How long do methadone withdrawal symptoms last?

My husband recently stopped taking methadone and percocet, now hes sick as a dog. Please tell me if this is normal. He's vomiting, aching, hot and cold, sleeping(3 days straight). what do i do how long will it last. Please help!

Depending on how long your husband has been on the drugs and what dosage he had to take, the withdrawal symptoms may last from 1 to 2 weeks if he’s lucky.
Those who have been taking it for a long time have to go through hell in order to quit especially if they are doing it cold turkey.

If your husband has been taking these drugs for pain, his dosages should have been decreseed gradually and he shouldn’t have gone cold turkey because it is much harder.

Methadone and Percocet are physically and psychologically addictive and he may use it again just to stop these awful withdrawal symptoms.

Many people who try to get off the drugs experience the worse problems for 1-2 weeks but could go on with additional withdrawal symptoms for a month or so.

Any drug withdrawal should be supervised by a doctor.

I was in a pain management program for nearly eight years before I left the medical provider. Because of the half life of the medication and the length of usage, I also suffered the same misery many methadone patients suffer with withdrawals. vomiting, shakes,convulsions, cold sweats as well as the loose bowells and pain from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. In the third week of this earth based purgatory, I sought out a pain clinic to seek out a possible solution to my hellish condition. After all of the agony that I had invested in a cold turkey withdrawal I wasn't about to loose that investment of pain that I had deposited in the Bank of methadone withdrawl. The doctor completely evaluated my specific physical anomoly, a deformed ankle and lower left leg caused by a commuted compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, later followed by necrosis of the outer third of the calf musscle. As I participated in compettive sports over the years such as simi pro baseball, skiing, and speed skating I developed a severe case of osteo arthritis. This caused intense pain at many times daily. That is how my introduction to methadone began. That was the first and most serious error in my judgment.
As I said in the beggining, Iwent through hell for about three and a half weeks until the Doctor at the pain management center I sough out prescribed the Chlonodine Patch. Still unable to sleep she prescribed a new sleeping aide called Lunesta. My episodes of hard withdrawls began to subside to a tollerable level within twenty four hours. The time it took for the trans-dermal patch to become fully active. My last methadone was on August 29,2006. Sooooo-that means it's been thirty eight days without methadone. The vomiting now gone I can begin to build up my body with good nutrition, some exercise-when tolerated.Though I still have bouts of weakness, it doesn't compare to the violent systemic reaction from the first three weeks of withdrawal. Additionally, and most important is the support of my family.I build confidence daily feeding off the support of my family. Also, I sought out the power of an outside source-God as I percieve Him- to empower me to continue on to the road to get my life back. Don't be mis-informed-IT'S DIFFICULT-GET MEDICAL HELP.WITH IT, WITHDRAWALS ARE TOLLERABLE. DON'T LET YOUR INVESTMENT OF AGONY GO FOR NAUGHT! HANG IN THERE-IT WONT LAST FOREVER-SEE A PAIN DOCTOR FOR NON OPIATE MEDS THAT WILL HELP. I have been through the valley of the shadoW of methadone and without a doubt I can ASSURE you there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. I CAN WITHOUT A DOUBT,ASSURE YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE THAT,YOU, HE, OR SHE CAN DO IT! DIG IN YOUR HEELS AND GO FOR IT. Good Luck

I have been on methadone for almost 4 years. prior to that i was addicted to loratabs oxcycotins. I have slowly been becreasing my dose over the past year or so. I was down to 20mgs and monday October 23, 2006 I took my last dose. It is now Tuesday October 31, 2006 and I am still having some pretty tough withdrawl symptons. How long will they last? Can you help me understand this?

my girlfrriend and i have been gfoing through withdrawls for 12 days now and it has been a long and very difficult and crazy trip.i decided to go cold turkey at 60 mls.bad mistake!we had to go to the hospital to get a drug called apo-levocarb for the freaky leg syndrome and valium to help sleep.they just seemed to take the edge off slightly for me but i believe one of the drugs did my other half more bad than good. definitly bring yourself down to a low dose before you try to quit !!! be ready for a real rough ride.it's a real b***h and real painfull but it's all worth it in the end..make sure you have people that are going to help you every single day for at least a month ,because you will be pretty bed ridden the whole time.buy lots of ensure meal replacement because you will not have the energy to cook or clean or even keep up your own hygeine !!the devil will try to win you over, but you have to show him that your power is stronger than his, just like us !!!

