Methadone addiction

kicking methadone aint no day at the beach,but it can be done,SLOWLY,dont rush it or youll be back on herion Iam a child of the 60"s and being around the haight ashburry I thought drugs was cool what a mistake,Been on done for 20 years and once you taper youll be ok untill you get to 15mgs,but the lenght of time byou been on it has a huge effect Try clonidine a pill for blood pressure that helps a lot. methadone is tough but it kept me out of the pen and working so just start a slow detox drop 5 mgs every 2 weeks youll get with it try and get your head in a good place also smoking good weed helps GOOD LUCK you can do it besides the c**p that is out there is GARBAGE save your money

Hey I have a friend who has been addicted to oxycontin for a year and he wants to get off. He tried methadone, but he doesnt know if thats the best solution. What do you recommend?

wow what a thread... some interesting strories in there. I'll tell you mine first briefly. I began taking pain killers recreationally at 17 was hooked on them for 4 years. Finally when I was done with chasing them and done with being broke. I tried to quit, while my girlfriend went on methadone. I made it too the 4th day and then was so frustrated I decided methadone was a good choice. That was a terrible choice... Methadone can be a great drug dont get me wrong but it just wasnt worth the last 4 years of my life when another couple days and I would have been through the withdrawal from the pills. But anyhow, I was on methadone for 4 years with highest dose only being 58. ( keep your dose as low as possible trust me your not going to get high) Anyways. I lowered myself to 20mg without any problems. But I have now spent the last year and a half trying to get down from there. I was once as low as 7 mg but it was hell everyday I felt awful and it got to the point where taking my methadone didnt even make my symptons go away. So needing a break from being sick all the time I ended back up at 18 mg and was totally out of solutions really felt helpless. 2 weeks ago I decided this was it. a month of hell for the rest of my life I think it's worth it. So I quit cold turkey from 18 mg everyday. And to my astonishment, it wasnt bad at all. The symptoms barely progressed past what I was feeling everyday anyways day 2-5 I didnt sleep much but the symptoms were definately tolerable. Now Im 2 weeks into this still sore and stiff but much less than I have been in 8 years, and sleeping much better at night. I'm still super weak and have no energy but gotta be expected while your body learns how to operate without assistance again. Trust me it will pass... No matter how bad it gets remember its not forever. Just honestly think what your giving up everyday to continue on this drug? You may believe you have a normal life but you dont! Watch the people around you. I always found myself so envious of them just being able to be normal. Now if you decide to quit cold turkey, what someone said bout water and gatorade super important. Lots of Ibuprofen I was taking up to 800 mg every 4 hours, with approval from my doctor. Load up on multi vitamin and mineral supplements, there are a few natural joint vitamins that help with the joint aches. If anyone wants a list of everything i took let me know and i'll post it. Its scary but it was like 16 diffferent vitamins and natural things. Did they help I have no idea but wasnt about to stop and find out that ya they did help.

Now as far as methadone being great stay on it forever? If you deal with chronic pain that you cant live without pain killers for, then ya I guess. But remember your mind will try to trick you and make you feel pain that if you just make it through the withdrawal it too will pass. But if your on methadone purely as an aid to get off opiates then it is not intended for long term use. And seriously would you not love to feel whats its like to have a clean head again. To not need to think about "oh is it time for my medication?" That is no way to live and it honestly took me 8 years to figure that out.
Can opiate withdrawal kill you? Doctors swear it cant. Not saying buddies story wasnt true , I dont know bout that. But what I do know is if you can get yourself under 20 mg it is perfectly safe. You will feel like your dying but your not dont worry. The majority of opiate withdrawal deaths are caused from the prescription medication the person is taking to deal with the withdrawal.
Once again guys just my experience and thoughts on it all... Sorry it was so long. But I really wish you guys all the best. I cant promise it will be as easy for you guys as it was for me but what I can tell you is IT'S WORTH IT!!! I am now 2 weeks opiate free, it's the first time since I was in high school how crazy is that. No matter how bad it gets remember your getting your life back and also remember I was an opiate addict for 8 years, it took my body 8 years to get as sick and detriorated as it was when I quit. It's going to take time for it to repair itself. Even once your feeling better your going to be shaky, that's just your central nervous system turning back on. Just keep your eye on the prize, that prize is a clean life opiate free... You no longer have to be envious of normalcy, once your clean the sky is your limit, and enjoy the time it takes to learn about yourself again. It's like being reborn.

Good luck all...

I've been on methadone now for about 2 years, only this is my second time around. I'm in the same place I was in a few years ago when I weind off of the drug. I was on 70mg and went down 5mg-8mg every other week, whatever I was comfortable with at the time. I got down to 8mg without any serious withdrawl. Don't get me wrong, some nights were eaiser to sleep than others but overall I felt O.K. It was a sunday when I made my way to the pharmacy to get my only observed drink of 8mg before seeing the dr. the very next day. Once at home I began to feel really funny, like high. I mentioned this to my mother who was with me at the time. Just to make sure I wasn't given more then I should of she decided to phone the pharmacy. After wich she rushed into my room and I was asleep. She shook me and I wouldn't wake up, she had to throw a cup of cold water on me to get my eyes open. She told me the pharmasist had given me 180mg instead of 8mg and advised my mom that if she couldn't get me to the hospital in 30 min. then to call an abulance.

