Methadone tapering

[fluffy215]

I have been on 100 mgs. of methadone at a clinic for 1 1/2 yrs. I started tapering 2 months ago. I feel that I was lied to upon starting this program. I was told that there was no withdrawals when tapering or after completing tapering. Also I was never told this would be a 2 to 3 yr. recovery. I am having withdrawals and have talked to others that have been on it for years because the tapering off of it has not worked. I am scared I will never get off this. Does anyone have any advice. I wish I would've sucked it up and took the week withdrawals that come with heroin/opiod addiction.
Please help

[gnarly_1]

HI....GOT your note and I will try to help you.....coming off methadone can be a ruff ride
some people dont notice any withdrawals in the higher dose all the way down to 20 or so
other people struggle from every drop in dose....most wind up somewhere in between
from what your saying your runing into some substantial withdrawals already it really su cks when they start but it doesent mean the whole taper is going to go this way you sorta go in and out of withdrawals as you taper down I remember 80mg being tuff as well as 60 40 then 20 was shere hell took my body 6 friggin weeks to adjust ....just know you will have doses you wont even feel then you will get doses that make you miserable....I came off 150mg of the stuff on a 6 1/2yr habit so I new it was going to be a ruff ride I did it in 8 1/2 mo a little fast for most clinics but I had 2 week take homes and did it myself from my take homes...I did a lot of research even had a nurse helping me I did learn about some stuff that will help with the withdrawals quite a bit.....get up to walmart and pick up a 3 in one vitamin
calcium/magnesium/zinc...its 6 bucks for 250 now take 4 with breakfast and 4 with dinner
in a few days this will build up in your system and it greatly reduced the withdrawals I felt it dident eliminate them but it cut the severity of them in 1/2 I only wish I found this sooner so get right on this trick...try to stick to your taper the best you can it should be a lot ezer with the vitamins I will message you some more info on tapering check your in box I wish you the beast of luck doing this just know it is possible to get off the stuff but it takes perseverance..pacents...and discipline.....I will stay in touch with you.....Gnarly        

[vicki595]

That sounds like a nice,slow taper. What amount are you taking per day right now?

You will have withdrawals when completely off Methadone. You can have withdrawal during the taper when you get below 15mg per day and a lot of people tend to UP the dose to feel better. This is the point,in my opinion,when you need to just jump off. It can be done and people DO get better.  I have a friend who took Methadone for 30 years! He got tired of it(finally),tapered doun to 5-10mg and just jumped there. He's been clean for over 9 months now and feels good. It took awhile for him but he took the stuff forever!

Gnarly is the methadone guru here. He'll see this and post to you. He'll have great suggestions.  Just don't get discouraged!!

[Katrina81]

Hey Fluffy. While I dont have any personal experience with methadone I have heard its quite hard to get off BUT many have done it and go on to live happy drug free lives. Somebody with experience will be along to give you some answers. I just wanted to offer my support and wish you the best in your recovery. Im 33 days clean today from opiate pain killers and its been a bumpy road but an EXTREMELY rewarding one. Getting your life back is ALWAYS worth it. Do you have any type of recovery going or planned? Like NA meetings or 1 on 1 therapy? They are CRUCIAL in staying on the road of sobriety. I can never stress enough how important it is! Good luck to you. I know you can do this.

[fluffy215]

I go down 2mgs every 2 wks. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

[vicki595]

What did you taper down to?  Tapering off DOES work. It just needs to be done the proper way.

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