Methadone Taper

[almostnever]

I have been going to the clinic for almost 2.5 years. First year 75mg. Second year they bump me to 135mg and I gain 50+ lbs. OMG. I was smaller when I had my daughter. I tapered 5 milligrams a week until 40, stopped for a week to"stabilize" then 3 down to 20 and now 2 wk.. Yesterday I was 16 milligrams. They want me to slow to 1 mg every other week. No thanks. They also didn't want me to drop the 5 but i had no physical problems. I have ambien, clonopin, lexapro,xanax and lithium ( I went to a doctor prior and he put me on the same things i've always been on. ) I feel like these will help my mind set and with the anxiety etc.
So i guess my question is do I really need to continue to 0- My addict mind says why pay the 85 a week for 135mg and 85 for 2. I do have a stash of about 100mg. l was planning on dosing myself down.Of course not myself but someone would continue to get it ready when im out of sight so i dont physic myself out or want to take extra. Any advice?

[kleighn]

Congrats on your taper. I've always been small but I did notice the weight gain during my one year doing methadone management. They got me up to 110mgs and when I quit cold turkey I lost all that weight, mostly because I was too sick to eat or drink anything. I'm at 41 days now, appetite came back after about two weeks. I tried losing weight while on methadone, working out didn't help. I've seen a lot of people (generally women) that gain weight while using methadone.
It's the hell of all hells and detox isn't pretty but it has to be done to see the light! Again congrats and I'm cheering for you

[Jenelle2020]

Hi again, just read your post now, about the weight issue I did not gain weight particularly on methadone. I was on opiates before methadone but they never could take my pain away and that is why I went on methadone. As much as I don't like the drug, it did take my pain away, but there was no reason for me to stay on it that long. Nobody ever said to me "why don't you try and get off this stuff"? I guess it is all a money thing. Anyway when I went off methadone I lost 40 pounds altogether, but that was because I felt so rotten coming off it that I couldn't eat. I was always thin before going on meds, they do slow you down and numb you out and for me they made me not care what I ate. So I have been off it for one year now and I have kept my weight off.I think that as time goes on and you start feeling better, you will probably start losing weight, Hopefully you will become more active and be more conscious of what you eat. Take care and keep posting to let us know how you are doing.

[ywf27]

I just want to say something else because I see that in your second year you were bumped up substantially. After several years on Methadone my teeth depleted. Chronic infections from the dry mouth, candy cravings. When I went to my Dr for relief he took me from a dose of 90mg to 180mg telling me it was "the cadillac of all pain killers". That was the solution. We all need to see past the Dr, this person who is morally obligated to help you and see their motivation. As humans we all have to step on toes to get to the top. I dont know if effects them morally if they actually believe they are doing no harm as there degree and liscensing mandates. But I was a 19 year old girl, a child with potential no matter my upbringing or circumstance. Just terrified and needing help looking back now I often wonder if I would have been safer on the street. I'am much more inclined to trust a dealer now then a methadone dr. That negativity being said Im still fighting and thriving. This does get better. I've seen it on here. And even if one person can do it before you can do it too. Until I have more clean time I cant be that pilar of strength and sobriety but there is someone on here who can. Who leads all of us on methadone wanting to quit to the right place. His name is Gnarly. You should look him up.

[ywf27]

I have seen loads of people swell up off methadone. Unfortunately and I say unfortunately because I know sooo many people on methadone. Ive never physically seen anyone successfully come off methadone. So I dont know about the weight. We can only hope that when are bodies return to normal and that we put in the effort to get them there. I gained 40 lbs over 8 years on methadone. I'm on day 35 clean off methadone. And I like you had problems with my clinic, its a sad realization when you understand that they are not there to help you. They are there to sell a drug and everytime you taper costs them money. I think this group should be the next epidemic, people fighting back. fighting for their life. I jumped off at 60mg and I would'nt recommend that to anyone. I'm a nurse. I know better but here I'am. And still I fight. I couldnt wrestle for the next year trying to get tapers when all they provide you are road blocks. Best of luck to you!!!

