Methadone recovery, still having problems 8 months later

[Girl2007]

Hi, I was on methadone for 5 years. I quit taking it at 6 miligrams because I was told I was already detoxed due to my urine test coming back clean.

I went through hell, mentally I was unable to think straight for months afterwards, I could barely carry on a conversation. I was totally lost..

I first lost a lot of weight, then couldn't stop eating, and gained about 12 pounds.  I have been off methadone for 8 months now. I sweat excessively under my arms up until about 3 weeks ago, but now the sweating has returned.  It seems that since I started weight training the sweating has come back, but I'm not sure.  Aside from that I got mild acne, which I never had experienced in my life. I'm 26 years old. The acne is still here, but less frequently and less pimples. I had diarrhea for the first two months, and suddenly this has come back every now and then as well.

PLEASE HELP! I don't understand what is going on with my body. I have looked everywhere for some kind of answer, and I can't seem to find one.  I wonder if it affected my hormones to the extreme?? I stopped having my period on methadone until I got down to about 40 mgs.
Thank you!

[dawson2010]

hi there i was reading your message about your decision to stop that devil of a drug methadone.well done for deciding to get that **** out of your body you dont wanna be on it the sooner its out of your system the better if you want my opinion.i have recently had a similar experience as yours and its not the first n i was just wondering if you went ahead with stopping.i hope you did and good luck with stopping i hope you did stop and congratulations are in order and a big one at that.im no doctor but if i can help in any way with advice im here.i really hope you went ahead with stopping that cruel cruel poison them stupid dicks give out to people who seek help.plz let me know how its going thanks dave.

[gnarly_1]

HI....... sub is used to come off methadone these days when your in the lower doses but what you doing is only going to prolong your withdrawals once you stop the sub your going to pick up right where you left off .........there are natural help aids for sleep...melatoin valarian kava
just to name a few there is one called altrill that many of our members find helps as for the legs highlands makes some stuff call highlands restful legs it works good I used it also a calcium/magnesium/zinc 3 in one vitamin helps a lot with methadone withdrawals take 4 in the morning and 4 at dinner  get it at walmart for 6 bucks it will start to work about 2 to 3 days after you start it non of these things will set you back but soner or later your going to have to get off everything this stuff should help ...keep posting for support good luck and God bless....Gnarly

[BillDean]

I jumped off 70mg two weeks ago, didn't sleep for a week, spent 5 1/2 days in deep withdrawal, then ran into some suboxone, which I hadn't heard of before.  I took 4 mg, and was able to eat and after a day or so, sleep again.  Since then I have taken about 1mg of suboxone a day, sublingual.  I am a little afraid that I will have to go through the whole process again.  Am I cheating?  By using a small amount of suboxone I will have been off methadone for three weeks.  I am hoping that it is buying me some time and distance.  I know that without it, I would have relapsed, or maybe even done worse.  There is a point with insomnia that death seems a rational escape from torture, or that cutting your legs off seems a reasonable relief from the spasms and cramps.  I don't have any choice, financially, and there is no way I will go back, regardless, so whatever comes, comes.  I hope that this suboxone is not just delaying the process.  In some ways it is helping me but I fear it is just another delay.  I thought I would feel fantastic at some point, but this is not like finishing a sprint, there is no finish line, no celebration.  However, I have not had methadone for two and a half weeks.  I went for almost six days cold, which I have found out is the best way to enter suboxone into your system.  Quitting drinking was easy.  

[jdrass]

I have the same exact symptoms of coming off methadone as you, 6 months ago i quit attending the methadone clinic, and now i notice i have mild acne, and i used to sweat a lot, the sweating has gone away, but the acne keeps coming

[jewlz2626]

Congrats on your 7 days!! You SO sound like me!! Im on day 9 clean from methadone, and I was once forced to go cold turkey YEARS ago off of over 100 mg & it was miserable torture! I took the whole last year tapering from 15mg down to 2mg verrrrrrry slowly, letting my body adjust before I dropped each dose....so I believe that quadracerstreve is right- slow & steady does win the race! I have had minimal withdrawls, and after almost 10 years on this crap & know how bad they can get! Congrats!

[brooke99697]

I've been clean for seven days now.  I've quit 120 mg a day methadone habit before, and it took me about ten days to start feeling better.  After that, it's all in your head.  YOU CAN DO THIS.  DON'T LET ANYONE ON HERE SCARE YOU.  It doesn't take that long for your body's natural endorphins to kick in.  The time I quit before, by the third week, i was feeling like myself again, and able to take care of my daughter and myself, went trick or treating, and shopping, etc.  TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME.  You are a child of God, and if you cling to Him, he will help you get through it.  Just remember that it will pass, and you will feel so much better about yourself without having to have a crutch.  I already feel more confident.  You're gonna make it

[kjoy0114]

Brooke- I left the detox 2 weeks ago.  Knowing the crap is out of of my system feels great however I feel sooooooo lethargic.  I literally can not function.  I tried walking around the block but that took every bit of my energy.  I also seem to get what seems like panic attacks.  Does any of this seem familiar?  I can't wait for this feeling to be done with.  I have no help around me.  

