fent w/d

[Randolpho]

I've been wearing or eating fentanyl for many years.(25 to 50 mc's a day) My question still is, how long does
it take to get fent. out of your system. I've been taking methdn and hardly any fent. Can anyone tell me how
long it may take to get fent out of my system. So far I've only used 10 to 20 units of methdn a day. I know the worst
is yet to come, but would like to know what to expect. I was taking 50 mc's of fent a day for many many yrs and feel
my body is saturated w/it. Dr's don't understand what they're prescribing most of the time when it comes to pain
meds Any help appreciated, but no religion please.

[Randolpho]

Sorry I didn't respond. I did taper down to what I would estimate is about 50% less of fent. I will spare you the details, but entered another
question which has generated some helpful responses.  My question
became more about whether the fent. was responsible for my fatigue. The
fatigue is very serious. I have read about the possible causes and can
quickly dismiss explanations like diet, or lack of exercise, or depression.
The best description I can offer is debilitating. I started with a question
about causes of fatigue, and offered more background. If anyone is interested please follow the other entry. I'm sorry if this is becoming a bit
confusing, but I realized that I took a poor approach to begin with.Please
try and locate the different question, and hopefully you can help me out
even more than the great responses I have received already.Sorry,Dolph.

[Merri123]

Honestly thebestever way is to have your Dr help. He can prescribe you less dose each month. I believe the smallest is 12.5 MCG.

And please stop opening and eating them!!! That is making this worse.

There is no easy way around it. Fentanyl is a bear to wd frim. I watched u ex do it. Honestly at 25 his Dr refused to take him lower and he went inpatient for a week to be monitored thru the worst of it. I wish he would've given him then 12.5 first but wouldn't.

So good luck. Be strong. And we can talk you through it.

[Randolpho]

Trap, sounds like you went cold turkey. Did you, or did you taper down?
Also, what strength were you on? Thanks, Dolph

[Trapped1]

Hi just wanted to add I came off fentynal c/t due to loss of insurance and couldn't afford high cost of it! It took a good 14 days to start feeling somewhat normal again I did go threw withdrawal I was on it for 3 years! If you can stay home and not be around people lights and noise it's helpful! You will have chills and hot flashes and be sick at stomach! Try to eat light foods like bannanas and cold stuff yogurt! I agree with person above if you can get vitamens down take them it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be! In the moment you won't feel that way but I still had a box of patches at the time I was taken off and made it through it! I laughed at times cried 5 mins later but was determined I wasn't going to hospital! I would like to say they don't recommend doing it the way I did it can cause serious problems but didn't want to trade one addiction for another! They have lower dose patches that you can slowly ween down if needed! Best of luck! And please talk to people on here that can help you with the emotional part!

[Randolpho]

Thanks Vicki, I'll keep you informed

[vicki595]

That's a good plan Dolph-

[Randolpho]

Thanks for all the advice. I've decided to taper from fent for as long as I can.
I think the w/d symptoms take awhile to affect you w/fent(maybe 2 to 3 )
days, then I'll have to make a decision as to what course of action at
that point. I'll return when something significant occurs. Thanks again!
                             Dolph  

[IBKleen]

So you want to do this by yourself. Okay. So you came here for taper advice? Per our guidelines we cannot give that advice. Sorry hun. But we will be here to support you and we will continue to make suggestions based on our experience. That's what it's all about..one addict helping another. Recovery is not an "I" thing. It is a "We" thing.

[VICourageous]

Hi..I was on all other opiates for yrs until I did get the methadone prescribed. The Dones was the hardest w/d out of all of them. It was a bit different.
I would rather see you go to a Addiction Dr or a Dr and talk to them on how you should work this. You can go on a small dose of subutex for a few months, but the fent will still detox out. Each drug has to detox out as they are each different. So you will still feel the fental detox a bit and then you will have to get the methadone out.
I guess what we are saying is just taper off of one..BUT how would you taper from a patch?? I would go and talk to the Drs they do have some comfort meds they give out these days..The detox will be over physically soon..It is the Mental that takes time. The longer we used the more we unbalanced all those chems, transmitters and hormones and so much more. The brain flips back over to a regular brain but it takes time. I have used off & on for over 40yrs and it really did take me 2yrs and 3 months to feel my Brain finally kick in right. Those receptors are all over and it takes time for them to unplug. There is so much to Addiction and the Brain wiring that it just blows my mind. I have been studying it for yrs now in a more Scientific way. This will not save you, but it will help you understand more.
We do push SUPPORT around here..Once someone is clean then that was the easy part..The hard part is staying that way..This takes tons of Support and the more the better.
One of the best things you want to do right now is make sure you drink LOTS of water. Think about flushing out toxins. Get all or any thing that will help pull out these toxins. Lots of foods have antioxidants in them and they will help. Magnesium is a good one. When you get off it all, we will help you with sleep and anxiety and what vit/min are good for this. Make sure you Drink water and try adding some lemon with just a dash of seasalt..This helps keep you hydrated. We have to replenish all that we have lost during drug use. I would rather see you go on the Subutex under a Drs maintenance, then see you medicate your self on Methadone. Methadone was the beast that got me for 12 yrs as I got down on my mg I stated to add Adderral I got from the streets. I do not have adhd so it would wire me like my crank days. Then I took a benzo at night to come down..Went c/t off all 3 back on Sept 2012 and it took a long time both physically and mentally..
SO when people ask how long???? This all depends on how many yrs of drug use, how old you are, how healthy you are and how much you take care of your body. Start drinking, eating and taking some great plant based vit/min now..Build up a great immune system so you will be stronger to handle the physical part..Really it is over soon..Methadone is not!!!
I wish you the best.
Bless

