Need Help getting off methadone ALONE

[burningtime]

Please if you have any experience take the time to read this. I was in a car accident about 5 years ago and had never taken a pain med before that. I was about 23 and the doctor started me on darvocet. Long story short that lead to pecocet, fentynal, oxycontin and eventually methadone. I lost my insurance and was forced to buy off the street. I had a friend who told me about methadone and i tried it. it seem to me at the time it brought my life back to normal. no more 6 pills a day or mood swings from coming down i just took one pill a day and that was it. I eventually went up in dosage and have been onit for about 2 years and methadone alone nothing else. I have got the dosage back down to 10 to 20mg a day. but beyond that there is no hope of me getting off and I NEEd to and WANT to .  I run a company have a family and unfortunaly due to reasons I cant geti into I cannot tell anyone I am still on the meds or that I am tryin to get off. I have to do this alone and now. I have read several threads about magnsium/zinc and ibogaine etc. When I have tried before i cant sleep break out in sweats and literally want to rip my skin off from the twichtes and shakes. I feel horrible. Do ANYONE know if these work or what will. I know this is a broad question but I am desperate. I need myu life back and i cant keep spending a fortune eac month on this and tryin to find my next dose. Please help me I will do anything but I HAVE to do it as quietly as possible.

[christos24]

hey there..I am currently on methadone and ahve been for a year, before that I was on Suboxone for 8mths. both were for a heavy addiction to heroin and/or Oxycontin. I am also addicted to benzos like xanax or klonopins, and any other drug that potentiates the euphoric effects of opioids. Methadone does have the wrost wds out of all opiates. They last for at least a month and peak at about 3 weeks into it. Its terrible and I wish it upon no one. The severity of wd is dependant on the length of use and how large the dose is, It is great that you are on a very low dose. That right there is huge. The wd aids you heard about are iffy at best. Ibogaine does have a great backing and does work for people, but it is very expensive, rarely found, and takes a professional experienced in the treatment of opiate addiction w/ Ibogaine. You cant just find someone selling it(which is absolutely unheard of), take it, and be free from wds or addiction. Ibogaine is a psychedelic that grows almost selectively in certain regions of Africa. It is undergoing test for the aid and cure of opiate addiction, but it is not a completely accepted method of treatment yet. That takes many years and lots of scientific studies. Your wd will not be very severe, yes it will still be bad at certain times and at certain symptoms, but overall your wd will be mild. I think the mental aspect of being off completely of the methadone is going to be your hardest and biggest problem faced. The insatiable cravings and anxiety will definitely be your biggest foe. But it is manageable. You got to think of the future and how much bettter your life will be. Its extremely hard to see when withdrawling, but realizing that in a few weeks you will be completely drug free, and once your brain starts to heal the receptors and damage acquired then you will see how positive it is, life is amazing once you are out of the haze of dependancy and addiction to a substance. You become enslaved to a measly pill that runs your every move and ruins every relationship and life you once had. Its terrible beyond any words, but im am super glad you really want to get off for good. That is a huge step and you need to be fully on board. you need to having lodged in your mind that you are not going to be having any methadone or any other mind altering substance in your system again, so once your ready for taht you can go full force and you can definitely do it. Your wd if you taper slowly even though you are on an extremely low dose already, tapering is still a good idea to minimize or abolish all together any discomfort or wd. Once you get to a dose where you only taking a milligram or 2 then go completely off. I would usually reccomend to people getting off any opiate at this point to use the medical wd aids, but with your case you most likely wont need any of these seeing as if you taper somehat slowly then you wont have any wd at all. There will be the mental cravings and anxiety, but through counseling, therapy, and going to as amny meetings as you can that aspect will go away or not be noticeable at all. But if for some crazy reason you experience any physical wd symptoms and you feel its too much too handle(I highly highly dont ssee this being a possibility let alone happen), then the best aids for physical wd includes; Clonidine(Catapres)-prescribed mostly for high BP,it is now standard pracice to use it for detoxing off of opiates. It stops the hot/cold flashes, goosebump flesh,chills, restlessness, insomnia, and some of the other symptoms. Short term use of a Benzodiazepine, usually Lorazepam (Ativan), Clonazepam (Klonopin), or Diazepam (Valium) is used. Benzos are crucial in relieving many of the symptoms experienced during wds. Insomnia, restlessness, muscle aches,spasms, twitches, the severe anxiety, agitation, depression,irritability, and many more. Those are the golden two. Then you can get over-the-counter Immodium AD for the diarrhea and maalox or something similar for nausea and vomiting. If the insomnia is super severe, not in your case, but say for a heavy habit sometimes on top of the benzo given, Ambien (Zolpidem) is given. It is a medicine strictly for insomnia and helps you sleep during wds. Even though your body is going to tell you no way, eating plenty and healthy is very important and even more crucial is remaining hydrated. Healthy fluids are a must. Vitamnines, minerals, and natural medicines are always good. They definitely don't stop or completely alleviate any of the symptoms, but they can't hurt. Those medicines and dietary aids are athe accepted and most commonly used wd aids. Unfortunately there is no medication that completely relieves all symptoms all together, that would be nice, but is very unpractical. All of the meds given above should only be used during the period of withdrawal. Special care is needed with the benzo you use because they are very addictive as well and wd from them can be lethal and are jus as terrible if not worse, so the shorter you use them all, the better. Those are the main wd aids, there are some drugs taht are in clinical studies or used by people for the hell of it that have potential, and some others that are used don't do anything at all, and if anything make the wd's worse, Baclofen, a muscle relaxant that works on the GABA receptors, the same receptors benzos and alcohol use, is being study in the aid and treatment of addiction in opiates, cocaine, GHB, Benzos, and Alcohol. Since it works on the same receptors as benzos,GHB, and alcohol is showing great promise in alleviating the possibly lethal wds. It is being study in opiates and cocaine because there is some reasearch that is leading towards Baclofen working on all of the pleasure centers in the brain, thus stopping the anxiety and cravings involved in addiction. There will definitely be more and more learned about Baclofen in the aid of wd in the near future, it shows a lot of promise. There has also been many studies and still is study that Dextromethorpham (DXM) and similar drugs, such as Ketamine aid in stopping tolerance in opiates and also alleviating wd symptoms. That class of drugs are NMDA receptor antagonist and that plays a role in the severity of withdrawal symptoms and also tolerance to opiates, so there is also promise to be learned with these chemicals. Lofexidine, a drug very similar to Clonidine also is used often for opiate detox or wd. There are many more drugs that are being tested everyday to better manage opaite withdrawal. I would slwoly taper and go to meetings, taht is your best bet. And don't worry too much, the wd's are going to be extremely mild if that. If you have any questions feel free to ask me anytime..-Christos

