smoke too much or i get really dehydrated living here in the desert! Hey thanks for reading this. I am vey curious at the moment most curious about the benzo withdrawals. Given that I have ten days left at 1/4 my regular dose, would you think buspar would complicate or help things? I don't even know the drug class yet.

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Get to 10mg, leave it in 24hrs then take 8mg subutex.... You will feel a little s***ty but not a roar cold rattle.

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I've been taking Methadone for 16 years. I've been on doses as high as 220mg and as low as 5mg. I finally had my last dose on Thursday morning and it's now Monday (3 days). Is it too early to take a small dose without my withdrawals kicking off again? My intention is to not stop this medication altogether, I just want to be able to take a small dose every once in a while without having to put up with "hanging out" (dope sick in Americanese). Please help.

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I have taken four 15 mL oral doses of Methadone over the last 7 days. Will I withdrawal, and if so, how bad?

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I've been taking drugs for a long time. First I started taking methadone and for over a month now I've also been taking pregabalin. Well for a little while I felt fine, but now I don't know how to stop taking them and get the sense that I am in more trouble than before. I just need some help and advice on how to come off of these medications safely.

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The best option to get off methadone is slowly tapering your daily dose by a certain amount every week or 2. Ask your doctor, dispensing nurse or counselor. They will tell you the same thing. I see was on 110 mg per day. It took me a year to get down to zero but it worked with pretty much no withdrawal. And still clean!!!!!!

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"METHADONE": BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

Due to the "Politically ensued" changes in how true "Chronic Pain" is addressed by doctors, many doctors are left scratching their heads at how to sincerely help their patients in dealing with Chronic Pain. While "Methadone" may provide a third or fourth rank choice at best, to assist their patients, the long-term consequences might leave you wishing that you were back where you started! Methadone is widely known as a better than nothing choice in our now "Politically Directed", versus "Professionally Medically Dictated" traditional use of long acting (i.e., extended release), responsibly used, opioid medications.

Hence, if there ever comes a time when you desire, or the government dictates, that Methadone isn't an appropriate medication, and you are forced once again to attempt to discontinue what is helping, you'll be in for a "Horrendous Ride!": Methadone is known to permeate even into your bone marrow, with withdrawal symptoms lasting several months, thus, in addition to your "Chronic Pain" returning, you'll be fighting a dependence unsurpassed by the "2016 Government intervention to ban "Responsible Use" of traditional and effective narcotics based medications"! I'm not a medical professional (i.e., and certainly not proficient in grammar), thus, "Please" do some research prior to starting long-term Methadone!

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Re: Verwon (# 1)

In my opinion, methadone saved my life. & has kept me off of EVERYTHONG aside from methadone, xanax (prescribed), and medical marijuana. Yeah, I'm sure that the cold turkey detox was rough. However, if u do it the way that medical professionals would want it done, not all @ once, I know from experience that it can be much easier doing it through a methadone clinic or the prescribing Doc., than all @ once, on our own.

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Re: Andrea (# 2)

The slower, the better. May I ask why u "have" to get off fast?

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Re: Preston (# 4)

You keep saying "u'll regret it"... But, can u elaborate as to why it'll be regretted? Or how, "u'll never be the same"? Are u referring to it as so terrible bc u weren't on H, or "a major opiate", b4 u began ur methadone journey?

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Re: 2 low (# 8)

Take the advice of previous "Methadone" dependent individuals: It won't be easy, but a slow-extended taper is the best way to come off from this medication. Just go slow, and you'll be okay!

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Re: Preston (# 4)

I agree, stay off it if you can. But be careful of benzos. They are addicting also and out methadoned brains are confused

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