Methadone withdrawal after 14 years of using it

Hi, I am so sorry that you are being forced into this as it is wrong on so many levels!

Methadone is unlike any other drug due to its very long half life, which means it stays in your body for a long time. The biggest amount of it will clear the body in about 3 to 4 days, however, the rest will be stored in your fat cells, where it will continue to build upon its self everytime you take it. All opioids are hard to get off of as they work by binding to pain receptors in your brain & because they are almost exactly the same chemical as the endorphins your brain makes, your body already knows how to "deal" with clearing them out w/o destroying all your internal organs. Even though opioids are among the safest meds known, when taken correctly & legitimately, the down side is that your brain stops making the endorphins because the signal is blocked by the opioids & if they are taken away all of a sudden, your body "freaks" out & you go into withdrawal until the brain starts doing the job it had been doing before the opioids.

With methadone however, it will take longer to go into & through withdrawal because you are not only having to remove it from pain recepters in the brain; but in the digestive system as well; but the hardest will be to remove it from your fat cells. usually the longer you have taken them the longer your withdrawal w/ some people going through a month or more of it. Even though you have been on a really low dose, you have 14 years of build up to have to deal with.

The ideal way, would have been to slowly detox you over a 6mo or more period to avoid the pain & suffering you are going through. Because you are on such a low amount, I would recommend you go to a methadone treatment center to see if they will detox you the right way or give you the name of a local doc that will. Here in fl. it is heartbreaking the way that chronic pain patients are being treated & abused by their docs & pharms. I am a patient advocate & therapist that also does risk assement for doctors, and I am also a life long sufferer of documented chronic pain, & even I have a hard time finding a doc that will treat my pain as I drive 2hrs. one way every single mo. to see my pain doc!

I hope that I have helped you find some info, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions as I want to help all pain patients! Take care & hang in there!!

Hello criminallyinpain. You seem to know what you're talking about with this stuff. Especially if you're a patient advocate. I have a question that I hope you don't mind delving into. I'm on day 22 since jumping off of suboxone after 2 1/2 years. I weened down to 2 mgs a day and my Dr said I'd feel mild WDs for about 72 hours max but at 2 mgs it would be mostly psychological. I listened and thought "great! It's time!" So I dropped out of the program and headed home full if optimism. 72 hours my ***! The WDs didn't even start until day 2-3. They peaked between day 5-8. Here I am at day 22 and I still don't sleep well, har to force at least 1 meal a day down and have zero energy and waves of depression that come and go. I do feel OK at times and terrible at other times. It seems to come and go throughout the day, then just nose dive at night. I FINALLY got some sleep last night and felt pretty darn good this morning but it has steadily crept up on me as the day goes on. I have 2 small children at home and a very demanding job so there's no way to detox or hunker down. I just have to knuckle down and bare it. Anyway, I was just wondering if you have any idea how long I should expect this lethargy/depressed feeling, RLS and up and down roller coaster ride to continue? When I would come off of opiates (mainly vicodin) before I knew after 1 week I was out ofthe weeds physically, then had paws for about a month, but it steadily improved every day. At day 22 am I in paws yet? And is the back and forth recurring symptoms of wd normal this far into a sub detox? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

Hi, so sorry to hear about what you are going through and hope that I can help. 1st off I need you to know that as far as suboxone goes, I have never taken it nor have I studied much about it as I mainly deal w/ pain management treatments & meds. I am in the processes of getting my addiction certification & just starting to learn about that side of the coin & meds. used; but I will tell you what I do know.
Suboxone is a opioid that is used for drug replacement addiction as it can help control withdrawal of those that become addicted to opioids, both legal & illegal. While it is similar to opioids like methadone(also used in addiction medicine) it is not opium based & is not used in pain relief. It also binds to your pain receptors & "fools" your brain; but unlike opium based drugs that are full agonist to the mu-receptor, suboxone is a partial agonist, which in theory would make it easier to come off of. There are many factors that go into predicting withdrawal w/ the most important being that each person is unique in how their body reacts. Other factors include: dosage, length of time, what & how bad was your addiction, & so on.
Generally the longer you were on it the longer the withdrawal will be as your body has become dependent & used to having it do what it does. This happens w/ any drug or med. you take daily for a long time. Suboxone is also used off label to treat depression, so it makes sense that when you stop taking it, you are going to suffer depression. It can take a long time for your body to adjust & start doing the job it was made to do before the drugs. While suboxone has a long half life (about 37hrs. to clear the body) it does not build up like methadone, which has been reported by people that took it for a very long time, to still have withdrawal symptoms for a year or more! Most people report that they really start to feel much better after around 90 days of being completely off the suboxone; but if you can make it that long & are feeling no better, then you really need to consult w/ a specialist as you may have other things going on & could be the whole reason you started self medicating to begin with. The endorphins that we make naturally is stronger than any drug on the planet, however many people are not making enough & can very easily get addicted to the synthetic endorphins that opioids supply on demand; but because they are so much alike our body becomes used to them (some quicker than others) and have to have take higher & higher amounts for the same relief, so when they are stopped, your body is so used to that level & your brain cannot make & release enough & your body just freaks out until it learns to function again on a normal amount.
I know nothing I can say is going to make this faster & better; but please know that you are not alone in this as I & many others have Or are exactly where you are at! You would benefit greatly from joining a support group or seek others out online that know what suboxone is like to deal w/ as they can help w/ things that those like me, your doc. & anyone else that have no personal experience w/ it as we can only go by theoretical info! Also the most important thing is to educate yourself as docs don't know everything & can be very dismissive, judgmental, & most think their patients are retarded!! After all, their profession is called a "PRACTICE" for a good reason!! Take care of yourself & hang in there!!! Please do not hesitate to ask me anything else & I will try to help as much as I can!

Thank you for your response! The insight certainly helps! Today I actually feel noticeably better than I did yesterday and yesterday was better than the day before. I definitely know the meaning of "one day at a time" now. I have 2 small children at home (2 year old, and newborn) who depend on me an I am using them as my inspiration. I'm only 33 and I plan to be around for a while, hence the detoxing. The anti depressive qualities of the subs makes sense. I've never suffered depression before so I didn't know what it was that I was feeling. I remember when I came off of vicodin back in 2008 after shoulder surgeries I would feel tired and unmotivated for about a month and just always chalked it up to stress. I do remember however, how good and energetic (and young!) I felt when I was clean for 2 1/2 years between 2008 and 2010. I KNOW I can feel that way again and I keep telling myself that. I know when it's all said and done this pain will be worth it and it will serve as a reminder to stay away from prescription pain killers from now on! I've come off of tramadol before as well (after my vicodin problem, the Dr switched me to tram in hopes that I would take it better). The depression now is NOTHTHING like it was with the tramadol WDs. And I have since learned healthy ways to recognize it and cope. Sometimes it's hard to see the sky from the clouds I guess but I'm still plugging along and convinced more than ever that I CAN DO THIS! Thank you again for the reply. A non biased ear to bend can be a nice thing!