How much methadone is considered a LOT of methadone?

[duckandcover]

Reason I ask is my wife is now on 120 mg/day and coping fairly well after having been on 240++ mg/day of Oxy (which was a disaster).  This is all for very legit pain.  

Ayway, when she told her new pain management specialist (who is board certified and a real pro) his reaction was near shock.  Of course my wife is 4'11 and 110 lbs

I understand that this isn't level isn't a joke but his reaction startled me.  Is she over the top on this stuff?

[duckandcover]

Johnkelly makes a few points I agree with.  She is actually being prescribed the methadone for pain by a very good doctor.  Truth be told I'm OK with it because she is doing better and I see the improvement.  Our goal is to deal with the source of pain and eventually get her clean.  But that battle is down the road.  

Methadone may suck but it is by faaaaar the lesser of the evils.  My original question was more along the lines of is she waaay outside the "norm".  I'm guessing that she is on the upper limits but not outside them.

Penelope you're right.  My wife has some monster tolerance for this stuff.  My little 40mg/day problem was a joke compared to what she's dealt with.  And I'm suffering dearly with my PAWS.

[johnnykelly]

I Point i would like to make,how many times have we heard a Diabetic,saying yes this drug is keeping me healthy and balanced,so im going to lower my dose and disrupt my pain managwement and addiction control.The Pain issue people use opiates fore is not just for that recreational Buzz.The buzz if thats the reason for the use then by all means get OFF, But in this womans case it doesant seem the question at hand. OPiates like all other classes of drugs have a purpose,and that purpose is to provide a better quality of life to the person in acute and cronic pain. AS for the buzz,thats the ABUSE of pain-meds. to all a good day john

[johnnykelly]

I asked my prescribing oxy dr. what is tghe correlation as i was taking3x80 =240 The dr. said 60mgs should be adequate,and you know what im at 60mgs.Mind you not with this dr. but it seems more than adequate.I actually went-up a few to get some more pain management,as i am waiting for a hip-replacement on my left-side,also to get by in a getter frame of mind. The methadone does make me feel psychologically better.and thank god for that,going through daily addiction,or pain is no fun.Regardless of how we arrived there,where there. god bless john

[Penelope14]

Like your wife, I to abused oxys, my ex-boyfriend fed them to me like candy, just so he could keep me around, & like your wife Im very petite but regardless no matter how big or small a person is while using your tolerance level just keeps climbing up, mine did anyway. I used to take between 3 and 4 80mg pills per day & the withdrawal off them was wicked!! So again like your wife I was refered to a methadone clinic {big mistake}, but regardless it did keep my desire to use out of my mind & have been clean from oxys for about 4 years. My highest dose of methadone was 90mgs, & the thing about methadone is that when I jumped down to 80-70-60-50-40-30-20- I never noticed any difference, till I got below 10, now some people will say that 120mgs is a large amount, I cant disagree nor agree as I dont know her or her health issues, but I can tell you if she ever wants off this drug, 120mgs its gonna be quite a battle, but then again I,ve never heard anyone claim that methadone would be easy to quit, even at a low dosage. Penelope

[feohmoon]

It is amazing the amount of methadone some people require and size seems to have nothing to do with it.  BUT...I feel that people are best treated with methadone in smaller doses....but I am no doctor...I think I have done more research on methadone than alot of them!
Best of luck, everything I have ever written pertains to methadone...so please check out my journals.
Keep posting.
peace

[worried878]

I guess alot depends on her tolerence to opiates as well...I have never taken it...but I know I have a high tolerence to opiates and I a small person as well...methadone is a long lasting opiate...I can take alot of hydrocodone and not even flinch an eye or seem high than anyone would guess....someone will post who knows more about methadone