methadone, or not to methadone?

[ohmybob]

hey guys i know i ask this question alot but im just scared wtih no one else to talk to about this situation.  i have had a hydro habit for a little under a year, taking on average 4 a day...now sometimes i would do oxy's morphine, or any other opiate i could get my hands on, but that was only a couple times a month..mainly its just my average 4 hydro's a day or so...now i finally broke down last week adn went to a methadone clinic for help with my problem. on friday they started me off on 15 mg of methadone, and that 15 mg put me on cloud nine after about 2 hours...i didnt go back on sat for my weekend dosages, but i took the following...sat. night i took a total of 3.5 hydros over the course of a party, and then today on sunday all ive taken is 1.5 hydros...i feel fine now, just the normal stress that comes with school and the day to day activities...should i report to the clinic tomorrow morning and continue maintenance at 15mg, or should i request lower, or what?  now bear in mind i nede to be able to functio this week and i cant just quit taking everything....i should be able to eventually slowly taper off only 15mg of methadone iwth little withdrawals, right.....or no?  and ladies check out my new profile pic and eat your heart out, hahah, thanks again

[road2recovery]

i have no experience with methadone, and really never want to from what i have read..You are on such a low dose of hydros' , why would you go to methadone? maybe i am missing something..i was on 15 10mg of hydros a day and did a fast taper to 5 , c/t from there with only clonodine..Which i know helped so much..Do u have pain??
good luck and if i havn't read your whole story i apoligize
r2r

[ohmybob]

no im in no pain, as you can see from my pic i am a buff, healthy 22 year old, i just use to help get me through the stresses of losing my pops, girlfriend, best friend, and daily stresses of schoolwork...if i dont have a hydro i cant study nor go to class, or not successfully anyway, nor can i sleep...if i told the dr. exactly what i tell people on here, why would they even put me on methadone if they didnt know i could detox safely? i just dont understand and im confused and i know its no ones fault but my own...just dont know where to go or what to do except keep taking some form of a pill to get me through life....

[road2recovery]

I hope someone comes here to help that has been on methadone...I cannot beleive a doctor would put you on that while you are taking 4 a day...This floors me...really pisses me off..
I am besides words right now..
My advice is do not take the methadone again...Start weaning off hydro's..
Doc's in meth just want money..I just don't know what else to say here.
Someone help me here that has been on methadone as maintence and not pain.
you are young and can beat this , just stay with us
r2r

[3grlz'mom]

Did you tell the people at the clinic that you were only taking about 4 hydros a day?  Was the doctor aware that you were only at 4 - that's 40 mg., right?  Because I'd think the clinic would say, "what are you doing here if you're only detoxing from 4 hydros a day?"  Some people here have been on 8 or 10 times that amount and may still not even have detoxed with methadone.  You could do a tapering of hydros  -  say try 3 a day for a week, then 2 for a week, then 1 - even split them and go down to half a pill.  You will most likely be able to go to class, work and function pretty well.  Even start with 3 and a half pills - a really slow taper.  I have read way too much negative stuff about methadone - I don't think that was appropriate advice to give you.  Methadone stays in your system so much longer than hydros and everyone says when you w/d from methadone it takes weeks or months to feel like normal again.  You don't want to be on that stuff forever!  I think you can kick this on your own, I really do.  Stay with us and let us know how you're doing!!

[road2recovery]

thanks for jumping in, i can;t beleive they put him on that at just taking 4 a day..Makes me so mad....So young, just can't belive this
r2r

[3grlz'mom]

I Know!!  Do you think the clinics are really that greedy that they will treat anyone for the money?  And what kind of physician directs someone with this light a habit to a methadone clinic?  Not every doctor knows every field - maybe he's a GP and doesn't know much about addiction??

[ohmybob]

guys thanks again for all the support, makes me feel better about myself in that my problem isnt THAT bad, albeit still a problem....i just took 1.5 hyro's about an hour ago to help me get up and haul my *** into my 8 oclock....i still get a little buzzed just from 1.5...i just dont know what to do after this, if i want to start weaning off hydro's i have to buy them illegally for 5 dollars a pill..ridiculous ive been spening almost 20 a day for this long, huh?  i just dont know where else to get help from...no way i can tell my mom as it would break her heart even more than losing my dad after 35 years of marriage...it was so depressing at the methadone clinic and alot of the people working there were just giving me this look, but at the same time the nurses seemed so understanding and kind...so ya'll think that even being maintained on just like 10mg of methadone a day for about2 and a half more months would be bad?  if i can make it untli christmas break when i would haev about a month off and i could afford to sit around and do nothing to detox...most people i hear horror stories about methadone were on about 100 mg or so...so could 10mg a day really be that much worse than 40mg a day to detox from...if i had a month to chill at my moms house (it really helps me refrain from using more when im with her)...please ya'll keep te posts coming it helps me, and anyone with personal experience iwth methadone(particularly low doses) would be great as well.....thanks again guys and you all mean more than you'll ever know..