[almostnever]

Update! So I guess i forgot to mention how hard it is to get any support in leaving the clinic. I was at 23 when I told them I would like to continue the 2mg a week taper. My bottle the following week was 18. I had started the gym that week and was sore but I was super irritated. I think they wanted me to say stop- so they would be right. But i just said funny i didn't even notice-which is the truth. I went in Sat. My Sunday take home was 15- I questioned why and they said my counselor had stopped it at 15. So today Monday I went up there. Same old argument. She insists only 1 a week or 1 every other. I am not dumb. I know im going to slow, to stabilize, but I think it should be when I feel I need to. Compromise I left her office w/ 2 more weeks of 2mg per week. Stop at 11 and see how I feel. Tomorrow I will go above her and have it put in 2mg until ZERO or patient requests. I have signed more than one against medical advice- they wont give me take-homes because I have a benzo script. But i don't care anymore. I probably shouldn't Jump but continue. You are right I have enough other medications that should and will help with any wd's i might start having. Its the 4th day clean I am scared about.

Did you gain weight with methadone and if so..did it come off easily when off? The clinic told me that after I was under 100 I would loose weight. Well I havent lost a pound. I really did take my metabolism for granted. Hopefully the working out will help but just really want to know if it will fall off fast..

[Jenelle2020]

Bump

[gnarly_1]

HI  well I detoxed myself because the clinic I was at would olny bring you down 2mg a week and I was at 150mg  I had 2 weeks of take homes and used a syringe to take a little out ..we cannot give out tapering information just know where your at slow is good it is harder to go from 20 to 0 then it is to go 150 to 20 it is all about serum levels and having enough to hold you over for a day keep posting we all want to see you get well................Gnarly..................

[Jenelle2020]

Woops I meant to say that I HAVE been methadone free for one year!

[Jenelle2020]

Hi there, congrats on wanting to get off the methadone!  I was on it for 7 1/2 years and my highest dose was 130 mgs/day. I have not been methadone free for one year. When you are at the higher doses of methadone and start to taper it's not that hard as I am sure you have noticed. It is when you get to the lower dosages, I would say starting at about 20mg/day, the withdrawal becomes more intense and you start losing sleep and not feeling too well. I took 3 1/2 years to detox off it, I know that is an unusually long time but I was very afraid of withdrawals, I did a lot of research on it and found that SLOW and steady was the answer. You are now at 16mls, in my opinion that is too much to jump off of right now. I know there are people who have jumped at 5mls and have had a hard time with it. I know you are probably anxious to get off it ASAP but really, slow and steady is best. When I got under 20mgs I was dropping my dose 1mg every 10-14 days, depending on how I felt. I went right down to 1mg and stayed there for 10 days then stopped completely. Ultimately the choice is  yours, but I am sure that many on here that have been on methadone would agree with me that slower is best. You need to go slow to give your body time to adjust to each drop., If you drop your dose and still feel bad when you want to drop, I think it is best to stay at that dose until your body adjusts to it. Methadone is one of the hardest opiates to detox from. You are on other meds while you are detoxing so you probably won't feel the full brunt of the withdrawal. Please keep posting and let us know how you are doing. I am very open to a private email if you wish to talk with me, if there is anything I can help you with, please ask. I wish you the very best and once again, good for you for coming off this stuff! Take care

[vicki595]

Hi and Welcome-

I'm not an expert on Methadone but have you thought about just jumping now at 16 mg?   Many here have jumped at higher doses or gone as low as 5 mg before jumping.  It depends on your lifestyle and how much support you have at home.

You have plenty of meds to assist you and with a planned detox it may go well for you. Of course, they will still be wd's but you'll have wd's no matter how low you go.  Just something to think about...