Methadone instead of Oxycontin

[MamaBlaze]

My husband has been taking Oxycontin 10mg for a couple of months now. They are now wanting him to change to Methadone10mg. Is it safe to change? How long should he wait between his last Oxycontin and his first Methadone?

[nick30]

So long as it's working for you thats the main thing. Glad you have something you're happy with.

Nick.

[Red931]

You are correct with the Oxycontin duration. I don't get twelve hours out of it either. I am lucky if I get eight. My point is if his doctor felt he needed 40 mg. daily why not prescribe 20 mg. twice daily as it would be properly prescribed that way. When you start overlapping doses of time released medication you are going to have problems.

I think what turns so many people off of methadone is that it is used to detox people that are addicted to heroin to be honest. When people that are not educated about it hear it they immediately think of heroin.

Even though the Oxycontin only gives me about eight hours of relief it does work for me with very little side effects so I stick with it. I have the Percocet for the breakthrough pain so I squeek by like the rest of us do day by day.

[nick30]

You are right about oxycontin being a 12 hourly med however I used to also take it 4x a day. for some people it lasts well under the specified 12 hours duration. In the end it gave me so much trouble that i switched to fentanyl.
methodone is also longer acting than oxycontin, maybe that's got something to do with the switch, who knows.
like many others i'm also surprised about the negativity surrounding methadone. having said that though i rejected it because i thought everyone would think i was a heroin addict if i took it. anyway, as far as i can tell(i haven't actually taken it) the only real negatives are the withdrawals(which aren't a big problem if you expect to be on it long term) and the link with bone de-calcification.

Nick.

[Red931]

Molly,

She didn't realize that there was a Pain Management Forum that is why she posted there first. She explained why she did that and I understood her reason for doing so.

I posted my question about my medication over there first also when I first found MedHelp. When you google your medication it always takes you there first.

I really think that his doctor wants to switch his medication because he didn't prescribe his Oxycontin properly in the first place. He seems to need 20mg. twice a day, but his doctor had him on 10 mg. 4 times daily. I am not a doctor but I know you should dose Oxycontin on a 12 hour basis.

[Mollyrae]

MamaBlaze:

I find it really hard to believe that his Doctor is not educated and prescribing him many different medications. Doctors DO NOT change the patients regiment when they are doing so well on one particular drug. If anything, they will want to see him take less of the drug and eventually become opiate free. Doctors don't keep adding to the mix, at least none that I have ever heard of.

I see some red flags in this post and the one in the Substance Abuse Forum. If the two of you truly had no addiction then what would bring you to the Substance Abuse Forum in the first place. I wouldn't have even considered it with my pain and the constant struggles I have. Like Red said, you must be honest and in my opinion...we all have one....you have not been honest here.

We are a great group of members with something in common and are willing to help with our advise to anyone who needs it. All we ask is that your honest with the information.

I think the comments with the Methadone are disheartening as well. I feel that it is a safe and effective drug for pain as well as w/d. There are opiates just as powerful and hard to come off of as the Methadone so I wouldn't single it out.

MamaBlaze, I hope your situation improves and you find the right path as well as your Husband. Please take care.
Molly

[ChronicPain1]

I'm surprised to see all the negative comments about Methadone, as I've read a few articles by doctors that it's safer than even Morphine! It's disheartening to hear, to say the least.

[jmsl5]

I too have no problem with methadone. I have taken it for a few years for nerve pain.  I take 10 mg every 12 hr.  I was getting along fine with it and my doctor all of a sudden changed it to OxyContin 10mg every 12 hours two weeks ago.  I now have double vision and am tired and cold, I have a few methadone left, I’m wondering if I could just quit the OxyContin and take the methadone until I can talk to my doctor on Monday.  Any help I would appreciate.

[backhurtz]

I would not suggest taking ANY methadone unless and until you have gotten the approval from your doctor FIRST. Even if he/she previously prescribed the methadone- it would be considered as a violation of your pain management agreement , self medicating and taking a medication not prescribed to you. Doing so could easily get you dismissed from the drs practice and reported on the state database for misuse/abuse of opiates. That would make it very difficult to get into another drs practice.