8th day of Methadone withdrawal... how much longer will this go on?

Hi i was on 80mgs of methadone hate the c**p, i decreased 5mgs a day im takeing it down to 4mgs next,. tues. i will be at 9mgs i will go one week and stop at 4mgs, ive been wd from dec. 31, till now april 5th 2013 its been mild some days i dont wd i hope i can drop at 4mgs without getting to sick if at all, i do beleive jesus has got me this far, 5mgs they say is to fast at my dose? thank you john

if i may, i recently endured methadone withdrawal and while i was never on a high dose. i still tapered off to 2.5 and rather quickly. BUT, i then began a 21 day cycle of hydrocodone use....whatever suits you, whatever stops the sh*t feeling. THIS IS ONLY FOR THE STRONG WILLED and for those with serious DISCIPLINE. during the 21 day cycle, i didn't abuse hydrocodone, i just used it to maintain my sanity. towards the 21st day, i decreased the amount of hydrocodone substantially and then jumped off. that was Tuesday of this week. Tuesday, April 2nd, i was 21 days without methadone. today is Friday, April 5th, and i'm 25 days off methadone and 4 days into my hydrocodone kick. and what can i say? it worked. i've experienced mild withdrawals and mild discomfort. the only problem...i had the runs, for which i used imodium for. apparently it is quite the OTC drug to take for withdrawals, strongly recommended. i have benedryl and ibuprofen standing by. as well as clonodine, bananas, melatonin, valerian root supplement for sleep and restless legs. but i've been able to function rather normally, just sluggish and a little clammy, i've been going out for walks and pondering this entire process back and forth. MIND YOU, you have been taking a very large dose so if you attempt to mask your methadone withdrawals, you might have to take more and take them longer. --------the basic theory, get "addicted" or "subsitute" methadone for the ONE opiate that has the most tolerable withdrawal, and i believe that to be hydrocodone. ------------ the idea really is to figure out a plan for urself and stick with it. there really is no way to not endure withdrawals at all without abusing the very drugs that are causing them. you can only use ur mind to hone in on a method of treatment most comfortable to you. check out "enduring acute withdrawal from opiates" thread. i don't believe in luck, i believe in you.

Hi all, i know this is an old thread but it was one of the first to pop up when i googled methadone withdrawal.  I just wanted to share my story a little bit because I know there is someone out there right now whos going through or about to go through what i did and hopefully it will offer them some hope and help and let them know what they are in for.  I was a heroin/opiate addict for 3 years. Started with vics, percs and oc.. eventually started snorting china white and then shooting up.  I was really bad for quite a while. At my worst, i was spending $200+ a day.. I had tried to detox myself off the H at home on my own a few times and became deathly ill each time.  The pain, nausea, sleeplessness, and depression had me considering suicide. Eventually my dealer got locked up and i ended up buying methadone pills as they were all i could get. -Biggest mistake of my life... It took only a week or 2 of daily use before i was hooked on methadone.

When i decided I had had enough and was going to detox myself again at home again is when I found out just how nasty methadone withdrawels are. Now I had detoxed myself off H twice previously and had made it well over a month each time before starting to use again.  But methadone withdrawel/detox was excruciating. I was literally unable to sleep at all for the first week. The stomach pains i was experiencing were so unbelievable... I was literally unable to keep any food or liquids down at all and that combined with my inability to sleep it was basically slow torture. I became so week and completely dehydrated from profuse sweating, lack of any sleep or nourishment  that I collapsed and had to be taken to the emergency room. Noone knew what i was going through, not my family or anyone.  They thought i had human noro virus because of my symptoms and because there had been a few other cases.  I knew not to tell them that i was going through withdrawels because they wouldnt medicate me if they knew so I went along with their diagnosis. After 8 bags of fluids and 3 doses of IV diladid, i was sent home with several RX's including Vicodin and anti nausea pills along with a few other non narcotic pills for my symptoms.  So i believe that was on my 4th day of withdrawal.  I was able to sleep and get some liquids down for a day.  2 days later i was back in the er, same treatment and more RX's.  Saw my personal doctor and more RX's including vics.  3 days later back in the er again, same deal.  What was happening was that after the IV opiates they were giving me at the hospital wore off, i was right back to being completely unable to eat, drink, or sleep and would end up dehydrated to the point where i could have died without medical treatment.  So by the time the first week and a half were over, i had been to the hospital 3 separate times and my doctor twice.  Each time I was prescribed viccodin so I ended up with at least 100 pills(i also purchased some percs from a friend who had broken his leg and had extras to give me).  So even 2 weeks into the withdrawels I was still in bad shape, still in extreme and constant pain. However after the 2 week mark, i was able to keep very small amounts of water down, with great pain however.. What actually got me through it was all the vicodins i had accumulated.  I was able to wean down on vics which let me eat, drink and sleep.  

