Methadone instead of Oxycontin

[MamaBlaze]

My husband has been taking Oxycontin 10mg for a couple of months now. They are now wanting him to change to Methadone10mg. Is it safe to change? How long should he wait between his last Oxycontin and his first Methadone?

[sandee1818]

I would definitely ask his doctor but there are doctors who prescribe methadone with oxycodone for break thru pain. You can even ask your pharmacist as they know alot more about the drugs and interactions than alot of doctors.
I would also advise you and your husband to research methadone as it is a VERY hard medication to come off of. If it were my decision I would stay with the Oxycontin if that worked well. I know there have been many members that have said if they had it to do over again they would have never started methadone. Methadone also causes bone loss and gets into the bone marrow thats why it is so very hard to detox from.
Please talk to the doctor and ask why he is considering the change because your husband as the Pt and the one who pays the doctor has the choice of how he is treated medically.
I suggest doing some research and printing it out and taking it to the next appointment and address your concerns with the doctor about the medications change.

[sandee1818]

I wanted to clarify that your husband is taking the extended release form of oxycodone which is called Oxycontin and no I would not take these drugs together. I was only saying that doctors do prescribe the oxycodone short acting as a break thru medication for someone taking methadone so I see no reason to completely detox from the Oxycontin before starting the methadone but PLEASE ask your doctor and pharmacist!

[al1955]

HELLO . I HADE  BEEN ON OXYCONTIN FOR MANY YEARS. WHEN I NEEDED TO GET OFF THE OXY , DO TO MANY SIDE EFFECTS, INCLUDING LOSSING MY FAMILY DO TO MOOD CHANGES, FORGETTING FAMILY EVENTS, AND JUST BEING DOWN RIGHT MISSERABLE. THEY USED METHADONE TO WEEN ME OFF THE OXY. IT STILL TOOK ME 7 MONTHS TO GET COMPLETLY OFF THE OXY, THE WITHDRAWES. SWEATS. FREEZING, BODY ACHES AND PAINS, VOMITTING, YOU NAME IT I WENT THRU IT.  PUT REMEMBER I WAS TAKING 80MG 4 TIMES A DAY, AND VICODIN, WITH SOMA,S ALSO.THE METHADONE WORKS BUT YOU WILL SUFFER FROM VOMITTING AND SWEATS, FREEZING MOOD CHANGES ON AND OFF.  I NOW TAKE MORPHINE ER TABS 60MG  AND DEAL WITH LIFE MUCH BETTER. I DEAL WITH LEG PAIN , AND LOWER BACK PAIN  ALMOST CONSTANTLY BUT IM NOT ON A ROLLER COASTER . ASK YOUR DR IF THIS IS WHAT HIS INTENTIONS ARE , IF SO WORK WITH THEM ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN LIVING ON OXY,S AND POSSIBLE LOSSING YOUR LIFE AS WITH EVERY FRIEND AND FAMILY MEMBER YOU HAVE. GOOD LUCK.  AL

[nurseaudrea]

There are better meds to take than methadone. For me it was an evil drug. I had to take it for about a year or longer. I have taken any and every drug possible to treat pain and I would never touch Methadone again. It was the hardest drug to come off of. I did not care for Oxy too much, but it was better than Methadone. Oxy does have side effects that I am not to keen on. I now take Kadian and it is by far the best long acting med I have ever taken. For me, the long acting morphine has the least amount of side effects and I am pretty comfortable. I am sure many would agree about Methadone, but their are also some that take it and it has done them a world of good. It just depends I guess if he will want to come off the meds at some point. If he does, Methadone is the worst. I have heard it is worse than coming off heroin. The w/d's are the worst, even when tapered properly, as I did. I suffered terribly. Once you are done with the initial w/d you go through it again many weeks later as it comes out of the fat deposits it was stored in.
Why does the doc want to switch him? If he is not having any problems and he is doing fine on it I would advise against it. If he needs somehting else, I would suggest trying other drugs before going to methadone.
Good luck with whatever you decide.       Audrea

[Red931]

I must ask the same question. Why does the doctor want to take him off the Oxycontin. The 10mg dose is the lowest dosage available so he is not on that much depending on how many he is taking per day. Why is it being prescribed?

If you are taking Oxycontin for true pain you should not have much trouble coming off of it. His doctor should have explained this when it was prescribed. It is meant to be taken every 12 hours so it should not be taken more than twice daily. His doctor also should have explained a weaning plan to him when he prescribed it. If you are going to be on any type of opiate for an extended amount of time (1 month or more) you will need to be weaned off of them to avoid withdrawls when the time comes to stop them.

I am prescribed Oxycontin 20mg. and Percocet 5/325 for breakthrough pain which is what Sandee was talking about and I do well with this type of treatment. I am able to get through the day with no more than 25 to 30 mgs total and I have some pretty significant injuries. I personally would not want the methadone.

