Aa
Coming off methadone.
I have been on Methadone for a little over 2yrs and desperately want off of it. I'm so sick of being a slave to it. I am thinking of stopping cold turkey with the help of herbal supplements to help speed the detox process up. Is this a good idea? Also any suggestions you have will be helpful. Thank you!
to be honest if you taper or not. Its going to be the same with methadone..I know I jumped of the train at 20 mgs. And 3 yrs later just 5 mgs it was the same. The only diffts is if you taper is tne time span.at 20 mgs it took 21 days.at 5 mgs 14 days. Then all the brain things for weeks. But you will get better. When you get to the point you think ur dying in all truth that's when your really getting better from that point, and you will know it..im tapering perks low dose at 12.5 now.ive never detoxed these I need answers as well. Good luck to ya friend.
hi my name is amanda i was so sick of the clinic i was there for 3 yrs. and they brought me all the way to 170 mgs. wow! right but after coming down every 7 days i got to 50 mgs. and drop off the clinic the first week was no eating just drinking fluids. i was throwing up and my stomach hurt so bad. now its been almost 3 weeks and i feel better as far as the throwing up it went away, but my stomach hurts so bad still its like gas pain and very savere. and i feel so sluggish.. but i want this so badly to be normal again. Do you have and suggestions for me on ways to feel better i have 3 young boys so no time to just lay around and wait on it to pass. Is there any nautral supplements i could take to get through this. And is the stomach aches normal (gas pains). thank you and congrads on being clean
You are going to need to private message with some of the peeps here with methadone experience. We're not allowed to give taper info in public, since many peeps have various health issues and would need different instructions. Read several of the current posts to see who's still active on this website with methadone experience. Start a new thread by using the orange post a question box at top of this page, and some will reply directly to you by having your own topic. gnarly is still active, and there are many others currently active with methadone experience.
I agree with gnarly!
Methadone is a nightmare to CT off of. I had to do it once due to a scheduling issue and couldnt make it to the clinic. Landed myself in the ER with that one, even the treating physician had said "I didnt know opiate wd could be this severe"
Its unpleasant during a taper when getting down to the lower dosages, but more manageable. I know you want off NOW.... The clinic system, the meds themselves, all of it. But please be patient, this is your life you are dealing with here... It would be a shame to go through the hell of methadone CT detox only to risk a relapse and have to go through it all over again!
Also, being patient is part of recovery. We as addicts want INSTANT results, and unfortunatelly, thats not how life works all the time. Accepting life on lifes terms right? Look at this as a step toward recovery and long term success... not just a long drawn out taper!
Good luck!
Henry
Methadone is a nightmare to CT off of. I had to do it once due to a scheduling issue and couldnt make it to the clinic. Landed myself in the ER with that one, even the treating physician had said "I didnt know opiate wd could be this severe"
Its unpleasant during a taper when getting down to the lower dosages, but more manageable. I know you want off NOW.... The clinic system, the meds themselves, all of it. But please be patient, this is your life you are dealing with here... It would be a shame to go through the hell of methadone CT detox only to risk a relapse and have to go through it all over again!
Also, being patient is part of recovery. We as addicts want INSTANT results, and unfortunatelly, thats not how life works all the time. Accepting life on lifes terms right? Look at this as a step toward recovery and long term success... not just a long drawn out taper!
Good luck!
Henry
HI and welcome to the forum...I was on methadone for 6 1/2 yrs and up to 150ml when I finely said enough is enough ...I did a relatively fast taper it took me 8 1/2 mo to taper down to 1ml then I jumped...if I had to do it over I would jump at 5ml because tapering below that is miserable and my final withdrawal was no worst then the way I felt tapering below 5ml so save yourself some agony and jump at 5...if your thinking C/T off methadone its not wise we have had members try to jump off at 40 and went thew insain withdrawals
25 and it was 2 weeks of pure hell and even 10 can be really ruff....I dont think you realize just how strong this stuff is until you get to the lower doses and try and get off it...set up a taper with your clinic and stick to it...I know a good taper plan ...I got it from a neo/natal nurse that brings babys off heroin methadone and oxy we no longer post them in the open forum due to rule changes but if you like I will send it to you thew our messenger to your e/mail if you need help doing this I can help you do it also ILL be here to walk you thew it today I got 241 days clean..its a grind coming off it but it is doable the recovery time can take a wile but it is so so worth it in the end keep posting for support and I will check tomorrow to see what your response is good luck and God bless.....Gnarly
25 and it was 2 weeks of pure hell and even 10 can be really ruff....I dont think you realize just how strong this stuff is until you get to the lower doses and try and get off it...set up a taper with your clinic and stick to it...I know a good taper plan ...I got it from a neo/natal nurse that brings babys off heroin methadone and oxy we no longer post them in the open forum due to rule changes but if you like I will send it to you thew our messenger to your e/mail if you need help doing this I can help you do it also ILL be here to walk you thew it today I got 241 days clean..its a grind coming off it but it is doable the recovery time can take a wile but it is so so worth it in the end keep posting for support and I will check tomorrow to see what your response is good luck and God bless.....Gnarly
I would strongly discourage c/t off methadone, I think your chances of relaspe is very high because the pain of w/d will be pretty severe. I would suggest you start a very slow taper. I assume you are takin it through a clinic? What dose are you at? What was you DOC before meth?
