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Methadone Use and Thyroid Disease
by Thyroid Girl, Nov 18, 2002 12:00AM
I am searching for any information about Methadone maintenance and Thyroid Disease. I have hypothyroidism, more specifically, Hashimoto's Disease. I've had half of my Thyroid Gland removed, and am taking Synthroid. I am also on Methadone maintenance. The symptoms of thyroid disease are very similar to methadone withdrawal symptoms. I need to know if Methadone has any negative effects on people with Thyroid Disease. PLEASE HELP!! If anyone knows of a website or has ANY info that might be of help to me in my search for information, PLEASE let me know. It will help me tremendously. Thanks.
Thank You.
If you want to use the substitute method of detox use clonodine, xanax and darvon. That should have you off very comfortably in 10 days or less.
Leave the methadone to the hard core addicts like myself. Methadone is very easy to get addicted to and is very hard to get off of.
Peace
Pinkit: Firstly welcome!!
A few things.... first off, the taper schedule seems a lit'l aggressive. The general rule of tapering is THE LOWER, THE SLOWER.(based on percentage reduced)
Secondly, be careful with the ativan. It might be worth while switching that with a longer acting benzo(like valium), for the initial detox period. (ie. shouldn't be on it much past 5-6 days after you are at zero vikes; again presuming you stick to the 8 day taper).
Thirdly, for a habit you're size, switching an 8 per day vike habit for meth. would be trading a monkey for a gorilla.
Lastly, you should look up the Thomas Recipe and start it ASAP. It will help with the w/d's, and the poor energy that accompanies them. Take Care
All I can say is different strokes... just get ALL the info up front before you opt for methadone.
God Bless,
Mike
In my opinion, using methadone for a habit like that would be madness. Tapering down is the only way to go for a relatively comfortable withdrawal. I would suggest darvon. It's the mildest of the opioids, but has good success in tapering. Codeine is another possibility. Some Tylenol 4's or whatever could help alot, as long as you are not using them to get high, just to not get sick.
As far as your family committments, drug addiction is serious stuff, and if you keep using, if you are an addict like me, it will likely get far worse with time. How important are your commitments is relationship to you getting over your addiction? What you are doing now can kill you, especially if you keep using and your intake increases. In that context, are the commitments that important.
I'm not saying you need rehab or anything, I didn't go. I'm just saying that you might want to consider how far you are willing to go to get out of this thing. Most addicts who don't make getting clean priority #1 don't get clean, and if they somehow do, they don't stay that way. Ok, end of sermon.
On another note, I'd like the person who gave my personal email address out to another forum member to please stand up. This place is supposed to be all about honestly, so it would make sense that you just tell me. If two people on the forum were fighting all the time and intensely disliked each other, would you give one of their personal email addresses to the other? Does that seem like a nice thing to do? What positive purpose could that serve?
No matter what the problems are here, I try to keep them here. Thanks for any input.
Think of it this way... you've been given a gift. Take it and make it work for you.
You CAN do it. Sure, it will be a little tough, but the payoff is far worth the initial hurt you feel.
Awesome....
Mike
Hellbent,what drug are you fighting and how is it coming? Same question with you, Bodymech. I think you said methadone. I did'nt see either of your posts on the forum.
Hopefully I can answer some questions and help out as much as possible. I am going to come back daily. This seems like a great place to get started. Everyone seems so helpfull. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you and god bless. One more thing, Hellbent, you mentioned the Thomas Recipe. What is that or where can I find it.
There are 2 important factors in my decision. The first is that I plan to be on methadone no more than a month. I am only using it to hold over until I can get on bupenorphine. Starting on a pain management clinic that offers bupenorphine in a month involves going out of state for a few days. Right now this is not possible.
The second and most important point is that it is not my goal to get clean. I only want to manage pain with the least side effects while keeping my life as normal as possible. In my case, from everything I have read bupenorphine is by far the best solution for me. I dont care if I have to take bupenorphine every day for the rest of my life. I have been taking something for pain every day for over 15 years and at this point it is just a matter of substance.
My question now becomes, how difficult will it be to switch from methadone to bupenorphine? I plan to stay with a dose no higher than 30mg a day of methadone and for not longer than a month. I only know of one other person who has switched from methadone to bupenorphine. He tells me it was very easy. I am sure soon it will be very common. I wish I had more facts but the whole drug experience is so subjective. Doing the methadone for a few weeks is by far easier than trying to doctor shop or buy drugs off the street. I especially don't want to deal with this over the holidays. Right now I have too much pain and have too little energy to do all that.
Like you I advise anyone to avoid methadone like the plague. I remember what the withdrawal 20 years ago was like. But as a temporary step do you think this is a good idea for me?
Your opinions and practical experience are always welcome.
Bodymechanic
As far as the Methadone/Bup transfer, like I said, I didn't have an opportunity to get Bup when I was In-patient so I can't tell you what to expect there. But from what I've read, it shouldn't be a hard thing to transfer to.
What kind of pain are you suffering from?
God Bless,
Mike
Methadone maintenance seems like a pretty hard-core thing to start if you are only planning on doing it for a month. I would try to get by until you can start the bup, and just skip the mehtadone. That is just my opinion...I'm no doctor.
It actually sounds like Oxycontin might be an option, as long as you swallow your doses, and allow the meds to be continuously released.
Pinkit, I was addicted to Oxycontin for 4 years and was also addicted to Klonopin