[quote="mbuttx3"]I have been on methadone for almost 4 years. prior to that i was addicted to loratabs oxcycotins. I have slowly been becreasing my dose over the past year or so. I was down to 20mgs and monday October 23, 2006 I took my last dose. It is now Tuesday October 31, 2006 and I am still having some pretty tough withdrawl symptons. How long will they last? Can you help me understand this?[/quoh hte]

Quote:

iwast

I'm 19 with a boyfriend 27 who's addicted to methadone. I've seen him aggitated and he describes what he feels as pin pricks all through his body... i need to get information on what I should do or anything at all when he feels like that... restless, in a lot of pain, excessive sweating, ect Please help me to understand what he's going through so i can help him get through this for our children

I am sicker then a dog I been taking percs about 4 years 512 about 10 a day.

I am sick now since sunday I stopped cold turkey it is now wednesday.

I been taking ambian for sleep at night and I have not been eating much.

My tongue has small little bumps my throat feels swallon not sore just swallon.

I have headaches but tylenol seems to take a little of the edge off.

I have cold sweats flu like simptoms

I am sick

I will warn you, the reader, of this post. I will attempt to respond to the original poster’s question, regarding their husband’s withdrawals, as they pertain to Methadone and Oxycodone. In order for me to be successful, I must be thorough, but first, I see it as a requisite to give a history of me and my battle with major medical problems, so that you can see that I have been there—not once, not twice, but I am going through it for a third time (twice for narcotics), as I type. I find the typing therapeutic and helpful for me, because right now, I am running a fever, tremmoring, sweating, freezing, my stomach is cramping, my bladder is always full (or at least it feels that way), aches and pains from hell (welcome back to the real world muscles!), and I have not been able to sleep for nearly one month for more than two hours straight!

I was struck by a drunk driver back in college more than seven years ago. I have also been diagnosed with several deadly and debilitating diseases (not from the auto accident), which exacerbate my withdrawal symptoms, as well as the pain I experience as a normal part of life. Simply—I have significant spinal cord damage—and I have had many outpatient surgeries to alleviate the pain, and one inpatient surgery that nearly killed me (literally!); and finally, they want to operate again!

I have taken almost everything, including amphetamines for the pain, but this was easy to come off, compared to the narcotics. I have detoxed on three things in my short life: amphetamines (legal), Methadone (legal), and Oxycodone (legal). The most difficult was Methadone and it was done with the support of my pain management doctor(s), despite the fact that they didn’t want me to get off of the narcotics, because they knew I would be back on the narcotics. Well, they were correct, but it was worth it! I was off of them for about eight months, which was just awesome. Now, in the mean time, I would take low-dose Oxycodone for breakthrough pain, but I did not experience withdrawal (at all), because it was occasional dosing.

Unfortunately, the doctors were correct, and within eight months, I was back on to chronic narcotic dosing, which has been the case now for more than two and half years. In the last three months, I have been able to slowly get back in shape (before the accident I was running five miles in just under 25 minutes, and my muscles were in tip-top shape) by losing 45 pounds, to the point that I can run two miles in less than 18 minutes, I have gained more than 20 pounds of muscle, and I have dropped my body fat by more than 20 points! As a result, I am not in as much pain—don’t get me wrong, there are days (each week) that I cannot walk without assistance, but I believe that I can come back off the chronic dosing, at least for another eight months.

At this point in time, I have moved from a high dose of Morphine (ER), which I cut in half (cold turkey), to Oxycodone, BUT I had family with me to ensure that I was okay—in that, I was breathing. From there, I have slowly moved down 5mg every two days on Oxycodone. I am at 25 mg of Oxycodone per day, but I am to the point where I will need to go cold turkey from here on out. READ the Oxycodone section below to see why this is the case. However, I will sit at 25mg per day for 10 days before going cold turkey on the remaining 25 mg, to ensure that my body’s serum levels are at a constant plateau. IMPORTANT: It can take up to six months for your body’s serum level of 25 mg per day to sit at 25 mg per day, but after day 10, it is close enough for government work.