My girlfriend has had a methadone habit for the last 5 years because of chronic back pain. When I met her she told me she used to be on Heroine for back pain but has been clean for years. Its only that she is on methadone to help with the cravings. I figured that was OK since it was covered on my Medical coverage. Boy was I in for an adventure. 5 years later and countless extra doses off the street. Coming to my work place and begging me for money so she could buy more methadone off the street. I tell you this drug might be good for some but for me it was a drug from hell. I realized later her Whole family has a history of drug abuse and related problems. The only reason I'm still with her is I see hope for her. She seems willing to try to help herself. What a sad culture these drug addicts form. Co dependent on each other to feel like they belong. I think society does not want them free, it just wants to make money off of them. Ive been researching all kinds of alternative medicines and it all seems to involve quacks and false hopes. Ive come across a natural cure. Most people would not believe me if i said there was a cure but the fact is there is. They're just now beginning to understand how it works but it works non the less. It has a long history, one that the CIA is well aware of but refuses to discuss. A little known African tribe called the Iboga tribe has had a cure for all addiction. this root is an hallucinogen. But the message this vision gives you is one of therapy and spiritual insight into why you are an addict in the first place. over 3000 people are free after 3 days with absolutely no side affects and no cravings. with often only one dose people are free forever. People have reported being in a room with people doing heroine after coming off heroine and not even feeling the slightest desire for it. If you want to know more about something that I really believe can help stop addiction in its tracks, research IBOGAINE. google it, youtube it and you will be amazed. anyway I haven't tried it yet because of the cost and having to go out of the country but I'm sure as hell going to try. Watching people in Mexico sitting next to the ocean and giving a testimony saying "OLA, hi everyone it been seven days since methadone and no withdraws", then they go for a swim . Anyway, I'm rambling. so that's all I have to say. If anyone else has heard of this I would love to read a response. knock it down, praise it. what ever i am just curious if anyone wants to rock the pharmaceutical boat a little and discuss something different.

I do not think that anyone can say exactly how agonizing methadone withdrawl is until they, themselves have gone through it. It is absolutely one of the worst drug withdrawls that anyone can go through. Over a two year period of time I went from 10mgs to 70mgs of methadone a day...sometimes more... It started as just some pill that i had heard was like a lortab...and i became addicted before i even knew it...and by the way i had never been addicted to anything before then and only did any kind of drug/pill very occasionally for recreational use only...as pretty much any 17 year old has.. But the methadone was different...I started noticing I was addicted when I started to not be able to sleep after not being able to get methadone that day...But I could pretty much always find it...and if i couldnt find it, I would start to chronically withdrawl leaving me to start other drugs such as heroin and oxycontin..even after using those drugs to get through having no methadone I would start withdrawling again as little as three hours later..and i can not describe the feeling of these withdrawls..pure hell is all i can say..you dont know the feeling until you have felt it..That's when I started to understand just how powerful methadone was..things gradually went to complete hell in my life...mentally, emotionally, and physically. It was like I was living in a dream world and I didn't care about anything. I let myself completely go physically..I just didnt care about anything...now I look back and i just can not believe how I was back then...It absolutely altered my thinking patterns, ethics, and morals in a VERY bad way. I end up loosing my job and that was it..I didnt have the money for this addiction and I had already gone through every loop hole to get money. Now that I am clean of almost a year...I think of the day i got fired as the best day of my life..I ended up telling my parents and went to detox...and rehab..
Now i am actually glad i expierenced this especially at this young age...and i know that methadone has a place in this world and it is used to keep diseases off the streets posed by sharing heroin needles...and also for pain...but i would never EVER advize anyone to get on it for anything...its really not worth it...and i do know alot about methadone...so i hope this helps someone out there...if you are addicted, aside from rehab, try suboxone!!

it is NOT dangerous to detox from methadone ppl. it will not kill you, and you wont have seizures it will just be a tramatic experience for you, you might wanna die but you won't you will over come this. remember the human body is resiliant, the pain you feel is your body trying to heal its self, so help your body with those meal supplements lots of them. eat NO red meat for 3 weeks, NO sugery foods NO soda pops either, eat eat eat healthy, lots of fiber from fruits , water lots of water. all this stuff won't help you immediately but in a week you'll be doin back flips.

keep up the good work....but i found it was when i actually took that last tablet been off it a year and it has been very hard indeed but well worth it as there is a life out there for everyone

Im on hour 28 of getting off of methadone!!! i currently have a headache and sweats.. other than that im ok so far!!!!! im also hoping to hear a success story.

I know it's been 5 yrs since "Newman" originally posted, I am in a very similar spot, but at home. Im on day 8 from 100mg cold turkey of methadone. My question is roughly when did the bad days peak and the improvement start. I know everyone is different but with a similar story, I would like to know your case

How long did ur withdrawals last