How long do methadone withdrawal symptoms last?

Ok, day 14 and still methadone clean. I just want to point out that it is possible to have other health issues than withdrawal after you stop using. I think I tend to see everything through the methadone lens right now. I have been having lower back pain, pain on urination, fever and general misery for the last few days. I figured it was just one more withdrawal symptom. I suppose pain while pissing should have stood out. So I went to see the doc and he says I have a urinary track infection and upper GI inflamation. So I get to take an antibiodic for a few days. It would be nice to have one issue at a time to deal with but I suppose that is unlikley given the nature of the human condition.

So, add to the "to do list" on getting methadone free: Let your doc know what is going on and get a check up. Pissing fire is not a methadone withdrawl symptom. Fire him if he suggests any narcotics. Later and God bless all.

Ok, so this thing is starting to read like the diary of a madman. I suppose it is. Endorphins. What every good methadone fiend needs. I mentioned a couple of entries ago that exercise made me fel better. I think it is because it releases endorphins, the bodies own narcotic. I mentioned that moderate exercise left me feeling good but that excessive excercise left me feeling tired and sore. I have been riding a bike for my exercsie but I think anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat will do. I took a few rides at 10 or 12 miles and a few at 20 to 26 miles.
!0 or 12 was good but 20 or 26 was not good. I notices that a good 10 mile ride left me feeling good for 5 or 6 hours but then back to withdrawals. Sooooo. I decided today to hit it early in the morning for 12 miles then at 2 pm for 10 more. I feel good and its 4:30pm. If this keeps up I am going to do the tour de france. Call me crazy but try it. I am 55 years old. If I can do it then any of you can too. Check with your doc first, if you have faith in the profession.

I did a little research to find out how one might go about releasing endorphins. Exercise is probably the most potent way to do it but there are others according to online studies that you should check out for yourself. The short list that I can recall: Exercise, sex, eating hot peppers and some forms of accupuncture. I am staying away from needles myself but I can attest to the benefits of exercise, sex and maybe hot peppers. It is day 15 and I am still clean and feeling better which is a lot better than the same or worse. Good luck fellow fiends.

Hi, first of all I'd like to thank all of those who have posted comments on this thread. It is really helpful to know that you are not alone even you feel like it. Hearing the ordeals you lot are going through gives me more strength to go through mine.
I am an ex-heroin addict who's been on methadone for a little while now. I can't be sure how long, a month maybe 2. And I've stopped taking it three days ago. I didn't stop because there was none left but because I can't be addicted to anything anymore. Like most of you have said, I wanna be able to feel truly alive again and not dependent on a substance that blinds me to reality and numbs me to emotions. I'm thankful for all the advice but most of all I'm thankful for the time everyone has taken to share their views and stories. I'm repeating myself but I mean it. United we stand stronger.
I've come off heroin many times in many different ways, cold turkey straight off the gear or by going onto subutex or methadone. By the way subutex and other buprenorphine detox med are not withdrawal free. The withdrawal from it is one of the most severe I've ever experienced and I've been through a lot of withdrawals of varying length and intensity. If you get off methadone try not to jump into anything else to ease your pain because it might actually make things worse.
I'm writing this because the withdrawal insanity is starting to get to me and I don't want to talk to myself. I'm trying to release some of the pressure on the shoulders by sharing my plight with those who might understand. I am experiencing the usual symptoms that we all know so well but I'm gonna fight the demon till he retreats. But mainly I'm writing this to draw some courage from the other stories I've read. Getting off opiates is a war against an enemy that can never be defeated but I know we can defend ourselves and protect ourselves against the opiate cravings. I'm expecting pain, more than I'm experiencing now but I know the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. As a junkie you can never truly recover because once you've felt the warm glow of heroin the feeling stays with you for the rest of your days but any feeling can be either acted upon or ignored. I've been on and off drugs more times than I can remember but I'm determined to get through this at whatever cost.
Thanks to everyone for being supportive shipmates.
And always remember that nothing is stronger than the human willpower. not even methadone or any other opiate.

:-( hi i was on methadone for 3 years for pain control, i started having weird side effects from the methadone like panic attacts severe aniety attacks and just counldnt deal with those side effects any more, has any body had the same things with their methadone usage? also my last dose was on sept 26 08 it has been 20 days now, my doctor gave me perks to help me along but i have a fear that i well get addicted to those but i am only taking 3 a day and then after 7 days 2 and so on so on, i am pass all the withdrawls but my emotions go from high to low and i have no enrergy at all i am also very shaky can any one email me back that has gone thru this and tell me how long this well last? i well not go back to taking the methadone for nothing, i just need to talk with some one who has been thru this same thing, thanks so much _[removed]_

