Coming off methadone successfully

I am 58 years old and have been on metadone since 1971. My highest was 100 mg., and my lowest had always been 50, untill I wanted to detox whereas I am down to 35 mg. I am extremely frightened as to the last 10-20 mgs. as I have heard such horror stories.

Your input will be of great value, as you are currently going through this at present. Good for you to share this with others who will definitley benefit form your experiences!!

Hoping you can guide me through the journey of my life, anm truly looking forward to it!

Pam

Hi Pam, in my experience positive mental attitude is the key. you have to do it in your own time and realise that once it's done it's well worth it. I am 27 but have been on methadone nearly 10 years. and for the first 5 of those I was still heavily using heroin and cocaine. My peak dose was 90mg a day but over a period of probably 2 or 3 years I slowly reduced it down to 7.5mg, then over a few weeks dropped it down to practically nothing and then stopped. I did it in my own time, at home and used sleeping pills (valium, ambien and rohypnol) to help me sleep. It worked and it's now been 3 months off methadone. It's quite strange for me as when I started I was still a teenager, just a kid and now I'm a 27 year old man. Anyway, best of luck and I'm sure you can do it and will feel like a million bucks once you are through it.

feohmoon: congratulations on going through with your program. well done! :)

Hi,
I enjoyed reading your 'success story', congratulations.  I am currently on a methadone programme, have been for 1 year.   I started on 95ml and I am now on 9ml per day.  I reduced myself, as I recieve my full prescription home and my father is a doctor, the clinic allowed it.  I am only now beginning to really struggle, the mornings seem to be my problem time, I now have a job and it is really difficult getting out the door when i'm feeling so much uncomfort.  I get aching bones, sore stomach and the back pain is almost unbearable.  I am well aware that I have reduced quickly and I am prepared to take the pain.  However I'd love it if you could offer any advice.  Should I see my doctor about alternative medicines such as vitamins?  My father really does not like me too talk about it and feels I should be off it.  Although I am going as fast as I can.  It is soley down too me and I truly want to be free from methadone asap.  

Thank you

Lisa

Hi ya' all!    

i ve been on Methadone for over 3 years and was at 65 mls, i decide to go on holiday a long holiday...7 weeks to Qatar...my doc wasnt willing to prescribe no more than 4 weeks worth, however my keyworker had recently made manager of the clinic put in a good word for me and being clean ie street drug free my doc leaned to my side and i left the UK with 2730 mls of methadone!.Everything was really good until 20 days left into my holiday when i realized that i should have 1000mls, but looking at the bottle i had approx less than 500mls, i will never forget that day....Oh my God, as Methadone is unavailable in Qatar, not sure but either way no one but my clinic in the UK was going to help, i looked at it another way, and f*** it! Im gonna F****ing going to see this through....Bring it ON.... i was *******! I was on 65 mls of meths each day i had tried cutting down but always screwed up when the withdrawal cravings kicked in.....Now i had no resolve according to my calculations i would need to drop from 65 to 37mls and my body kicked off if i drop by 5mls.....What was i suppose to do?
The clinic had given 6 weeks even though they had the dates which added to 7 weeks?(Theories Guys?)The exact dates was written on the damn license....How could they f***up?I knew a rapid drop of a large dose would mean a major ball buster so i decided to do a rapid decline detox, something which i ve never been able to do, even at a slow drop off! Anything under 60mls made feel like ****. Now i had to do a detox on holiday.........To cut the story short, i came back this week and ive dropped from 65mls to 3mls in 20 days... Dropping 5mls every 3 days!!!!!!Sure it was like hell at times but even i was surprised that i had managed to do this, I even found Allah! and i think faith plays a big part psychologically.
Rather than give the clinic a good hiding i gave them a big THANK YOU, now my keyworker believes i will be clean very soon, but reading the posts above ive noticed about sleep problems, and above all is the worst, i dont want to take any other pills.i.e. anything from the 'zepam' family but im having a lot of nasty non sleep nights......help pls???It feels good though i suppose when we are faced with such an ultimatum its do or die in this case smoke or rapid detox? Rapid detox pls!. I address Methadone as great big brass chain tied to my wrist, but now that chain has become a wire, one which i believe i have the mind and faith to break.....i was an addict for 10 years but psychologically/mentally my mind has locked that door which leads me a stray...........Thanks for listening.M

Hello, My name is james and I have been on 30 mg of methadone (per day) and vicodone (7.5 tabs) 3 x per day. I have been on this schedule since 2003 after a serious accident while on duty as a Undercover Police Officer. I have lost my career and my health!!!! I recently moved to a state where I have no access to a Pain Management group and have been tapering off by snapping 1 pill in half every few weeks. I am down to 1 half a pill and half of a Vicodone per day. I know it doesn't sound like much but I am in HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't sleep, I hurt all the time and I actually feel like I am going crazy at night. I have weird dreams and toss and turn. I also have RLS and I can't tell if its the RLS or withdrawl. My RLS is so severe that I actually have to move all night long and like I said it feels like I am losing my mind! I don't want to live like this and want to know if this is a process of withdrawl. I am so FATIGUED that I struggle to get up and walk across the room!!! I feel like I am dying!
I am sooooooo angry because several years ago when my DR told me about methadone I asked if it was addicting and she said "NO", infact she said that was the reason she wanted me to take it. I have a wife and baby as well as one on the way........needless to say I feel as though I am uselless to them and I feel bad for being sick and in pain all the time.
OH YAH.............just though you should know that a year after the accident my wife of 17 years ran off with my partner from the police Dept.......thank god for that....the problem is that my 3 children were devistated and I wonder if I am also experiencing depression as a result of all the garbage I have had to endure, on top of everything else.                                      What a story, Huh? There is soooo much more to this and all I want is someone to listen to my story and maybe throw some advise as a result of experience my way! I am going back to college in August and getting my degree in Psychology.........I just hope I can handle it!!!!!!!!
Thanks for listening!!!!!
James

I knew no one would reply..........or care.

james

Hey guys -
I have been reading all kinds of posts from people who have gone or are going through the process of coming off methadone.  My boyfriend and I are nowf tapering down off of methadone.  My highest dose was 55 and I have been going down 2 mg a week and am now at 47 mg.  I am feeling like SH*T. . . My biggest issues so far are stomach problems and chills/sweats.  I am VERY worried, as this isn't even a full ten mg drop and I am already feeling this way!?!?  I don't know what to do, if anyone has any tips PLEASE let me know.  My stomach feels like it is in a thousand knots and I can barely even exist, let alone go to work or school.  It's summer right now so I am not doing anything currently.  But as of August 24, I will be going full time back to college.  I am very afraid to be going through this pain while trying to keep up in school.  If anyone knows about any type of hospital detox that may make these withdrawls less extreme or any other tips please let me know, I would appreciate any advice.  Thanks for reading guys!

hey guys,my name is ryan and ive been on methadone now for 5 yrs.about 9 months ago i made my mind up to start tapering off of it.i knew it would be a long process but the goal i set for my self was to never go up but rather always down no matter how long it took.ive been tapering 2mg a week ever since, my highest dose being 65mg.Just this past monday i reached 4mg and this coming monday i will drop to 2mg which will be my final week.i have to admit this last drop has been my hardest yet, ive been having alot of trouble sleeping and feeling like crusty the clown, but the good news is that ive come to damn far to give up now and my dedication to staying clean and sober has been etched in stone.Some things that have helped me a long the way is drinking plenty of gatorade, flax seed oil pills, and for sleep 2 tylenol pms mixed with one 5mg melatonin pill before bed.also when i have have felt clammy,achey,and stiff taking epsom salt baths has helped a great deal as well.so if your going through what im going through and have any questions or advice im here and we can ride this ****** rollercoaster out together.remember what goes up must come down.

jcro65    I CARE

this **** is hell. i am at 150 and may be going to prison in like 4 months where there is NO methadone. i have to figure out what to do. today i had 150 but just took 140. tomorrow i will take 130. i will do this till i get to about 30mg and i can go on subutex/suboxone. sureley you have heard of it. i was on it. it is a get out of withdrawal free card. use it.

i care. i care about all of you and about getting off this ****. i'm on 150mg of methadone and together i think we can all do this. sometimes i think we make it out to be a bigger thing than it is. IT IS GOING TO SUCK. there is no doubt about it. but there are much much, much, worse things that can happen to us all. anyways i never open to forums. i havn't talked to someone onlilne in years, but now it's time. i can't do this by myselfl.

jcro65 im sooo glad you got comments, some people do  care keep on keeping on x

With regards to the post by James mentioning RLS, It is a relatively common symptom of opiate withdrawal, I have suffered from it since I was a child but I only suffer from it now whilst I am in a state of withdrawal and in a hugely intensified form. I have been experiencing intense agitation and RLS, especially during the night hours, after going from 125mg of methadone ( my dose for 4 years) over the past few months of incremental reduction I am down to 10 mg. Before this I was the last time I experienced very bad RLS was when I was trying to come off buprenorphine or subutex as it is called in the UK. I was on it for 3 years and had to come off it as I was leaving the UK to move to my husbands home country, NZ where it was not available at that time. I was given a prescription that covered 4 weeks and letters from my clinic for customs, and i decided I would reduce the dose myself and try and come off it altogether. My father who is a doctor, prescribed me alprazolam/ xanax, to help with the withdrawal symptoms, which were entrusted to my husband who is not an addict and was taking care of me whist I withdrew . I think I was on 32mg subutex at first and I was rapidly tapering off the dose myself, I don't even know what dose I was on at the end of the reduction period as I was cutting up 16 mg pills into tiny sections. After reducing to what I thought was about 3 or 4mg I foolishly decided I could manage to go CT, this ended up with me in a neck brace in hospital after putting my neck out whilst withdrawing.

