what help is out there for my husband try yo get off methadone and stuggling with other serious addictions

my husband has been on a methadone program from 3years now.  since the first day of him walking into that clinic his life and our families life has gone down hill rapidly.  he had been on perks  for maybe 6 months and since his brother is on the program he convinced him he needed to get on methadone.  he could have gotten off the pills so much easier.  the methadone is way more of a serious  HORRIBLE addiction then the pills ever were.  it blows my mind how a doctor at the clinic could even think of putting him on methadone.  if these doctors are so great  then wouldnt you think they would have enough education to say to a client , you know what i dont think this program is really for you.  he has been at 80mg roughly throughout this time, he has lost 2 jobs, got 25,000.00 in debt due to gambling he is very depressed, lies 24/7, no ambition for anything at all in life.  we have 3 children under 5 and i am on maternity leave so our income has been reduced drastically. as of yesterday he decided he was going to quit methadone cold turkey.  we called several places, well all places we could in regards to detoxing and any help.  there is nothing out there.  everywhere we contacted required you to only be on 30mg to 0 methadone to be excepted into treatment.  it seems more than impossible to find someone to help us.  we are desperate to seek treatment asap because i am due to go back to work and there is no way he can go to a detox and me work and have the children. it is beyond ridiculous that we have to choose money over him getting treatment but with the debt he has put us in we have no choice to choose the money. if he doesnt get help we are definitly headed  down the road of bankrupcy/divorce within weeks. unfortunatly myself and the children can no longer stay with him if he doesnt change something because everything is spiraling out of control.  i understand i cant make someone come clean, he truely wants off this as much as i want him to be.    i dont know really what kind of support i am asking for but if there is any ideas or advice i would be more than greatful to hear back.  my children are already living with a parent who is non existant and it is so hard for me to be 100% mommy when i am going 100% CRAZY with anxiety and stresses, it almost is starting to feel like im the one that needs the help.  if there is anyone who has went cold turkey, has been in a relationship with  a methadone user i would really love to hear how you coped and got through this cause i cant see a light of hope anywhere.  thanks

[IBKleen]

Hi & Welcome,

You are both really in a jam with this one. Your husband has what is called "dual addictions" and to be honest, I believe he needs in-patient treatment. If he thinks he can go cold turkey off of 80 mgs of Methadone and walk away and never touch it again he is truly crazy. It doesn't work like that. Also my guess is that he not gambling at the moment because the money ran out.  

I am stumped at what to say to you other then to take care of yourself and your babies. You have to make that a priority. As you stated, you cannot get him clean.

Stick around let some other members give you feedback from their experiences.

Hope to see you post again. Take care of YOU.

[whitie]

I can sympathize with him and I feel so sorry what you are going through. I have been 50 days clean  now off the 'done and norcos, and it was tough to do all while working on top of it. long term use of replacement opioids (done and even sub too) is very hard to shake.

80mgs is alot, a taper program is a must. thats the only way I think it can be done,short of going through some seriously, EVEN larger WD's. there sure seems to be alot of methadone problems, like his going around.

Is he truly serious on quiting?  If so there is somethings that can be done, but he has to be %100 committed

[ma3]

well he does attend an addiction center where he attends meeting 2xs a week and he is now as of 2 weeks ago an in an in patient program at the hospital.  i feel his problem with his issues are a lot to do with the methadone drs., they always seem to find a reason he should either stay or up his dose.  he seems to get a hard time to  reduce his mg, they are so far from being supportive in that area.  there is nowhere in our area that will help him to get off this, they only help once you are off it.  this is so hard for me to deal with because i feel i am made to live a life of methadone when i had nothing to do with anything.  up until my hubby taking the pills( which he started on them because he was in a serious accident) he an i never touched any sort of drug and VERY rarely drank so when i hear about all these pills and drugs which are helpful or more addictive etc... i have no idea what really is a good choice to make.  he has tried more than a dozen times to reduce his dose by 5mg every 2weeks and 2mg every 2 weeks, 5mg every 3weeks, there have been various attemps to reduce but it never seems to fly and before you know it he is back up to where he started.  i am praying to god that he may beat the odds and this cold turkey deal would work for him.  i hoping that maybe without the drs. opinion he may get through this.  he has gone 48++ hrs now and it seems brutal and i think theres a lot more stuggles ahead but as it stands alls i can do is keep encouraging him and offering him support i guess

[ma3]

is there anything natural that can be taken to lighten up the wd. he is taking mulitvitamin, potassium, b6 and acidophillus. of course i understand it would take something more serious to get rid of the pain but the more natural the better to ease anything. thanks

[IBKleen]

You stated that he went into in-patient treatment two weeks ago. I assume they are detoxing him there and you should not attempt to interfere with their treatment plan by giving him supplements at this point.

