METHADONE.....WOT 2 DO

I'd been takin tramadol for about 4 years altogether. . .started off as just for the buzz n that. . . along with heroin/valium/fentanyl and every downer i cud get my hands on when i realised it took away the anxiety i had gotten from taking uppers[coke,ket,speed,ecstacy etc. . .] and weed. . .welli thought id self medicate so i wouldnt get carted off to the nuthouse or have to see a shrink!! then a friend of mine who was on the smack for 8 years started saying tramadol would mess my head up so started giving me weekly bottles of methadone. . .well obviously 2 years later im fully dependent i would love to stop but i'm terrified of living life on a straight-head because i cant handle it and the anxietys i get about myself also because i hate rattling . . .lost 5stone n feelin weak as hell stuck in a rut!help.....

[Bex_Pistol]

im new btw . . .

[CleanUpTime]

How much Methadone r u taking? Have you tried Tapering or Counseling?

[Bex_Pistol]

100ml & no im scared of goin without it if i tell any sort of doctor or sumthin. . .i cant get out of bed some mornings and sumtimes if i run low am on the toilet wif cripplin stomach cramps n sweats n tremors sick ov my life the stuff i get off my mate doesnt last long enuff and av had to start buyin street stuff n sum of its dodgy as hell

[Bex_Pistol]

wots subutex lyk?

[Bex_Pistol]

also. . . anybody else find u like sweets n chocolate n stuff alot better on it?

[christos24]

that stinks you are now addicted to methadone, a heavy opioid because Tramadol is a very weak semi-synthetic opioid 150mgs is equal to 60mgs of codeine. I used tramadol to help the wds from a two year heavy addiction to Heroin and/or Oxycontin. I ahve now been on methadone for a year. I have taken every opioid/opiate there is on the market and I have to say with full confidence that methadone by far has the worst withdrawal symptoms. It last for over a month and peaks at 3 weeks. Obviously the higher dose you take and the longer you are on it the worse the wds are. In getting off, the key is to go slow. I mean really slow. I would go down 5 mgs every 5 days. If you drop to fast you'll be in withdrawals and they are pure hell. Since you are on a dose that is not small(like 30mgs), tapering down is the only way. Unles you think you want to go cold turkey, then have fun with that one, but I doubt that. One option you have is to get down on the methadone to the equivalence of 30mgs or lower daily and switch over to suboxone (buprenorphine). Suboxone has less severe wds and last longer. Methadone's average half-life is 24 hours, whereas Suboxone is 37 hours. It gives you less of a buzz compared to methadone, but thats not to say there isnt a buzz. No matter what you take whether its for pain, treatment, or recreational use there is a buzz with all of them, some jsut more so than others. I am still so shocked that you went onto methadone from taking tramadol. Myself and others I know, when speaking of tramadol, usaully a nasty face appears and people laugh. Once unique thing about tramamdol different than all other opioids is that it acts as a rapidly short acting anti-depressant, a SNRI (Selective Norepinephrine Re-uptake Inhibitor) so there is cases where people take large doses of tramadol and are already on a anti-depressant that effects serotonin and they get serotonin syndrome, which can be fatal, at the least youll have a hell of day sick as hell. Overall Tramadol is a very dumb drug and shouldn't even be allowed for prescribing. Most doctors think it is unaddictive, but as all opioids are they are all addictive,
Your best bet is to either taper down to 30mgs or lower and switch over to suboxone and stay on that till you taper off that. Suboxone if youve been on it for a few months and you go cold turkey then you will experience wds very similar to methadone and they last even longer around 2 mths. so that needs to be tapered. Your other option is to taper down to nothing and if you taper slow enough youll only experience minor wds. Then there are wd aids that can be prescribed to get you through that. Good luck to you and I hope you get off all opiates.-christos

[Bex_Pistol]

yeh thanx realli helpful :D b.t.w i didnt go straight from tramadol to methadone i was using fentanyl and injectin/smoking heroin around the same time but not injectin regularly or anything :] just 'casually' probs gettin 4 bags a week

[CleanUpTime]

I understand you're scared of going off it, but do you really want to live your life like this? You need to ask yourself that...I think best thing for you is to seek counseling and in-patient care...is that a possiblity?

[christos24]

gotcha..

[worried878]

great place to be for support right now..kicking methadoe is a longer process due to the long half life of the drug..tapering down would be of great benefit..maybe have someone dole out ur dose each day...there is alot of info in the health pages..u can do this..many have..positive attitude and beleiving in urself helps tremendously..if u doubt urself and feel frozen with fear..u will be stuck in the frozen state u r in..do not be afraid..trust urself..be open to alternatives and give every option a chance before u decide it is not for u..be safe and keep posting..do u go to any type of aftercare?