On methadone for 10 years

[F4pilot]

this is more of a post then a question.
I've been on methadone for 10 years, I started out by taking painkillers for a infection in my throat due to my wisdom teeth coming in and my doctor prescribed me norco.
One thing led to another and boom, I was sniffing a few bags of heroin a day. I had a good career believe it or not I was a elected law enforcement official and a full time police officer.
This stuff/ addiction has no favorites. It can happen to anyone. I wish I went through the withdrawal for a few days then getting on this stuff. I hear so many horror story's about getting off this stuff. After getting on the methadone I resigned from my job and packed my family up and moved 20 miles away from my neighborhood and people I knew.
I have a good job and pays great money, but I'm not doing what I love anymore.what I'm going with this is before anyone decides to go the methadone maintenance route, really sit down and think about the future because methadone will definitely be in it!! Sometimes I think I should have not been a coward and just went through the few days of the sickness. I was on drugs for six months, now I have a life sentence with methadone.

[gnarly_1]

Hi  and welcome to the forum......God I hate to see someone chained to the ''liquid handcuffs''  10 yr's is a long time but there is hope...we have had members who have kicked with 10 15 even 25yrson this crap  I was on it almost 7yrs at 150mg and was 47 at the time the equation we use is how long...how high a dose...and age all factor in to recovery  for me it was a long time a high dose and my age all made it more difficult but I did it in sept of 09  havent touched it since...  methadone hands down is the most difficult of all the opiets to detox off of....it is not so much the intensity of the withdrawal  but the long recovery time....just know this it is possible  it will take resolve and a lot of perseverance a good support system and time....it took me 8 1/2 months to taper off  going in and out of withdrawals the whole time....the withdrawal can be managed this is a race one by the tortus not the hare...  slow is good  slower is better...the clinic want to bring me off so slow that I would have been detoxing for 2 years if I did it there way  it may have been a more comfortable withdrawal wise but there was no f/ing way I was going to draw it out that long....I probable would have had a ez time of it but as I said the withdrawal can be managed  it is up to you on how much discomfort you can tolerate...if you give me some more information we can help you get off your 10yr run  we know you been on it 10ys  thats a long time...what dose are you at now???? and how old are you.....age is a big thing I have been helping people get off this drug since 09 and and the 20 somethings bounce bake a lot quicker the someone in there 40s  the biggest factor is how long  this drug seaps into your bones and fatty tissues so the longer your on it the more it builds up in your system...over the years I have detoxed off most of the pain pills out there with those in 30 days your doing a lot better then methadone ...I was dope sick for a good 90 days b/4 I started to feel like there was any hope of getting better... hence the need for a lot of perseverance.... the 2 things that where the hardest for me was not sleeping for 2 months and a ''energy crash'' that was dibilating on it own...so you have to ask yourself this question..... are you ready to do what ever it takes to get your life back....if you are im willing to walk you threw the whole process no mater how long it takes just know it is so so worth it...you dont really realize just what this drug does to you until your off it....you know I lived in a sexless marrage for 5yrs  I couldent make love to my wife if I wanted to and even the desire was gone....I would just nod off at the most inappropriate times like at social gatherings  my wife thought I was sick with narcolepsy...the profuse sweating the inability to focus are just a few of the things you will get back I can go on and on but the real question falls back to you...you got to want it more then anything else we have other members that have beet this drug and they will chime in  the forum is a bit slow on the weekends....I look forward to helping you take your life back keep posting for support
..........................................Gnarly......................................

[jifmoc]

I think that's an important post and I hope newcomers see it. You know, it's never too late to come off that crap. We have a resident expert, Gnarly, who was on methadone for a long time and successfully came off. Hopefully, he'll chime in. The best thing I ever did was detox off norco and (finally) go straight into meetings where I stayed. I can't recommend that enough. It doesn't have to be a "life sentence" if you don't want it to be. Keep checking in, I bet you'll have more support coming you way:)