So, why the hell am I spending the time, energy and discomfort (okay, pain) to come off of the medication, just to go back on it? Well, I want to work again, and being that I have been on disability three times, my career gets going (moving to mid-level management within Fortune 100 companies, and I am very young) and then bam! I lose everything, and the medications prevent me from being successful. So, you’re damn right—it is very worth it, and I would do it several times a year, just to be SANE for two months! Why else are you reading this? Because you feel similarly, for whatever reason(s) you may have.

METHADONE--
Methadone is considered more difficult to get off, because the withdrawal symptoms are more difficult than even heroin. The reason for this is because of the synthetic opiates' storage in your tissue--and more importantly, the half-life of Methadone is (on average) 25 hours (13-47 hours), with peak absorption in 4 hours. However, Methadone lasts for approximately 25 hours for the average patient, BUT there are a few of us who have taken it every 8 hours to reduce the amount of Methadone needed (for pain management), by reducing the zig-zag effect of depleting and replenishment of Methadone within our tissues.

As a result, Methadone patients may not experience many withdrawal symptoms for 24-48 hours after their last dose. [Everyone is different]. After 48 hours, the symptoms of withdrawal will peak within 7-10 days and begin to lessen over the next 7-14 days; however, it depends on a number of variables: how long the patient was taking Methadone; the amount the patient was taking; how quickly the patient has chosen (or been forced) to detox; what the last amount—with respect to the patient’s peak dosage—was; a person’s weight (especially if the patient has experienced quick weight gain, because more Methadone will be stored in your tissues with less blood absorption); age; etc.

The symptoms of withdrawal, and the severity of the symptoms, depend on the variables above; but, and most importantly, it depends on the patients state-of-mind and preparation for detoxification. Most patients do not realize that there are two types of cravings—mental addiction and physical dependency. If a patient is on the Methadone for medicinal reasons, it will be easier for the patient to recover from the withdrawal symptoms, but if the patient has a mental addiction, the patient will be faced with craving to withdraw and take the Methadone as an out. Fortunately, Methadone does not have the same level of euphoria as do other chemical compounds, but nonetheless, it is still significant enough in the patient’s mind that it may not matter the chemical side.

Before covering the symptoms of withdrawal, it is important to point out one last key component of Methadone—in that, it mimics the level of peptides—such as, Endorphins, Enkephalines, and Dynorphins, which causes the brain to assume that your ARTIFICIAL level of good feeling is required for normal life functioning. As a result, the most difficult withdrawal is a MENTAL withdrawal that your brain feels you need in order to survive. This is affectionately referred to as “cravings.” These cravings WILL FORCE most patients into taking Methadone, because the cravings are too intense; hence, most professionals recommend that you seek professional help (detoxification center), so that they may monitor you for your health and to give you the support needed to NOT GIVE IN to the CRAVINGS! (IMPORTANT NOTE: I almost died coming off of my Methadone too quickly, because I wanted to show myself that I could do it as long as I WANTED to. I was wrong! I seized, and I was VERY lucky that my family was with me at the time, because the doctors had to resuscitate me and push Methadone into me to prevent an immanent heart attack. Don’t be foolish, we know you are mentally strong, why else would you be interested in reading this? Be alive to live your life after this necessary evil—PLEASE!!!)

So, what are the symptoms? Here you go! Sneezing, yawning, tearing of eyes, runny nose, excessive perspiration (cold sweats and hot sweats, especially at night), fever, dilated pupils, abdominal cramps, nausea, body aches, tremors, irritability, not to be morbid, but even death in extreme cases. Finally, sleep is your best friend during withdrawals, BUT you will find it next to impossible to sleep. I recommend taking 25-50 mg of Dyphenhydramine (Benadryl), but NOTHING ELSE! You don’t want to exchange one craving today with another craving in two months, once you are beginning to see the other side of the tunnel. (IMPORTANT: Benadryl SHOULD NEVER BE ingested in amounts greater than 50 mg every 4-6 hours, and no more than 8 pills per 24 hours, because of severe respiratory concerns. Muscle relaxants can assist (for many reasons), but again—be reasonable; DRINK lots of WATER; ensure that you get your electrolytes (banana a day, Gatorade); Ensure or Boost are excellent meal replacements, because you will lose your appetite; and make certain that you take care of your hygiene (shower, brush your teeth, put on comfortable, but NOT bedtime clothes for mental effectiveness). Lastly, there are medications (Clonidine, for example) that MAY significantly assist you while you detoxify, but reports of significant exhaustion and tiredness may make it worse, not to mention the fact that it will lower your blood pressure. I have chosen not to go this route, because the ‘cravings’ are psychological and I can beat it in my mind—‘mind over matter.’