To be honest, I was still in a great deal of pain even a month later but I was making it, barely.  I had by this point lost my job and insurance with it..  I was so wore out mentally and physically that eventually about 5 or 6 weeks of being completely clean i relapsed and started doing H again.  It was a huge relief at first. I was sleeping, eating, drinking, socializing and working again but was pretty depressed.. I honestly at that point thought that i was going to be a junky for the rest of my short life. I fealt completely hopeless. Then, a friend introduced me to a friend who was going to the local methadone clinic.  After seeing how his life was(he was still using H although not every day like the rest of us because of the methadone, he didnt get dope sick) I decided that I wanted that for myself. I wanted to be on methadone from the clinic because it was cheap, regular and seemed like it would dramatically improve my quality of life at the time.  Which it did. I started at 40 units a day and eventually went up to 160 units a day as my tolerance was through the roof from doing a gram or more of raw H a day.  At first I didnt think that the methadone was going to help me get off the h, I was just relieved to have something daily that would keep me from getting dope sick if i couldnt pick up for some reason.  However eventually i finally got to the point where i was shooting up .8 of a gram of raw H and wasnt feeling it at all.. Once my brain made the connection between shooting H and losing money instead of shooting H and feeling great, I just lost the urge to do dope... It was the craziest thing, completely unexpected.  And finally, 3 years into my opiate addiction, after numerous attempts to detox and stay clean on my own, It was methadone that set me free.  Once I was clean and most importantly not wanting to use anymore, I started to wean off the methadone.  They wanted me to stay on methadone for longer at the clinic but I was like nope! I'm clean and I want off this ride.  So I started reducing by 5 units per week.  I went from 160 units all the way down to 10 units per day.  It took a few months and was most def uncomfortable but nowhere near as bad as what I had previously gone through.  So now as I write this I have been completely clean for 3 weeks, meaning no more going to the clinic.  Methadone was a powerful tool when used correctly and a terrible demon when not used correctly.

So the point of my rather long story is this:

If you are addicted to any kind of opiates, weather its H or even methadone, You can get yourself clean if you want it bad enough.  Do not try and do it on your own! Do not try and self medicate, your an addict so that will never work.  Methadone can be a very powerfull tool in your fight although it can be a double edged sword so be cautioned. Methadone did help me to kick my opiate addiction although it took well over a year of driving to the clinic every day.  Used correctly though, methadone will allow you to change your behavior and kick your addiction.  Just be carefull not to become a lifer at the clinic.  It is way too easy to do.  Methadone clinics are businesses and they will gladly keep you hooked on methadone for the rest of your life. You must use it as a tool but go into it with a general game plan that includes an exit strategy.  I really hope that my story will offer someone who is where i once was hope and give them that little push they needed to get clean.  There are most certainly other ways to get clean besides methadone but for bad heroin addicts its pretty much methadone or suboxyn/subuteral.  You can do it if you want it bad enough.  My drug addiction cost me a beautiful fiance, cadillac, 401k, roth ira, my job, all my worldly possessions and 3 years of my life plus who knows what kind of damage i have done to my body in the process.  I am still not at the point where i feel normal yet either.  That will come slowly over this next year. each day gets a little better and its always a struggle to keep my urges to use again in check but I want to have a good life more then i want to get high so thats what keeps me from using now.  if you are an addict who wants to stop, you can do it if you want it bad enough! get help, as much as you can! It is a terrible burden to carry by yourself and there is a lot of support and help out there. never give up, dont get discouraged! you can do it! 

U have to take nothing that is an opiate. I am on day 11.i stopped cold turkey from 60 mg a day methadone for 4 months and before that about 150 to 200 mg a day of loratab or percocet. I am taking some xanax for the anxiety. I am almost there. Just beleive it gets better every day. Its a long process. Ive cold turkey stopped from the perk n tabs and in 1 week was normal except pain. Methadone has an exttemely long half life. Stay strong. Good luck

You sound like an intelligent individual and would like to ask you this; I was on methadone for 18 years. Today makes day 7 without any methadone. The pain, and all the symtoms that go along with getting off methadone is more than a person should have to endure. The only thing that is working for me is adderal. This is getting me over the hump of getting methadone out of my body. I have researched withdraw from adderal is mostly mental, feeling tired.
Detoxing off methadone is debilitating. I am still working a full time job, and not missed one day of work, only because of the adderal kicking that monkey off my back.
This is my only hope and so far it is working.

I see this was over a year ago....but it was perfect information for me! After taking oxycodone for 2 years I kept going up and up until Doc. said we cant go up anymore lets try Methadone (chronic pain)... After taking Methadone for a year now I have worked myself down to 2.5 mg and weaned off many other drugs....many. I have transformed my diet, exercise my brains out to help get the stuff OUT! It made me gain about 35 pounds, and that is when I realized it is the methadone effecting my metabolism. I have already lost 15 pounds weaning off! I knew it was that sh*t! Yet it did keep my pain at bay while I transformed my life. Meditation, yoga and other exercises, became vegetarian, use benadryl to help sleep, prayer and will power. I am just discouraged because it has been 2 months and if I do not take that 2.5 I feel hellishly bad. I spoke with a psychiatric nurse who encouraged me, stating its not totally about will power it is about chemistry. These physical bodies of ours go through quite a lot when barraged by DRUGS! Once I do get off the methadone and cymbalta( and I will, SO CLOSE!) it will be the first time my body has had no substances in it since I was 14 and now I am 41..What a trip. In the words of Grace Slick "Climbing that hill is the only way to get high". It is just ironic because all the pain I had was from all the soul pain and from drug abuse that had manifested itself physiologically... Lastly if "Stuck in the 70's" even sees this....Have you overcome the methadone yet????