According to my husband I was in a state of agitated delirium, my body was suffering muscle spasms and my legs were kicking wildly as if against some invisible assailant, this was due to the intensified RSL and it was one of the worst physical discomforts I can remember experiencing whilst in withdrawal. I can remember  crawling round the floor of the bedroom praying and apologising to god, the god of my childhood, the concept of god had been anathema to me throughout the dark years of my addiction, I was asking him to help me, promising to 'be good' if he would only release me from it. I remember scratching the floor and clawing the bed sheets,  the endless sweating and heightened senses, touch, smells and colours everything was just too much, I felt so raw, buried painful memories from before I was an addict came at me with a startling and disturbing clarity. All the things I had been able to avoid through the numbing narcotization my addiction afforded me. Suffice to say with this attempt I did not manage to get to the other side and after putting my neck out, caused by withdrawal spasms, and being fitted with a neck brace, I was put on methadone in hospital and stayed on it for the next 4 years terrified to reduce my dose by even a mg.
Finally at the beginning of this year I was ready to start reduction. I was going well until I hit 20mg. I noticed it immediately, the morning after going below 20mg my body was drenched in sweat, my mouth was full of saliva, and I was noticing the beginnings of RLS and depression and agitation. I did not share this with my doctor at first as I thought I could be strong and use herbal teas etc to counter these symptoms.  By the next drop in dose I  was waking every few minutes at night with the most persistent and agitating RLS I have experienced since my previous attempt at withdrawal. My husband has taken to sleeping on the couch or the floor , he is trying to study for exams in his final year at law school and this is really affecting both of us. The only thing that works is sitting in a hot bath or putting my feet in a bowl of very hot water, however I find that after getting out of the bath the RLS comes back as soon as I am trying to rest and be still. I also have tried dangling my legs off the bed in front of a fan heater, the heat seems to help but its not an ideal solution, obviously. I am not taking any sleeping tablets yet but am considering it as it is becoming intolerable. Anyway, I just realised how long this post is,  if your still reading thanks for listening, it helps to vent and get it out.

To ihavebeenherkind.

WOW!! I have experienced everything you are describin and, yes, I read all of your post. I want you to know that there ARE people on here who are going through the same things and it is wonderful to know that there is someone who understands. It is so difficult feeling like you can tell no one because it's so hard to explain and you feel like everyone will just think your crazy and you should just get over it.

It sounds like you have support and plans for your life......DO NOT allow this devil to destroy you by making you believe that there is no end to the pain. I felt hopeless until I started communicating with others.

PLEASE don't give up on GOD!!!!!  When people believe that GOD is their baby sitter....that's when they fall.  We DO NOT live in heaven right now. We live in a world where things happen and if GOD was to come to our rescue for everything or heal us of everything then we would all live forever and never learn from from our pain. Someday you will run into someone who is hurting and going through times where they question life and you will be able to stand up and say "I have been there". It's horrible when someone who know nothing of your pain trys to advise you or tell you how to survive! This is our basic training so we can go out there and fight for others who are in need. His ways are beyond our understanding.

I wish you and your husband the best and please DON'T give up!!!!!!!! You will find people like  sue655  or  jawill88   who care like I do!!!!

God bless.

James

Hi I recently stopped cold turkery from 71 mg.....Not a Good Idea.  I just couldnt stand the methadone anymore.  Im in my 3rd week and though it gets better the depression and sleeplessness is very hard on the spirit.  You guys can do it.  I was in the E.R 3 times in about a week span.  I dont want to say what meds they gave me because u might get the wrong idea.  It is hard, but methadone is evil because it will deplete your body of its nutrients, and u will notice this...

God bless you all....It is hard but can be done.

I am currently taking 60 mg a day of methadone. I want to go to zero on my own. Any ideas about how to ramp down from 60 to 0 . I'm looking for dosages and times for ramping down. Thanks to antone who can help.
Bob

hello I have been thro a rapid detox and its almost been two weeks.I have had an implant and everything. They say methadone is the hardest drug to detox from. I have been eating fruits but I am craving pizza and steak like crazy. When can I eat the good stuff?? Like bread sticks and just yummy stuff? I know fruits and vits are important but can someone truly tell me how long am I suppose to wait to eat this stuff I want so bad?

It seems difficult no matter how you detox, Thank God I was able to go to rapid detox which is amazing compared to having to do so cold turkey or any other way. Its been almost two weeks. I am so scared to do anything wrong including eating things that could make everything worse. I am dying to just be normal again and live like I did before all this dope came along. I hate what its done to me, hate it. Im sure most do. I just want to be able to eat steaks and good foods again. Can anyone who really knows tell me the truth? Is it okay to eat this stuff or not.
I read that red meats are bad but for how long is it bad?? I detoxed rapidly for four days the hardest part was coming home and trying to be a good mother to my little 3 yr old daughter........now its almost been two weeks. Next wed it will be two weeks, so can someone please explain this stuff to me?

becky

I just med. detoxed over 9 days in august iam 26 been on methadone for 5 yrs...came off 120mgs diskettes down to 20 over 9 days....then cold turkey...i am doing sumwhat ok now i picked up smoking pot again to increase appetite and rest..plus takes away sweats and anxiety...but i am still dealing with everynight that i am "flooping all over the place and Leges are still "burning" and "kicking" other than that im good........will this ever stop r should i seeek med attn??? thnks a bunch

hi i AM COMING OF  METHADONE WHATS THE BEST PAIN KILLER FOR MY LEG PAINS

i am into my second day of clucking sweats and flu like runny nose have not slept on my way to a private doctor to get some sleeping pills and pain killers i was on  25 mils and i am now on 15 mils i want off this meth and i will do it no matter what i listen to music in the night and get gets me though it .and saunas help big time on my way now to sweat it out .
you can do it be strong love molly xx

I was on 100mg a day i am 22 years old. I got down to thirty mg by myself and then feeling helpless and hopeless i went to the hospital and detoxed for eight days. after that i went to a treatment center for 23 days while my best friend kept my two sons. one is three and the other is eight months old. when i got back i thought all would be well, but now i find myself struggling. trying to take care of them renew my relationship with my fiance who does not understand. Hell keeping the house clean seems so hard. I need to know why i am not better. My last use was on jan. 18th and i had thirty mg that day.  I feel down so what is the point. I want to be me again. I still crave. what is going on with me. I did everything right. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone,  I'm 31 years old.  I've been on Methadone for about 4 1/2 years.   I was given it from chronic pain in my arms, hands, neck, due to an inflamed disc around my c4-c5 area.    Unfortunately,  I was completely aware of all the "risk" involved with the medication, nor was I given the complete details at the time the doctor and I discussed it.  My wife totally disapproved, but I didn't listen.    I didnt' want to listen to any one...figured it was my pain, my body, who cares how it's going to affect me and the ones closest to me.    I was first given 15 mg a day (5mg every 8 hours), and as you can guess, it worked great!, then not so great, so I was given more, then more, then more, and I got all the way up to 60mg a day.   My quality of life had shrunken to hardly being able to drive, hardly able to give my son a bath w/o almost falling in,  no where near being the quality husband that my wife deserved (separated but in therapy),  and as you can guess, the 60mg a day was no longer helping with the pain, but I refused to continue increasing the dosage because I realized what was happening.. I was hooked, line and sinker.   Endless cycle of going to the pain clinic every month, having to remember to take meds 3 times a day or "else".   Once the nurse made the mistake of scheduling my appt past the 30 days and I ran out ....and boy that was a MISERABLE time!!!  

You see when I first starting going to the pain clinic, I was given epidural shots for the pain...and yes that helped temporally..and I inquired about what other methods they had....man that was one of the worst mistakes I ever made.....should have just stuck with the shots only and NEVER decided to take the road of Methadone.   Eventually when the methadone was not doing the trick, except for feeding it what it needed to function.  I went back to the shots...so now I'm on BOTH......

