methadone

[mikesonmeth]

i am new to this site i am 31 years old and have been on methadone for 5 years now. i was up to 120 mgs at one point. i was attending a methadone clinic for 4 of those years. i was diagnosed with aml "lukemiia" a year ago and as of right now am still cancer free. anyway with the help of my understanding doctor he started prescribing the methadone to me and helping me tapper off. i am now down to 60 ml a day and feel pretty good. my biggest problem now is self medicating. i am having trouble only taking six ten ml tablets a day. when you get 180 pills a month you dont think you will run out but i do every month. anyone have any suggestions for me please.

[phoenixrisin]

Hi,
i have been on Methadone for 9 years. i started on it due to addiction however due to chronic pain issues i decided to stay on it.
I have 2 weeks of meds at a time with me and never feel the need to increase a dose for the day.

i have to ask are you trying to come all the way off is that why you are now on 60?
Or did you just want to come down from the high dose??

If you are attempting to come off you may have reached a point where it may be best to wait a bit even take you up 5 or 10 mgs and wait a few weeks than start the taper slowly again.
I know many friends who have had to halt the taper and slow it down when they got to 60 or 40 mgs. The 40 seems to be the one that hits most folks but i also know many who have made it off with a good supportive clinic and a slow taper.

If you are staying at the 60 and just wanted a lower dose you may want to get into some meetings or a therapy session because self medication as much as we want to justify it is usually how we ended up addicts to begin with.

I hope this helps

[whitie]

yes, worried878 is offering some great advise. I would have to agree a longer term tapering is in order,given the large amounts.


Its funny how everyone is different. I loved the buzz methadone gave me, but I could never fathom being on more than 30-40 mgs(pills)   I use to mix them with norcos, and got really high off em.  the problem soon became apparent to me that I just cannot take any opioids with out abusing them,nor did I ever feel right on any of them.


I look forward to a life without them

[worried878]

if u r losing control of the drug..and it is now controlling u..then like whitie suggested..it could be time to let go...let ur dr know and perhaps he can help u taper...at this point u may need aftercare as well..r u taking them for a buzz?  or for pain relief?? or to feel normal???   lots of factors on whether u r dependent or addicted and only u know these things.....5 yrs at 60 mgs a yr will take a slow taper.....some get down to 20-30 mgs and switch to suboxone for the final part of the taper..others just slowly taper down to .25 mg or so and then get off...but to do it without bad wd it has to be done slowly..there is a great article in the health pages on tapering from methadone....sub is also addicting so switching to it is not always the answer..having used both...methadone for pain...sub when i ran outa pills....sub would be the one more risky for me to get addicted to cos i liked the nrg it gave me and methadone did not//only made me sleepy if i took too many..everyone is different...if u r addicted and r misusing them,,then u will need support...meetings r everywhere..but first off u need to tell ur dr so he can help u...keep us updated

[whitie]

glad to hear your doing well now,mike. thats got to be tough number to fight.


I think you need to get off it. but its going to be hard because your body has adjusted to very large amounts. I would suggest tapering down to 2-3 10mgs for the next month.


I am absolutely amazed DR.s prescribe so much?????? do they have any idea how physically addicting this drug is to the human body??   I dont think so and I know what it took for me to get off it !!!!!!  


I had to beat a methadone and norco habit. the question is do you want to just maintain the rest of your life addicted to an opioid or do you want your old self/life back?