OXYCODONE--
Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, Endocet, Percodin, etc.) is easier and more difficult to detox off of, because of one major simple reason—it is a short-acting chemical compound. Methadone is longer acting (as discussed above), but the good thing behind Methadone is that you may titrate down at any milligram increment fairly easily, especially in liquid or IV (intravenous), SC (subcutaneous) form (full disclosure, mine has either been IV or pill form, however), but the Methadone is a compound that creates a MUCH STRONGER craving. The Oxycodone, especially in capsule form is more difficult at the end, in the sense, that 25 mg per day is the lowest amount the patient may titrate to before going cold turkey. (Yes—you may break the capsule open and try to figure out what half is, but at that point, and if you are really concerned, then you will need to work with your doctor(s) to use a different narcotic or delivery method.)

The reason is that Oxycodone has a half-life of 4-6 hours, which means that if you take 25 mg divided by 5 mg (each capsule) it equals 5 doses. There are 24 hours per day, so divide the 24 hours (in a day) by 5 (doses of 5 mg per dose) and you get 5 mg of Oxycodone every 5 hours, which is the median of 4 and 6 hours. Some of you smart-ones are reading this going, well, if it is 6 hours for me then I can drop to 20 mg per day before going cold turkey. You are correct, but the point is that if you spread your doses out more than 6 hours, you will certainly begin detoxing; and hence, you would start the withdrawals, especially since Oxycodone is a short-acting chemical compound.

The good side of the coin is that the withdrawal symptoms, ceteris paribus (all things remaining equal), for Oxycodone withdrawal symptoms are less intense. The withdrawal symptoms begin 4-6 hours after your last dose of Oxycodone and peak between 36 and 72 hours. You will likely notice moderate to severe symptoms for up to 7 days, moderate symptoms for up to another 7 days (14 days so far), mild symptoms for another 2 weeks after this (28 days), and various very mild symptoms for up to 5 months after the first month (if you even notice them).

Does it s**k? Yes! BUT it is worth it, and I commend all of you for making the decision to go through the detoxification, REGARDLESS of the reason that you are on the medication. DON’T be ashamed that you are dependent (even if you are addicted). If, and only if, your doctor (I recommend receiving at least one more opinion, because there are non-narcotic medications that may help either reduce the level of narcotics or eliminate the narcotics altogether) recommends that you go back on narcotics, and you feel that it is the last resort, then DON’T be ashamed, either. Think of the trade-offs and which trade-off will give you the best QUALITY OF LIFE!

Be sure that you prepare your closest friends and family for what will come…ask them to read this; and understand that the vast majority of the withdrawals are the cravings, which is good, because it is mental, BUT don’t be stupid like I was—they want you alive. Read everything that you can, don’t abuse sleeping medication, or you will then need to detox off of the sleeping medication after the narcotics. Tell yourself that you can do it, and think about how proud you will be once you have completed it, and how appreciative you will feel, and how proud your family and friends will be. LIFE IS GRAND!!! I have been shot at, I have had a knife to my throat, I have broken more than 30 bones, I have worked 40-60 hours per week while taking 18 credits in school (to pay for school), etc., you get the point. I AM JUST LIKE YOU!!! We worked so damn hard to get where we are, this is a small fourteener, NOT Mt. EVEREST! You PREPARE hard for this, and when the time comes, you stick it out, and I assure you that you will be prouder than the time you worked for 265 straight days, just to get your diploma! I know I was!!! TRIUMPH and SUCCEED!!!

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FRIENDS, because all of you are in this journey together!!!