Last October,  I finally after all this time, figured enough was enough,  I've been tapering down since then, and not I'm at 7.5 mg a day.   It was been a struggle, I will not lie.  The leg cramps, and the runny nose I tend to get when I drop dosages, really suck.  I do take 2 alieves @ night to help with the cramps and so far it's working.  I plan on dropping down to 5mg the first of April....

My advice to anyone who is currently tapering, take it VERY slowly....it took us a long time to get into this mess...it'll take a long to get out of it.   Unless you're able to go into a detox center...unlike me (although when I get down to less than 5mg and it gets to be too tough, I may think about checking myself in),   try to exercise as much as you can (to keep the muscle and bones loose), take vitamins, and keep your head up!!!    We are in the minority in this fight b/c most are just not strong enough to fight this battle....

To every one hear it can be done i was on methadone for 17 years through herowin addiction. for the first 10 years off the methadone program i abuzed every drug i could get my hands on .my girl left me at that point so i disided to stop the drugs and 6 monthes later got here back. after she saw i was seriose about staying cleen. after a couple of years stabull on methadone i tryed to tapper a few times at home .
but could never do it .the withdrawels always wun.
i had finaly had enoff after 7 years off the drugs but still stuck on the methadone . i was living a secaret life id lost all my old asoshiats along the way and had made a hole new set of frends none off who new i was ever a drug user or still using methadon
sneeking about at work to take my methadone never nowing if some one was going to find out and grass me up.
In the uk i only now of methadone being used for drug abuse .never  new it was used for pain manegment.untill now

To get of i had to book myself in to a detox center witch was the best thing i have ever done and take 3 monthes off work
i now that sounds simple but with the right mindset in my opinion its the best way.. i am now 9 monthes totaly cleen of methadone and fealing realy good .
the worst part of coming of is when you get to 0 trust me on that and for a few may be 3 weeks after  there is no way i could have done that withought the detox center .but the fealing you get when your clean even at 3 to 4 weeks for me enyway
was like being let out of jail early after being given a life centans ..
because thats what everyone tells you it is. but it dosent have to be.trust me on that as well.ive done it you can to .

You're an inspiration Jazz.   I can't wait to be Methadone free like you my friend.

I found this site as i was searching in my quest to find out what was best to do as i am detoxing off of methadone.  After about 3 years i topped out at 90 mgs.  I started my taper in november 2009 and as of right now i do not know what i am at as i am doing it blind, meaning they keep the amount a secret from me because i thought knowing would affect my mind worse.  I am feeling terrible and am at the point after all this time and suffering at this hell of a methadone clinic, that i am thinking of just stopping cold turkey.  I am terrified, i do not remember the last time that i was not an addict, im 24 and spent the 4 years before the clinic as an iv heroin and oxy user.  I do not know if i will be ok or even close to normal but after reading the stories on here i have more strength then i started out with and think i can do this.  No one understands the pain us addicts put ourselves through, i thought methadone was my saving grace when in all actuality, a methadone clinic is just as bad for you as the life a "using" addict lives.  I want my life back and feel alone because my boyfriend and my aunt, the closest people in my life, just want me off methadone and to be myself again.  I also want that but only someone going through this could understand the two warring sides you live with......
    ~Amanda~

Amanda i now it's hard but i'ts worth it there is no easy way of doing it 'as you no ' from being on herowin and oxy.
it defanatly takes time .i dont no if you drink alcohol but if you do dont . it makes you feal worse.
and to be onest every thing i've tryed made feal worse. you new biffore you started to detox you were going to feal bad for a time.
and the worst bit is over in a week or three.then it's just geting back in to a sleeping patern and biffore you now it you will have your life back. just stay stay strong and look after yourself.
I still carnt beleve i've done it . i was on methadone for 17 years and herowin about 10 in total
life is way way better now and you do feal normal again just takes time thats the only way
good luck eat well sleep when you can and drink plenty of water

I have been on methadone 3 years before that my doc prescribed me 168 hydromorphone a day thats 12 tabs a day. i went every 3 days and got a new 2 week script. i even went to the docs house for more refills. i made it on methadone and saved my life now i have came to the reality that i have nothing going for me in life. I am 23 lots of life left i rent a dive room get a disability cheque and this is not what i invisioned as a child. I went to college but left and cant recieve a loan ever again. Im not all that smart i cant see how i will ever make it out of this. I want to have children and a job and family someday but cant see it. I am a nice looking guy but from years of drugs i have developed a social anxiety of some type and im totally ashamed of myself.  It is a waste really. I do invision getting off methadone and joining the army i have to have some goal in order life to be worth living. there are so many issues i want to talk about but dont have the time right now. I will leave it at this. James

hi im on 35 mg of methadone and am thinking of going cold turkey and from what i have read the worst i can expect is no  sleeping and sweats? is this the worst i can expect i really need to know i have a 6 month old baby to look after and i really need to knw how sik ill be

WOW  from what I can work out most of you are from the United States I live in Scotland.  I went on to the methadone programme because social services were involved with me and my then 2 year old.  I thought at the time it was the best thing, I now don't believe it was but NOW is too LATE!!!  After being on methadone for about 2 years climaxing at 80mgs a day a decided last Sunday to go cold turkey!!!! Not a good idea.  I just wanted off of it for myself and my now 4 year old daughter.  A week on and although I am better I am still suffering chronic pains in my legs and my back and I can't sleep GOD I want to sleep.  I am so close to relapsing because I am a single mother with no family (long story)!  I can't keep looking after my daughter from my bed.  How long is this going to last does anybody actually no???? I congratulate all who have managed to come off methadone but completely sympathise with those trying to.  Why this had to be the alternative to my then heroin use is beyond me.  I HATE IT

Angie for me it took about 2 weeks for the worst physical symtomes to go I.e bad back bad legs fealing very uncomfertabull
i dident sleep for more than a couple of houres a night for about 3 monthes but fealt a lot better after 1 month.
the sleeping comes back realy slowly so slowly you dont realy notice you are getting more sleep till you look back
its a slow prosses .
the lack of energy slowly got better monthly till i fealt like i was back to normal at about 6 monthes
10 monthes on i'm sleeping ok but not properly 4 to 6 houres a night but now and again none at all.
Its worth it though . even though its been the hardest thing ive ever done .
so hard i question my own sanerty some times . good luck

UPDATE, I've made it all the way down to 1.25 mg a day and next week will I plan on jumping.   The first couple days @ 1.25 have been hell.  But I know it'll smooth out and all will be ok.

Angie I would gradually lower your dose , I could not imagine jumping that high of a dose.  I have a 4 year old son so I understand where you are coming from...

Today is my first day off of methadone.. I am walking off of 5mg.. I have been on it for about 3 years, and trying to come off for the past year and a half. I have been on 5mg for 2 months and I am still not adjusted so I feel like it is time to just walk away.. I am taking a lot of vitamins but if anyone has any advice, please help.. I am mentally freaking myself out!!

I have dropped methadone twice after taking 60mg to 80mg a day for 3 years. It was a living hell for the first 8 to 10 days. I thought I would lose my mind. I have also tappered down twice to 5mg and dropped it and I was just a bit uncomfortable for the first week. I was able to use advil pm and melatonin to get about 6 hours sleep a nite but my sleep regulated after about 10 days.
I found a great book called "End Your Addiction Now" by Charles Gant,MD that address's the important of nutritional supplements to restore your brain's endorphin, serotonin, dopamine levels. He says the depletion of these
neurotransmitter chemicals are what' causes the cravings to be so hard. This is why most of us addicts return to our drug of choice. This info has really helped me. Perhaps you can find it at the library or Amazon.com.
It was written in 2002. Good luck! Hang in there. You can do this.
It's your addict brain that is screwing with you.
Van

I think at even 5mg, you should keep lowering down all the way to 1mg.    After I completely jumped, it took about a good 3 days before I finally got a good nights sleep.   I would lay there tired as hell but could just never actually fall to sleep. I'm still taking 5mg of melatonin at night to help but as Van said I'm only getting about 6 hours a night max.   Well today makes 1 month.  

The worst part right now is the depression.  I'm currently going through a separation so that hasn't helped matters at ALL.   I think once I begin to help from that, then things should be better b/c I don't think they can get any worse!

This post is for peachesbd primarily. I would not suggest you go cold turkey at 35mg. As I mentioned in a previous post I did it twice at about double that dose. I could not sleep or eat. I had the shakes, shivers,the sweats, diarhera,. I was so wiped out I could barely get out of bed to get to the bathroom. I had to crawl. I laid in bed for days praying it would be better this next day and it was barely noticable the following day. This went on for 8 days straight. I was suffering from sleep deprivation, malnutrition, you name it. I really thought I was going to loose it. Every cell in my being was screaming out for the stuff. It gave me a whole different outlook on methadone and how much of a hold it gets on a person.
I would highly suggest you tapper down to 5mg. I did it by dropping 5mg each day and that was quite a bit uncomfortable. Most people drop about 5mg per week. My feeling is you will be very sorry if you jump from 35mg. to zero. Even at 5mg it's not fun but managable. I hope you read this post soon. At least before you go cold turkey.Van

At the clinic where I was at they will only bring u to 2.5mg..so I figured its now r never.. I did take the month of June off, so what better time.. If its just a couple rough days, i can handle it.. I am just afraid I am going to be sick for a month.. Van, thanks for the book advice..thats one thing I am afraid of is depression. My father just dies 2 months ago and this isn't going to help much, but the doctor gave me depression pills and a weeks of xanax.  They gave me Catapress too, anyone ever try those??  I am really glad I found this site.. you guys have helped me very much.. I thank u!