[Red931]

Hi!  
   I need to know what a safe time would be between Oxycontin 10mg 4 times a day and Methadone 10 mg three  times a day? My doctor wants me off the Oxycontin but I was afraid to change without a waiting period but I don't want to wait so long I can't walk. I have Osteoarthritis,Fibromyalgia as well as Osteoporosis to deal with.

You posted the above in the Substance Abuse Forum before you posted over here. If you are not honest with us we can't help you! Why would you tell us it was your husband if it is you? As I stated earlier Oxycontin is meant to be taken every 12 hours some doctors will prescribe for every 8 hours but you are already exceeding that.

[MamaBlaze]

As for why I stated it was me,just because he asked me to find out and he doesn't use the computer. I didn't realize there were so many places in here to post at the time. I certainly was not trying to be dishonest,just looking to help him with his pain.
His doctor has changed his meds so many times over the past 10 years until I wanted to know what kind of responses I would get in here.He will have to go to a pain clinic to get the methadone and I'm not sure it will be any better. I am just tired of watching him spend his life the way he is now because he hurts all the time. He never sleeps more than a few hours at a time. The only time he goes out of the apartment is to go to Dr. Appts.

[nick30]

He will not get better through medication alone. If he never gets out except to Dr's appts then he may benefit from a more holistic approach.

[Red931]

You also may want to find another doctor to get another opinion. As I asked earlier, why is he being prescribed Oxycontin 10mg 4 times daily? It is a 12 hour doesed medication no matter what the dosage. If he needs 40mgs. daily theh he should be prescribed 20mg. twice a day. Overlapping doses of Oxycontin can make you very tired and cause respitory problems if the dosages are taken too close together. Even if he took two at the same time they would not disperse evenly into his system.

Tell us more about his condition and what type of doctor he is seeing so that we may give you some better advice. Please include his age and any other conditions he may have that may be contributing to his pain. We have some good people here that can help.

Please understand that we have people coming on here everyday that are trying to find ways to use these pain medications illegaly. That is why I checked out your other post. We don't want to give advice to people that shouldn't be here in the first place. Thank you for answering my question quickly and now lets see if we can't help your husband feel better. I can understand why you posted it was you in the other forum.

[opus88]

Hi, u have been given some very good advice here MamaBlaze from people who have alot of experience with these meds. I would just like to comment here, to me it sounds like he doesn't have a very educated doctor....every doctor can prescribe but like my pain specialist told me.....most only take 1 hour of education abt pain medications in their training....where a vet takes 10! where does that put us?
I would seek a more trained doctor for another opinion B4 changing anything!

[BOK2Bjan]

Hi.  Many have already given you some very sound advice.  I too would be interested in hearing more of the story, in order to better advise concerning actual prescription choices.  I will say, as someone who's been on every long acting opiate possible, (EXCEPT methadone)  that you might want to look into Avinza.  It is a long acting morphine class drug.  I take it once a day, and it never leaves me feeling either over-dosed, nor under-dosed - a very even bio-availability is achieved.  I had to switch to it after Pallidone was taken from the market, and medicaid wouldn't cover Fentenyl patches.  It has worked very well, for years.  I do take something occasionally for break-through, but it's not usually a problem - unless of course my MS, or joints etc. flair up.

Let us know more about your husband's situation, and perhaps someone can be of additional help.

Blessings, Jan

[ChronicPain1]

I'm surprised to see all the negative comments about Methadone, as I've read a few articles by doctors that it's safer than even Morphine! It's disheartening to hear, to say the least.

[jmsl5]

I too have no problem with methadone. I have taken it for a few years for nerve pain.  I take 10 mg every 12 hr.  I was getting along fine with it and my doctor all of a sudden changed it to OxyContin 10mg every 12 hours two weeks ago.  I now have double vision and am tired and cold, I have a few methadone left, I’m wondering if I could just quit the OxyContin and take the methadone until I can talk to my doctor on Monday.  Any help I would appreciate.

[backhurtz]

I would not suggest taking ANY methadone unless and until you have gotten the approval from your doctor FIRST. Even if he/she previously prescribed the methadone- it would be considered as a violation of your pain management agreement , self medicating and taking a medication not prescribed to you. Doing so could easily get you dismissed from the drs practice and reported on the state database for misuse/abuse of opiates. That would make it very difficult to get into another drs practice.

[Mollyrae]

MamaBlaze:

I find it really hard to believe that his Doctor is not educated and prescribing him many different medications. Doctors DO NOT change the patients regiment when they are doing so well on one particular drug. If anything, they will want to see him take less of the drug and eventually become opiate free. Doctors don't keep adding to the mix, at least none that I have ever heard of.

I see some red flags in this post and the one in the Substance Abuse Forum. If the two of you truly had no addiction then what would bring you to the Substance Abuse Forum in the first place. I wouldn't have even considered it with my pain and the constant struggles I have. Like Red said, you must be honest and in my opinion...we all have one....you have not been honest here.

We are a great group of members with something in common and are willing to help with our advise to anyone who needs it. All we ask is that your honest with the information.