I am 36 years old and I have just stopped taking methadone after about 3 years. if have been on a low dose. no more than j60 mg the whole time. My husband passed away 4 months ago and since then I have been on lower doses. I have detoxed over the last 2 months. I took my last dose and it was only 10mg(I split 2days). on thursday and it is now Saturday. my counsler told me that I would only fill very mild withdraws of an. I take vitamin B12 and 40mg of Celexia a day (for depression). I am the type of person who panics easily if I even think I am going to be sick. For a week and a half during my husband's funural and everything before I made it back to the clinic I didn't take anything. What I am wondering if my counselor is full of it. Please someone write me back. I can't ask people here because I'm from a state that looks down on the use of Methadone so I had to drive an hour and a half to the nearest clinic and it became to much because they were having me come 4 days a week with everything going on. and it got expensive ****

**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**

consider your husband lucky,for being able to sleep. I have been on methadone for a year. Just got tappered down on this 28 day detox they do. they said I would feel mild withdrawl,but it would be tolerable."yeah right!my ass. I have not been able to sleep in a week not even for 10 min. its making me crazy. I look worse now then I did on drugs.I got on methadone to help my pill problem. that was the worse mistake I ever made. I have done detox programs before like,dr.hayes program and Mercy medical inpatient for 3 days. non of this made it any better,thats why I got on methadone. I did not want to stay on it forever like most of the other people that went to the same program as I.Some of them have been on it for 10 yrs and will never get off. When I went through withdrawl from pills, it was no where nere as bad as withdrawing from this methadone.Just make sure you are there for your husband, and make sure you dont let him out of your sight.It is just so easy to make all this pain go away buy just poppin something in your mouth then you think you feel all better.like I said though be thankful that he is able to keep his eyes closed even for 10 min. 'cause I sure cant. wish him the best it is not easy but he can get through it. I just hope I can.'cause im not handling this very well at all.I was told the worst would be over in about 3 -7 days,bull crap.the worst is yet to come,then you have to deal with night dreams about your old habbits which make you wake up every morning craving and non stop thinking about your old habits.HES gonna have anxiety so bad its gonna be so hard to brain wash himself into thinking he dont need it any more. If he cant get through it, and you think hes gonna have a relapse, try looking into this stuff called medetox, hope thats how you spell it. I would do this myself but I have absolutly not 1 dollar to my name. the program I was on was $90 a week. which took my savings, and i let one of my friends take my job becouse they wouldnt let me take off more than a day,and I new this withdrawel would take more than that.Im only 24 yrs old I had every thing going for me and i s*****d it all up for a buzz and temp releif from stress and deppresion and pain in my legs and feet from standing on a concrete floor 14 hrs a day 6 days a week. Dont let him end up like me. do what you can please

[quote="l8trnitz"]I was in a pain management program for nearly eight years before I left the medical provider. Because of the half life of the medication and the length of usage, I also suffered the same misery many methadone patients suffer with withdrawals. vomiting, shakes,convulsions, cold sweats as well as the loose bowells and pain from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. In the third week of this earth based purgatory, I sought out a pain clinic to seek out a possible solution to my hellish condition. After all of the agony that I had invested in a cold turkey withdrawal I wasn't about to loose that investment of pain that I had deposited in the Bank of methadone withdrawl. The doctor completely evaluated my specific physical anomoly, a deformed ankle and lower left leg caused by a commuted compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, later followed by necrosis of the outer third of the calf musscle. As I participated in compettive sports over the years such as simi pro baseball, skiing, and speed skating I developed a severe case of osteo arthritis. This caused intense pain at many times daily. That is how my introduction to methadone began. That was the first and most serious error in my judgment.
As I said in the beggining, Iwent through hell for about three and a half weeks until the Doctor at the pain management center I sough out prescribed the Chlonodine Patch. Still unable to sleep she prescribed a new sleeping aide called Lunesta. My episodes of hard withdrawls began to subside to a tollerable level within twenty four hours. The time it took for the trans-dermal patch to become fully active. My last methadone was on August 29,2006. Sooooo-that means it's been thirty eight days without methadone. The vomiting now gone I can begin to build up my body with good nutrition, some exercise-when tolerated.Though I still have bouts of weakness, it doesn't compare to the violent systemic reaction from the first three weeks of withdrawal. Additionally, and most important is the support of my family.I build confidence daily feeding off the support of my family. Also, I sought out the power of an outside source-God as I percieve Him- to empower me to continue on to the road to get my life back. Don't be mis-informed-IT'S DIFFICULT-GET MEDICAL HELP.WITH IT, WITHDRAWALS ARE TOLLERABLE. DON'T LET YOUR INVESTMENT OF AGONY GO FOR NAUGHT! HANG IN THERE-IT WONT LAST FOREVER-SEE A PAIN DOCTOR FOR NON OPIATE MEDS THAT WILL HELP. I have been through the valley of the shadoW of methadone and without a doubt I can ASSURE you there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. I CAN WITHOUT A DOUBT,ASSURE YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE THAT,YOU, HE, OR SHE CAN DO IT! DIG IN YOUR HEELS AND GO FOR IT. Good Luck[/quote]