Peachesbd.. I completely agree with Van.. I have been coming down from 100mg for about 2 yrs.  I have been uncomfortable on 5mg for 2 months... It takes our bodies soo long to get used to not having it.  I wish I knew more before I even went to the methadone clinc. I mean, it did keep me clean for 3 years, but I would almost rather be going through oxy w/d again just to know that it would be over in a week. With methadone, its hard to tell.  My bestfriend got thrown out of the clinic at 10mg, and she was terribly sick for almost 2 months.  She has been clean for about 6 months now so it can be done, but if you can try to come down a little lower before you go cold turkey.. I'm doing it from 5mg starting today.. I'll let u know how it goes :)   Jamie

Isn't it interesting how these damn doctors give you another highly addictive drug to "help you get off" another addictive drug. I don't think these guys have to take any class's about addiction to get their degree or they just don't give a damn.
Some of them I think just want to make darn sure you keep coming in each month to bring in the bucks. How much do they think a body can take. My God!
I have not tried Catapress but from what I understand it's a drug that lowers your blood pressure so much that you are
pretty darn relaxed but tired as heck also.
Peaches, I'm very sorry to hear you are having to deal with the loss of your father. I don't really think that doctor is helping you deal with that loss in a responsible manner. Just my opinion.

Go for it Jamie!  You can do it!  Van

Yes it is! Thats how I got to the methadone clinic in the first place!  Half the counselors up there were not even addicts so how the hell do they know what its like?? And another thing.. vitamins are such an important role in this, and there is not 1 thing those doctors tell u but take a catapress and be oblivious to anything!! I'm scared to death to take them.. I am a medical assistant and I know that something that lowers your blood pressure like that is not good!! I'll just stick to my vitamins! Thank u Van for the condolences. They say once u get clean life gets harder (its all a test) , but I made it through it clean and that was the biggest reward for me! I agree with you.. I'm thinking of maybe talking to someone in counseling.. I got really good support to from my best friend who came off this crap at 10mg in November, went through hell, but clean now 6 months! And of course my mom and my fiance' who is not an addict and very supportive..
I do have a question though... what foods should I stay away from?

Way to go! Take the natural path. I have spent my entire adult life avoiding my feelings. That's the primary reason I used drugs. I never learned how to deal with my feelings, especially pain and sorrow or grief. "Normal" people like my wife just deal with it. I alway default to escape mode. It's damn hard learning this at 53 yrs old. I've had 2 back surgeries and ended up on methdone not knowing what I was getting in to. Of course I wanted the strongest thing I could get and I wanted to get high so I was game for the ride. What a hell of a ride its been for the last ten years.
Sounds like you have a great support group of friends and relatives to help you get thru this. That's awsome! The counseling also sounds like a good idea even for a short period to get you past this terrible loss.
As far as what not to eat. The only thing I know from what I have read is to stay away from sugar and caffiene.
I'm sure you can google  and find a lot of info on that. The book I mention before suggest about a half dozen different amino acids like glutamine, tyrosine etc. There's  a questionaire (4 actually) in the book that will help you determine which of the neurotransmitter chemicals you have  depleted the most. I just checked Amazon for you. They have it in paperback for ten dollars and change. It has been an incredible valuable resource to me. I have started to feeling so much better within the first week. I'll check in with you later. gotta run for now. Van

i'm new to this forum, i'm came off 5mg a week ago and i'm still getting cramps and diahorea. this i can handle, unfortunately i'm still getting crippling headaches which really are pushing me to the brink. I stared abusing drugs at 15 was a heroin addict for 15 years and methadone for 3 so i cant give up now. Not after getting this close to being completely clean. I'm not eating at all though. I'm just wondering, is it any use getting vitamins or anything like that because i feel so weak.

sorry i've just read jamie's post. Question answered. I'll give it a crack. thanks

Well day 3 off the methadone.. It's not that bad I guess??  I am very uncomfortable and last nite was the worst nite of sleep... Keith, take all the vitamns that they say to.... I recommend u take all the vitamins listed at the top of the page, they do help.. I can't kick the restlessness or the sore stomach. I swear that is the worst part about withdrawel.. I do feel a little better so far.. I just hope this crap dont last forever!! Its summer and I dont want to be a freaking vegetable!!! Van! I did order that book last night, it should be here in a couple days!  Thank u again!
Keith, I am getting thoughs crippling headaches too!! I'll try to find us a remedy!! Hope evey1 is having a good morning!

Hello Keith,
Welcome to the forum. You have the right attitude. You're off now and every minute that pass's is a minute that gets you closer to feeling "normal" and further away from the stuff. This will also do incredible things for your self esteem and overall confidence. This is a big deal.Way to go! When I could not eat, I did get my nutrution by drinking protein shakes. It's amazing how much they can pack into those formulas.
Jamie, I know all our systems are a bit different but for me the worst part is over in about 8 to 10 days. In 2 weeks my guess is you will feel so much better. That stomach thing should go away sooner. I always took advil for the headaches but I can't say it helped a lot. Immodium is a must for the diarehha. Hearing you say "I do feel a little better "at 3 days is
pretty incredible! That's a good sign. Hang in there. You can do this! Van

Day 4.. living he!! on earth.. Up at 4 this morning! I haven't left the house in 4 days and I am losing my mind!!!!

Wow! Good morning Jamie,
Sounds awful! It does come and go. One minute you think "okay, not so bad" the next "I'm freakin losing it".
You're a good distance now from the last dose. That first week is rough. I think it's your body screaming for the crap.
It gets in every friggin cell. When it's not there it makes you nuts. Are you under a doctors care while doing this?
Just wondering if a very mild sedative for a few days could help with the terror you're going thru??? It may keep you a bit less like feeling "I am losing my mind". Van

Good Morning Van! Yeah , yesterday was a rough one.. I know..One minute I feel good, then the next I want to rip off my body parts.. But last night was the 1st night I sleep prolly 6-7 hrs.. I'm exhausted from not sleeping.. I think it is out of my bones though cause they dont ache like they did.. You would think after 5 days that crap would get out of your bones!! Who really knows though?? No, I am not under a doctors care, and I know I should be..But day 5.. hopefully it can only get better from then on! I hope and pray anyways!  I can't wait for that book to come! Hopefully today because I would like to have it to read while I am sitting here doing nothing! Thanks for your help and support.. it means a lot to me!!

Good morning to you Jamie,
You're a champ! You're past the damn hardest part. Keep reminding yourself of that. You never have to go thru that "point of hell" again. Each day will get a little better now. Some days you may barely notice  you are making progress each day. Your body is eliminating that poison out of your system. I drink several glass of green tea each day to help with the detoxing. I hope that book comes soon for you as well. I think you will get a lot of good info from it.
I am curious to find out how your questionaire turns out. Don't worry it's only about 10 to 12 questions in 4 categories to help you determine which of the neurotransmitter chemicals you've  most depleted.
I would also suggest you try and keep busy. Doing anything, gardening, reading, talking to friends on the phone, emailing me, whatever. When I am sitting idle my mind goes right to focusing on the hell I'm in and the minutes seem like hours. When I stay busy with even the most basic stuff like organizing a room I'm been meaning to get to I find I don't suffer as much, plus I get stuff done that I've put off for a long time. Just an idea. Keep me posted. I am rooting for you! You can do this! you are proving that each day! Van

Hello again Jamie,
I meant to mention to you that with regard to the recommended formula that doctor Gant suggests in the book, I found a protein shake at Walmart that has almost the exact amino acids needed in almost the exact amounts (mgs).
It's called Star Six. It comes in a red plastic jug that says Whey Protein on the front with a large 52mg Protein on it.
It's only $17. You will spend close to $100 if you try to purchase each of the different amino acids separately.
Depending on which category you fall in to you may still need to buy something else, but not much. Also, protein gives your body energy. I'm sure you could use that right now. After about the first 5 or 6 days, I started to exercise. It really makes you feel better as well as sleep better. It does not have to be an hour in the gym. Even a brisk 20 minute walk or some yoga is enough to get the blood moving and heart elevated. Every little thing helps. You'll be taking one more step toward your recovery. Van

in pain 420

Take it slower.. I'm not sure of this mg dose business as we use methadone or physepdone(sp) but in mls dose i.e 125mls would be a severly high dose. Take it slow, Do not set target dates...drop it too fast and you'll be right back bang at it. Slow and steady, you'll know when to drop again...**** feeling intenseifies for the following day then yyou adjust again, leave it at the new dose few days and repeat...you can do it...