[ohmybob]

ill be back on here around lunchtime when im done with all my classes....i

[FLaddict]

Yes staying on methodone for 2 months will be bad.. by then you will for sure be dependent on it. if you quit the 40mgs of hydro cold turkey it would be better than tapering off the methadone.. I have a feeling you just don't understand how serious this methadone thing is.. even at that low dose you will suffer worse withdrawals than you will now.. you should just taper down the hydro until you are at  zero. Take 3.5 for 4 days take 3 for 4 days, take 2.5 for 4 days.. take 2 for 4 days. ect.. people taper off all the time and suffer very litle discomfort especially since you haven't been taking them very long.
Please take all of our warnings not to play around with this.. you are young and we are trying to get you to understand that methadone is NOT the answer to the habit you have.. we don't want you coming back here after being stuck on methadone for a year or longer and you are struggling to get off it..

[ohmybob]

but i cant get hydro's unless i purchase them illegally....

[ohmybob]

so even under professional care tapering me off at lets say .5 milligrams a day would be hard....also, ifi apply one day for a good job is it required that i disclose such info as going to a methadone clinic?

[HeyJupiter19]

a BIG no to the methadone!

[3grlz'mom]

You seem like such a nice kid - I'm so sorry about your dad.  I don't know about the clinic showing up on your record and potentially scaring off an employer, because I believe the new "hippa law" is supposed to guarantee medical privacy.  But there may be a question about your level of risk for insurability in the future.  I may be wrong about both of those, but that is something to consider.  You really seem to want the methadone to be the way - is it because it is cheaper, or are you feeling you may be close to getting in trouble because of how you are purchasing your hydros?  Try to post a new thread and collect some info about people who have taken methadone.  Hopefully people will post back and you'll see what we are trying to save you from!

[HeyJupiter19]

methadone is a hard hard hard thing to get off of! i know this to be a fact, I've seen it.

[chi-town guy]

You are just using these pills to numb you so you dont have to deal with life. You just have to quit playing around with the drugs and your life or as IBKleen says, take a picture of yourself in 5 years and see how addiction changes you. I know you cant hear alot of what is being said, but your not happy at 22, how do you think you will be at age 27? You have seen the picture of young people before using drugs and 5 yrs later, dont be that poster child, the wear and tear of drugs may not show as much on the outside of you but your insides and emotions will be shot to he*l.  You must like to work out, plus you worry about hurting your mom by telling her about your addiction, but how do you think your mother would feel if you OD and died from drugs while working out.

[ohmybob]

i want to listen to you all so bad, but i just dont know if i have it in me right now to stop everything cold turkey...and yes im extremely worried about purchasing more drugs illegally...i ran into a license check about a month ago and i had to swallow like 8 pills just so i wouldnt get popped....scared the hell outta me, you would think it would have scared me enough to stop altogether right then and there, but sure enough, 2 days later i was making that 60 mile hike to get some more to "get me through the week".....i know eveyrone on here klnows what they are talking about, but living life in my shoes right now just sucks....all i do everyday is go to school and work, hardly have any friends left, adn the ones i do either sell me pills or do pills with me....and the other ones would stop being my friend if they knew i had a problem with pills....chi town guy you hit the nail on the head when u said im just using them so i dont have to deal with life, because for me i have no reason to wake up in the morning except to get "****** up"

[FLaddict]

Have you gone back to the methadone clinic since the first day you were there??  Did you ask them if they were gonna taper you down from the 15mgs they started you on?? Did you get any info from them about how the taper would work?? Or did you just trust that they had your best interest in mind??  

[ohmybob]

yes i went back today and received another 15 mg....i asked them about the taper down and they said just dont try to do it overnight and someone with such a low depence like myself would have very little withdrawal symptoms associated with tapering down..i was told if i maintained for about a month and then started tapering down 1-2 mg's a week the only thing i would notice might be slight leg cramps, but nothing serious such as "cold sweats"  "bugs under the skin" "uncontrollable urges"  "sleeplessness", etc....they insured me no serious discomfort or hardships tapering off eventually to nothing.....they also kept informing me that if i left the program i would not be able to perform well in school, work, and would continue running the chance of legal troubles....and they also said they did indeed have my best interests in mind....however i am still skeptical and i dont know if im going to stick with this program, im going to seek advice from a private doctor and see what he says, also i take very seriously into consideration all ya'll stories from here....so please dont lose faith in me all because im trying this methadone thing out, and continue posting....god bless u all.