-- "the reason people have difficulty is because after getting to 5mg, further reductions are a high percentage of the previous dose. This is unavoidable if the reductions are 0.5mg, which is about as accurate as you can measure with a pump. Some people can jump off doses below this but most are apprehensive and feel the withdrawal, even from 1mg. I have assisted with many reductions and successful withdrawals in people who wanted to come off and I offer the following guidelines that have worked for me:
First, you need to ask for your prescriber’s approval before you can start to reduce
Each reduction should be NO MORE than 10% of your current dose
Reductions may be weekly but for some people, or at certain stages of your withdrawal, the intervals may have to be longer
Planned withdrawal cannot be rushed and setting a target date in advance invariably leads to disappointment
Reductions cannot be made to a strict timetable – each reduction should only be made if you feel okay about it
If a reduction causes you discomfort then the next reduction should not happen until you feel okay for at least a week
If you are still uncomfortable after a week then you should consider increasing again to your last comfortable dose. (Your prescriber’s approval is needed but the instruction can be added to the script.)
Reductions from 1mg should be made successively to: 0.9mg, 0.8mg, 0.7mg, 0.65mg, 0.6mg, 0.5mg, 0.45mg, 0.4mg and so on. In practice most people tolerate a 0.1mg drop each time. It may be mind over matter but in my experience it works and most of my clients managed to drop off from 0.5mg (although a few went on to only 0.1mg as the final dose). My clients are encouraged to take it slowly as what is 10 weeks after a number of years?
Although there is the temptation to miss doses when people are going well, it is important that you take your dose daily until you can make the decision to stop altogether
If you are unable to get off methadone then you may do better to transfer to a buprenorphine reduction strategy - bupe can be easier to come off for many people
There are many reasons why withdrawal may not be achievable for a particular person - this should not be seen as a failure but as that person’s need to stay on maintenance at that time
This methadone reduction strategy must be dispensed by a pharmacist who can prepare any small dose accurately. This should not be a problem if you are dosed at a pharmacy. Most clinics have their take away doses prepared by a pharmacist who could make up your individual doses. If you are at a clinic it might be better to transfer to a pharmacy for the final weeks of withdrawal. This removes you from the institutional setting and will help you adapt to life after regular clinic attendance. At the same time you should only have to attend once a week and be issued take-aways for the other days."
hope this info helps Good Luck, Lee
-- "the reason people have difficulty is because after getting to 5mg, further reductions are a high percentage of the previous dose. This is unavoidable if the reductions are 0.5mg, which is about as accurate as you can measure with a pump. Some people can jump off doses below this but most are apprehensive and feel the withdrawal, even from 1mg. I have assisted with many reductions and successful withdrawals in people who wanted to come off and I offer the following guidelines that have worked for me:
First, you need to ask for your prescriber’s approval before you can start to reduce
Each reduction should be NO MORE than 10% of your current dose
Reductions may be weekly but for some people, or at certain stages of your withdrawal, the intervals may have to be longer
Planned withdrawal cannot be rushed and setting a target date in advance invariably leads to disappointment
Reductions cannot be made to a strict timetable – each reduction should only be made if you feel okay about it
If a reduction causes you discomfort then the next reduction should not happen until you feel okay for at least a week
If you are still uncomfortable after a week then you should consider increasing again to your last comfortable dose. (Your prescriber’s approval is needed but the instruction can be added to the script.)
Reductions from 1mg should be made successively to: 0.9mg, 0.8mg, 0.7mg, 0.65mg, 0.6mg, 0.5mg, 0.45mg, 0.4mg and so on. In practice most people tolerate a 0.1mg drop each time. It may be mind over matter but in my experience it works and most of my clients managed to drop off from 0.5mg (although a few went on to only 0.1mg as the final dose). My clients are encouraged to take it slowly as what is 10 weeks after a number of years?
Although there is the temptation to miss doses when people are going well, it is important that you take your dose daily until you can make the decision to stop altogether
If you are unable to get off methadone then you may do better to transfer to a buprenorphine reduction strategy - bupe can be easier to come off for many people
There are many reasons why withdrawal may not be achievable for a particular person - this should not be seen as a failure but as that person’s need to stay on maintenance at that time
This methadone reduction strategy must be dispensed by a pharmacist who can prepare any small dose accurately. This should not be a problem if you are dosed at a pharmacy. Most clinics have their take away doses prepared by a pharmacist who could make up your individual doses. If you are at a clinic it might be better to transfer to a pharmacy for the final weeks of withdrawal. This removes you from the institutional setting and will help you adapt to life after regular clinic attendance. At the same time you should only have to attend once a week and be issued take-aways for the other days."
hope this info helps Good Luck, Lee
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