I know your post was over a year ago, but I am posting this anyway.

The good thing is you were trying to get clean off meth, but the bad thing is you CANNOT use any other form of opiates during this process. Yes, when detoxing off meth it typically stays in your system longer than other opiates. However, you are just prolonging this process even more by taking perc, suboxone etc. These will make you feel better for a fews hours, but then you're starting your detox/withdrawal process from the beginning again. Believe me when I tell you this only leads to full blown using, again.

Bottom line is when you are ready... You will quit no matter what! I finally made that choice for myself and I'm doing great!

I hope you are doing well and making good choices. You are always stronger than you think!

Good Luck to you!

I got down to 5 and started drinking again while out of work of coarse as well as a little blow on the weekends and it left me feeling great again despite a few day hang overs. Like 2days hung over and used the Thomas recipe minus the bentos unless sleep was real hard. Sad but true we could be all cured in 8-12 hours on Ibogain. Look it up. Don't leave neg mags for ppl cause it's gonna make the community worse. State positives only. Drink yourself threw ur withdrawal and eat well or use ensure and muti vitas with long hot Epsom salt baths after lots of magnesium intake. Best bet and worked for me but don't become a drunk pls.

I have been on methadone for ten years, and I am now on day 8 of my detox. I did NOT choose to do this, for I was very comfortable with my routine. Methadone was the wonder drug of my pain management, in fact, after it was introduced, it became my ONLY pain management, and I started out at 30 mg, and then got up to 60 mg over an eight year period. My doctor took me down to 40 mg a year ago, saying it was the DEA's fault, new methadone regulations, plus the chance of heart problems due to the methadone build-up in smooth heart muscle, interfering with the heart's electrical signal. (I had had two procedures to correct atrial fibrillation that year, surprise!) After that, I began thinking of quitting. Not doing anything, just thinking about it. But then by providence, sh*t luck, and the DEA, I was unable to fill my prescriptions. 18 pharmacies in two days. Almost all of them saying they can't get the drugs even if they order them, due to the new DEA control limits placed on drug suppliers in Florida. Even if a pharmacist was willing, and several were, they simply couldn't fit another patient in. I had been in the system for ten years, and now there is no room for someone who has had three back surgeries. Enough. I was done.
I went home and sat down to wait for what I expected to be the hardest battle of my life. I had split my last nine pills up over a six day period, 2 each day for the first three days, 1 each day for the next three days. I felt nothing at all for the first three days. Even felt kind of good. didn't really feel bad til day five. All of the standard symptoms, pain, diarrhea, sneezing fits, hot and cold flashes, insomnia. I followed the Thomas recipe as well as I could afford. Now, my last dose was eight days ago. I have come out the other side. I feel good. Not normal by any means, but I am dedicated to the process. The tide turned when I started eating. Protein, lots of it. and a full regimen of electrolytes and vitamins first thing, at the same time I took my methadone every day. Water. Water. Water. Diarrhea left after the Vitamin regimen began. Every day has been easier for the last three days. I feel as if I am very fortunate, to have come this quickly to the other side. I don't sleep well, but then I never did. Life long insomnia that I gave up fighting years ago. I am simply one who needs little sleep, and when I do, I sleep about 90 minutes at a time, as many as three times a night. Never more. No reason, that's simply the way I am built. I wrote this long post to tell people that there is life after methadone. A crash taper over six days combined with proper nutrition to rebuild the areas of the body and brain that have atrophied due to the methadone use saved my ass from from a very long, drawn out, uncomfortable process. I simply refuse to believe that there is any worse in my future. I feel hopeful, but I have always been an optimist. My attitude has been my central pillar, looking forward, never back. God bless!

It can take up to a month,That Drug is called the Devils blood because once it gets ahold of you you have to turn everything you own and live for around for the withdrawal....Good luck&your going down a very dangerous pathway using poised to come off of it....God bless you

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I know this post is old, but did you have success? My story is exactly like yours and am wanting off.

Taking tbe 2mg of suboxone the day after taking the opiates is the reason why you felt like total c**p on day 8 because ur suposed to wait until the opiates are out of ur system before taking the sub cause it will send you into withdrawal

The clinic is a trap ive had my takehomes for five years I got down to 7 mgs havent done anyother drugs but methadone in five years nothing then I went in the other day they told me my urine came up positive for oxys and benzos lmfao I got a lawyer and got right off clinic at 7 miligrams just for piece of mind my urine was retested it was clean they mixed the names up on urines im staying off I work full time now im widthdrawing off of 7 mgs on day 5 just cleaned house took dog for walk my symptoms now r diarhea chills sleep tough but I feel close to being back to myself f the clinic made a huge mistake on there own f*****g up my urine took all takehomes awy so I said see ya and im loving it!!!

Really your using other opiates and wonder why u dont feel better??

If you have a decent heroin habit methadone is a better option