Methadone And Morphine Detox From Dr. Perscribe Medication For Pain.

Had been in hospic for Aids. Doc thought I would die, but got better. Placed on 150 mg of methadone per day and 30 mg of morphine per hour (using 20 to 22 pills a day). Two weeks ago informed no pain clinic would treat me because of high dosages. Sent home for hospice two weeks ago and told they would begin the detox from methadone. Went from 150 to 140 to 130 to 125 to present dosage of 100mg of morphine and same amount of morphine.

I would like to know what symptoms and side effects will I experience from detoxing this quickly from the methadone.

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Hi Anna! The withdrawals r TERRIBLE! I'm NOT trying 2 scare u, just being honest. U will feel like u have the worst flu, your whole body hurts bad , runny nose , sneezing , hot flashes and cold chills, u can't sit still. Not 2 mention, insomnia, depression , and anxiety. It's an awful thing 2 go through. I was on 110mg of methadone and at a certain point during my taper (24mg) I couldn't take the withdrawals anymore . I had. 2 go on suboxone. And , still on it. The main thing is 2 taper REALLY SLOWLY. I wish u the best. Let me know how u r doing during the taper. If I can answer any more. ???, just ask.

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I don't know I had a terrible doctor he prescribed me 100 milligrams of methadone 3 times a day and he was give me five milligrams of oxycodone I could take I think it was four pills a day it was terrible I can't believe this i**** Dr Pruitt at froedert hospital in Milwaukee Wisconsin should never be allowed to practice medicine he's a quack! I was never so f***ed up in my whole life because of him. now why wouldn't someone just keep someone on the oxycodone which worked effectively at 30 milligrams and I was getting that 6 to 12 times a day because I was taking 60 milligrams at a time and instead of giving me 300 milligrams of methadone that's insane don't you all think? Please give me your feedback I'm really interested. Rk wrst allis, wi P.S if anyone knows of a good pain management doctor that will help someone who has severe chronic pain with several medical problems please let me know thank you. Birdie

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You should have never been on that much methadone OR that many percs in my opinion!! I've heard methadone is bad on your heart....

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This is truly the most incredible quackery!! I hope you have been able to resolve the problem!!

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Posters,

Yes Methadone can cause sudden cardiac death. It lengthens the QT interval; do not take it with Cipro.

I asked for a cardiac work up first since there is cardiac history in my family.

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Need to find a doctor around norcross ga that will prescribe methadone for chronic back pain

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Hello,

First of all let me say its amazing you are better from your medical scare, I am very happy for you!!! Im sure you've been thru quite a bit over the last while and now this medication issue is something you obviously dont need. After being on strong painkillers for an extended period of time your body, mind and all aspect of your personal, social, work and family/friend/relationship realities have all changed in ways, some small, others bigger im very sure. Some people realize this and adapt/adjust fine, others take more time and still others dont. The one thing that definitely has changed whether you realize it or not is your body's full dependency on the medication and the adjustment to taking strong narcotics daily as well as the strength you've been taking which is pretty big and very powerful to. Your body has undergone some big adjustments as well as your mind and it has slowly but surely adapted to taking that amount of strong narcotics for an extended period of time and now that its time to stop your body cannot be traumatized into ending overnight, you must be given the proper amount of time to again, adapt and adjust to stopping them. If your doctor keeps pushing you and does that to fast you're body could potentially get very annoyed and start causing you very serious problems. Withdrawls from that type of pain medication is very very very painful and seems never-ending while going thru it. All your joints seize up and cause extreme agony as they feel like they've just run a marathon and built 50 houses nonstop. Your mind will race like crazy and wont calm down until you take another dose of the painkillers or some type of opiate. You will get impatient and possibly angry, frustrated, depressed and basically totally stressed out like mad. You could also fidget and not be able to sit still as your body and mind continue to pressure you relentlessly until they get what they've become used to which is the painkillers and other opiate medications etc. And like somebody else mentioned you will probly feel like you have a really bad cold and/or flu that also wont go away until you take the meds.

All of these are are **Potential** symptoms and side affects of opiate withdrawls and are only meant to make you aware of them and the possibility of them occurring, it doenst mean you will for sure experience them all or even any of them. Like I said previous, some people adjust well while others not so much if at all. Opiate withdrawl is no joke, its very serious and extremely powerful stuff. Stopping your daily routine and lowering your dosages to rapidly can cause you to go thru severe pain and suffering that lasts for days or even weeks. Think of a heroin addict and the nightmares of them not getting their "fix", if you've seen such things before either in person or on tv its pretty much the exact same horrible thing. Opiates have a major impact on the mind and body, especially when taken for long term which you have.

