want to detox off methadone

i am currently on methadone,20-40 mg a day.i love the energy that i have, still have lower back pain,,,
  i just hate being dependent on a something!!


      if i try the new drug, buprenorphine..will i have to detox off of it too? it sounds so...please help!!

[FLaddict]

Yes you would have to taper off the buprenorphine/Suboxone after you made the switch. It is easier to taper than methodone though.  And at the level of methodone you are at you can make that switch if you want. You would have to be in WD for 24-48 hours first. If you have a doc to work with on this some will prescribe another med to take that is not as long acting so that the switch is easier..

[dlr2007]

Hi- I think that to get on bupe, you must stop taking methadone for 3 days until your are in withdrawals. Then they give you your 1st dose of bupe. There is also something called LAAM which is something like a long-lasting methadone. I don't know much about it, just that you only take it every few days.
  If I may ask, why do you want to get off of methadone? Are there other reasons beside not liking the feeling of depending on medication? Obviously you would also be dependent on bupe. I'm on methadone too- 70 mg a day for over 3 years- and I too hate the thought that if all the methadone clinics closed, I'd be in pretty deep s**t! Then again, diabetics and epileptics are also dependent on their meds and they probably don't feel guily- so should we rreally let it bother us?
  I think the very best thing is to live completely drug free. I would like to possibly do that someday, but I'm not willing to sacrifice all that I have worked so hard for by trying to chase that dream before I'm ready for the reality. If I were you, I would consider how long I'd been on methadone, how much time I'd been clean, how stable I feel and how supportive my family/friends are of me, and if I still feel like using or even consider it an option. Then, if after considering all that, you feel that it is a good time to get off of methadone, I would talk to my counselor and start a nice slow taper. If you feel shaky one week or something negative is going on in your life, take a break from tapering that week.
  I did a slow taper like that about 13 years ago, and had hardly any problems. Just some loss of energy, since i was used to depending on my dose to get me motivated. But no nightmare symptoms like you hear about. And I stayed clean for 7 years before stupidly backsliding into a relapse.
  Good luck- think it over carefully and remember the most important thing is not to go back to using.
  Best wishes and prayers to you,
-Dee

[JeffinNC]

It doesn't matter if you detox slow off methadone or not, you will fill like **** for atleast 3 weeks or more. If this sub is something that one could switch to and is less addictive than methadone then it is definately something to consider. I know nothing about this Suboxone but I DO know methadone, 5 years worth. Off it for close to 2 months now and trust me, it was no picnic. I can honestly say that no matter what happens next, if one day I slip up or what, I have spent my last day in a methadone clinic.

[fishmeal]

thanx JeffinNC I really respect it when someone tells it... like it is .....about something that is supposed to help.