Methadone Withdrawals Have Not Started Yet...

I have been on Methadone for about 3 years for long term pain management and the stomach issues are awful. I went from 30 to 10 two years ago and have now been 3 days on 7.5 with no withdrawals yet. When will they start? I have clonidine and Ativan from the doctor to help, but I have a 3 day conference in July 7-9 and need to be pain free at 7.5 by then. Then I will take the last 2 weeks of summer to get to 5 mg.

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Hello, Lisa! How are you?

I'm sorry, but there's no definitive time frame that I can give you in response. It can vary from person to person.

Have you experienced any, yet?

The FDA lists the typical withdrawal symptoms as possibly including nausea, diarrhea, fever, chills and rebound pain.

Can anyone that's taken it give an approximate time frame that may help?

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Today I woke early with pain all over my body, mostly back and leg pain. My eyes are a little runny, but that is it so far. This is Day 5 that I have taken the 25% lower dose, and I am just waiting to see ehat happens.

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I hope you continue to do well.

Please keep me updated!

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I am still withdrawal free. I see the Doctor today and I know she wants me to go down to 5 mg but I am not sure I want to commit the rest of my summer to this. I am a teacher and have to be back in the class the last week of July to set up my room, Plus I have a a math conference July 7-9 and need to be alert. I think I will taper to 5 at Christmas Break. Then I can make the big jump from 5-0 next summer. Already my stomach issues are better, although I really don't eat much anyway. Thanks for checking in on me.'Lisa

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I can only give you my personal experience. I went off about 50 mg a day (sometimes more) cold turkey. Within 24 hours wd's started. Opiates didn't help. Looking back, I should have been hospitalized. I wanted to stop. I knew I'd lose my child if I didn't. If I asked for medical help I would have lost him. I decided to go it alone. I had one person I trusted in case of an emergency. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced. Even my hair felt like it hurt. Very little stayed down. I lost 25 pounds in a month. Finally, on day 28 I woke up. It surprised me because I hadn't slept in weeks other than 15 to 30 minutes at a time. I was sore all over like I'd been in an auto accident. I was also hungry. It was mercifully over. Something or some power greater than myself kept me alive. Please, please don't play with this drug. It's evil in my opinion. I'm no prude. I have a little marijuana, have a drink now and then and if I'm in pain, I will take prescribed medication. BUT Never Again any methadone or anything else like it w/o medical supervision. Trust me on methadone - going up is not worth the coming down.

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Thanks for the response. I was on Methadone for a ripped tendon as long term pain management. I quickly went from 20-30 mg to 10 and have been on that for over 2 years. I just went from 10 to 7.5 and after a conference next week, I will try and go to 5. If I am still symptom free during Christmas break I will use suboxone strips to dial down 1 mg at a time, but I probably won't be off totally until next summer. I hate this stuff. No Dr. told me about the side effects. My stomach is in constant turmoil and I have no control over my digestion. I have gained 35 pounds and it is all in my stomach. I am still withdrawal free at 7.5 and I pray I can get to 5 before school starts.

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I detoxed from methadone over 11 yrs ago, had 9 yrs clean and fell back into the mess because after 9 yrs, because, like an i**** I thought I was no longer under the spell of addiction. Point blank, an addict's brain is born differently and reacts differently to certain drugs. Methadone is one of the worst ones to come off of, because of one thing: The HALF-LIFE. It's about 72 hours.

What you want to remember with methadone detox is that you want to work on a long and painstakingly SLOW detox/weaning down. If you decide to take big jumps down, you will feel like pure heck. No way around it. I've done it successfully once, and I'm doing it again for the last time NOW.

I was at my highest dose on 55mg daily, now down to 12 mg. I was jumping down at 5 mg every 2 weeks until I got to 20, then I started dropping about 2mg...when I get to 10 mg, I'm going to drop 1 mg per month (yes, 1 mg per month!) until I've been at 2 mg for a month then poof! Freedom!

The reason you need to drop so slowly is because you need to drop by PERCENTAGE on methadone, because it has a very LONG AND EVIL HALFLIFE. So 72 hrs after you've taken your last steady dose, your brain's receptors are still holding onto some of the evil stuff.

So say you're at 10mg daily. You want to drop no more than 10% of that dose so you'll drop to 9mg. Then you wait til your symptoms stop (nausea, lethargy, sneezing/hiccups/coughing, leg cramps/RLS, diarrhea...once those stop, (give yourself a week to feel the drop!), then drop down one single DROPLET A DAY until you're at 5mg...the drop from 10mg to 5mg may well take a month maybe longer! Just do what your body tells you it can, SLOWLY.

