Aa
some info about methadone
Methadone therapy is a synonym for methadone addiction, and is not a real cure from drug dependency. The best way to get off heroin is to do it the hard way, and the honest way. Suffer the pains of detox, do the counseling, and then begin your life in recovery. It's never easy, but it can work, and it can really free you from your heroin addiction. Any addiction to opiates is tough (I know firsthand!) and the dreaded agony of the pains of withdrawal make the thought of getting clean a pretty scary proposition. So when avoiding detox is coupled with some pretty impressive long term success rates when on methadone, it can be tempting to go the opiate substitution route, and try to get clean through a very long process of tapering down.
Methadone maintenance therapy has addicts trade their heroin use for safe doses of methadone. Doses that will keep the pains of withdrawal well away, but will not serve to intoxicate and will allow the user to function normally in society. The downside to this of course is that some people that entered methadone maintenance 10 or even 20 years ago remain methadone addicts, and although they are not using heroin (and as such are a part of the success rates as advertised by the statistics) they remain addicts, and much of their time and energy remains devoted to maintaining enough opiates in their blood to keep the pain of withdrawal away.
Better than heroin abuse, but I wouldn't call that a cure. When using methadone, you need to visit a registered methadone clinic every day, or every other day, and take your oral dosage of methadone under supervision. You need to spend hours almost daily in the process of getting your drug, and remain in the company of other opiate addicts during all that time spent waiting around in methadone clinic waiting rooms. Additionally, many doctors are now arguing that the addiction to methadone is in fact more potent than the addiction to heroin, and as such the withdrawal, and the pains of withdrawal, are longer and more severe with methadone than with the original problem drug.
So why is switching to a more addictive drug considered a medically sound policy of drug cessation? I think that it comes down to a matter of public policy. In the view of the greater good, it is better to have heroin addicts functioning well in society, and receiving regular and free doses of a drug that keeps withdrawal away; but for the individual addict, this may not be a positive outcome. Much better is to endure the painful days of withdrawal, get the therapy and counseling you need, and try to rebuild your life without the need for any drug. It's not the shortcut to "sobriety" that methadone is, but it's a real cure, and it offers a life free from drugs and free from addiction.
Detox is hard, and it is painful, and it's understandable that addicts would try to avoid it; but if the alternative to a few days of discomfort is a lifetime of addiction to methadone, then isn't the price of withdrawal avoidance too high? On methadone, you're not taking a trip out of town, you're never going to Disneyland with the family and you're always in the company of the people that remind you of what you once were. Get clean the hard and honest way, and learn what you need to live free from drug abuse, and stay sober over the long term. Not many addicts can resist the cravings and temptation to use during the first days of rehab, and the best way to detox is under medical supervision.
A supervised detox makes the process as safe and comfortable as possible, and at the very least, keeps you well away from access to drugs until the metabolites have been cleansed from your body. Detox alone is very rarely an effective cure, and most addicts will need the help of professionals, counseling, and education to have a real chance of staying clean for good. Heroin addiction is tough, but a life in drug recovery is a life full of hope and promise, and is surely better than a life of continuing addiction with methadone.
Methadone maintenance therapy has addicts trade their heroin use for safe doses of methadone. Doses that will keep the pains of withdrawal well away, but will not serve to intoxicate and will allow the user to function normally in society. The downside to this of course is that some people that entered methadone maintenance 10 or even 20 years ago remain methadone addicts, and although they are not using heroin (and as such are a part of the success rates as advertised by the statistics) they remain addicts, and much of their time and energy remains devoted to maintaining enough opiates in their blood to keep the pain of withdrawal away.
Better than heroin abuse, but I wouldn't call that a cure. When using methadone, you need to visit a registered methadone clinic every day, or every other day, and take your oral dosage of methadone under supervision. You need to spend hours almost daily in the process of getting your drug, and remain in the company of other opiate addicts during all that time spent waiting around in methadone clinic waiting rooms. Additionally, many doctors are now arguing that the addiction to methadone is in fact more potent than the addiction to heroin, and as such the withdrawal, and the pains of withdrawal, are longer and more severe with methadone than with the original problem drug.