[wait2long]

if you think withdrawals are bad from your 4 hydro pill a day habit...just wait until the methadone withdrawals hit you...i was on a low dose of methadone 20 mgs daily...and i did a transition to suboxone...the withdrawals from methadone are far worse and last up to 30+ days...even at a low dose...my advice is just stay away from the methadone...you are trading for something FAR WORSE...you should just do a slow taper off your hydros...and also...tell your mom, she will be even more heartbroken if your addiction worsens and then she loses you to the life/world of drugs, you need some help. professional help and some support from your family, its much harder to face alone, and the success rate is quite low without professional help and support...if you have any questions please feel free to ask anything

[chi-town guy]

If you decide to stay on methadone, you need to stop taking the other pills, if you are taking both, stop taking the methadone or you will have twice as much drug in you to detox from. You have been given alot of options here, but do what you feel in your gut is the best way to go to get off the drug use. If the methadone does not curb your from using, try not to up your dose and let the methadone work, it takes time to build up in your system. Just keep telling yourself the methadone is only for a short time and dont think you will keep getting a buzz from it, it is only the first few times. At some point you have to come to terms with your usage of any kind if you want to get on your feet again and feel good. It is easy to think things will never change but change is one thing you can count on happening, we all change over time. You should not worry about alot of friends right now, worry about getting good grades, your sefl-esteem is low so you just think you dont have a good life now. Good Luck in your choice of recovery and try to stick to a plan and know there is support here.  

[ohmybob]

thnaks again so much guys.....i just think that if i try to do the taper hydro thing myself i wouldnt be able too, especially with all the daily stresses of college....either way im goig to have to withdrawl from hydros or methadone....why not do it legally under the care of medical professionals and with counseling....i mean even if it does take years, there are tons of people that have normal successful lives that are on methadone, am i not right?

[Savas]

Your methadone clinic is lying to you. They're telling you the standard party line, which they're required to by law. They have no desire to taper you off, and three months is just enough time to get you hooked to the point you won't ever want to come off. And most of them know it...the other half doesn't care. Remember, they need addicts to join to justify their existence. You'll have to make a choice on taking the time to deal with this or just going along on the easy path and facing the consequences later on.

[mama_bear_4]

Honestly, and this is going to sound really rough, you were probably MUCH better off chowing 4 Hydro's a day than starting on meth.....I would taper off those as SOON as possible...demand that they taper you off....or even go c/t on the meth while taking Hydro and taper off that...I would think that would be the easiest route...anybody else think so or am I totally off base here?


Mama

[FLaddict]

NO Mama bear we have all been trying to convince this kid of that for almost a week..  almost beggin him to taper off those 4 hydros.. aparently he bought into the lie that is methadone...

Bob, no there are not alot of people on methadone that live successful lives.. i am sure the ones that do are few and far between.. even the people here that have been there have told you it sucked and you still don't listen..  I really don't want to see you back here in a year talking about how you are still on methadone.. and how its ruining your life...

[ohmybob]

but one person at ten bucks a day?  that doesnt make sense they could face legal litigation for starting me on methadone if i didnt fit the requirements....i have to believe in the good will of human beings more then that.. i mean if they were to lose one person they wouldnt lose any money...the next bunch would be lined up...im sorry guys i want to believe all of ya'll but i read a bunch of **** from neutral websites saying that WITh professional care, methadone is a perfectly safe drug with no health consequences and can be detoxed from with LITTLE DISCOMFORT..im not saying i wont be in a little discomfort but come on guys its not like im going to be shaking in cold sweats beggin and screaming for more tapering down from 15 mgs//

[FLaddict]

Did you see Wait2longs post.. she was at 20mgs and had withdrawals for over 30 days even on suboxone!!!!!

you are gonna do what you want anyway.. its your body.. don't say no one warned you

[mama_bear_4]

Wanna bet? You will be begging like you NEVER begged for Hydro....wayyyyy worse coming off the meth I hear....I also believe in the good will of human beings, but I believe in the greed of a fallen, sinful nature more....PLEASE listen to the *veterans* on this board....they are a wealth of good advice...


Mama

[ohmybob]

you guys are right...im just in denial i know i am...im going to try suboxone, as i heard its not nearly as addictive and perfect for people with short opiate history and mild opiates like hydro's....any thoughts on this?