So!!! I suggest that IF you're experiencing any of these types of symptoms or side affects or any other issues related to you stopping your meds so quickly, to quickly see your doctor and ask that he/she slow down a little on the cutting back and to give you a slower rate of medication decline and lowering of your daily dosages. Trust me, you DONT want to go thru opiate withdrawls, its one of the worst living hells a human being can experience and is not something you should tolerate, if you are feeling any type of withdrawls tell your doctor to ease up and give you a little more time in between lowering both the amount and the strength of your meds. There is absolutely NO need to rush you towards detoxing your body, NONE at all and in fact its the sign of an UN-Experienced physician that does do that. Opiate detoxing needs to be taken with care and over a fairly comfortable amount of time, rushing it pretty much guarantees you either end up in withdrawl hell pain AND/OR You fast becoming a drug addict due to you going out and finding the drugs any way you can because they are the ONLY thing that will give you the relief you will be super crazy for. (And again, trust me, if you end up in withdrawls and you have no access to opiate meds, you WILL go find them one way or another IF the hospital refuses to help you which for most people is their first stop after their doctor says no). Again take your detox seriously and do it wisely, the goal is to quit and of done properly you will quit and be totally fine to move on with your life. Its when pushy doctors rush their patients and then cut them off one day that has created the out of control insane nightmare that North America has seen happen over the last number of years. Addicted people cannot just stop taking opiates, they MUST be weened off over time and allow their bodies and very importantly, their minds to adapt and adjust so they can both be able to move past it all and not relapse and end up hunting for either more opiates, or worse yet, searching for illicit drugs which tons and tons of them have and have then become full blown addicts sadly. And that is not something you ever want to end up as.

Please take my words to heart and focus on slowly letting go of your meds, your body and mind will also slowly adjust and adapt and eventually you will be long past these days living your life. But stray from my comments and allow yourself to be pressured and rushed and dark days will be happening soon and that i truly hope NOT to see for you, after everything you've been thru and conquered, that would be horrible to learn. Talk to your doctor and make sure they listen to you if you're having issues, but also dont allow yourself to convince yourself you need more pain meds if you truly dont, that's the first sign of you slipping into a **CHOSEN** Addiction and that is 100% fully avoidable and must be avoided no matter what. Willpower and thoughts of responsibility to most importantly yourself and also those in your life and your family/kids etc. Dont let yourself convince you that you need meds when you know you dont, Please... If there's anything else i can help you with dont hesitate to message me or even if you just need somebody's ear to rattle during a time of possible weakness or slipping willpower, im here anytime. I wish you nothing but success and hope you boot thru all this without so much as a tiny scratch!!! Lol (It can be done and is done everyday, your turn now.....?) Stay positive!!!

{edited for privacy}

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Hi my name is Colette. I take Methadone and Morphine for 25 back surgeries and a bone disease. It seems they have gradually tapered you down. I've been tapered down from the Methadone and kept the Morphine. I felt the Morphine wasn't doing much due to the Methadone. I felt ok because they tapered me down every 4 weeks. I hurt a little more, but mentally did ok. How are you feeling? I know your in pain, my best friend had it. If I can help you or give you support please don't hesitate to write me back. Sincerely best wishes.

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I was forced to detox completely by my Dr., however I was given a medication that stopped the heart palpitations and another med that helped me to sleep and with the anxiety. She was a b**** and only gave me a two week supply but because I hadn't abused my opioids it was a fairly smooth transition. However you can not work or truly be functional at home, but after the two weeks I was doing kinda ok. Not like the tv show, Intervention Withdrawal at all. Those are the ones that clearly abused the meds. Hope you are doing great with the transition.

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Dear Anna.Decreasing the Methadone over how long of period? Your still on the morphine so that should help.Why is your Dr just up and decreasing your regimaine of meds?.I'm sorry your having to go through this.Please get back to me ok? Colette

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Re: robin (# 2)

Yeah kiddo he could've killed you, that's way too high. Methadone has a qt interval that's when the top chamber of the heart beats, then electricity goes to the bottom chamber and it beats. Methadone can mess up the signal, so top beats bottom dnt very deadly (pointes de something) lol, but bottom line 30 to 40 mgs of methadone is plenty unless you have cancer, then i say that's up to patients.

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I have research this subject as a pain dr. preferred to put me on methadone rather than morphine. Methadone is a very dangerous drug. It has a longer half-life than morphine, meaning it stays in your body longer. As a result, it is much easier to overdose on methadone as it stays in your body much longer than morphine. The patient can build up a tolerance, and start taking more to control the pain, making it easy to overdose. The withdrawal is much more intense and longer than morphine. It is also the cause of prolonged QT ventricular heart rhythms, much more so than morphine. This can kill you, without a doubt. The same goes for Tramadol. Why doctors insist on giving this morphine substitute is a mystery. If you are actually dying, it is one thing, but giving it to someone who may get better is another. Don't let them give it to you again, period.

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Your doctor shouldn’t be allowed to practice medicine..150 mg of methadone is way too much. Your doctor was giving you enough opiates to kill most people. How can he just say ok no more opiates and send you to a place where people go to die? This WOD has got to end. It’s next to impossible to get a doctor to prescribe opiates even for severe chronic pain. Pain sufferers aren’t being helped by these new guidelines for being prescribed opiates, there is just going to be a huge black market. When will the government see that they are killing people?