So why is switching to a more addictive drug considered a medically sound policy of drug cessation? I think that it comes down to a matter of public policy. In the view of the greater good, it is better to have heroin addicts functioning well in society, and receiving regular and free doses of a drug that keeps withdrawal away; but for the individual addict, this may not be a positive outcome. Much better is to endure the painful days of withdrawal, get the therapy and counseling you need, and try to rebuild your life without the need for any drug. It's not the shortcut to "sobriety" that methadone is, but it's a real cure, and it offers a life free from drugs and free from addiction.
Detox is hard, and it is painful, and it's understandable that addicts would try to avoid it; but if the alternative to a few days of discomfort is a lifetime of addiction to methadone, then isn't the price of withdrawal avoidance too high? On methadone, you're not taking a trip out of town, you're never going to Disneyland with the family and you're always in the company of the people that remind you of what you once were. Get clean the hard and honest way, and learn what you need to live free from drug abuse, and stay sober over the long term. Not many addicts can resist the cravings and temptation to use during the first days of rehab, and the best way to detox is under medical supervision.
A supervised detox makes the process as safe and comfortable as possible, and at the very least, keeps you well away from access to drugs until the metabolites have been cleansed from your body. Detox alone is very rarely an effective cure, and most addicts will need the help of professionals, counseling, and education to have a real chance of staying clean for good. Heroin addiction is tough, but a life in drug recovery is a life full of hope and promise, and is surely better than a life of continuing addiction with methadone.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Its all good Lee........Kfred has fought long and hard and it is all coming together for him and i am just so happy for him. sara
lee,
Dont worry about it. Everyone has diffrent veiw and a drug that has been wonderful for one person can cause major serous problems for others . You are just sharing info .Its like with my sub post the other day some liked the info some found it ofenceive .You are never going to plz everyone all of the time .I look at it this way. I take the info that is going to help me and the rest I dont worry aboutit. It may pretain to others but not to me .... I think also kfred got very lucky and found a great doctor that was not looking to put him on it for life or just out for his money that makes a really big diffrance. The doc kept him on a lower dose and he is getting recoverycare as well.I just wish all of the doctors would do it this way:)
Dont worry about it. Everyone has diffrent veiw and a drug that has been wonderful for one person can cause major serous problems for others . You are just sharing info .Its like with my sub post the other day some liked the info some found it ofenceive .You are never going to plz everyone all of the time .I look at it this way. I take the info that is going to help me and the rest I dont worry aboutit. It may pretain to others but not to me .... I think also kfred got very lucky and found a great doctor that was not looking to put him on it for life or just out for his money that makes a really big diffrance. The doc kept him on a lower dose and he is getting recoverycare as well.I just wish all of the doctors would do it this way:)
didn't mean to 'go off' about it... I am just very passionate about it... Believe me, I know the thoughts out there... I see the girl in NA with 20mg of Sub flowing thru her veins thinking she's got it oxy licked... I see it... BUT I lived a life where my only thoughts were of narcotics and I had NO WAY OUT... I do understand it's not a miracle drug and yes, there are times I want to slam 5 pills and get messed up but I DON'T and I haven't. I certainly couldn't say that 6 months ago with a vic pill...
yeah but i hate that this post offended someone that had a great success with meth...people that know me know that was not my intentions
lee you are right you were just giving info .So people know the risks like I say no matter what you are going to take research research reasearch ,
i am glad that meth saved you and i know its saved many!! i look up to u for that....my post was not knocking meth......i was only passing on some info i found---i did not write it.......Not that "how long" i have been clean matters but just so you know it is not a couple weeks, anyways one day at a time! I realy hate that this post "got to you" thats not what it was about, sorry....i dont believe i am anything close to a doc---maybe the writer of this did think that about themselfs---i was only passing what looked to me to have info about meth........Kfred i followed your post and know you struggled like the rest here, and i am PROUD of you for finding what works for you
Kfred,
I am so happy for you I know how hard you have struggled threw this you have tried everything .I know the subs did not work for u either and you were going down a very scary road congrats I could not be prouder
I am so happy for you I know how hard you have struggled threw this you have tried everything .I know the subs did not work for u either and you were going down a very scary road congrats I could not be prouder
COMMUNITY LEADER
I tip my hat to you!! I agree that methadone saved your life. Without it you would of died. You found a doctor who used methadone the way it was meant for and you are working your program. I couldnt be more proud of you. sara
Sorry, that last post wasn't directed at you. I meant it as a general post to the topic.
