Unusual circumstance

Scenario: Over 35 years heavy opiate abuse; on Suboxone 4 years.  Dilema: Will soon transition FROM Suboxone TO Methadone.  Reasons:  Cost of Suboxone; need more effective relief from chronic pain.  I've fouht it, I don't want to do it.  Has anyone had a similar experience, switching from Sub to Meth?  If so, what was it like?  Any side effects?
THANKS!

[docnomore]

I can uderstand that. If you have serious pain sub won't help much. meth is better

[worried878]

I have seen people here go from meth to sub but i have never seen someone go from sub to methadone...but i do know sub has minimal pain relief...some but not as much as methadone..if it is a life time thing...and getting pain relief to lead a life with some sort of quality to it....that is a choice for u but the meth has more pain relief so i wish u well...chronic pain is a big fat bumber

[wait2long]

a good friend of mine did...she said the methadone didnt help her anymore than the sub did...but now she cant get off the methadone and is stuck there still with no pain relief...its really no better for pain IMO...i was on methadone before i switched to sub...no difference in pain relief for me either...

[docnomore]

methadoneis better than sub but it's not as good as strong IV narcotics and may not be as good as oxy. Sub hasn't really been tested for long term use and I think if you really need something meth would be better with oxy or dilaudid for breakthrough pain. providing you are not too high a dose of meth which will block opiates

[wait2long]

for pain...i saw no difference...and i have chronic pain also, have been on both.
from what i have heard and read..."SUPPOSEDLY" you will have to be started out at a high dose of methadone because "SUPPOSEDLY" sub is so strong 2 mgs of sub is equal to something ridiculous like 100 mgs of methadone...there was a chart a long time ago that was being posted here, that showed what 2 mgs of sub was equal to compared to other opiods...you might be better off with just oxies if you can control your use, if you cant...methadone may not be the answer either...that is if you abused in the past...
and dont forget, methadone can still be abused...so really think about this long and hard, because someday you might want off the methadone, and then you have a battle on your hands....i know i was sorry for making that mistake more than anything...i'll see if i can find that chart...
there may be other options available...i would check them all out...
good luck to you, wishing you the best...

[Demandie]

Hey,
I tried Methadone alsoe.  They start (where I went) every one out at 30mg and then leave it up to you to go up or down with 5mg a day for 7days.  (Should never leave it up to a Drug addict how much medicine he/she thinks they need)
ANyway, for me Meth was horrible.  I still walked around high.  ANd I found myself becoming obsessed about the weirdest things.  Like, I had to go to DQ and get a blizzard EVERY day. (I don't even like them).  I did laundry EVERY day, even half loads. I became a clean FREAK (I am not a clean person, quite the opposite, I'm a mess!)  I also became obsessed with purses, clothes and make-up shopping.  I had to have lots of all of them and lots of hair stuff, jewelry and shoes.  It was so weird because I'm the kind of person that can go around in jeans and T-shirt every day.  I know that the Methadone did this to me.  I've NEVER been a shopper.  EVER.
Methadone does help with pain and is actually prescribed by Doctors for pain.  Usually for people that are terminal.  
This was not a good option for me though.  First of all, I was only taking 30 pills of Hydro a day for about 6 months.  I don't think Meth was designed for someone like that.  They are supposed to give it to people that have been hooked for much longer then I was.  At any rate, I was given it (had to go to a clinic daily).  I stayed on it for 5 months and I can not begin to tell you the horrors of withdraw!
Now, after relapsing on the pills again, I got on Sub.  I did feel slightly sick for about three days and high maybe only on the 3rd day.  I've been on it since 02/08 and never feel high.  I also cannot abuse it.  No matter how much of it one takes, one will not get "higher" on it.  
It's like a lock, key and a door.
If Vicodin and Methadone are a Key,
and the "high" is the door, then it works like this:
Meth and Hydro will open the door ALL the way open.
Sub will only open the door half way open.  It will never open the door all the way.
Hence, you don't get high, and you don't go through withdraw.
Bad thing is, Sub does not help with pain.  

[wait2long]

i agree with what you say about methadone, totally, i was in a constant hazy blurry SLEEPY high, so tired ALL  the time...  i AM currently on sub now...transitioned from meth to sub...neither one helped me with pain...as far as pain effectiveness, i found them to be the same (for me) - useless, lol.
had it not been for the opportunity of getting on sub...i would still be on methadone to this day as i could not get off it no matter what  tried...i got down to 5 mgs every other day at one point, its the lowest i ever got...withdrawals were far too intense, husband was working away from home and i have 3 boys to care for and was working at the time...just couldnt do it....i also eventually figured out how to abuse methadone, all downhill from there...it wasnt in a clinic setting for me, as we have none around here thankfully.
there are very few people i know that got off methadone and i have spoke to heroin addicts that said they would rather cold turkey off heroin 3 times than off methadone once...and as far as pain relief goes, there are MUCH better choices out there than sub or meth...IMO, and thats where i got my methadone from at first, from a dear close friend of mine who passed away from cancer...she needed money and i needed methadone. she was terminal and never took it until her last month of life...i miss her so much :(
thank goodness for sub, therapy and my own determination to learn to live with the pain, if my friend with terminal cancer could do it then i figured i could too, its the only option i have at the moment...not easy, but i'm doing it, so far anyway...i do have my days where a handful of pain relief doesnt sound good,but its not an option...
i know how sub works...but i like the way you explain it....thanks for that...
penelope is a good one to talk to about getting off methadone and how hard it was for her...but she did it and i'm very proud of her...and you too! dont know how you diud