Hey Van!  My mind is not having a good day, and I was up at 3:30, but did manage to go back to sleep for a little bit.  I am sooo frustrated with this. I think what it is the most is knowing that if this was heroin or pills, that I would be better on day 7.. but knowin that I may have to go through this anothing 4-5 days, is just making me very mad! I wish I could be ecstatic that i'm 6 days off, but my body just doesn't want to move.. I just want it to be over!! I really need that darn book to come so I can fix my head lol... I can barely get dressed in the morning.. My mind is my worst enemy! It needs to leave me alone!! OO well.. thanks for listening and your info!! I will def get those whey protein because I have no appetite..

Good morning Jamie,
Go grab that protein and start drinking it. Any little thing you can do toward recovering from this puts one more brick in place to create that wall between you and turning back. I really believe you are close. For me on day 8 I really started feeling noticable better. Hang in there. You've come along way in the first 7 days. You've walked thru the fire.
Keep busy at anything. Try and force yourself to eat something. Your body is also suffering from lack of nutrients.
Maybe soup? or some soft fruits? I'll check back with you later. Van

Good morning Van.. Boy, I felt great yesterday!!! It was wonderful! I went to Target and tanning..now I have been in the house for a week straight so I soo greatful to be able to move!! Today is day 8, and I am defintly getting there!!  I'm a little uncomfortable today but I slept 6 hrs last night! Woo hoo!! I got my book yesterday, and I am deficient in GABA and the endorphans.. I knew the endorphans would b bad, but I am really bad, so I ordered the endorphan pak...it was sooo expensive but i'll do anything to fix the cravings in my head.. I reslly do have to go to wal-mart.. its kinda far from here (weird huh?) and Target didn't have it!  But I think I am going to get a tatoo today! That will bring some endorphans haha.. I am just soo happy to be through it!! Now the methadone clinic wants me to come up for my "aftercare program" They are such assho!es!! They havent cared in 8 days.. They r going to be mad because my aftercare is vitamins and nutrients..I thought it was interesting that doctor saying his 4 myths.. I believe that..  Well, I will keep in touch!! Thank you for everything!!!
Jamie

Awsome Jamie! I'm so glad to hear you are feeling better. I thought you may be getting close to that turning point. You may still have some moments when you "bottom out" for a few minutes now and then. Don't let it upset you. Its normal. Good to hear you are getting out and doing stuff. That's good for the sanity after being cooped up in the house for a week. Gotta run.I'll check in with you later. Van

Jamie that's great news you are starting to get some sleep!    On my detox, it wasn't until day # 3 before I got any sleep at all.   I did pick up some Melatonin @ Wal Mart and it helps me get at least 6 hours a night.   Still having major depression issues (on day # 38 now), but I know in time, things will get better.   Congrat's again for beating this thing!!

Thank you very much snowman!! I really appreciate it! Congrats to yourself too!! I cant wait to say I am on day #38!   I do still have problems sleeppn..I'm up at 5 every morning runnin to the bathroom.. I take Malatonin too but I guess I only need like 5 hrs sleep right now.. Its a little rough, but id take that over the physical sickness anyday!! You need to try L-tyrosine.. its good for depression.. You could get it at GNC or any herb store!! try it and see if it helps!!  Goodluck! I know the depression is what always used to get me when I would try tp get off pills before methadone hell! Let me know if u do!! Thanks again!!

Good morning Jamie,
Your email sounds like a new person. Some one who is on the mend. You're a winner! You kept at it and pushed thru.
I'm proud of you. Van

Thanks for the advice on the L-tyrosine...I'll go by GNC when I get a chance..

Hello all

I have been on Pain meds ever since injuring my back in an industrial manufacturing accident when I was 19 years old.  I started on Muscle relaxants, then moved to Vicoden, when that stopped working I moved to Vicoproffen, then to Percocent 5, to Percocet 10, to spending half of my monthly income on Perccocet 10 and Oxycotten.  When the Oxy's quit helping my pain my Dr recommended I go on Methadone.  I feel that if my Dr. had not put me on Methadone I would probably be dead from OD by now.  The Methadone made it possible for me to quit buying medication illegally off the street.  Over the past few years I tried to taper down or quit but had always met in disaster.  As soon as the withdral symptoms starting getting hard I would go right back.  About a year ago I had pretty much resigned to the fact that I would be a slave to chemical for the rest of my life.    I was so tired of feeling tired and disconnected all the time.  About a month ago I started having crazy health issues.  I had very fast heart beat, would wake up in the middle of the night choking on stomach acid, numbness in my left arm.  I was having black out spells and just all sorts of nasty things.  It was so bad that I went to a cardiologist and luckilly everything came back ok.  I can't say that the Methadone or even a life long addiction to pain medication had anything to do with my symptoms.  What I can say is that moment rekindled my desire to live a clean life.  I have been tapering for about two months and finally went cold toward the end of my taper.  In tapering I found that i would feel like crap for about two weeks then ok then crappy at my next taper.  I finally got so tired of that cycle that I  just stopped using.  Some of the withdraw symptoms I'm having are crawling skin, very crampy back pain, intense craving at times and am very grouchy.  So far what has gotten me through is knowing that when this is over my life will be drug free for the first time in 20 years.  I also know that I will be a much better father and better all around person.  Keeping my eye on the prize is helping so much.  For the cramps I find that very hot showers help as well as just tensing my body up really tight and then releasing, tighten up and release.  It's like I can feel the blood flowing to my cramping muscles.  It helps so much.  Lots of water is obvious, I've been toughing out the nasty stomach stuff.  Viewing that as a "cleansing" process has helped.  I've had to purchase sunglasses as I'm having intense light sensitivity.  But I think that's because I'm actually seeing the world through clear eyes for the fist time in my adult life.  I'm only 5 days clean but I know that there is no way I'm turning back now.  It's difficult and feels like a lonely battle.  You have to keep your reason for quitting in the front of  your mind at all times.  For me it's for my health and my kids.  For the first time in my adult life I feel stronger than my addiction.  For the first time in my adult life I feel like I'm going to make it.  I hope that sometime down the road I will be able to help or inspire someone in the exact same situation as I have/am in.  I never realized how many people are in the same boat as me..  Thank you all for sharing your stories, your courage and your inspiration.......WE are not alone in our fight and I have faith that everyone here can do it.  Stay strong and stay positive!  One day at a time.  Thank you all!



PS.  All of my crazy symptoms (minus withdrawal) have vanished since being clean.  

Hi there,

Just wonderin if someone could give me some advice. I have just found out recentely that my boyfriend is on meth he currently started on 95ml a day but he is now down to 65ml.He hid it from me for a full year. I meet him when he was on it so i did not know the difference. We are in the process of tapering off it and i have control of his weekly dose and i have give it to him every day. We toying with the idea of going into detox and trying to do it ourselves. I dont really understand it so i am in the dark. He really wants to come off it. Can anyone give me advice how i can help and what way it can be done with just taping off it.what does he need to do.

please i would like some help anyone

thanks in advance

nikki660 if you have the option get him in to detox from my experiance its the best way
if detox isent an option drop the dose slowly every couple of weeks
about 10% of the dose each time if he feals uncomfertabull at 10% drop at 5%
i went the detox route 12mothes ago witch has worked for me .
good luck and make sure you look after yourself as well....

I jumped off 35mg methadone three weeks ago to the day. I had spent the last 6 months tapering myself down from 90mg on my own. I didn't know this forum/journal(?) existed until my brother went online and found it for me on around day 5. I was so not interested in sitting in front of a computer and trying to concentrate on reading at the time, but he printed the whole thing off for me and I started to read it (reluctantly) while lying in the bath.
I promised myself then that I would make the effort to write this as soon as I felt capable, since the stories I read made such a tremendous difference to me, and to my attitude, whilst I was going through the worst of the turkey.
I live in the UK now, but I used to live in the US. I was on a methadone program in the US, and tapered off from 100mg to 5mg at my own pace (about 8 months, I think) and then jumped off of 5, which, while not exactly pleasant, was do-able. There are huge huge differences between the programs available in the US and the system in the UK, not least of which is the fact that you often don't have to pay for your script over here, and its much easier to get onto weekly pick-up (if you behave and jump through the hoops, obviously) so you don't have to mess around with all that waiting in line at the clinic every morning.
The down-side is that you are assigned your own personal demon (aka: a key-worker) whose sole purpose in life is to harangue you and make it as difficult as possible for you to forget that you are beholden to him/her, and that without them you are screwed. Well, yep, you guessed it. I had a fight with said key-worker and found myself with the choice of either crawling back and begging forgiveness or saying f**k this, I'm done.
So after 7 years of methadone (this time around) I finally bit the bullet. And yeah, it hurt like hell. But the point I guess I want to make after all this BS is that it truly is all about positive attitude. Day 5 was a turning point for me. Not because my withdrawal symptoms lessened in any way (to be blunt, they were pretty much constant until around day 10 when I started to feel slightly human- well comparatively speaking, anyway) but because I read this journal. I really started to view my choice to quit as a very positive step and started to view every minute of suffering as one minute I would not have to endure again. And so I wanted to say thanks to all of you who have shared on this site, and that it was SO so worth three weeks of suffering. Can't say I enjoyed it and I still have no energy and only manage a couple hours sleep at a time, but I can feel my soul coming back to life (OK, that sounded really cheesy) and I would do it all over again if I knew in advance that I would feel this way now. I feel as though my life has finally started again, and for the first time in over 20 years I have the feeling something good might happen instead of viewing each day as a complete waste of time.
This post is far too long already (sorry) but at some point i will hop back on here with a quick note on what I found helped most with the withdrawals- just in case someone might find it useful someday, as I did!
Thanks again guys (and thanks particularly to jamie113 and vantart, who provided me with helpful advice and laugh-out-loud posts in equal parts)x