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It is like flu symptoms, first you begin to sneeze then your body bones and muscles become in agony, then you get sweets headaches... You also get no sleep, restless leg syndrome to where your legs become sore and kick out a lot. Irritated, angry, crying a lot because the more you reduce the more you get your emotions back. Please take it from me. I was on 210mls of methadone per day every day and came down 20mls at the start then 15, 10, all the way to five mls every two weeks and one day walked into my local pharmacy to be told congratulations, this is your last five mls. Well that day put my head into overdrive. I didn't cope well after being clean for three weeks then I became ill. So I started relapsing again. Please make sure you have after care in place for your mental health also. Please trust me on that. So now I am on 35 mls and stable, my life is normal, well whatever the best of normal is. I am alive and street-drug-free. Now learning to talk in schools so older kids don't go down the same path I did. Hope you're getting the support you need. Remember, do it for yourself when you're ready, not when you're told, because you will end up looking for a fix elsewhere. Sorry, but that's me being very truthful unless you're a strong person who can cope with anything life throws at them. Get better soon and good luck.

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Re: Patrice (# 13)

Patrice, you are absolutely correct! When I refused to take methadone and tramadol my so--called pain Dr. had a temper trantum and threw the crumpled-up RX across the room. He refused to prescribe morphine even though I took fairy high doses for many years. He then wanted to give nerve blocks in my spine, a high risk procedure as I have an auto-immune blood clotting disorder. Anything but morphine. I have gone on and off pain control because docs won't give me what has always worked. I have never abused scripts or asked for early refills. I have CP, Lupus w/ all the horrible organ damage, spina bifida, severe scoliosis and a non-hodgekins lymphoma. I am in acute/chronic pain 24/7. If I can't get morphine, who can?

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Re: Anjali (# 12)

While Methadone remains in your system for a long time, it is a great painkiller for several reasons. First -
patients don’t feel high on it, so abuse is much less than with Morphine... As for overdosing on it, a chronic pain sufferer will be put on the lowest dose and then slowly brought up as needed. I know a few addicts in Chronic pain that get really upset because all their doctor will prescribe is methadone, they want morphine. As for the heart QT you're talking about, before any patient is given methadone he/she has to have an EKG taken or they won’t be prescribed it. I do agree with you on the Tramadol. I am shocked it hasn’t been scheduled as of yet. It is a horrible painkiller and if you take more than prescribed you could have seizures. It looks like most Insurance companies aren’t going to cover opiates in their formularies. Do you even know how much Morphine, OxyContin and Dilaudid costs? Methadone is a lot less expensive. Look, every opiate comes with problems, so it’s a bit strange that everyone wants to demonize methadone and not the other opiates.

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Patrice (# 13–

Hi All,

I just wanted to comment on Methadone, first let me say the Dr. that prescribed that much Methadone should have his/her license snatched, & obviously jailed!! Secondly, I am a disabled firefighter that had an accident during duty 6 years ago. Many, many people speak horribly of Methadone, however it has truly been a godsend for me and several others that I have met. After almost 2 years of being prescribed everything from roxicodone, OxyContin, oxymorphone, etc etc I had the notion that to have pain relief you must have to deal with numerous side effects, and constant dose increases! Until I had enough. After explaining my situation to a new pain management specialist, I was put on Methadone at 10mg 4x per day. After 5 years I have NEVER HAD a dose increase an have not had the need for a breakthrough medication! Methadone is the only drug I would ever recommend for chronic pain patients! The only side effect I have ever noticed was constipation, an if to subsidize after you adjust to the medicine. Methadone receives horrible publicity, but I bet those people aren’t living in pain daily! For MMT therapy patients, be strong! It will get better:)

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Re: Wsl ving tsun (# 11)

For example. I’m on Methadone Maintenance. My dose is 165mg. However for treating pain. I bet 60mg would be fine

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Re: Angel (# 3)

I know this thread is old, but your right methadone is bad on your heart. I was on it for years through my pain management doctor, he finally switched me to time release morphine, because he had patient's that ended up with heart trouble. It works great on my pain, but not good for your heart.

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Re: Cats68 (# 1)

Methadone is worse than any other opiates to get off of. You cant relax or sleep and you can s*** before you reach the toilet for a minimum of 6 weeks. It's the worst to get hooked on. I don't understand why they give people methadone to get out of your drug habit. If i know when i seek help and get methadone now i would prefer other options and use that to get off because on methadone it takes at least double the amount of time to get better. Good luck and stay strong. You can also try ibogaine. Some get clean in 3 days and it also removes your thinking and lust to take it again. Read about ibogaine and see all the people it helped in only a matter of days and not years to stop.

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Re: robin (# 2)

Because, taking oxycodone, which is a short acting pain medication, 6-12 times per day, is too often. The reason you had to take it so often is because it is only meant to be short acting(4 hrs) in adjunct to a long acting medication, such as methadone. If you required oxycodone more than 4-6 times per day, you needed a long acting medication, like methadone, and a reduced dosage of oxycodone. Your doctor is not a quack, that is proper pain management. Sorry if you don't agree with that.

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Re: Patrice (# 13)

That is the whole point of this opiate epidemic. It's what the government wants.

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