Methodone questions

[snapteach]

Does anyone take Methodone for their pain?  I have taken Hydrocodone since January of this year and my pain level is still so very bad that it is doing nothing to stop it.  The doctor put me on Methodone (5 mg) - 3 times daily and Lyrica (50 mg) - 3 times daily to help me get off the hydrocodone without any problems and also to control my terrible pain.  It has seemed to work most of the time except I tend to be very sleepy alot of the time.  

I would like to hear of your experiences with this medicine and if it worked in taking your pain away.  Did you have any withdrawal symptoms when you went off of it?  Any help you can give would be appreciated.

[Toomanyadvil]

Hi snapteach

       I have not personally taken methadone. But I have heard many people say that it is the only thing that has worked for there pain.
Alot of DR;s prefer to prescribe methadone to there patients because there are less side effects than things like oxycontin and morphine and it takes a longer time to build a tolerance to the point that someone would need more.
The problems I have heard about methadone for chronic pain is that it has a ceiling effect on other short acting medications. So if you were to need percocet or viivoden for breakthrough pain they wouldnt work as well. Kind of like the methadone cancels them out.
A bug draw back to methadone is the withdrawls. They seem to be worse than any other opioid medication used to treat Chronic Pain. They are known to last longer and are more intense. But in the case of using methadone to treat CP, the DR will taper you down trying to avoid severe withdrawls and most likely give you support medications for blood pressure, nausea/vomiting and possibly sleep/anxiety.
To make you as comfortable as possible.

I do know there are some members in this community who have or are using methadone for chronic pain. I'll let them know to stop by and let you know how they have done on it.

Although I dont have personal experience with actually taking it I hope this helped a bit.
I'm so glad that you are getting some relief from the Methadone&Lyrica combo.

TMA

[ACHILDOFGOD]

I'm glad you've raised this question because I am not yet on it but it has been brought to my attention as a possible option for me too with pain that has been hard to manage and going through all of the oxycontin, percocet, and fentanal with minimal relief. I look forward to reading these posts and it may help me to make a better decision before thursday about my options. I will keep checking back

[jimgreg]

yes im on methadone was on a real high dose from a dockter that wasen a good one..now im on 20mgs aday..it will help ur pain long term..the sleepy part i dont understand that  it keeps me up..not as bad..you have to be on a stable dose at least 30 days to feel it melt away..i use to be on 120mgs aday..i weened down to were  I'm at now...im prescribed 30 mgs but just need 20 of it..i have sever knees and lower back pain..i was on the oc,s they never did anything compared to methadone...ask me anything   you like!!  thanks  james

[fibromama]

I just in the last two days switched from Methadone (being on for 3yrs) to Suboxone.  The methadone was great for the pain and because of its long half life it lasts in your body a lot longer.  As for being tired,,I was also especially in the beginning "its the synthetic Heroin" so knodding is normal.  Good scenario "Wizard of Oz" when they all fall asleep in the poppy field.  The bad part of it all is the withdrawals they are by far worse than any of the other opiates due to the long half life so not only is the pain unbearable but so is the length of time it takes to completely get withdrawn.  The reason I switched to Sub is because I failed w/d of methadone cold turkey and with assistance to many times,switching to the Suboxone is another long story in itself.  Thankfully you are on a low dose of Methadone,,,do you plan on taking it for a while or do you want to eventually start the w/d process.

[UniquelyMe42]

I have been taking Methadone for over 6 years for CP...I have had 2 failed back surgeries since 1999 and the latest 4 years ago was Fusion at L4-S1...I also have DDD and many other problems including my right knee.  Methadone helps, but since I have been on it for so long I wanted a change.  I was taking 120 mg. Methadone a day along with 30 mg. Oxy IR 4Xdaily for BT pain.  The PM Dr. wanted to start me on Opana ER 20 mg. 2X day along with only 80 mg. Methadone.  Insurance reasons stopped that so he increased Methadone to 150 mg. a day and NO BT meds!!!  Awful!! I go back on Monday and want to try Opana ER...but Methadone is very helpful, except for constipation...

[NoMoMeth4me]

I would NOT recommend it for CP. I was on it for a while and it was fine at first but was ineffective quickly. It is also a NIGHTMARE to come off of, I know from experience.

I am on Fentanyl 100mcg patch every 72hrs and it's much more effective than Methadome ever was.

Methadone has it's place, but more for maint from other drugs IMO. Some do use it for pain, it is cheap and easy to manufacture. I'm a different person now I'm off it.

Keep us updated.

-Brian.