Hello all My name is Justin I have been an addict for 15 yrs now. At first I tried to stop "cold turkey" and the dop always won. Then Feb. of this year I entered the Methodone clinic here in my town. I will tell you this when I started going ther and was "leveled off" I thought it was the greatest thing on earth, that I could really beat this thing. Well just like bobski said here in the US these clinics are businesses and if you do not have their money well too bad for you!!! Thay turned me away I was on 120mg a day!!!! Luckily I met some REAL friends in my weekly meetings that were willing to pay for my weeks. So this is where I need advice.... I have went down on my doses 10mg a week till I got to 60mg then 1mg every 3 days until I got to 50mg. Now I am going down 2mg a day until this finished. While going through this I am so darn dizzy or cloudy if you will I have no energy and I aam just sleeping any chance I get. Even my diet has changed!! We all know most of us gain weight when we are on the program, I was so proud I lost 20lbs in 2 months well now with this new drop I'm doing I can't eat anything and if I do it's crap food. I just wanted to know if anyone an help me with a diet plan or vitamins I can take to help go through this? I wrote the list down the first entry had given us but he has no name or email. I just want you all to know I am ready to do this and I'm proud of you too!!! One last thin I wiould like to give a very special shout out to the people who answer these please for help from people, you know who you are Sue655, Javill88, Jcro65, Jazz, Snowman, and Vantart!!!! Keep up the good work all

Hey Justin,

What are you down to now?

As far as your diet goes,  I would cut down on processed foods like Mc Donald's, etc.   Eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies.  The "natural energy drinks" you can buy @ Wal Mart help as well.  You know the ones that are packed with vitamins and supplements?  

Enjoy that sleep your getting.  When I finally got to 0, it was about 3 days before I actually able to sleep again.  I used melatonin, valartian root, and even some benadryl to help me sleep.   Not being able to sleep *****!!  After about a good month or so, I was able to sleep again normally w/o any thing to help.

Good luck!  I'm in my 4th month now w/o Methadone...

hello every1, CHIN UP PEOPLE U CAN DO IT! iv been on meth 18 months now after heroin 4 1, im only 21 and started takin heroin at 18, im to young to be in with this ****, theres more to life that waisting away in a way people cant imagine. im now on 5ml per day and today is my last day, its been hard, but i know its gonna get alot harder, If you can get mediction like quinine which is a muscle relaxer, some sleeping tablets (only for the first week) buscapam for stomach cramps these will help, You need to reduce slowly and take it at your own pace, be positive, if you can beat heroin and methadone, you are alot stronger than what you think, take care guys and gud luck!  ps my boyfriend did it how i am but 2 weeks ago hes starting to feel normal again apart from gettin up early, if he can do it we all can..!! x

My brother is on methadone and I have suggested naltrexone as part of his plan to stop.Am I being realistic?
I have used it myself for alchohol with huge success.

I started taking methadone about 6 years ago as a cheaper alternative to the huge amounts of loritabs i was taking.  At my highest point i was taking 120mg a day.  For the last year i had gradually reduced it to about 20-30 mg a day.  I made the decision a couple months ago to quit and reduced it again to 15mg a day for the first month then 10mg a day for the next two weeks, then just 5mg a day for the last two weeks.  Cutting down the dosage gradually is definitely the way to go as i really didnt have any withdrawal symptoms until the last couple weeks, but they were mild cold sweats and a little lack of energy.  It has been 9 days since i took any methadone and finally i think i have made it through the worst of it.  Day 2-3 through 6-7 got exponentially worse until the worst of the symptoms like body ache and restless legs started to subside.  One thing that helped me when it was real bad was taking a couple loritabs or percosettes, as they would relieve the withdrawal symptoms for a while.  I wasn't really worried about getting hooked on the weaker pain killers as i had been taking methadone solely for so long that they didnt really give me a buzz anymore.  I also have heard that subutex or suboxone gets rid of the symptoms almost completely but also that withdrawal from those are bad too, not as bad as methadone im sure but didnt want to go through withdrawals more than once.  As for any tips to help withdrawal symptoms, i did find taking tylenol pm or other sleep aids did help for a while but would only sleep for 4 hours at a time mostly and i was tossing and turning all night.  Hot baths also helped a lot to ease the body ache and restless legs a little bit.  Even though i never was prescribed methadone, i had access to getting it throughout the withdrawal symptoms and through strong will and taking other weaker opiods(only on occasion and never the same one for more than a day or two in a row) i was able to resist calling my connection for more.  I had tried once before to get off methadone when i was taking about 80mg a day and would not recommend it, the more gradual the reduction of dosage before going totally off of it the better i think because the last time was much worse and i gave in about 6 days into it.  One mistake i made though is that i quit smoking a couple days before i quit methadone.  Trying to give up 2 things at once just makes it that much harder but to tell the truth the cigarettes tasted like **** without being high.  As for where i am now, i still get the occasional chills and sweats and still have diahrhea but will never again want to go through the first 8 days again so i will NEVER again take methadone.  Also, when i would start to get discouraged, i would go on the internet and read forums like this one to find a little inspiration from others.  I only regret that i did not make the decision to quit earlier, but am happy i didnt have anything bad happen to me before i realized that methadone was controlling my life, like going to jail, etc...   To those thinking of quitting, your biggest tool is strength of will and positive attitude, cause it wasnt god that got you into this mess and it wont be god that gets you out of it.  It was one of the hardest things i've ever done(loritab withdrawal and oxycontin withdrawal do not compare to methadone withdrawal) but the reward is life.

Hi everyone, I'm new to this but here it is. I was addicted to vicodin and percs for a couple years.  was taking 20 a day  about 4 times a week.  Could not stop on my own so I went the Methadone way 15 months ago. It did help completely, never had the urge for pills but I hate it, the nodding off as soon I would get comfortable. Would do it at thankgiving, christmas didn't matter where I was and also didn't want to be dependant on it for the rest of my life. 6 months or so ago I had them taper me down.  I was on 110 mlgs a day and they took me down 2 a day at first then at like 60mg 1 day. Felt completely fine.  Got really sick of the whole thing at 27 mg (still felt fine) but just aggravated that it it take 27 more weeks of being there and feeling like a prisoner that I had them take me down 1 mg and until I am finished.  Felt ok till I hit 12 then the restless leg thing came on... It is terrible!! Come 7 pm I'll be on the couch and I can't sit still. Then I go to bed and the hell begins!!  I have it so bad now at night my legs jerk all night.  I'm so tired but can't sleep.  I hate restless legss.  It is horrible!!!!!  It takes about 2-3 hours to fall asleep.  I have to keep standing up.  Then I'm up at 5 for the day.  I'm at 7 mgs right now and feel like just stopping altogether at 5mgs.  Whats the sense of taking it, I really feel I'm going through withdrawels now. THis is worse then never having pills.... I don't have any craving at ALL.  But can't stand this night feeling.  Question is:  How long is this going to last and will it get worse!?!?!  btw, my dr. put me on 2 mlgs a night of clonidine and it hasn't really worked!?!? Help is there anything else I can take for this RLS!?!?!?!

