methadone

[ponco]

I wish i knew if i was witdrwling or not? the clinic i go to dosent know or my doctor im nausea, pressure on my stomach .chills ive been getting it more often.

[Butchgirl]

What planet are you from? 64mg is a small methadone dose!! I know people who take 250mg once a day and yes all at once!! 5mg is a lot to decrease in a weeks time. I suggest 1 mg a week and when you hit 30mg switch to suboxone. Keep up the good work!!

[ponco]

you dont know how much this means to me, i wish we lived by each other it would sure be nice to have a friend like you. good friends are not easy to come by. If you dont have any thing for a so called friend than there not your friend you know how that goes, no drugs rides etc.see you made a change in your life and im sure the ones close to you see that. you couldnt ask for anything more.the ones you love and your sobriety.and im sure your determind to stay that way. you dont know what it means to me to have someone to talk to going threw this nightmare.so anyways i pray to god i can get threw this , right now your the only one thats talking to me ive tryed but no one responds when i send a note , cant figure why? but my doctor thinks theres no withdrawls when you decrease she dont know lol so i hope your right and i can detox to omgs if i cant, lets say 20mgs hurting me what then do i stay at 5mgs? and if i was withdrawling now would it get better if your still doseing at 5mgs a week? how far do you withdrawl ? thanks

[weaver71]

You may do fine at 20mg with a 5mg drop, but that should be the next time you worry about it. You will know how you feel and hopefully you will be less anxious by then. The times I tried to taper, I noticed the drop for about a week and then stabilized. Low energy was definitely a symptom of each drop. Energy was the only reason I still took it. I personally think you'll be able to just taper to zero, you will not have been on it a total of a year.

[ponco]

when i get to 20mgs can i keep dropping five mgs or will i be to sick to go to 0mgs ? and today im more drousy than i was yesterday and nothing is any different except i decreased that decrease you dont feel right away right?

[weaver71]

John, I found that once I surrendered to the taper and stopped thinking about if it was right or not, my anxiety dropped a lot. I went from methadone to a 20 day sub taper, but the mental part is the same. I finally decided, I don't care if it's perfect, this is simply how it is for now. Throw that bp tester out man, that thing is gonna kill you. I'm only kidding, but try checking every 2 hrs for a day. You keep freakin, but you keep getting closer to the end with no serious problems, that should encourage you. You should think about it again, when you get to 20mg or so. That will be the time to recheck your symptoms.

[VICourageous]

I Soooooo agree with evrything Bkitty said it is so true. I was driving myself crazy about my stages of hell for about 4 months in the AA/NA. They all helped me understand sooooo much. You meet people with all sorts of addictions and all has a story of what they went threw. You will meet someone you can relate too weather they are new to it or have 30yrs. It is VERY supportive. I also agree on getting off the drugs get clear headed and then if something feels not right then maybe a mental issure but remember the transmitters in the brain take time to fire up right again I got this from a professional head dr who said for me it could take a year or so,but I feel good and happier then ever. Good luck take it easy hope they are not cutting you to quickly they should know whats up but all Dr do it different get the advice from other addicts after the meetings it works.
God Bless do not give up it does get better.
vvicidaho

[Bkitty]

So tell me about things that you do to help your anxiety. What are some things that you like to do?

[Bkitty]

Methadone has a long half life. Meaning it stays in your system a long time. You are opiate tolerant. Meaning your body can handle the dose. You will not OD. Esp since you are decreasing the dose.

[ponco]

thank you i will do that. im glad i found this site because it really is helping me . i want to thank you all for your support and i would also like to do the same for you guys John

[Bkitty]

Youre fine! Its so completely normal to have anxiety when withdrawing. I agree with the nut doctor (hehehe) You really do need to be off all the meds so they can get a baseline of your mood and treat the right way. In the meantime like I said above,,aftercare comes in now. You need face to face reassurance. Yes this forum is awesome and great but sometimes you just need to see the person and hear it in person. You are just going to have to accept that the next few months while tapering are not going to be comfortable and can cause anxiety but you are going in the right direction and you are going to be OK. YOu have to crawl before you walk. ((hugs))

[ponco]

what got me going on the od is that methadone builds up in your system so were im confused is the more you take the more it builds up, i just need someone to explain that to me if they can.

[ricart70]

We are still your friends.Don't worry about that too. Go for a walk,even in the cold it will help.

[Bkitty]

I don't see how you could overdose if you are taking a smaller amount weekly? Your highest dose was 80mg and now you are down to 64mgs. This is a sllllooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww process. You are making progress. Its not going to be comfortable all the time. Unfortunately that is the price we as addicts have to pay. BUT this is where your aftercare and support plays a key role. Get to a meeting and talk about this with them face to face. You need that reassurance in human form. I think you would feel a lot better. I know this isn't related but it kinda is,,I was diagnosed with threatened miscarriage in early December. I got on the computer and different forums and looked everything up and talked with other people and literally OBSSESSED and drove myself bat sh*t crazy! It wasn't until I saw the doctor in person that I had any sort of piece of mind. So I learned a HUGE lesson,,I learned that I needed to shut my computer off and spend time with my family and work my addiction program. You will only drive yourself crazy if you keep worrying like this. Shift your focus to how you are going to live your life methadone free and what you need to do to ensure that you remain/stay sober. You are doing great and like I said be patient with yourself. (((hugs)))

