is it too late, am i already in the methadone trap?

I was using oxy's and morphine for about 2 years, i started out just using maybe once a week and very quickly went to using several times a day. when i was at the deepest of my addiction most days i would shoot between 30-120mg at a time and would do that about 3-5 times a day, so my daily intake was between 90-600mg a day!! needless to say i quickly ran out of money, spending an average of $3,000 a week. the only option i saw for myself was to start going to a methadone clinic, they started me on 30mg a day and i am now at 80mg a day. i was still using oxy's with the methadone (only 30-300mg a day) up until 4 days ago. anyway i guess my question is ...if i just stop going to the clinic...just quit cold turkey will the withrawls be any less severe then just stopping the oxy's cold turkey, cuz i tried that many times and it was hell, soo if its anything like that then im not going to go cold turkey, oh ya it might help to know how long ive been going to the clinic :) i started going at the end or march, of this year. am i already addicted to the methadone?

[stupid954]

The doctor who got you up from 30 to 80 mgs in four months is nothing but a drug dealer, and should be shot. Don't trust that clinic. Demand to be detoxed, take as long as you've been on the damn place; four months or even longer. But do not let them talk you into stopping the detox to stabilize.(That's their favorite ploy to keep you there.)
Others on this site will give you better advice than I can, and they will. But know this, when it comes to methadone clinics, I know of which I speak!
P.S. Don't stop the clinic, stop the oxy's, and use the clinic to detox.

[gnarly_1]

HI and welcome to the forum....getting off methadone can be done C/T but it is not recommended...coming off 80 ml you would go thew horrific withdrawals...and even doing it right it takes a wile to feel well....you haven't been on it long but you have been on it long enough to become addicted..your best plan is to taper off slowly ...tell your clinic you want to start to taper off and they will start reducing your dose by like 2ml a week  some clinics will go a bit faster at first like 5ml a week go for it if they let you ...you can move faster in the beginning when your down in the  lower doses you have to move slower...we no longer post taper schedules in the open forum but if you like I will send you the one I used via..the messenger to your E/Mail it was given to me by a neo/natal nurse and worked well for me...your best bet is to use the time your on the methadone to build up your foundation with aftercare such as n/a or /a/a the clinic should also have a conslor you can talk to but it is important to have yourself in a good spot mentally and be working on your recovery b/4 you do this....its also best to spend the shortest time possible on it you can so tapering now will be ezer then putting it off for years ...keep posting I will answer any questions you have and there are others here that can help...good luck and God bless.....Gnarly      

[pixie76]

is that a lot? the aomount of marthadone im on? i know very little about methadone. i dont trust the clinic at all, its very shady and no one talks to me. i feel like im theit lab rat, we just file in and get our drugs, i always describe it to my friends and family as legal drug dealers,i have asked to go down in mgs before and they make you jump through hoops to do it, make it so you get discouraged and just say f***k it ill just stay where i am, i feel like i screwed myself by drinking from the devils cup...litteraly

[pixie76]

thank you, thats my plan. to get off as fast as i can and get the hell away from the clinic as painlessly as possible, i see people there that say they have been there for crazy amounts of time...like years, ten-12 years, that scares the hell out of me, i dont want to be there that long and it seems like they like it, that they enjoy being there. its horrible to say i know but i look around and i think am i really like these people? how the hell did i get here? i had a great job was well educated a family a new suv a house and now im standing in line at a methadone clinic surrounded by these people who most likely had it all at one point in their lives too, its just so horrible that these places are run the way they are, anyway sorry got way off track :)  thank you for your advice and support

[gnarly_1]

HI the clinics make there money keeping you on it...there never big about getting you off
you have to be firm with your request to get off it...its worth being persistent...as for you dose its about average now a days yrs ago they use to keep people at around 50 or 60
but today the clinics go over 100ml all the time....I came off 150ml and it took me 8 1/2 mo to taper off....I did it faster then the clinic wanted me to do it but today I got 252 days clean and I thank God for it...it will be the best decision of your life ...if you start now it will work in your favor getting off it...the longer the habit the harder to break..how you doing without the oxy??? did you go thew major withdrawals or was the methadone enough to keep it at bay??