HI , My name is Carmilla methadone withdrawal really to me last the rest of your life. I've been going through it for about 5yrs. now. I believe it is the worst thing I 've been through in my life. The best information I can offer is keep with it know matter what. Recently I went trough treatments for HepC as soon as the pain started I started using again. I think it was the biggest mistake of my life. The first time I stopped using methadone I still thought about it all the time because I never felt like the old me. "I guess I used the treatment as away to use again." I never slept right, my eating habits were really bad because I never had an appite. Will power is what it takes. I believe you need a great support system. Not to mention I know it hard to do but also find a great doctor that's going to understand you as an individual. Each person has there own symptoms. I hope some of this info. helps you and I f you find out any help info. could you pass it along.

Sincerly,
Carmilla

No one seems to be talking about the positive things. I've been on Methadone for almost 3 years, I was at 150 mg. As of Jan 9th I dropped 20% till it was gone. Now, I’ve tried this a year ago and failed. Went through 3 weeks and 2 days of hell. This time I tried a very different approach.

January, 14th was my last dose. Of course the first 3 days seem to be tolerable. By the 5th day I was ready to go back to the clinic. On that day I got on this website and read a lot about what and why I was going through this. I think it was a quote by "ifeelyourpain" that helped the most. Why should I waist this banked "Pain Time"

It's now day 14, I'm sleeping 8 hours a night, eating fine with just a little nausea, my feet "tickle" a little, but I feel great. Not 100% yet, But Damn Close.

Here is how I got to day 14:
1. Before I even started lowering my dose I started taking a prescription of Requip. This is for restless legs syndrome. My doctor said that it should help me sleep, so I may not need any sleeping pills.
2. Then came day 5, my legs seemed fine but the sleep switch was imposable to turn on. Called my doctor and she said to start going up on the dose of requip. I argued, but she was worried about giving an addict any sleeping pills. She told me to give it 3 days. I got Very pissed. I've been through this before and I know I'm not going to sleep. So, I had my very supportive wife buy Season 6 - 8 Of Stargate SG1. I figured if I wasn't going to sleep, I better make the best of it.
3. Three days after that, Of Course I didn’t sleep, I did get caught up on Stargate. I called my doctor again and she prescribed Lunesta... That night and ever since that night I slept like a baby. Even had some good dreams.
Some other things I have been doing that may or may not make a difference are as follows:
a. Vitamins
b. Cut way down on caffeine
c. Drinking lots of water
d. Exercise, however I did over do it a few days ago. Methadone masks the pain from ripping your muscles with exercise. Without Methadone, the day after a workout can be painful.
That's about it, I defiantly DO NOT crave Methadone, Or Pills. For 3 Years my life has been muted, and I love the fact that I've been given a second chance. Thank you for the posts from Jamie and ifeelyourpain. I guess from this point in this post I'll ramble about the good things of being free of Methadone, THAT I HAD COMPLETLY FORGOT ABOUT:

Remember Sex? Oh My God!! Methadone pushes the pause button on that.
Music, I haven’t cared to listen to music for years, it’s like a whole new thing.
The taste of food, Filet Mignon, Cheesecake, Rice Crispi’s. Sounds stupid but its true. (Yes, I feel a little nauseous after I eat but it's worth it.)
I have the advantage of living in Orlando, so I would have to include the feeling of blue skies on a bright sunny day (I sound like a girl but its true) I’ve forgotten what it was like to live...
....Not just exist

mbuttx3 wrote:

I have been on methadone for almost 4 years. prior to that i was addicted to loratabs oxcycotins. I have slowly been becreasing my dose over the past year or so. I was down to 20mgs and monday October 23, 2006 I took my last dose. It is now Tuesday October 31, 2006 and I am still having some pretty tough withdrawl symptons. How long will they last? Can you help me understand this?

Hi, I have been decreasing and eventually (2 weeks ago) got completely off methadone. I have been working on this since January 7 and this is February 14 and I am still week as a cat, I sneeze an average of 35 to 40 times per day and I have been short of breath for about a week (Is this normal? To start getting short of breath this far in? I just wanted you to know you aren't alone. This is Hell.