[quadracersteve]

    I don't know a single person who thought it was easier to kick methadone then H. Methadone is THE hardest drug to kick, I don't care if someone was using 5 grams of H a day or 800mg of Oxy's, methadone is the worst. I'm in the middle of detoxing from it AGAIN. I was clean for 4 years, and 2 weeks before walking off, who comes walking into the clinic, my DEALER. He wanted to quit too, but he only lasted a week or so. Just enough time rof me to start thinking about him again. That's life, I guess.
    To Girl2007, it definately sounds like you are suffering from PAWS. Again, take methadone detox and multiply it by at least 5, and that's PAWS.
    to anyone that is thinking of walking off anything more than single digits, you'll either end up using again or back to the clinic. I asked here what people thought  of me walking from 21mg. Their answer was to lock mysely in a rubber room for a couple months. Another words, that's WAY too higha dose to walk from. My first detox, I walked from 9mg, but I was on that dose for at least a month.
    The analogy that I and someone else here used is: In this race, the tortus wins. ALWAYS. Slow and steady. Once you make it this low you just want everything to end real soon. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I'm already detoxing more than one year more than I expected. I gave myself 1 1/2yrs,(in my head that is), but am working on 2 yrs as of now, with at least 6 more months to go. VERY IMPORTANT: You must stabalize @ each dose before continuing the detox.

[irishgemini]

I'm on day 2 of roxy detox. I have struggled with herion addiction then a methadone addiction. I actually had a harder time coming off the methadone than I did the heroin. It took me months to feel better. Methadone made me have this weird plastic feeling. I have struggled with opiate addiction my entire adult life. In NYC we called methadone "liquid handcuffs". Just remember that it won't last forever. I just started posting on here today and the positive feedback I have been given has been a great help. Keep your chin up.

[steveo30]

the best thing you are doing right now is the weight training.methadone takes an extremely long time to withdrawal from.you may just be sweating any residuals(toxins) out of your body.your doing so well,try not to let this inconvenience rent space in your head.tomorrow you may feel great.the best of luck

[monstermommy]

Hey -if your being honest ,you are doing well.I totally understand the fatigue.I went from 210 mgs to 0.I didnt have energy for a year.Im not kidding.Your brain has to start working again,making its own chemicals.Your doing it!!Ive heard its one of the hardest to kick-its way worse than heroin,I do know that.I had been on it for 14 years,slowly going higher and higher on my dose.I am SO glad I dont have to worry about picking up my"dose"I went to a clinic where it was in a cherry based drink.On the 8th of this month it will be 4 years since I quit...!!You can do it-Be kind to yourself-take a bubble bath-if your hungry,eat.Tired?sleepTry to have lots of sex it somehow helps.I went through it alone,I just took care of that myself....I wish you the very best.Keep going,you will see how screwed up that **** actually made you.Just worry about today.Today is gonna be ok....

[kim715]

Jen,I'm going to send you a pm in just a bit.

[10356]

I contacted Kim she will be with you shortly.. Hang in there.. post and get support.. You came to the right place.. I wish you well on your journey....

[10356]

Hi Jen welcome to the forum.. I have not used meth... ct off H yes.. Do you have any meds.. have you been reading old post on others that have come off methadone.. Knowledge is going to help you to get through this.. I'm not going to lie to you.. this is going to hurt and it is going to take everything you've got.. But you can do this as others before you have.. why are you jumping...  Others taper although I have heard it is the same no matter what you jump at.. I was just wondering what is motivating you.. It will help to write that down.. Others that have been through this will find you.. just keep posting.. If this thread gets buried make a new one to bring it to the top... If you need to talk please feel free to contact me.. I think I know of someone that can help you.. I will go check.. Hang in there.. you are not alone.. lesa

[jen12482]

i have been in methadone treatment for a little over a year.  i have made the decision to quit! today is my first day!  i'm scared to death on what the next few days,months etc. will be like.  i stopped at 38mg.  someone please give me some clue on what to expect and some support!  thanks so very much. jen

[Girl2007]

thank you so much!!

[sosad5306]

You are most likely experiencing PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome)  I will give you a link below and you should DEFINITELY read the article.  Methadone is an opiate and applies to PAWS.  I think you will find what you read to be comforting and you will probably have the same reaction I did: "ohhhhh, it all makes sense now" :)

http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.htm

[FLaddict]

hey girl.. hang tight on here til someone can answer.. I don't know much about methodone.. i took in once in a rehab for 9 days so I am not the one to help you.. someone with methodone experience will come on and answer you..

However I will say.. I am also 26.. and I have had alot of changes recently as well.. weight up and down,  sweating at night, skin changes.. I think it comes with our age.. our bodies change.. average is every 7 years.. stuff in us shifts and we start to have different things happen.. I have chocked all the things I have been dealing with as an age thing... i also now have grey hairs.. and hair coming out of my face that didn't used to be there.. hormone changes..

If you need someone to talk to I am here.. welcome to the site