Sorry I meant to say they took me down 2 a week and then 1 a week,  Now its 1 a day!!!!

hi iv been on methadone for 10 yrs long time eh . recently about 3 months ago i started comming down was on 75ml now im down to 55 dont realy no wat to expect heard a lot about comming down but everyones diffrent . i have been gettin realy sore legs and few sleepless nites i wouldnt say iv came down that much but still feel good abot the fact im gona get there sooner than later go for now your stories inspire me

My fiance and I were on a short-term methadone maintenance plan, we were in the clinic for almost a year.  We went up to 130mg. over the first 4 or 5 months and spent the remainder of time tapering from that 130mg. down to 7mg and we jumped off there.  
Taper as slowly as possible, that will make a world of difference in the severity of your withdrawals and the amount of time they last.  
Check out mu version of the Thomas Recipe as this has some good remedies in it that will help to alleviate some of the pain and discomfort of detoxing.
Best of luck to you...

hi all well still at 55ml go back to doctors couple of weeks 2 come down more. iv been feeling it in my legs realy sore wen i walk feel like an old person having 2 stop 4 a break wen i walk. iv been taking some valium 2 get a sleep dont no if thats a good or bad thing though B.B.S GOOD LUCK 2 ALL YOUS X

hi i am currently on 2 mg i have been coming down 1 mg a week for a while, i feel like crap, i also just found out i was pregnant im only a couple of weeks or so. my doctor wanted me to go back up but i dont want to have a child on methadone, i dont know if the withdrawls are gonna affect the baby or not, i feel like going back up but im so close to finishing the program so any advice would help, its hard feeling sick from methadone and being pregnant:( i didnt know that it was going to be this hard.

Hey Guys! I started doing oxies and morphine at 16 years old.. I had just met a guy and we had only been dating about 3 months when he first told me about oxies.. I had no idea what they even were and him being 19 had only tried it twice before.. So we got a pill one night! And I remember both of us having our heads in the same toilet puking our guts out.. And I loved it! Not knowing how addicting it was and what it was like to be without we started doing it more and more.. Than a friend introduced us to 200mgs of morphine.. We started doing that all the time and I remember the first day I realized I wasn't getting sick.. I was going through withdrawals.. I was so scared and didn't know what to do.. All I knew was that I never wanted to feel that way again.. So our addiction continued and got a lot worse.. Only going 4 days without pills twice through our entire struggle we knew that if we couldn't even make it past 4 days we would never get off.. So our addiction continued! Finally I hit 19 and still with my boyfriend we realized we couldn't do it forever and that our hopes and dreams seemed to be getting further and further away.. we decided to go on methadone.. We started in August 2009 and both began at 40mgs and went up to 60mgs in two weeks.. And as soon as we hit 60mgs we completely stopped thinking about pills.. Only two weeks into the program we were off the pills.. I dropped from sixty down to fifty and than dropped 2mgs every two weeks for a while after that.. Hit a bump in the road at 24mgs.. Stayed there for about 4 weeks than started going down 1mg a week bringing me to 7mgs today! During that time I found out I have an under active thyroid and am being treated for that.. I married my husband in june 2010! He also found out he has an over active thyroid and was diagnosed with graves disease! We are both doing ok! He's had a harder time with the program than I have because he often mistakes the symptoms from the graves disease as withdrawal symptoms.. He is down to 16mgs today and is going down 2mgs a week! We are both doing extremely well.. We get our carries ever tuesday so we have to have our drink by 9pm which we normally don't drink till between 11pm and 2am.. I have been noticing that on wednesdays after I go down 1mg and have had to drink my methadone earlier than usual I feel like I'm dragging my butt! I get pains in my legs (which I have experienced for years before ever doing drugs) but after reading this have realized the decrease in dose does affect me.. Thw good thing is that it only last for that one day! The next day I am back to being my usual energetic self and feeling amazing! My advice to anyone who's doing this is to drop your dose at your own pace! It's been an amazing experience for both my husband and I! I never thought I would ever feel this good! Although we are preparing ourselves for what comes once we hit Zero we are continuing to look at it as a good thing! We both really want to start a family and don't want to have a baby born on methadone! I'm doing this for me and for him and it's definitely worth the wait just knowing that we'll only have to go through it once! You guys have really helped us and allowed us to take these next few steps with a positive attitude! Thank you all! As for jcro65 my husband suffers from RLS when withdrawling and the thing that helps him the most is when his legs get going he puts his feet and ankles (as much of your leg as you can get) in really cold water and holds them there for as long as he can tolerate it and than takes them out and puts something like vicks, rub a535, polar ice or ben gay etc.. On the bottoms of his feet and it works amazing for him! I can actually sleep in the same bed as him! I find when going through withdrawals allowing myself to get as cold as possible really helps during the night! Having my body at a cold temperature makes me wanna curl up into the fetal position and hold that position to try and warm up.. Which actually makes me think more about getting warm than the withdrawals.. Plus your body starts to concentrate on keeping warm and it's almost like it forgets about the pain it's in.. Your muscles tighten up which actually makes the withdrawal easier.. Hence why you yawn and clench your muscles when going through withdrawals.. I suggest having a cold shower and/or sleeping with a window open and having fans in the room! As for maddie244 congratulations!! being on methadone while pregnant cannot harm your baby! I just talked to my doc about this and he gave me this huge pamphlet about everything! He suggested that if you're pregnant that you still continue to get off of methadone.. One suggestion in the pamphlet was that once you're down to a low dose is that you should try splitting your drink up to three times a day! So if you take it once a day and you take it in the morning try only drinking half in the morning and than drink the other half in the evening! And see how that works for you.. This is proven to help lesson withdrawl signs and is more affective in the respect that with less withdrawal it is less stress on the baby and less pain on you! If that doesn't work try drinking a third in the morning, a third in the afternoon and a third in the evening.. Stay on the 2mgs for as long as you need to! The worst that can happen is your baby is born on methadone and will be treated for signs of withdrawal which means being whiened off of mofphine and staying in the hospital for 3-5 weeks! Which is perfectly safe for your baby! If the baby is born on methadone you should try to breast feed cause you will have a tiny bit of methadone in your breast milk which will naturally wein the baby off it! And if you find the withdrawals to much being pregnant you just stay on the 2mgs untill you feel comfortable enough to try dropping again.. Also don't forget! You can go down by 0.25 mgs and slowly work your way there! Also most babies born on 5mgs or less of methadone very rarely show signs of withdrawal after birth! I wish you the best of luck and I hope something works for you! If you need anymore sugge
stions just let me know! I would be happy to help you and your baby! I can give you whatever info you need! This pamphlet has everything from what to expect to statistics and such! Good luck everyone!

It sure is a nasty horrible drug to get off but this how i tried and tested so rather than mopping up a load of valium to feel half decent or to get you to sleep, try a seroquel 50mg tabs which the doctor will give you no problem, for they have about a ten hour range in your body and take the pains away the same way maybe 8 valium would do.

I am 29 years old and have been on 130 mgs of methadone for a year and a half at least. Before that I was using Heroin smoking it and bangin it for like 9 hard fd up months. I have used pills and heroin before that but was able to kick it on my own before. This last time got me good I ended up robbing construction sites for the cash to feed my addiction. Once I ended up in the hospital just about dieing I found myself making my friends bring me some **** in the hospital and hookin it up to my iv in the bathroom that I decided I needed to do something different. Luckily I still had my family to help me a week after I got out of the hospital I asked my family to help me get into a methadone clinic. At the time it was my best option or so I thought. I have been in three different clinics in three different states in my time on methadone living with family trying to recover some sense of a life. Now at first I thought methadone was the best thing to ever happened to me. I was clean and sober for the first time in 12 years and never looked or felt better. After some time at 75mgs I slowly came up over a period of months. It seemed reasonable that more of this "miracle" drug would help me and make me feel better, and it did for awhile. Now im have been at 130 for six months or so and things started to pile up on me and I realized i needed testosterone because I was at extreme lows due to the opiate use over the past decade or so had reduced my bodies ability to make my own. So now I have to inject myself every week with a **** load of testosterone just so I dont get horribly sick due to the hormone imbalance. I am so tired of having to go to the clinic everyday because I still smoke pot every once in awhile so they wont give me any takehomes lol. a couple of months ago I decided to come off methadone slowly. I am so ready for this journey now even nowing how hard this will be. I have been off my methadone once for six days and it was living hell.I dont think i could have done it at the high mgs i was at. so I have been scared to death to come down ever sence but i finally came down ten mgs at a time and i felt it for a couple of days but it wasnt that bad. so after reading all you guys had to say I have decided to come down 5mgs a week for 4 weeks than hold and figure out where and what and how fast I want to go after each 20mg drop. so I can seriously make it aand come off this crap 100% that sounds like a dream to me now but I ll make it im sure.. thanks guys for your advice and wisdow of what to do and what not to now I feel like I have a chance thank god.