I am 22 and I have been struggling with methadone abuse for about a year now. I only take 20 mgs a day, just for the rush and recreational use! Not good, I know. I can find them for a couple months straight, and everything seems just perfect....and then BAM! I can't find them for a while and I feel like sh*t...I call in sick to work, fake the flu or something. I quit taking methadone last year around October and I was clean for about two months. I should have never picked it up again. Today is the fourth day I haven't had anything, and I think my worst problems are just in my head. I feel like Im not as good of an employee as I am on domes, or I can't get as much done in my life. I do have some physical symptoms like a fever, and the chills... but nothing serious. When I was 17, I did meth for almost two years. There's was one night that me and my boyfriend got into a huge fight, of course, we were strung out, and we just ended the drug use right there! Flushed over a gram of that sh*t right down the freakin toilet!! We couldnt have anything come in between our relationship! That was the easiest thing to quit doing for me. I love my boyfriend, and I wanted to be healthy again. It seemed sooo easy to just turn my life around then. After going through that, pills seemed completely harmless. Hell, if I can flush a gram of dope down the toilet and just up and quit one night, No PILL Can f**k my LiFe Up, Right? Sooooo not right.... I am glad to say that no matter what, I am done trying to find ways to get through my life faster! I want to feel like a strong individual that can do things on my own. I hope that my story helps people out there, because a lot of times I read stories about people who were prescribed methadone and are now addicted... And i know there are so many people out there that pick it up off the streets and are now just as bad off as anyone else. I know that in time I will feel like my normal self.

Always know that you can do whatever you want to do in your life. And you can quit doing whatever you're doing, and change your life at any point! Sounds kinda strange coming from someone whose probably got a 100 degree fever and has to be to work at 5 because my dumb ass decided to pick up a dangerous and highly addictive drug, methadone......but I'm going to do it.... and I know YOU can do it too!



One Question:
I want to start excercising to help build my strength up. I just dont know if I need to spend an amount of time letting my body rest and adjust without having methadone before I start running again every morning and all that?! If anyone has some advise, I'd appreciate it.

Hope I Could Help!

Hey guys...boy I thought I was the only one...I have been taking methadone for almost five years now and four back surgeries later. I have tried to quit cold turkey or if I dont get my prescription right away I start going thru bad hot/cold flashes, crying all the time but can switch to mad quicker that I ever imagined! One time for three and a half weeks I didnt have any but I didnt sleep for days, I was so tired...but couldnt sleep. Then of course my back would start hurting again so then back on I went and now on again. I HATE knowing that that med has my body under terrible control and I really don't know if I can handle the withdrawals again...please help....dont anyone know what to do?

Hi, I am new and been reading everyones storys. I have been on methadone for 9 years are more at 140 mg, and i think from going throw just 3 days of hell that i will have to see about that rapid detox. Are i'll have to try 5 mg a week. I would like to no if the guy who wrote about the rapid detox is off now? And how he is today? And can you let me no where i can find a place near P.C. Fla. and how much it was? I hope you are doing good and thank you for your story it helped. And to everyone who is trying to get off Methadone i wish you all the best. I'll pray for you. It breaks my heart to no what you are haveing to go throw. And that my husban and i will one day have to do the same. So good luck and God bless you all. Angie
P.S. Try a hot hot bath it helps some.

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Please continue posting within the following one: How long do methadone withdrawal symptoms last - part 2

my crocker cut me down from 40 2 mg a day till done a nd all he gave me was a letter after 3 years i was once at 160 i wanted 2 do it at my own pace that fa- can kiss mt as- bob

My husband is also in the beginning stages of withdrawal and I am very worried...I do not know what I can do for him.I have been reading and researching I have found a website that gives a layout of how he treats his patients coming off opiates.I do not know if you can afford it but I feel pretty confidant that it might help.***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed I will be thinking of you as you are going through this tought time..It is awesome to read all the success stories on here hope it will be this way for my hubby and yours too.

quote-" (IMPORTANT NOTE: I almost died coming off of my Methadone too quickly"

sorry to inform you, but the only 2 drugs you can die from detoxing from are benzos and alcohol. people should really know what they are talking about before trying to give others advice

I really think your counsler was full of sh*t w/you, or doesn't know about detoxing off Methadone to well. I was on Methadone for 8 & 1/2 years. I'd tried in the past to stop at 10mg & got extremely sick, then I tried to go without it at 5mg & had the same results. But never relapsed just got back on the program. What you need to do is slowly detox. I went from 10mg to 5 mg going down 1mg every week. Then once I hit 5mg, I went down 1mg every 14 days. Now I am sucessfully of of it for a month with no withdrawal symptoms except a little lack of sleep. The key to detoxing off Methadone is to do it slowly, & the second you feel any withdrawal symptoms stop your detox & hold your dose where your at until you feel better then start your detox again. I personally know it can be a long process when I first started Methadone I was at 195mg. But it's those last 10mg that are the hardest, & keep in mind it can take your body sometimes up to 14 days to feel the effects of just a 1mg drop in your dose. So pay attention to your body & don't take it to fast. Methadone is a very hard drug to get off of but it can be done if you do it right. I suggest you get back on it at a very low dose, & only detox 1mg a week at the most. Best of luck to you, hang in there.

On day 10 you should start to feel a little better