Addicted and currently withdrawling from opiates

[Addicted73]

Really need a little help.  I have been using Oxycontin for almost 2 years now and have wanted to stop soo bad.  I was using between 200-300mgs.a day.  Had a friend give me some methadone a while back and began to use only when I couldn't find anymore Oxy using on and off in small doses 1-2 10 mg. tablets.  I finally built the strength to get off the opiates and have not used Oxy for 8 days now.  Since I've never seen a doctor I know very little about methadone or how to use it.  I started last week w/ 3 pills the first couple of days and am currently taking a half a pill 2x a day.  I have friends who know a bit about methadone tell me I should be taking more but don't want to.  Unfortunately I'm having trouble sleeping, sweating, and especially eating.  I'm so done with opiates and want them gone for good and also don't want an addiction to methadone as well.  I'm ready to get my life back and am very determined to do so.  I have a wonderful wife and 6 mos. year old who have no clue as to any of this, believe it or not.  I'm done!  Just need a little help because I would have thought by now I'd feel better but once the dones start to wear off my withdrawl symptoms set in.  Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Jeffrey T Junig, MD PhD]

Jake, go ahead and start a new thread with your question.  As for 'addicted 73', I have strong opinions from my own experiences with addiction and from what I see with patients.... opinions that you may resist hearing.  

I would be very surprised if a person taking a couple hundred of OC per day could leave the addiction behind.  And it IS addiction;  I don't know how you got the pills but the street value of your use is over $200 per day, so you were either dealing or stretching your finances... either of which puts you in areas where you likely faced consequences, making the term 'opiate dependence' apt.  You also mention that you did it even though you hated it, a state of affairs that suggests addiction.  

Opiate addiction is a tough nut to crack.  Methadone is another 'agonist', although it does have some interesting effects at a different opiate receptor besides the mu receptor that may reduce tolerance and withdrawal.  There have been 'methadone clinics' to treat opiate dependence since about 1972;  the goals with methadone maintenance are to first to satiate the addiction and prevent withdrawal, and second to push the tolerance so high that other opiates are not effective.  Your tolerance is already above that level.

I have followed, helped, assisted, etc many addicts detox from many opiates.  Methadone and fentanyl are the hardest, in my opinion;  fentanyl for the intensity, and methadone for the chronicity;  as eagle states, the withdrawal from methadone goes on for months in almost everyone.  You can reduce the withdrawal by reducing the speed of the taper.

In my opinion, though, your problems will only be starting once you finish the taper and withdrawal.  EVERY opiate addict wants desperately to stop!  Most find that it is NOT the withdrawal that keeps them using, but rather something far more powerful, that occurs during good times as well as during bad times.  I hope that you can stay away, but if you cannot I encourage you to seek treatment sooner rather than later.

[theeagle]

Eight days clean? Congratulations on that one!!  Sometimes the first step or two is the hardest part of the journey. It does sound to me as if you are hitting some early stages of withdrawals.........This would be a prime time for you to learn a lot more about methadone; if you are going to take it without professional advice. Methadone can take a long time to get over. Sometimes a month or so of very "flu like" symptoms. And several more months of depression type problems. You would treat methadone about the same as another type of narcotic issue. Your dose is high enough and your history colorful enough that I would suggest a Docs assistance. A Pro can set you up with things for sleep and BP meds that help anxiety and sleep. May even have some further advice. But if you choose to do it by yourself it should not kill you. It wont be fun ..... but it can be done. I cold turkey'd a larger dose than you are talking about - - I dont taper very well - - and so have many others that visit this forum. Keep posting if you have any questions and for support and just to chat or vent if you need to........ It would be good if you could avoid the methadone as a habit - but that can be addressed along with the oxy ........ Bottom line is that there is no way to do this and be entirely comfortable - - - but it is so worth doing........like Nike says - just do it.

[theeagle]

So you are 9 days into the methadone? At 30mg initially and then down to 10mg? You probably dont want to take the methadone for more than another week or so......and try to take enough to take away the w/d's ....otherwise you might as well just quit. You might want to post on the Substance Abuse Addiction Community - you will get some community advice over there......things like benadryl for sleep - some like melatonin for sleep - and hot baths / showers to feel better and sleep...... calcium / magnesium supps for sweating and RLS ... banana's for both potassium and food.....Walgreens has a store brand of Ensure protein Drink...... Lots of things to try......Keep busy until you hear from Doc Jeff here......and best of luck to you - -

[jake5555]

I have been taking 7 10mg pills of vicodin for about 2 years now due to 5 herniated disks which cannot be operated on due to age 55 and weight. Several times I have tried to stop taking the pills and my heart pounds so hard I feel like I am going to have a heart attack. I have very high blood pressure and a weak heart due to weight issues. 280 lbs and 5'8". Is this just a symtom or can this be dangerous trying to get off pills.