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Life after methadone?

Has anyone experienced a full detox off of methadone?  If so, how long did it take to feel the joy again in life?  And I have heard sometimes it takes a year to feel normal again.......what kind of symptoms does one endure doing this year of being clean from methadone?  Just want to know what to expect.  Thanks!
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Avatar universal
I finished my treatment in November, 2017 (made a plan with my dr and send form 3mils/week). I used to be on seroquul, cipralex, clonazepam and methadone and I quit other meds cold turkey. The first two weeks were full of physical pain, fatigue, anxiety, suicidal bothersome thoughts, also quit smoking ciggs the day I had my last metgdone dose. Here is a catch, I've never ucinated on drugs but I did once I was done with federally approved methadone. I also used to work at Ontario addiction treatment centre. the methadone program lasted three years. Let me tell you it's ******* hard to get off it but you kind of die peacefully and become a new person that you allow yourself to become, I do not break the law, I have a moral compass now and I'm just so happy and glad tht I'm attracting good things and ppl. I'm all for marijuana it helped me quit **** n not feel overly ******.
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Avatar universal
hi and welcome to the forum....well getting off methadone was one of my greatest life acclishments....yes it is hard  yes it takes time  but it sure beats staying on the crap with all the side effects  I detoxed off 150mg  it took me 8 1/2 months to taper to 1mg  then I jumped recovery is slow  it is not so much the severity of the withdrawal ....it is more the long recovery time that makes it so difficult....the phyical detox is around 2 weeks but the energy crash took me a good 90 days to even see hope that I would recover  the first 2 months where ruff  I didn't sleep but was so  tired I could hardly go to the bathroom.....over the years I have detoxed more times then I like to admit but the ''energy crash'' is like no other drug  just know it can be done...it is all but a distant memory now ...if you want help I will be happy to lend you support...  over the years I have helped a lot of people off this drug  and no 2 detoxes are the same a lot has to do with how long your on it  at what dose and your age all factor in on your recovery  just know it is so so worth it to not be chained to the ''liquid handcuffs''...keep posting for support
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Gnarly<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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Avatar universal
No I haven't and I am not sure if I ever will try,after all of the horror stories about detox I have heard Everyone that I have talked to and I have talked to a lot of people,has told me it's the hardest thing they have ever tried to do and the most dont have success. I am sorry this is not what you are wanting to hear but I don't believe in sugar coating things. Good luck. God bless
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Avatar universal
I was on the methadone for a year at 120mg. They tapered me off like a mg a day down to about 60 mg then it fluctuated with what i was comfortable with. Went up a few mgs a few times when i got sick but stabilized quickly. The taper was about a year and a half. I got really fat in the beginning and was dieting about a year and a half in. Then started hitting the gym and running alot. Took extremely good care of my self through dieting and bodybuilding. When the time came to drop of 2mg i was fine. Alitle fatigued for like 5 days but no kicking, just no energy. I was fine. Moral of the story is if you take excellent care of your body and tapper correctly you shouldn&amp;#x27;t have a problem.
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Avatar universal
Hi !! I am excited to hear that you are down to 2 mg of methadone and almost done ...I have been going to a clinic for three years. I  got down to thirty mg on a taper and then found out I was pregnant and I couldn't taper anymore bc it wasn't safe for baby.  I had my baby six months ago  they brought me back up to 45 mg during pregnancy. Since her birth I have been tapering down I Am now at 20 mg and I was doing great no side effects! I was excited and then i got to 20 mg last week and it hit me like a train wreck ... I'm so nervous it's never gonna go away !! Can you tell me more of your story? I'm still feeling sick it's been a week and now I'm scared to go down anymore ...
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Avatar universal
I am at the end of a very successful methadone taper that took a little over a year.  I am currently on 2mgs and have 4 weeks left at the clinic.  I have been clean for 2 1/2 years and have the max amount of takehomes.  I have worked harf to get my life in order and have slowly tapered according to the 10% rule at my clinic (you only go down 10% of your dose max at a time) and I went down once a week until I hit 18mgs, then switched to every 2 weeks.  I have had to stop twice for an extra 2 weeks; at 12mgs and 9mgs but other than that have had NO withdrawal.  I was a heavy opiate user before getting on methadone; 1,000mg oxy/day habit.  I am getting nervous but excited about being so close to done, but I feel like when I'm done at the clinic the real recovery starts; how will I do once I'm not accountable to anyone but me? I found this post after searching to see what other people's experiences after methadone were (after tapering successfully) and wanted to leave something encouraging for the next person who finds this post, maybe who is just starting out.  YOU CAN DO IT! If you want it, listen your your clinicians and comply with treatment; it works.  It's hard, but if you do it for yourself it is worth it.  If I can do it, so can you!
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Avatar universal
Yes, my husband wants me to follow up my detox w/some counseling.  The last 2 times I detoxed I relapsed cuz I never followed up with rehab...to change my way of thinking.  I just want to feel normal again w/o taking opiates. I want to feel that joy frm snowboarding down the mt. or biking the single trax, or just hiking with my kids through the rockies.  Nothing gets me happy anymore and I just cant live like this anymore.  You knw I am sure.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your honesty.  Of course its not what I wanted to hear but at least I know what to expect.  It just sux I have a family that relies on me so much right now.  I feel soooo useless to them.  Why isnt there a magic wand?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was on methadone for six months for long opiate use, and was up to 200mg of m'done and c/t off 115mg and my clinic doctor said the m'done can stay in my system for about 5 weeks. I was lucky that i never liked m'done and i had very light withdrawals from it and that was almost 4 months ago. With that being said, i still deal with my addiction every minute of the day so i hope you have a strong recovery plan because you are now going from active addiction to addiction recovery which could last for ? long. I have taken my share of drugs in my 38 yrs of using but nothing compares to this opiate addiction in trying to get clean and out of my brain. I just say this because to many ppl go back to their DOC after they got off the m'done because they think that detox is the end of the addiction when it's just the beginning of recovery. Good luck to you Jessica
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Avatar universal
ive just done 6 months clean from methadone,  felt cr@p almost all the 6 months, i just started taking cymbalta,

http://www.drugs.com/cymbalta.html


yesterday, i tried everything i could naturally but my mood energy and outlook was not improving, i took pain meds for 3.5 years for a back injury, last year was methadone (30mg day) stopped cold turkey.

NOTHING FUN ABOUT IT AT ALL.

i imagine some people will be able to get off it in a couple months and return to normal, i tried for 6 months and didnt seem to be improving, and have chosen to try pharmacutical help.

but ive read quitting antidepressants can be hard,


more will be revealed
Helpful - 0
214255 tn?1205635636
My friend was on methadone (not sure the dose when she went c.t) but I do know she pretty much was in her house for about 2 months and thats when she felt better...I know that amount of time sux, but it's better than dragging something out for longer even yrs. She went c/t on a higher dose than 15mg's though I know and doesn't regrete it one bit.
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