Is Methadose anything like methadone?

osmer · Newbie Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 16

Hi, I have a question about a prescribed drug that was given to me during my last visit to the doctor. Since I have problems with my back pain and I'm on a waiting list for lumbal disc surgery I'm experiencing a lot of pain so my doctor prescribed me pills called Methadose. I didn’t ask many questions but when I looked more closely at the box it said that these pills contain methadone. I know that methadone is very dangerous drug used by drug addicts, am I going to get addicted on methadone too?

takayama · Newbie Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 24

Methadose is one of the names used to mark the pills containing methadone. Methadose is meant to be taken orally, naturally under the supervision of the doctor. Methadone is a very controlled drug and it is not possible to obtain it legally without it being prescribed by medical personell. Methadone is a very powerful analgesic, it belongs to the group of opiates which are all derivates of morphine, and all of them are very addictive substances. Methadone is famous for its use as a replacement for heroin used to treat the heroin addiction. The advantage of methadone is that its intake can be controlled and that it doesn’t have all the side effects that heroin causes. It is also used as a very powerful analgesic used to treat moderate to strong pain. For the medicine purposes it is used only with strict control of the doctor and for very short periods of time. It can cause addiction if used for a longer period of time. If youre taking methadose with the supervision of your doctor you shouldn’t worry. It is very important that you follow your doctors instructions and if you experience any of the side effects you should report them immediately to the doctor.

Guest · Guest

derrickM. · Silver Member Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 182

I don’t know about you but I have actually talked to people who noticed no difference between methadose and methadone. I myself did notice a difference.

Cherry methadose made me swell and was nothing like clear methadone but I don’t think takayama’s story’s bullshit because I’ve talked to the guys who felt no difference.

miavt · Newbie Joined: 29 Dec 2005 Posts: 4

I am new to this board and I am so surprised about the level of disrespect on this post. That would not be allowed on my regular "board". I'm hoping it's not representative of what usually goes on b/c it looks like a cool board. That said, Methadone has been great for neuropathic pain. I started with it when morphine er + morphine ir + zanaflex + lyrica + topomax wouldn't even TOUCH the pain. I've had no problems at all. Nor did I feel "high". When I was "opiate naive" I used to get horrible headaches and vomit sometimes--but I wouldn't chalk THAT up as a tremendous high either. It's hard for me to imagine that insurance companies and drug manufacturers are looking for something cheaper than methadone. My morphine bill was in the several hundred $ a month. The methadone bill is less than $100--far less. As to the Methadose question:

"The very real placebo effect of merely “believing” that one formulation is better than the other can be a strong influence. Furthermore, there is sometimes a misperception that Methadose ® and methadone are different drugs, potentially having different effects. It is important to understand that Methadose is simply an FDA-approved brand name of the generic product – methadone HCl – produced by Mallinckrodt, Inc. of St. Louis, MO, and used for marketing purposes. At equivalent doses, both the branded product and the generic version have the same potency and effects." Source: Eap CB, Buclin T, Baumann P. Interindividual variability of the clinical pharmacokinetics of methadone. Implications for the treatment of opioid dependence. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2002;41(14)1153-1193.

Hope everyone is going into the New Year Happy!

Billy · Site Admin Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 304

Hello miavt!

Nice to have you on board! Thx for sharing your experience and knowledge with our members and us.
We monitor all the posts that come in and allow all suggestions, thoughts and opinions on this board. After all, opinion and experience exchange is all about forums are, right?

Of course, we don’t tolerate any disrespectful and offensive posts but, as I said, we allow and great everyone’s opinions and posts.

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Best Regards
Billy

Guest · Guest

I AM A 45 YR. OLD FEMAL WHO GOT ON THE METHADONE PROGRAM AT 24. I STARTED AT 60 MGS. AND IMMEDIATELY WAS ABLE TO GET DOWN TO 30MGS. (WHERE YOU SIGN A FORM THAT YOU'RE BASICALLY ABLE TO FEEL HEROIN IF YOU TAKE IT: THE METHADONE NO LONGER BLOCKS THE HEROIN). ANYWAY, I STAYED ON 30MGS. FOR 6 YRS. UNTIL I WAS SWITCHED TO "METHADOSE". GRADUALLY I INCREASED TO 125MGS. THE 125MGS. OF METHA[b]DOSE IS LIKE DRINKING A GLASS OF WATER TO ME. I BELIEVE THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METHADONE AND ITS GENERIC "METHADOSE". I WILL TAKE IN TO ACCOUNT THAT AFTER YRS. YOU DON'T FEEL YOUR DOSE AND SHOULD NOT GET THAT "HIGH" FEELING WHICH WE CALL IMMUNITY. HOWEVER, THE METHADOSE DOES NOT EVEN DO WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO-BLOCK THE DESIRE TO GET HIGH. PEOPLE DOUBLE UP (TAKE EXTRA DOSES OF METHADOSE) TO FEEL IT.
BASICALLY IT IS ALL ABOUT COST EFFICIENTCY AND BECAUSE MOST OF THE PEOPLE ON METHADONE/METHADOSE ARE NOT IN A POSITION, FINANCIALLY OR POLITICALLY TO DO MUCH ABOUT IT. MOST OF THE PEOPLE I SEE ON THE PROGRAMS ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP BECAUSE IF THEY CAUSE A PROBLEM SOMETIMES THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THE CLINICS OR WORK THEIR WILL FIND SOMEWAY TO EITHER CONTROL THEM THRU THE MEDICATION OR FIND A WAY TO THROW THEM OFF THE CLINIC. THIS IS ESP. TRUE TO AN EDUCATED PERSON ON A METHADONE CLINIC WHO KNOWS THEIR RIGHTS AND HOW TO GO ABOUT, IN A LEGAL MANNER OR ON THEIR OWN, SPEAKING UP AND LETTING THE METH PROGRAM STAFF AND THE CLIENTS KNOW THEIR RIGHTS. SO MUCH IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE ARE ADDICTED AND IT IS VERY SCARY WHEN AFTER 10 TO 40 YRS. OR MORE YOU HAVE NO WAY OF IMPOSING YOUR RIGHTS WITHOUT HAVING MONEY TO BACK YOU. I KNOW THERE ARE A FEW WHO DO FIGHT BUT MOST JUST WANT TO GET IN AND OUT OF THE CLINIC WITH THEIR DOSE AND NOT JEPORDIZE HAVING TO GO TO ANOTHER CLINIC AND START ANEW. JUST MY THOUGHTS AFTER 25 YRS. OF METHADONE/METHADOSE.
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claracourtneymc · Newbie Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 6

