My son

[Ricksma]

My son has been on Methadone for 6 months now. He tells me he isn't using heroin anymore, I know however that he is. He has needle marks on his arms and money is missing all the time. He wants to get off of methadone, at least that is what he tells me. It has been very hard for him being on it and he can't barely pay for it anymore and I can't pay for it either. He is scared to go through the w/d. Is there help out there for him? He's 23 with no insurance. Are there programs that can help him as an inpatient? We are in Michigan.

[EddyMethadonewa]

get some heroin use that to detox from the methadone.  then go to detox for the heroin....

[landbray]

Hi,
I do medical billing for a living. Patients your son's age hardly ever have insurance. The unpaid bills from this age group become bad debt. You can't be turned away for medical care if you are acute. Don't ever be afriad to go to hosp b/c of money.
Seizures are your biggest problem. My husband was in the hosp 12 days in icu w/d's from medathone. He was given lots of phenabartial (sp)?.
Blood pressure pills, & valium.
If it was my son, I would bring home and taper or go to detox etc.. rehab  etc
good luck to you
paaddict

[ali3674]

Vicodin is a pain killer. That is not for withdrawal.  You would have to give him valium....but there are different dosages depending on his weight, and other factors.  You cannot do this yourself.  He needs to go to a facility.  There has to be a hospital who has charity, it is a law, all states have to have charity care hospitals.

[Ricksma]

What type of medications do they give for the detoxing? I have vicodin left over from a pulled wisdom tooth. I know this sounds desparate, but I am. I don't think he will go to the hospital, it's been a dead end for him and he has so many bills from previous times. Thanks for the advice, I will start looking for charity hospitals and rehab centers. I don't want to hurt him and I am afraid that he will have a seizure or worse going cold turkey.
Thanks so much.

[ali3674]

Hello.....I am a social worker in NJ.  I dont know how things work in your area, but if he becomes sick, you can take him to the hospital to go through the withdrawals. Hospitals are equipped to take care of him, they will give him other meds to calm him down and get him through the withdrawal.  They can also discharge him to a rehab facility, but Im sure you will have to go to a hosp that has charity care since he doesnt have insurance.  Make sure whichever hospital you take him to can give you a charity care application.  I would not let him do this at your home. This is a medical problem, and it can be harmful to him.....

[Ricksma]

Thank you all for your comments. He wants to come and stay with me and go through this and I am so afraid that this w/d will kill him. I've heard different things, one web site says it could kill him and another says it won't. I'm so afraid for him. I have a friend who is a doctor but I don't know if its appropriate to get him involved. My son feels so helpless Im so afraid he's at an end with his failing attempts that if this fails he will do something drastic. I'm very glad I found this site. He will be posting soon.

[lisa650]

Hi there, all i can say is i feel ur pain.  my eyes are tearing up right now , because i put my mom thru hell many many years.  My first question is... does he attend any group sesions or talk to his counselor?  When i was on methadone years ago it was mandatory that i participate in group sessions at least once a week and meet with my counselor. Now if he really wants to get off the methadone he can do it .He can taper slowly and then get some clonodine from them as i did.that helped.  Also maybe he can go down to 30 mgs and swith over to suboxone and stay on that as short a time as possibe and maybe use that to detox off the methadoen. However, that can be very complicated. Check out needymeds.com they help with patients who cant afford their meds, and if suboxone is something ur interested in they send it to ur doctors office .  However u have to be aware that suboxone is also addicting and  he might not want to go this route, but it is an option.  You might want to encourage him to go to some type of meeting. ,like NA.   I tried so many times to get clean and honestly it wasnt until i got myself into  extensive outpatient therapy along with a couple of NA meeting that i actually started changing my life for the better.  I pray that he gets help now, while he is young and can still make soemthing out of his life. I hope this helps.  But please check out needymeds.com.

[mr.lucky66]

It doesn't sound like methadone is doing him any good. He needs to go into a rehap probably which could help if he want's to stop. If he doesn't want to stop maybe he should be on a higher dose of methadone which would block the heroin. I know that might not sound good but sometimes harm reduction is the name of the game.

[Penelope14]

I went to a methadone clinic for 5 years & have seen many people in your sons situation, & most methadone clinics are out for profit, so if you dont have the money, they typically put a person on a financial detox, they taper you fast. The clinic that your son goes to should have knowledge of detox clinics & rehab facilitys that may be suitable to your sons needs? If you suspect he is using, chances are he is, & a combination of methadone & heroin can be dangerous. I admire your concern for your son, he is lucky to have such a caring mom!!  Penelope

[youngdude421]

im not religious but i know catholic charities offers free help even rehabs that are free (this is in NY but theres catholic churches all over the country) just b/c its catholic charities i dont think the programs involve religion for example u dont get religion shoved down your throat while your trying to get clean but i know they offer free help

[addictedme]

You might call a local NA hotline,,just search NA,,gl

[kim715]

sent you a pm,check your inbox......Peace....Kim

[TrayCee]

I'm in Tennessee, but I dont know of any programs like this.  Has he tried to just taper off the methadone?

  Its seriously hard.  But can be done.

Good luck to both of yall