After 5mg, if you go to 2 1/2, you've just cut your dose by 50%, and you'll feel it, but by this time it's not so terrible because your body is almost relieved of it. Last time I jumped off at 2 mg and I had zero withdrawals, but I had literally been at 2 mg for over a month and finally realized I had xtras stored up for months and hey, if it got that bad, there's always the clinic, right?

That's the worst thing about being addicted to anything: the constant fear of the withdrawal sickness! The best advice I can ever give anyone is this: Even if you do get deathly ill, in the grand scheme of your life, two weeks of hell is only a speck on the map of your life.

It doesn't seem like you can, but IF YOU DO GO SLOWLY, and keep track of your doses on a calendar daily, (because brain fog is a total bummer on M detox, too)---then you can and WILL beat this demon of a drug!

Just remember, use the percentage formula, take clonidine or wear a clonidine patch, use whatever kind of benzodiazepine you can tolerate to help with the anxiety. Take a regular dose of Imodium/Loperamide tablets every day to stave off the diarrhea. I've been working 10 hr days through this, and I'm a weakling--but we do what we have to.

Did you know that Imodium/Loperamide is an OPIATE?? Sure is, but it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier, so it slows down the gut and staves off the mad poos, but doesn't give any other effects. So:

1) Clonidine
2) Any benzodiazepine for anxiety
3) Imodium for diarrhea
4) Gatorade (lots) to keep hydrated

You can do a super slow taper/weaning and you'll be in control of your own detox, too! GOOD LUCK TO YOU!! YOU CAN DO THIS!

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Hi I am TOTALLY FRESKED OUT !! I am on 100mgs / day of methadone...Almost 3 full yrs....now due to a situation I can not control I have 4 days till I'm FORCED to go COLD TURKEY !!!! I promise I actually already feel sick just knowing ...few yrs ago I stopped cold @ aprx 20 ...maybe ...maybe a little less..I THOUGHT I WOULD DIE !! SERIOUSELY I DID ! Now I'm older ,, 51 , & not in goid shape plus in 4 days I will be homeless , carless, moneyless ....NO ONE TO TURN TO...NO PLACE TO GO...Then I have to manage a way to come up with the $$$ gor Dr. ta get my xanax script & $$$ ta get it filled !!! I sm so terrified !! ALL I AM ASKING IS *PLEASE PLEASE PRAY GOR ME. I hsve precious grandchildren I want to be around to watch grow up. I BELIEVE GOD IS IN CONTROL AND I BELIEVE HE HAS ME...I do not doubt JESUS....NOT AT ALL. But I'm only huma n.Someone told me ""check into a the mental unit at hospital & THEY HAVE TO GIVE YOU ANY MEDS YUR ON."" Is that true ? Is it true in Pascagoula MS? Thanx to any who pray for me , Sincerily , Janice

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Verwon.. I was just looking back on this thread and wanted to thank you for your advice. I am still on 7.5 but will drop to 5 beginning of summer and then maybe 2.5 mid summer. I am a baby about pain! Hopefully then Christmas I can dial down to 0 and that will be such a happy day!

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Very welcome, Lisa! I hope all works out well! :-) Please keep me updated!

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Hope things are going better with you. I just read your post, and I can imagine the fear about jumping off..I have never been higher than 30 and I dialed down to 20 and then 10 without problems. Then 10 to 7.5 and summer will go down to 2.5 and hopefully off by the end of the year. I am very cautious and controlling in my dialing down. I was on it for long term pain, and it has been an evil presence in my life. It causes so many other issues and I do NOT believe Doctors should prescribe for pain.

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Hello everyone! I am doing it! 4 years ago, I was on fentanyl, suckers, sleeping pills, and not to forget, benzos. 15 years ago I had 2 spinal fusion surgeries, then drugs, pain, more drugs, more pain... 2 months ago enough was enough, my bowels were not working, couldn't think clear.. I did my research for months online-
I am using tinctures that I made, certain foods, vitamins, etc., and it is working!
Now, I am down to 1 - 10 mg. of a pain pill. It was very hard, and I still have a way to go- but for now, yippee! I never threw up once. That would have broken me. I feel very frail, but I AM DOING IT! I am sending good thoughts to all!

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I have been taking morphine sulfate for 8 years 30 mg two times a day - I am down to 1mg will I get sick since I tapered slowly

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Re: Not Today (# 7)

Thank you for this . This really is a valuable share . Knowings what to expect and how to do it is just about everything . Thank You

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Re: Mark (# 13)

Hi Mark. You really have done well. Just be careful. My doctor wants me to see if my pain doctor will put me on methadone. I have been on oxycontin or generic oxycodone and the generic is so weak. I have bad scoliosis, cervical and lumbar stenosis with DDD, From what I am reading, methadone is not a safe med to take, and I have heard that it is more addictive than heroin.

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