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MedHelp Member's Question

Methadone program

by Elizabeth, Jul 07, 2000 12:00AM
Tags: Addiction
I have been addicted to hydrocodone for over 2 yrs, my doctors wnat me to start going to a methadone clinic to start the "program". I guess my question in this, they have told me that it is a possibility that this is somthing that I may have to do for the rest of my life!! The doctors say my brain does not make enough endorphins, and without some kind of opiate in my system,now that I have had them, I will never be able to go totally without them. I found this so hard to understand, and they tried explaining it to me by comparing it to a diabetic. Is it safe for someone to live thier entire life with a daily dose of opiates in thier system and not have some kind if damage done to thier body? I know this is kind of long but, I need any info. I can get I have about 4 days to make this decision!!! Thanks to anyone that can give any comments.
Member Comments (27)

by Gene to Joanne, Jul 08, 2000 12:00AM
Hi Elizabeth.  I am no doctor but my trusted physician told me that opiates are harmful to internal organs when taken for many years.  But let the doctors on this site answer your question.  Plus, maybe taking a daily dose of Milk Thistle & other vitamins & herbs can help your internal organs survive the opiate use.

by steve, Jul 08, 2000 12:00AM
I have never heard of someone going on Methadone due to lack of Endorphins.  Maybe an anti-deppressant, but not meth. Also I am no doctor ( and don't trust many of them) Alot of them don't understand drugs and what they are handing out.(or they don't care). Think hard about getting on Methadone! If you ever want to get off it, Methadone is one of the toughest to get off. Withdrawals can last for a long time.  Get another opinion, get 10 more opinions. Get as many as you can.  

                                          Steve

by Brian to Sick and Scared § ALL you guys, Jul 08, 2000 12:00AM
Methadone is pretty safe long term.  It is not without side effects both short and long term.  These include decreased sex drive (common with all opiates), constipation, sweating, skin rashes, loss of appetite, sedation, increased tooth decay, and irregular periods.  In my opinion, methadone should only be used for addicts who are chronic relapsers.  Many (most) addicts are able to get off opiates without methadone, and despite some relapses will eventually stay clean.  You don't say how many times you have tried to get clean and stay clean.  I would think long and hard about going on methadone.  It has the worst withdrawal syndrome of any opiate and many methadone patients try unsuccesfully to get off methadone because of the severe withdrawal.  If you start, you might be committing yourself to a life of methadone addiction.  With respect to endorphins, it takes the body some time to adjust to life without opiates, but only in chronic opiate abusers are there permanent changes to the brain resulting in decreased endorphin production.  It is unlikely you have such permanent changes.  Try a detox program (preferably with buprenorphine) and give your body time to adjust to life without opiates.  Only then will you be able to determine what your baseline is.  Getting on methadone is a VERY big decision, and seems to be quite premature in your case.

by Brian to Sick and Scared § ALL you guys, Jul 08, 2000 12:00AM
I wanted to add that I think before you would even consider becoming dependent on methadone, you should be evaluated by an addiction medicine specialist.  My guess is that they will not recommend methadone maintainence, and would instead institute a buprenorphine detox.  If you have been addicted to hydrocodone for only 2 years, it is, IMHO, highly irresponsible to suggest you need a methadone maintainence program.  PLEASE seek the opinion of a specialist in the addiction medicine field.  Your doctors do not sound like they have experience in the field.  You do not want to trade your addiction for an addiction to methadone unless you have tried and failed at other options and there is no alternative.

by To Nancy from Elizabeth, Jul 10, 2000 12:00AM
The doctor that is setting me up to start the methadone program is an addiction specialist, he is considered the best in the area where I live and this is what he wants me to do!!! I know it sounded strange to me too , at first, and also to a couple of my other doctors, and they seem to be a little confused that this is what he wants me to do. The addiction specialist doctor told me that I have about a 2-3% chance of going through a detox program and then following up with the usual meetings ect. and actually staying clean, he said I would just not be able to do it!! Believe me, this methadone thing is the last thing I want to do, I have thought about nothing else since he said this was what needed to be done , and I have had cancelled 2 different appointments I have had there, because I am so unsure of this, I know all about the addiction to methadone and believe me it scares me , but I am also to the point where I really don't know what else to do?????? My "next" appointment is Wed. the 12th at 6am and I am still sooooo unsure of what to do. Some of my family and friends say I should try it, it may change your life, it may be the one thing that will work, and then some say DO NOT DO IT!!! So needless to say I am just so confused, and I have only about 48 hrs to decide, thanks to anyone that can give me any advice!!

