methadone

[tcr73]

i had a heroin addiction then started a methadone programme but i only went to 50mg and only on it for 8 weeks  i want to come off it completly and from all my reading up peoplesay the best thing to do is keep myself asleep for at least a week solid with sleeping tablets just want to know has anyone tried it or any advice i would be very grateful

[whitie]

depends on how long you were on heroin, the methadone is just replacing the H, so your brain's receptors still have no idea of what its like to be free from opioids,unfortunately.

best to ween down asap,on the 'done before it gets a total grip on your brain. sooner or later we all have to go through wd's and the longer you have used, the longer the wd's. thats teh reason people come here, it can be quite the shocker,especially for those whom never been through wd's

[kolo13]

There is no way to get through withdrawal without pain. You cannot take enough "sleeping tablets" to sleep through it and you will be in danger of overdosing on those. Although you cannot do this without some pain you can get through it. Look for the Thomas formula on this site, it will help. But you do need a plan. CT from 50mg methadone is pretty difficult. I would strongly advise you to bring your methadone dose down a little at a time. When you get below 20 mg you can consider jumping off although if the taper is going well you might want to take it even further before you quit completely. There are a lot of things you can do to make withdrawal bearable but please do not try to take enough sleeping pills to sleep through it, that is insanely dangerous. There is a method where you are given naloxone to rid your body of opiates while you sleep but that is done in-patient with constant medical supervision and it is still a little dangerous. Please continue reading the posts here and educate yourself a little more. Maybe read my post titled "please don't end up like me" about the fear of withdrawal. Good luck.

[gnarly_1]

hi and welcome to the forum...well im 9days clean I came off 150mg over 8 1/2 mo
it was tuff but doable if you want to get off as painlessly as possible I recommend
a formula givien to me by a neo/natal nurse that brings babys off heroin it goes like
this.....10% reduction every 72hr its alot faster then a clinic will bring you down
but I forund it very doable ....there where some bumps in the road and id have to stop for a week somtime to give my body a chance to adjust but for the most part it usually
worked..as for the sleeping threw it..I dont think it is possible even with strong meds
your mind sorta gets benzo proof will your coming off  they will help with the anxiety
but only take the edge off ...in the end (last 10mg) you just need to be "ok with not beeing ok' you can do this I have as have manny others Whitie has been methadone free like 4mo now  and IS dooing great he will help you as will I good luck and god bless ..Gnarly

[kim715]

You have gotten some excellent advice from the above posters.I have been free from methadone for a little over 600 days.I jumped off of 25mgs and I love the way Gnarly phrased it,at some point "you just have to be ok with not being ok" for a bit.Truth is there is no such thing as a totally painless way to do this,but there are ways and things to make it more comfortable.It's the fear of the w/ds that holds so many of us back for so long.I know it did me.You just have to get in the right mindset my friend.YOU CAN DO THIS and the w/ds won't last forever.Keep posting here.You will get tons of help and support and as long as you are here you are never alone.All the very best to you.Goodluck....Kim

[emwave]

Don't jump off at 50 mgs -- let yourself taper some.  You say you only went up to 50mg which is really good and you've only been on it 8 weeks which is even better.  But how long have you been on opiates regularly?  I'd say quite a while if you ended up on H.
If you are comfortable at 50mg, definitely start tapering, the sooner the better.  Go to 45mg and see how you feel in 3 days -- if you don't notice any difference, drop another 5 mg. -- this is basically following gnarly's formula anyway.  It seems everyone hits a "bump" while dropping -- it all depends on how long you've been on opiates, your general health, etc.  I'd start looking at the amino acid protocol listed in the health pages.  Some people don't have any problems until they get down around 10mg.  I understand that you want off everything, but think about it -- you ended up on heroin.
Also, as you drop, try to get as much exercise as you can.  That and the amino acid protocol seem to help people the most.  Good luck and keep us filled in.

[TysonRed]

I have big problems with methadone, its a nasty drug the probably has the worth w/d's of any drug detox that Ive experienced. Ive gone cold turkey off 30mgs and suffered for 2wks bad then couple more wks of severe fatigue, depression and anxiety type stuff. Ive also was at 40mgs and tapered down to under 5mgs the first time I quit and didnt really have it all that bad. I was so naive to what I was doing that I actually think my stupidity helped me not recognize every little symptom of withdrawals. Later on in life I was back at it and up to 140mgs daily, I tapered down again but this time when I got to 30mgs after about 6months of tapering I switched over to 8mgs of suboxone. When it comes to suboxone I really dont know what to say, but when it comes to methadone I believe suboxone can be a very useful tool in helping you quit, but suboxone is no joke either. At the same time if I had to choose suboxone w/d's compared to methadone or heavy oxy use, I would choose sub everytime, I just think its overprescribed to people that would be better off quitting their DOC. Figure out a plan, its either cold turkey, tapering, suboxone or in-patient rehab which alot of them are using short term buprenorphine treatment these days. Ive never done heroin which is surprising since I was such a heavy oxy addict 320-480mgs daily at one point, but luckily heroin isnt around where I live so never really had that option thank god. When you do figure out your plan of attack come back to this forum and let us know, you will get great helpful advice and feedback that you can only benefit from. Im on my longest sober streak since I was 16yrs old, Im 27 now, Im 1yr and 8 days clean and honestly feel better about my life and myself than ever before,but it takes time, you must be patient with your body to allow your brain mainly to regain its natural function. Alot of the times an anti-depressant can help alot of people, Ive yet to find one that worked for me, but I know of many that have been greatly aided by anti-depressants. Try to stay away from benzo's, although they do help with opiate w/d, but they can become a serious problem themselves. Keep us updated on your plans, you can do this, feel free to hit me up anytime, send me a message if you have any questions. Take Care!