[Randolpho]

I don't want to sound pretentious, but I don't want go to a clinic or trust
my Dr. I'm sorry but I feel what I'm attempting to do might work, and don't see the danger if I can can keep the doses to a minimum. I am trying to
taper down at a safe pace. Any options would be appreciated, I just want to avoid being sick as much as possible. Thanks for your concern, and again I'm open to suggestions. There doesn't seem to be many options. Thanks again,
                                        Dolph

[vicki595]

Okay. You don't seem to be "getting" what we're saying so I don't know what else to say except this:

It's ridiculous to get yourself on methadone to taper off fentanyl. It doesn't make sense.

[Randolpho]

I'm attempting to get by on small amts of methdn(no needles) and only
a small amt of fent,only when necessary. Primarily trying to wean off fent
and doing as little meth/day as I can. My goal is to get the fent out of my
system w/o doing much meth. I don't know if this will work, but I'm getting advice from experienced people. Seems reasonable to me, but I've never
tried this before. At this point I'm being careful, and keeping the dosages
to a minimum. Thanks for your concern Vicki. Will keep you posted, it's too
early to tell what's going to happen. I have no death wish,Dolph

[IBKleen]

Hun, you keep repeating the same thing in each of your replies. You came here for help I assume so you need to listen to the people who have been where youa re going.. We are trying to help and sharing our experience with you. You are not headed down a good path and thinking that you know what youa re doing with the medication is dangerous. I don't know what more to say to you. Keep us posted in what you are doing. We are here to support you.

[vicki595]

People will tell you that's it's NOT easier to taper off methadone. It has a long half life and really "sticks" with you.

The fentanyl wd's may not be that bad! Give it a chance and don't take anything. We can help you with any symptoms you may have. But, really, the methadone is a bear to stop. As I said, you'd be better off tapering off the fentanyl.

[Randolpho]

My plan is to stop using fent. I am now taking meth(20 mg/day) I think the
fent is going to begin causing w/d in a bad way.That is why I asked how
long it takes to w/d from fent. Since I'm only taking meth in low doses, I
thought  it would be easier to stop the meth, but again I'm afraid the fent
will start to affect me, but don't know the time frame. I did taper off fen
for last couple of weeks. Just worried that it may take longer than I thought
to w/d. Not taking fent at all now. Thanks for the advice, and any more would be much appreciated, Dolph

[Randolpho]

I am attempting to get clean. Fent. is prescribed. Meth is from a friend.
Starting today I'm stopping fent. unless I run out of meth, which shouldn't
happen. So it's going to be meth only, and stepping down gradually.Only
using 10 to 20 mg of methdn a day, but I expect the worst is yet to come
as the fent wears off. I then may have to increase methdn. Don't know what
to expect. Be glad to respond to any other ?'s. Thanks Kleen

[vicki595]

You'll never know what to expect if you continue to medicate yourself. Are you taking methadone because you're afraid of the wd's from fentanyl? It's a powerful drug as is fentanyl.  Combining the two can be deadly...

Why don't you just taper off the fentanyl and take it from there?

[IBKleen]

Please be careful. You Are self-medicating (which is what us addicts do) and you don't know how much Methadone you will need. If you increase it when The Fentanyl w/d kicks in then all you are doing is replacing one drug for another. Then what drug will you take for the Methadone w/d? I think you need a better plan of action and you really need a solid taper plan.

[Randolpho]

I am attempting to get clean. Fent. is prescribed. Meth is from a friend.
Starting today I'm stopping fent. unless I run out of meth, which shouldn't
happen. So it's going to be meth only, and stepping down gradually.Only
using 10 to 20 mg of methdn a day, but I expect the worst is yet to come
as the fent wears off. I then may have to increase methdn. Don't know what
to expect. Be glad to respond to any other ?'s. Thanks Kleen

[IBKleen]

Hi & Welcome,

I am a bit confused..you are taking Fentanyl patches and Methadone? Are they both prescribed? This is a tough question because if you are taking both then the Methadone will block the w/d from Fentanyl and it is hard to say how long it will take. Know what I mean? Why do you ask? Are you trying to detox all together? Some more information would be helpful to answer your question.