by steve, Jul 10, 2000 12:00AM
How does he know you have a 2percent chance of recovering? Maybe he knows something that all the millions of people that have recovered don't know.  Doctors sometimes think they know to much or wont' admit how little they really understand addictions. I have seen and experienced many miracles in recovery. I don't see why you can't be one also.  Good luck with whatever you do. why do you have to decide now. Can't you try another route? About a month ago I was contemplating going on Meth, because I was so sick from detox and felt I would never get better. I am better, and getting better each day!! I will recover from this. And I did it at home without doctors help.  I had an addiction specialist tell me that my symptoms weren't from detox, that detox should be over in 10 days!! Then he sent me on my way saying I probably had the flu. He is the top doctor of a treatment center in a hospital!! Doctors do not know it all. Again Good luck.                           Steve

by Brian to Elizabeth, Jul 10, 2000 12:00AM
Once again, I don't know your drug history, your relapse history, etc.  What I do know is that Steve is correct, millions have gotten clean without methadone.  Methadone is great for those people that have been hardcore addicts for years and simply can not stay clean.  I must say I am shocked at your doctor saying you have a 2-3% chance of staying clean.  What are the facts upon which he makes such a judgment?  Please know that if you get on methadone you will have an incredibly hard time getting off of it.  Do you really want to be a slave to the methadone?  Try other things first, then if everything fails and you can't seem to stay clean you can always go on methadone.  I would find a new addiction specialist while you're at it.

by RB To Gene, Jul 11, 2000 12:00AM
Opiates are not harmful to your body.  That simply isn't so.  Opiates are actually one of the safest drugs out their for your body.  Now opiates are bad if they are combined with acet/asprin, now that will destroy your liver.

by Gene to Joanne, Jul 11, 2000 12:00AM
That's an interesting post you made.  I believed my doctor without checking out what he said so maybe he was wrong. As far as your liver, the best way to keep your liver working & healthy is to take a daily dose of an herb called Milk Thistle.  It is available in all health food stores and most pharmacies in the vitamin section & it has been proven to restore liver function to damaged livers as well as keeping livers healthy when you abuse them with high doses of Tylenol or alcohol.  I take one every day as do my friends who take painkillers for fun or actual pain.

by pinky to rebecca, Jul 11, 2000 12:00AM
Elizabeth, listen to Steve and Brian. You don't want to get mixed up in methadone if you don't absolutely have to. i have a young friend (he is 27) who has to go every day to the clinic to get his daily dose. he doesn't have the energy he used to, sweats all the time, and has basically become a slave to the clinic. Please make sure all alleys are blocked, before stepping into one where you can't see the other side.

by Mick, Jul 12, 2000 12:00AM
Elizabeth,

   How are you doing ?Thinking things over?I feel like I know some of you from reading all your posts.I know you feel like you are between a rock and a hard place,but you(we) have to believe you can make it through these times.Don't let anyone talk you into something you don't feel is right.

Keep us posted.We're listening.

by Carol, Jul 13, 2000 12:00AM
I haven't yet read the other replies but I have to BEG you not to

go on a methadone program.  Methadone is much more addictive than

anything else and the program will own you body and soul (and especially your pocketbook).  I have observed programs in action all over the country, and altho some are better than others they all own you.  Please get another MD who cares and don't jump from the frying pan into the fire.

by Carol, Jul 13, 2000 12:00AM
Elizabeth, I surely hope you did not keep your appointment at the Methadone clinic.  The person who said you would be a "slave" to the clinic and meth is absolutely right.  You will never be able to go anywhere out of town.  You will drink the dose they give you and may not know how much you are taking.  I have spent 15 years with a slave to clinics.  If you are a very dependant person with no mind of your own and if you like being treated (and your family)like scum, then go on the "program".  I wonder if the Dr who is trying to get you there has a financial interest in the place?  I am not addicted or an addict yet methadone programs have adversly affected my life to a degree you would not believe possible.



Please, please, don't go there.  Staying on perscription medication for the rest of your life is a better option.

by To Nancy from Elizabeth, Jul 16, 2000 12:00AM
I am not going to start methadone, atleast not now, i just hope I am strong enough to do this without it!!! Thanks everyone!!!!!

by Brian to Sick and Scared § ALL you guys, Jul 17, 2000 12:00AM
Good choice!  Yes, you are strong enough to deal with 3 or 4 days of feeling like absolute ****.  It will not kill you, and with the right medications it isn't so horrible.  MUCH better than chaining yourself to a methadone clinic.  Which, for chronic relapsers is much better than not being chained to a methadone clinic.  Good luck to you.

by michele, Jul 20, 2000 12:00AM


I'm annoyed with people telling this woman things like, 'Don't get on methadone, get on a buprenorphine detox,' as if she could just walk down to the corner store and pick up some buprenorphine.  Unfortunately, addicts (and others) are constrained by what is available. In my case, I am addicted to a huge amount of codeine