To the genius "Guest" who spent time advising people of the difference between methadone and Methadose. Drumroll: THERE IS NONE. THEY ARE THE SAME THING! I will make a simple analogy. Diazapam is the generic name for Valium, as methadone is the generic name for Methadose. Not complicated.

medstu · Newbie Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 1

I'm a med student+emt and while it makes me far from an expert, I have learned a few important lessons from patient interactions as well as schooling. You all are right in responding that the dose and done are identical in active ingredient as is typical of various generic and name brand drugs. Hypothetically, t6heir mechanism and effect should be identical and probably is.

However, an important lesson I learned more from patient interactions, though the med. community is wising up to it, is the fact that a patient and their real-life observations need to carry some weight. With this in mind, I know many longtime patients who are unshakable in the assertion that methadose is less effective (or particularly less high producing which may not be a bad thing). Though this flies in the face of reason since we have identical active ingredients, empirical data cannot be simply dismissed unless you feel the patient is lying.

All I would say is that it is not outside the realm of possibility that the new alternative meds may be less effective by a mechinism other than the active ingredient. The methadose may be delivered in a less efficient mannaer due to any number of factors independent of the active ingredient. Additionally, longtime users may have developed an affinity for the original methadone and the inactive ingredients and delivery system it came with. The possibility remains that all or some of the response is due to a sort of placebo effect in which the suggestion that the methadose is less effective results in being perceived in this way.

My main point is that the majority is correct in the assertion that the two are the same active ingredient and should produce the same effect, but I would urge an open mind regarding the ultimate effect it has upon each and every patient.

Chuck · Newbie Joined: 22 Jul 2006 Posts: 4

From talking with my favorite pharmacy they informed me that even though a drug may be around from several companies producing generic versions and of course the same level of drug prescribed in each pill, liquid, etc. the delivery system can have a dramatic effect on a per patient level. The Binders one companies uses may cause reactions for some people, the delivery rate may be even slightly off for others and the metabolism of each person has something to do with it all, and the changes on how a pill is made like the binders used to hold it all together, things to make it easy on the stomach, etc. all have slight effects. Not usually noticable for most people but people who's body's have adapted due to long term usage can often tell the differences without having to be told the pills are different in tests.

I am trying to say that even though the actual drug involved may be the same there can be differences you can notice and feel and when you are used to something switching manufacturers CAN make a difference. The pharmacy telling me they often wait for the generic form of a drug just going generic until they can get one as closely matching the original in binders and other things I didn't qiute follow so that their customers experience the least amount of discomfort, etc. I was mostly asking about Oxycontin and Purdue has Watson make it. When it was OK'd for them to make their own generic version (after there were a few others already out there) they basically had a different imprint put on the pills and they are otherwise the same as the originals. Wow! I am very happy the Pharmacy I frequent not only does what every pharmacist is supposed to do by keeping up on all this stuff but the one I have been using for many years will take the time to explain it to you as well. There are a bunch of them and every one of them there will pass on the info, give you places to look up more info, and even match prices when my insurance won't cover the amount I need to take each month.

As to Methadone vs Methadose that same pharmacy said they weren't large suppliers either but have seen a recent increase in prescriptions and mentioned they recalled that when one of them came out the deliver seemed a litter faster at first making it work a little quicker for most people which made it SEEM stronger (depending on metabolisms, etc) but other than that the drug was the same. It was also something with a slow "decay rate" making it let you gradually taper off usage without to much trouble if that was your goal.

I have friends who think the dones are weaker because they wear off quicker and others who think the dones are stronger and are the originals.

As for my opinion, based on input from both friends (some who go to a clinic daily and weekly now) and the pharmacy, I would say this- they are the same on paper but the dones dump their load a little faster for most and the methadose ones seem to last longer because they take a little longer due to the different binders, etc. otherwise, it all depends on the person, their metabolism, health, etc. (remember, a lot of things can have an effect on how well a drug works. Even smoking pot. Taking 1000mg of vitamin C about 30 minutes before smoking some can really make it seem stronger! You need fuel for the fire and if your body is out...? Stay healthy, improve what it takes for those receptors to do their thing and see how well your pills work then!).

Guesy

Is Methadose anything like methadone?

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