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How can I withdraw from Methadone ?
by Saul, Mar 25, 2001 12:00AM
I was sniffing heroin for 7 monhts and tried for 3 months to quit. I went to a detox doctor and got clonidine,some muscle relaxers and shots of buprenorphine. He said it did not come in a pill so I had to do the shots. I got the stuff and took it home but I was too terrified to take the shots.My fiance offered to inject me and I let her give me one of the 3 shots because I was so sick from the withdrawl. I went into a panic and have not been able to face another one. This is hard to explain but I have not had any medical work done in years that requires a needle. I guess it's a phobia. So I have these 2 shots left from January. I was able to get methadone under the table from my heroin supplier and have been on it for 2 weeks now and want to get off it really fast. It has helped me with the heroin which I had been on a small maintenance dose for a month. Since supply and cash were no problem maybe I should have just stayed on the heroin. Why don't they use morphine or just less and less heroin to detox from the heroin? I am having a hard time getting off this stuff. The cravings are really bad. Is there a way to stop them? This is the only reason I kept relapsing from the heroin. Will Naltrexone stop cravings? I wouldn't take that pellet from the doctor because if it doesn't stop the craving I'm afraid I might use and od. He didn't have an answer for this and said maybe I shouldn't get it afterall. I appreciate your help.
http://www.ibogaine.co.uk/
And so should everyone else who is either an addict and wants off their drug, or who is an addiction medicine specialist.
My $0.02.
Francoise
If you want to detox using a non Opioid,use Clonidine and Quinine and then taper off the Clonidine(slowly) and stop the quinine.
Nothing stops the cravings(except maybe Ibogaine temporarily),and other drugs of abuse(amphetamine,cocaine,heroin,etc)
I have stopped using Opioids,ie Heroin,Methadone,etc(clean for a year) and it can take months for the craving to stop and even when it does,you may start using again(I did even though I felt fine),now I stopped again??,it is like opening a door and eventually it closes,BUT you can never LOCK it again.
Changes in Neurons occur as a consequence of long term Euphorigenic drug use,addiction is Psychological,yet still supported by Neurological systems,just different ones.and they take TIME to correct.The locked door is the Psychological aspect,a learnt behaviour,response to stress is modified and Opioid recall manifests,this can be permanent,this is the purpose of Psychotherapy,to learn to deal with life without drugs.
The Buprenorphine(BUP) is now available in Australia as a NHS approved sublingual(no need to inject)tablet to "Help" heroin addicts,if you have a big tolerance and bad withdrawal symptoms,it will either do nothing or worsen the withdrawals(as it has antagonist properties that predominate in doses required to abolish withrawals)
Its mild agonist properties mean that once sufficiently detoxed(over most of withdrawals)it will stop the craving,but then you have to get off the Buprenorphine-Right?(maybe not,its your life),but it is better than long term methadone maintenaince as Withdrawals from that take months,whereas getting off BUP is very easy,although you may not feel ready for a while,the good thing about BUP is that if you try to abuse it by taking large doses,it has the opposite effect and will cause withdrawal.
Keep trying and do not feel like a failure if you relapse,All of the people I know who are ex drug addicts and have NEVER relapsed have had a PROFOUND change in their view of their lives,you are dealing with a dilemma that is so difficult,and all of the answers are within you,although at times you may think the problems exist in the outside world,unless you can change them, you need to alter your interpretation of that world/your life,society,etc.You may never succeed in total permanent abstinence from Opioids.
Approx 80% do not,so you will not have to feel weak or not normal.I wish you luck in this project,as nothing you do in your life will require as much dedication to achieve.
No wonder DR`s do not want to prescibe Addictive drugs and our governments Ban them,they can ruin a persons life.
Good luck and may god lend a hand.
If you want to detox using a non Opioid,use Clonidine and Quinine and then taper off the Clonidine(slowly) and stop the quinine.
Nothing stops the cravings(except maybe Ibogaine temporarily),and other drugs of abuse(amphetamine,cocaine,heroin,etc)
I have stopped using Opioids,ie Heroin,Methadone,etc(clean for a year) and it can take months for the craving to stop and even when it does,you may start using again(I did even though I felt fine),now I stopped again??,it is like opening a door and eventually it closes,BUT you can never LOCK it again.
Changes in Neurons occur as a consequence of long term Euphorigenic drug use,addiction is Psychological,yet still supported by Neurological systems,just different ones.and they take TIME to correct.The locked door is the Psychological aspect,a learnt behaviour,response to stress is modified and Opioid recall manifests,this can be permanent,this is the purpose of Psychotherapy,to learn to deal with life without drugs.
The Buprenorphine(BUP) is now available in Australia as a NHS approved sublingual(no need to inject)tablet to "Help" heroin addicts,if you have a big tolerance and bad withdrawal symptoms,it will either do nothing or worsen the withdrawals(as it has antagonist properties that predominate in doses required to abolish withrawals)
Its mild agonist properties mean that once sufficiently detoxed(over most of withdrawals)it will stop the craving,but then you have to get off the Buprenorphine-Right?(maybe not,its your life),but it is better than long term methadone maintenaince as Withdrawals from that take months,whereas getting off BUP is very easy,although you may not feel ready for a while,the good thing about BUP is that if you try to abuse it by taking large doses,it has the opposite effect and will cause withdrawal.
Keep trying and do not feel like a failure if you relapse,All of the people I know who are ex drug addicts and have NEVER relapsed have had a PROFOUND change in their view of their lives,you are dealing with a dilemma that is so difficult,and all of the answers are within you,although at times you may think the problems exist in the outside world,unless you can change them, you need to alter your interpretation of that world/your life,society,etc.You may never succeed in total permanent abstinence from Opioids.
Approx 80% do not,so you will not have to feel weak or not normal.I wish you luck in this project,as nothing you do in your life will require as much dedication to achieve.
No wonder DR`s do not want to prescibe Addictive drugs and our governments Ban them,they can ruin a persons life.
Good luck and may god lend a hand.
Dan..
I agree that a well run methadone clinic may be the best solution for many addicts in this country. More importantly, I hope people read the last two sentences of your post over and again. What you have said here is the key to any kind of recovery whatsoever! J.B.