[burningtime]

i really am considering ordering this ibogaine root off line. I have read it has a 90 precent sucess rate. but id like to know from anyone who has tried it. I am a really incontrol person when im driinking no matter how much or taking meds. it seems i can always control my mind. however they talk about this having a acid like affect and i wonder if its something i can be in control of while im taking it or if its gonna make me out of my mind.

[Holliee]

hot baths will help or if you have access to hot tub, steam room, suana, etc anything to make you sweat a lot they will get all toxins out of your body faster and help feel better...I am on methadone now and at my clinic they take you down to 15 mg then switch you over to suboxone and tapper all way 1mg there but only you can know how might best work for you. Good luck and God Bless

[Holliee]

hot baths will help or if you have access to hot tub, steam room, suana, etc anything to make you sweat a lot they will get all toxins out of your body faster and help feel better...I am on methadone now and at my clinic they take you down to 15 mg then switch you over to suboxone and tapper all way 1mg there but only you can know how might best work for you. Good luck and God Bless

[steveo30]

it does seem that when we ween off of methadone the last 10 mg's are the roughest.in yor case i kinda agree with mtgoat.a short acting opiate may be your best choice because if you want to keep this to yourself, that may help.you may want to read the thomas recipe at the bottom right of this page,comm. members swear by it.i went to rahab with a 40 mg addiction every day and was given bupreneforine(forgive my spelling) every day for 5 days,that seemed to help alot,it apparently kicks out the opiates out of the receptors and fills them with this bup.i had a terrible time with the benzo withdrawal, but i wont get into that right now    steveo

[TysonRed]

Theres nothing really out there thats gonna make it easy, I wish there was, there are some things that can help. Ive always liked to take clonidine when coming off of methadone, it takes some of that creepy crawly feeling away, along with helping maintain a healthy blood pressure. You would have to go see a doctor to get the clonidine, so maybe thats not an option for you. For help sleeping you could try melatonin, L-tryptophan, I always prefered taking melatonin(5mgs). Also look into the health pages here on the top right about the amino acid protocol, thomas recipe and other helpful tips. Alot of people like epsom salt baths to help with the body aches, it forces magnesium into your muslces and can really help you relax. Is it possible for you to taper your dose down to under 10mgs before you quit, or you planning on going cold turkey. The best but hardest thing to do is excercise, get your endorphins going, even a nice brisk walk can help. I know you dont wanna tell anyone about the problem but Im telling you going at this alone makes it so much more difficult on yourself. If nothing else keep posting here for some more info and support, your going to need the help. If you have any questions feel free to ask, you can do this, Im routing for you. Talk to ya later!

[mtgoat911]

welcome to the forum burningtime, i kick 240mg a day methadone habit in 2004, there is really no trick to methadone detox, you just got to want it and be willing to do anyhing to get clean
for me that took ct detox followed by regular attendence in a 12step program

ibogaine is not used in my country so i cannot suggest that to you, basically with ibogaine, the patient goes through a period of time, that their body and mind are out of this world similair to an acid trip,

the zinc supplements should help a little with cramping, methadone is the strongest opiate on the market today, following methadone is suboxone , then fentynal...etc
your tolerance is working agaisnt you right now, there are a few options you can review

a. you can get on suboxone matience
b. cold turkey
c. use a short acting opiate as a taper med.,

in my own personal experience, darvocet was an appropriate choice for me, because i had already tried suboxone, and the suboxone was too much like methadone FOR ME
i do not speak for anyone other than myself, when i compare detox from suboxone vs. detox from davocet, i believe darvocet is easier to come off of, i work at a detox, when patients refuse suboxone or methadone, we use darvocets to detox them off opiates

hope this helps you