[ponco]

i know your all right i have been bothering the clinic not lately about the same thing over and over but i did stop that over there. and i do see a nut doc. i only saw him for the first time last week and im going to c him in march, he wants to wait till im off the methadone before he medicates me because he knows i will start freaking out on the medication i would be at the er to much. so im working on it . its going to take time im sorry to everyone for repeating myself so much and so on im just afraid of everything, i hope your all still my friends. hopefully i will be able to help someone thank you John

[nursegirl6572]

Hon, get the OD thing out of your head...if you were going to OD, it would have happened long before now.  If you didn't OD at a higher dose, you're certainly not going to now.

I agree with bkitty, and as I said before also..you very well could be having some mild w/d symptoms, as you are tapering down.  Shut the pc off, and get out and do something...keep yourself busy.  You're driving yourself nuts!

[ponco]

o i forgot they dont split dose out here. i forgot to answer that i get one dose a day liquid

[Bkitty]

I disagree. I think that you are probably having some mild withdrawal issues esp since you are cutting your dose weekly. To me that is what this sounds like and the anxiety is related to it as well. The clinic that you go to needs to explain things a little better. Are you working a NA/AA program along side this as well? Do you have any kind of psych history? Meaning that if you do,,now that you are decreasing your dose it could be possible that some issues are coming thru. You have some good advice above. Try to not obsess about this. I know that is easier said then done,,but this taper is going to take a while so get comfortable and settle in. Hopefully in a few months you will be methadone free! Think about that and work on having a good plan in place to deal with all the mental issues this addiction brings. Be patient and kind to yourself. ((hugs))

[ponco]

That was my main concern, and out here ive told my consuler every day how tired i was getting after doseing like one hour after i be at the computer crashing out or even driveing but  out here they dont care. I would think there responsible for you if you told them and there not doing anything about it.

[ponco]

I hope im not overdoseing? I was at 80mgs for at least a month. now of course im at 64mgs decreasing and tues. i will be at 59mgs do you think im safe? im not useing just blood pressure meds. the clinics up here in il. dont care about anyone but money. so please let me know what you think. please thank you.

[ponco]

Cool i called a rehab and they said im to high on my mgs to be withdrawling he said not on 64mgs not till around 20 or 30mgs. i guess that sounds right its probly anxiety if yo can find out anything let me know thanks man GOD BLESS YA.

[ricart70]

Oh and also as nursegirl says you are not going to od as Im sure your tolerance for opiate medication is high enough that it will not be an issue.

[nursegirl6572]

I know your right, im working my self up. in checking my bp every five min.

You need to seek some help with the anxiety.  You've posted many times, worrying about overdosing...it's not going to happen.  

"at least thats what i was told.so i dont know but i was worried about oding i kept complaning about it its like the clinics dont care, they just want your money. ."
Also, it's probably not that the clinic doesn't care, but my guess is, there's only so much they can reassure you.  If you're questioning everything like you've been doing here...there's probably not a whole lot more they can tell you.

Seriously, though...get yourself some help, as your anxiety is clearly over the top.

[ricart70]

Hi Ponco
I see you have been obsessing over this for a few days at least.Have you read about the COWS scale for opiate withdrawal? Have you checked your pupils?Are they pinned or are they dilated?  It does not really sound like classic withdrawal to me but more like overmedication. Do you have constipation or diarrhea? If you are constipated,have pinned pupils,and are not yawning,I would say it's not withdrawal.I don't really know why the docs can't give you any kind of answer about this.That is plain weird to me.
I hope you feel better soon.I hope this helps with your question.

[VICourageous]

This is a new one on me. I called a friend who knows alot about the taper He has been doing this for yrs. Waiting on call. For me I started at 60mg and would play with them and go up or back. I went to a doctor and we took the 60mg and cut it to 30mg I was just fine for years. Then we cut to 15mg and I keep playing the game and would run short and have to go buy, or borrow. I was going back to the 30 That is why I started doing the adderal with the done so I could strech it out. I was snorting it together. I used these drugs to get wired up and do all kinds of work My complusive behavor. Then the clonazepam to sleep. I did go cold trukey and went threw the hardest thing every but very rewarding now. I went threw HIGH *** ANXIETY thought I was going to have a stroke. Then everything felt weird to be when I got home. Like coming out of a FOG. I could not sleep for a long time then it became waves of sleep. Took the clonidine(Blood Pressure med they use) ony for a couple of weeks at night. I am getting tuned into to my brain and I feel much happier, but the weakness on and off got me worried for being clean months went to dr had bloon drawn. He said it could be just the satges but drugs play hell on the system. I read that it can affect the sugar levels which gets into more details but I won"t go there. I do not understand why you feel like you do when you are still on this. Maybe like they say you are tripping on it to much. I know I did in the begining I wanted to be WELL NOW, YESTERDAY. Just hang in it does get better day by day No easy way out but tapering should be more mild then what I did. God Bless hang in. You Took The First Step to come clean
vvic
Oh I am 5 months clean and take nothing but the natual things