[Lisa0345]

Is 80mgs a lot?  Just depends on the person, but the average is anywhere from about 90mgs-150mgs, so to answer your question, no I do not think 80mgs is a large dose.  It is a whole lot to come of off cold turkey.  Also, as far as going from 30 to 80 in four months is really nonthing.  Most clincs that I know of will start you out at 30mgs and let you go up 5mgs per day until 50mgs and then let you go up 10mgs per day after that. The clinics I know of will let you increase like that for the first 30 days or so or until they feel like you are at a stable dose.  What I mean by stable dose is, not having any withdrawl (withdrawal) symptoms at all.  I guess what I am trying to say is that, the dose you are at is very doable to come off of.  If I were you, I would listen to Gnarly and listen very carefully to him.  He know what he is talking about.  Stop taking all the oxys and any other kind of pills and use this time at the clinic to change your life.  Getting sober is not just about stopping the drugs, its about changing your whole way of thinking.  The disease we all have here is called addiction, the drugs are just a symptom of the disease.  If you want to get clean and stay clean then you have to fight the disease also not just the symptom.  You have come to the right place to begin your journey.  It will be a long, hard one but it will be well worth it in the end.  All the people here have been where you are and know what you are going thru.  You never have to be alone again.  Good luck and keep posting we are all here for you
Lisa
Jacksonville,FL

[stupid954]

Told you these people would give you good advice. Stop the oxy's and stop the sh#t. I'll tell you one thing. if you want to get clean there isn't a son-of a-***** in this world that's goin' stop ya'. Best of luck, we've all been there. If we could, we'd all chip in and take a day for you, but then you wouldn't be so proud of yourself when you come out the other end.

[pixie76]

thank you all, everyone turned their backs on me so now i only have a hand full of family and friends around me and none of them have any idea what im going through its nice to talk with you all and know im not the only one, the guy i was with during all this was an addict as well and was very abusive, he went to prison and that is the only way i got away from him i have a 6 year old daughter and a house to take care of alone so im having a realy hard time with life in general add addiction and withdrawl (withdrawal) to the mix and its just too much, but im ready to get my life back and give my daughter back her mother, thank you all for the support and kind words, it means more then i can say xoxoxoxo

[kc156]

Hi.  Ya I go to a clinic too,and am down to 3mg. a day.Highest I went was the 30 a day cause it worked for me.Most people don't REALLY need more than 50,but being addicts....more is better...Until it is time to stop.
Methadone can work FOR you if you do it right.Take only methadone and taper down nice and controlled and you can get free.There will be some suffering nearer to the end,but it's the only game in town that is proven. Stupid is so right too,it takes sheer determination and to hell with anything else.                     Good wishes   karl

[pixie76]

oh and as far as being off the oxys, it was a little bit uncomfortable, sweating and aches unable to sleep but for the most part the methadone was enough i cant even believe i havent touched a pill in this long. feels very rewarding but at the same time im like.."oh big deal im not shooting im just getting my fix at a clinic instead" im just so ready to be done with this whole nightmare that has become my life but i know even if i never touch another drug i will always be an addict, i just have to learn how to be a non practicing addict :)

[Lisa0345]

Sweetheart, you should be sooooo proud of your self for not shooting up anymore!!!!!!  You did not become a drug addict over night and you are not gonna win this battle over night. Dont let anyone put you down for going to the clinic!!!! At least you are not out in the street getting drugs or going to see three different doctors. What you are doing is walking down the yellow brick road of recovery, the clinic is just one of the yellow bricks in the road!!!! Belive me everybodys road is different. So, wether you go down a paved, dirt, or brick road, it does not matter!!!!! What matters is that you go down the road and that your destination ends up being recovery!!!!!  Stay strong and stay the course!!!!  Keep on keeping on!!!
Lisa
Jacksonville,FL

[Lisa0345]

So how are you today? I hope you are well. Keep up the good work

Lisa
Jacksonville,FL