As Kfred mentioned Methadone and Suboxone both have saved thousands upon thousands of lives. I have my opinions as well on many issues, but I try to keep my personal views to myself because recovery is such a personal choice between a patient and their medical team. I will say this though...you posted "Much better is to endure the painful days of withdrawal, get the therapy and counseling you need, and try to rebuild your life without the need for any drug. It's not the shortcut to "sobriety" that methadone is, but it's a real cure, and it offers a life free from drugs and free from addiction." Unfortunately, this disease has no cure. If it did, there wouldn't be hundreds of ways to enter recovery. Our best outcome is to place it into remission...either through aftercare, opiate replacement maintenance, or or other forms of recovery.
I just love it when someone gets clean, and some just a few weeks, then all of the sudden become an "expert" on recovery. Some even, as with the original poster, believe they have a medical background comparable to an M.D. Methadone SAVED MY LIFE. I am almost weened completely off a 6 month plan and have never felt better. I attend meetings. I haven't abused it. I spend time with the "right" people. I have my life back. And shortly I'll have the blessing of a completely drug-free existence. I now have the confidence that 'being clean' is possible - day by day. Very careless post.
i am so sorry to hear about your son....and i agree with you on your views
I'm of two minds about a methadone treatment program. My son was a methadone addict, from street drugs, not a program. After a two-year struggle, he finally lost the battle when his fourth OD occurred when he was alone, with no one around to call 911. If he had gotten into a maintenance program, it might have bought him some time. He had tried almost everything else.
On the other hand, methadone and suboxone are just as addictive as heroin (or even more so), so why not just make heroin itself available in a maintenance program? It seems very arbitrary to suppose that the "cure" is "good" because it can be prescribed legally.
On the other hand, methadone and suboxone are just as addictive as heroin (or even more so), so why not just make heroin itself available in a maintenance program? It seems very arbitrary to suppose that the "cure" is "good" because it can be prescribed legally.
Wow, very sorry to hear about your friend. My daughters grandfather did the same but not from subs. Thats such a crappy thing for everyone involved. No prob, you got to me for a minute but luckily ive got thick skin :)
I am sorry that i "attacked" you. I infact am in NO place to do so, i have never takin sub so i really have no place to speak on it, i only know what i have read and seen first hand...you clearly have a good doc and did it the right way, please dont let my "narrow minded thoughts" effect what you do. The only thing I will never agree to that i see in your post is the claim of it being a "mirical" drug......I had a good friend kill herself to end the pain of w/ds from sub--true enough she had other probs aswell but i KNOW that the pain of the w/ds were to much for her....now on the other hand, with a good doctor and a "Good plan" sub DOES have its place. Again, I AM SORRY FOR ATTACKING YOU---thats not what i am about, i like to hear OTHERS stories of addiction and success and parhaps i just havent heard enough success stories with sub
Have you been on subs? How long did you take them to have such bad w/d's? What do you consider bad w/d's if you dont mind me asking? I'm going to be starting them again and i had no problem what-so-ever stopping them before so now you've got me a bit worried?
You should see it in Canada.Big moneymaker for the doctors and everyone.A lot of our doctors gave up family practice and went into methadone treatment because they are finished by noon or so and still make lots of money.No weekends,nights ,emergencies or even sick people.Just a big racket and growing.
i to am pretty much anti-meth//sub....i think it has its place but should only be after all else has failed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As most all of you know I was on methadone for nearly 2 years and have been clean from it for some time now.As a matter of personal opinion I am pretty anti methadone when it comes to most pill addicts.However I do believe methadone does have it's place in treating addiction.I was never one who believed that methadone saved my life,but I was one of those pill addicts who should have been turned away from the methadone program.My pill addiction didn't warrant switching to a much harder class of drug,like methadone.There are some pill addicts as well as heroin addicts that do benefit from the methadone program though.It helps to place them in a holding pattern,gives them time to change person,places,and things.Allows them the time needed to make some plans and begin to straighten out their lives.Of course the key to doing so successfully and minimizing the discomfort of coming off of it is to do so quickly.When it comes to methadone and sub there are plenty of mixed emotions and differences of opinion.This is just mine and Lee I respect what you had to say as well....All the best...Kim
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Addiction: Substance Abuse Community
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