I think the comments with the Methadone are disheartening as well. I feel that it is a safe and effective drug for pain as well as w/d. There are opiates just as powerful and hard to come off of as the Methadone so I wouldn't single it out.

MamaBlaze, I hope your situation improves and you find the right path as well as your Husband. Please take care.
Molly

[Red931]

Molly,

She didn't realize that there was a Pain Management Forum that is why she posted there first. She explained why she did that and I understood her reason for doing so.

I posted my question about my medication over there first also when I first found MedHelp. When you google your medication it always takes you there first.

I really think that his doctor wants to switch his medication because he didn't prescribe his Oxycontin properly in the first place. He seems to need 20mg. twice a day, but his doctor had him on 10 mg. 4 times daily. I am not a doctor but I know you should dose Oxycontin on a 12 hour basis.

[nick30]

You are right about oxycontin being a 12 hourly med however I used to also take it 4x a day. for some people it lasts well under the specified 12 hours duration. In the end it gave me so much trouble that i switched to fentanyl.
methodone is also longer acting than oxycontin, maybe that's got something to do with the switch, who knows.
like many others i'm also surprised about the negativity surrounding methadone. having said that though i rejected it because i thought everyone would think i was a heroin addict if i took it. anyway, as far as i can tell(i haven't actually taken it) the only real negatives are the withdrawals(which aren't a big problem if you expect to be on it long term) and the link with bone de-calcification.

Nick.

[Red931]

You are correct with the Oxycontin duration. I don't get twelve hours out of it either. I am lucky if I get eight. My point is if his doctor felt he needed 40 mg. daily why not prescribe 20 mg. twice daily as it would be properly prescribed that way. When you start overlapping doses of time released medication you are going to have problems.

I think what turns so many people off of methadone is that it is used to detox people that are addicted to heroin to be honest. When people that are not educated about it hear it they immediately think of heroin.

Even though the Oxycontin only gives me about eight hours of relief it does work for me with very little side effects so I stick with it. I have the Percocet for the breakthrough pain so I squeek by like the rest of us do day by day.

[nick30]

So long as it's working for you thats the main thing. Glad you have something you're happy with.

Nick.

[Mollyrae]

I do realize the reason for posting in the two forums and  I also find it hard to believe that the Doctor is so nieve and uneducated by making a merry-go-round out of the pain regiment. I have never heard of that and I have been involved with pain management for quite a few years. I have only had 2 Doctors who ever did the prescribing in 20 years and they never kept switching my meds. The only time I have had a switch was when one was not effective anymore and that took quite a bit.

I may have been somewhat hasty in my comment but I guess  that's the way I felt at the time and still do but to some degree more understanding. I apoligize for being somewhat harsh but find it strange as well.

Thanks Red for your input. I appreciate it.
Molly

[Red931]

I agree with you 100%. I also only have two doctors that prescribe my medications and had a switch only once because Vicodin did not work for me. I understand exactly where your coming from.

I don't think you were being harsh at all. I just wanted you to be aware of her explanation as to why she posted the way she did.

[ChronicPain1]

Ugh, I need to have my medication changed. This 25mcg Fentanyl patch is 100% ineffective. My pain is at a 7 most times minimum, when on the previous medication it could be a 2 at most times.

[BOK2Bjan]

Hi fellow sufferers,
I posted about having switched many times and my pain management doctor - the only one I've ever had, has told me that it is often a good pain management technique underused.  The body can get used to a med and by changing, you can get good results again. That being said, many of my switches were due to the medicaiton being taken off the market or an insurance company change meaning it wasn't covered anymore.  But, I've never had anyone acknowledge my input about the drug Avinza.  It is a 24 hour dosing and works wonderfully.  Methadone was offered to me and I have nothing against it at all.  But my doctor felt it was harder to regulate due to its short duration of action.  He wants the longest acting drug possible to keep the blood levels constant.  Has anyone ever tried Avinza?  

Blessings, Jan

[Red931]

To be very honest I have never heard of Avinza. I am going to research it now.

[nick30]

I've tried a similar drug(kapanol). it is just another name for the same drug.
it's also known as Kadian, MS-contin etc
As far as i'm aware they are all available in mono preparations.
I actually found the duration to be beyond 24 hours but it just wasn't strong enough at the dose i was on.
glad it is working for you though.
if you ever tire of taking pills once a day you could always try duragesic. lol.

Nick.

[BOK2Bjan]

Been there - done that!  I was on the patch for a couple years - at a high dose, actually, but my insurance doesn't cover it anymore.  We (when married) bought it for a while @ over $600/box along with my $1000/mo insurance premium.  Needless to say, as a divorced medicaid user, it no longer is an option.  The Avinza is great at a higher dose.  I actually got tired of cleaning off all the sticky stuff etc.  Glad you're happy with your patches - I'm GLAD you can get them!  Have you ever used actiq suckers for breakthrough?  Take care

Blessings, Jan