This is a great Inspiring forum.  I'm 41 and have been on methadone for 11 years now and I am now on 80mg and have been for about 4 years.  I was as high as 125mg at one point.  Several people at my clinic have decided to dose down at about 2-3mg a week or every two weeks.  They are all on doses between 7 and 15mg now and they say they are not having much trouble at all.  I missed my dose today and didn't make it to my clinic because they close early on Wed. and I had an appt. I can tell just a little that I have missed my dose by my body's pains but my minds feels so much clearer.  I think methiadone depresses me in a way that I don't want to do anything.  I have went without my dose before a couple days at a time and although my body was in pain my mind always seems more clear.  It's like I feel like I am in a fog on methadone.  I don't crave dope anymore but I have lost a lot of my desires to just be happy.  My husband has been on methadone for the same amount of time and he feels like methadone makes him depressed as well.  We are both seriously considerling starting to dose down slowly and that is a big step after 11years.  But when withdrawls hit me hard I just don't know if I can handle it and I have never had willpower to say no to something that will make me feel better even if it's just temporary.  Please pray for me that this might be the time that I may find the strength inside myself and with God's help to go through it.  I have never tried to detox before.  I too want to be free from the chains of methadone.

i have been on meth since 2003 im 32 yrs old my highst dose was 170 im down to 43 and have full carries i come down 3-2 mls a month and so far so good and weed helps alot at my clinic we are alowd to smoke weed but not drink booze i pee once a week and i admit i chip once and a wile but i still will stick to my goals and be off soon good luck to you all

Hi, my name is Jamie.  I took myself off of methadone almost 2 weeks ago.  I want it my life back, I tired of thinking when i could take my next pill or take more and then run out till next refill.  Then would have to turn to friends for more.  I knew who had methadone, figures.  I just stopped.cold turkey, didnt ween myself.  I went thru hell that first week.  This past week has been a little better.  I have a great support group, to help me.  After reading some things to do to help counter act symptoms, I am a little disappointed at my doctor for not telling me these things.  He basically commended me for wanting to stop and told me he wont prescribe me no more.  Ah yeah, I dont want anymore.  I am still hurting in areas of no appetite, forcing myself to eat, I have lost alot of weight, and I still have shakes all day and that funny wierd feeling.  Another concern is preejaculation, teriible.  I am asking will these symptoms stop occuring or has the damage been done???  I have used methadone for 2 years. Please, any and all adviced would be appreciated.  Thank you, Jamie

I just came off Methadone 80ml reducing to 15 in 13 months I did it on a two week subbutex reduction which was fine at the time...just gone through the unpleasantries you'd expect but am still suffering from the tedious lack of interest and willingness to do anything which is a hard one to cope with and leaves one vulnerable to relapse!! which I'm trying to avoid! How long must this last????!!!

I am detoxing from methadone, my choice. I have been on if for over 3yrs. I started at 80mg and have gone down 4mg every week. I am now down to 12mg/day and am feeling nausea and and real bad nasal drip down my throat! Driving me crazy!!! Are these one of the symptoms?  And does anyone know how long I may feel sick after I am completely off?
I have gained over 60 pounds since last year from the methadone and so ready to get back  in shape!!!! If anyone has any advice for me it would really be appreciated!!

Thanks  Jen

Hi, would just like to wish all the very best, I don't really know what it is like to go through all this, but I do know what it is like to see a loved one go through so much pain. My partner at the moment is detoxing and he is doing it without any help apart from having me on tap, hopefully that will be enough for him to carry on. Does anyone have any other advise that could help me to make it as comfortable as possible for him??
All the best : )

please can someone help me.. so i have been taking 2 of the white methadone pills a day now for a month and one week.. i wasn't addicted to any pain meds. before i started taking the methadone , so what i want to know is will i go through withdraws ??? i am so scared because i hear everyone talking about how bad they are ,but they are all on a higher dose then i am ,  my husband gave me one because my back hurt one day and i just liked the energy it gave me, didn't think anything about it and now iam hearing how you can get addicted and how bad the withdraw it .. please can anyone help me...

Hi everyone, getting off of methadone is very possible and doesnt have to suck. I was a heroin addict for about 5 years, real bad, I even ended up living under the highway in the ghetto to be close to the dope spots. Well in 07 I had enough and went to a done clinic. It took another 4 and a half years but im now done with methadone. I went from 130 to 0 by dropping 2 a week, and it was far from hell. Infact with focus on relaxation,fresh fruit,vitamin water zero and lots of regular water, withdrawal was nearly nonexistant. I promise everyone can get off this, I too was scared of withdrawal, and terrified to walk wi th hout the crutch. But now im running!! Remember chill out, load on nutrients(overload) and you got this ****, no problem! Much love, and best of luck to everyone.

I have been on methadone for three and a half years .... I was hooked on oxy and got to the point that if i could'nt get oxy I would shot my self in the hand with a nail gun to get morphine after hitting every hospital within 50 miles I came to the realization that I had a serious problem LOL ... Decicded methadone was my way out of this insane life... Boy was I wrong !!! I have tappered down to 13 mgs a day the hell this **** has put me through has taught me 1 hell of a lesson !!! I am wondering what will happen if i go ct at 10 mgs the sooner this pain is over the better I know i will never go back... But I have a sezures do to a serious panis anxiety dissorder will dropping of at 10mgs cause sezures ???  

hello i came to this site because i am currently detoxing off of methadone from my clinic.  i topped out at 125 mgs and am coming off at 2mgs a week.  i am currently at 33.  i will be at 31 tomorrow.  i am starting to feel some of the symptoms of withdrawl but i keep telling myself that it isnt so bad.  i have been through worse and i am willing to do whatever it takes to get back to a normal life.  i have been at the clinic for 2 years.  i have heard some terrible stories that once your down so low its unbearable and alot of people havnt been able to cope.  i was talking to the doctor at the clinic and asked him about any success stories since he has been there.  he told me he had a few people who he thought really were going to make it then they ended up coming back.  i do not want to be one of those people after having an addiction to opiates since i was 2 then being a heroine addict for four years methadone saved my life.  being clean off of street drugs has been wonderful i have been clean for 2 years.  i think it definetly has alot to do with your mentality and if you are constantly thinking about going down and how horrible your going to feel its going to be horrible.  i have had some pretty rough days so far.  but nothing as bad as i thought it was going to be.  i am scared though and was hoping to come to this forum and maybe get to talk to some people who are going through this same thing as i am.  

lmao i havnt been addicted since i was 2 lol i mean to say 20 lol.  the thing that also got to me about the doctor is that he is also a suboxone doctor at his private office and he was trying to push that on me.  i want to get off of methadone so that i dont have to rely on anything anymore.  why would i want to come off one thing to get on another.  and you can have withdrawls off suboxone my sister was one it for a year.  she didnt feel too good coming off that.  think about it you give your body something for any amount of time no matter what it is your body is going to want it when it is gone no matter what it is.  i know it is not going to kill me and i know that it is possible and that people get through it.  i guess i just have to man up and quit being a baby and start being a grown up.  i guess i also needed to vent!!!  thanks for listening!

h

I been off since june 29 , went go detox for 9 days,.got out and felt way worse, havent had normal bowel movement in 2 wks, or sleep, been up since sat its tues, wow melatonin aint helpin, maybd sum advil pms?? Got a 6 yr old daughter who demandz my attention 24/7, had to cross the continent from oregon to florida to get out the mix per say, but basically cold turkey *****, worse feeling imaginable, but did do good with sum.meds n detox, non narcotic of coursebut methadone no joke people,.my dr prescribed em me then cut me off, forced do the most.unpleasant things to not be sick,, now day 11, plz.let me sleep god, insomnia been awake 3 days.now blows,.never do dones kids!!!

Going cold turkey off methadone is completely possible. But Dr's have no idea that the acute withdrawl syndromes can last 90+ days. I was on methadone for 2 years and jumped off at 40mg. Went through detox (i took a month off work) and after 8 days I felt like someone had removed part of my brain. The depression feels like it will never end - but it does. After 27 days (being completely clean) every day felt like i was climbing Mnt. Everest... Why was I not getting better.? I did some research and learned that it takes a long time to get better...

This is what you will experience - if you want it bad enough (freedom does have a price for drug addicts):

Days 1 - 7 Physical - no appetite, runs, 2 to 3 hours of sleep, nose runs, sneeze (I didn't vomit). Mentally it didn't feel so bad.
Days 8 - 15 Mental depression, no energy, 4 hours of sleep, night sweats, legs hurt and itch, appetite comes back
Days 15 - 40 Mental - this period is the real test. Days feel like centuries. You will think you have cancer because you are so weak. The nightly sweat will last a few weeks. Drug dreams.. Legs hurt and continue to itch. Keep the pain as your motivator.
I'm now on Day 46 and I'm 85% detoxed. I no longer have the night sweats but still sweat like a banshee during the day.

This will make life easier: The protein shakes really do help, but what helped me as much is PerfectFood - Green Drink from Wholefoods.  Mix em together. Drink a ton of water everyday.

Going to meetings. NA, AA, CA - suffer with other people. Exercise (cardio) really didn't help that much, but walking did.
Good luck everyone - You can do it!

I'm going on day 5... I was down to 26mg & didn't plan this... I have the worst rls ... Anxiety... Insomnia... I may sleep a few hours during day but at night it's impossible to sleep. It's infuriating.  I want to go down to 2 mg before I detox but I'm stuck w no meds til Monday... Part of me wants to just ct it but I own a biz and I can't disappear for 2 weeks...or be off my game for the next 3 months...I'm so upset & uncomfortable and feel like it's all for naught if I go Monday and get meds... Ugh!