You said he has been off 48 hours now so did they wean him in the last two weeks? Also remember that Methadone has a long half-life so he will not go into full blown withdrawal immediately.

I am so happy to hear he is in treatment. Surely I am concerned for the family and would always tell a spouse or so to take care of themselves first but I also say that there is hope for every addict. Hang on to that hope. It sounds like this is something that he now wants.

When he gets out of treatment he will need extensive aftercare to re-learn how to live clean and sober. I am sure they will set him up before he leaves treatment.

Glad to see you are sticking around.

[christos24]

wow i am sorry the situation that occurred, my heart goes out to you and your family...yeah for the addiction and dependency he had for just percs, would in no way call for the need of methadone treatment, even suboxone would be a secondary choice. He wasnt a super high dose or a super strong opiate so i cant believe they even let him into the clinic, but im sure they saw $ and that was that..so now your husband is truly a slave to the methadone clinic believe me i know all to well I have been at a clinic for just under two years now im at 120mgs and have been on that dose for almost a year, but Im in the same boat as your husband i need my daily dose or ill get even sicker than if i would cold turkey off of any other opiate, even the strongest ones out there, it doesnt even begin to touch on the severity of methadone wds..they are by far the worst wds that can possibly be given to someone and even worse it last usually  at least a month and half to two months..I am truly sorry about what that has caused on your family, relationship, and everyday life...I know how it feels dealing with someone such as this....
For one he needs to asap see an addiction specialist/therapist right away, they will better explain to him what hes into and what can be done and how it can be corrected. He honestly never should have  been let into that clinic in the first place no one needs to be on methadone unless they are on opiates heroin or stronger for long periods of times and huge doses, thats it, for addictions to any prescription opioids such as vicodin, percocets, or even oxycontin, need to be put on a suboxone treatment program. its easy to get on, it gets rid of any severity of wds and its so much easier to taper off of when they are ready. Obviously its to late to say stop the methadone and switch to suboxone just like that..he needs to truly slowly taper his methadone dose down, and working with is counselor there, they can figure out a tapering schedule that truly will work for him, some people are fine with going down 5 mgs once a week, some twice wee, or some can only go down 2 or 3 mgs a week, it all depends on the dose hes at on methadone, the length of time which has been long (3 years), and the severity of addiction and dependency to it, that will decide his tapering schedule, but no matter how much he thinks its impossible or that he cant live without methadone, its definitely doable, its done by many ppl daily, and even if he wants to go super slow tapering thats fine,he just needs to see the addiction specialist to give him a really truthful explanation that tapering down slowly even 5mgs a week will cause no wds, he will be fine, and once he is down to 20 or 30mgs he can be switched over to suboxone which is soo much more suited for your husbands addiction and situation..its way less addictive, doesnt give you a euphorc high, but its very potent for pain relief and for a real treatment for opiate addictions exactly like your husbands case...i wish you, your husband, and family the best of luck, if you have any questions, anything, or you want to vent, anytime just message me im always around, stay strong and be assertive with your husband cuz being on methadone will cause him to right back to the days he was using percocets and was addicted, but this time much much more severe, it will cause him to believe its not possible or that it wont work, etc. etc, just stay strong get him to a addition specialist, not one at the methadone clinic and they will most likely find a way to get him to understand that he needs this not only for himself but for his family as well, my best wishes goes out to you, if you need anything let me know, Christos

[ma3]

thank you to everyone who has replied.  today is his 3rd day he has his ups and downs but so far he is holding strong.

[ma3]

well today my husband has been 9 days off methadone, cold turkey.  he has went threw the body aches, his legs are still  bothering him a bit .  he is on and off with vomiting and he is finding it harder to sleep.  it slowly seems like he is about to turn the corner and the symptoms may start to ease up.  he has seemed to cut back to 3-4 smokes max per day from about 20per day (which would also be nice if it stayed like that for the long run).  he is taking a ton of vitamins and supplements and trying to eat and drink fairly healthy.  does anyone know how much longer he can expect to feel the worst of this and is there anything that he can do or use (naturally and over the counter) to subside the symptoms.. thanks