Opioids Can a short Methadone Taper be done? Please respond to my plan.

[timetohunt]

Multiple reasons of needing to get off opiates NOW. My wife is terminally sick, she is doing okay now, but after a few months anything can happen. My window is closing. A gigantic fear for me is, if she starts to fail and I'm too sick to help/make plans plus the rest of her family will be watching. Because we are no longer a dual working family, I've got to pack up a large house and simplify to something small. Hopefully moving near the shore where she can live out her last year or so. We both love the Ocean. Oh, my opiate supplies will be no more, it's complicated, let's just say within a week or two, I'll have no more access in general (I'd have to steal or go corner shopping which has been I line I've never crossed and don't plan on starting). Plus imagine this from Jail, first thought is suicide. So, no. Just the 25 methadone pills to use as a taper, read on please.

I'm mainly an Oxy abuser up to 200mg snorted. I've taken that habit down to oral at least. I've used methadone for a week here and there when I'm out. Under all the conditions I've said, can I take 25 10mg methadone pills and make a reasonable taper. Usually 20-30mg keeps okay for a day so I can start there. Responses?

FYI: I also have Anxiety disorders. No meds work. So generally I'm a wreck unless plied with opiates and maybe booze. The opiates created this (with my help of course).

P.S. Suboxone does weird things to me. So Im really not a fan.
P.S. Wife is the best thing ever happened to me, Soulmate, I'm destined to follower into the grave unless I can bring sanity through freedom from a large substance habit. 9 year habit with a few breaks, first 3 years on Hydro orally.

 

[timetohunt]

Sorry that the little red face showed up in my title. Must have pushed a button. I rarely use emoticons.

 

[rsmith46]

Don't get in your head, its easy to make yourself think your in withdraw when its just your anxiety. Start with 2 Done pills a day for a week, then 1 pill for a week, then half a pill for 8 days. Save your oxy for when your out of done, the oxy has a much shorter half life than Methadone so its withdraw is much shorter.
I detoxed off 120mg of Methadone at 10mg a week, I stopped after a week at 10mg with no withdraw symptoms. You didn't say how much oxy you have if any, you will be fine with the methadone you have.

 

[Znegative]

with all respect to the above poster, I don't think that taper plan is a good one. Honestly, the shorter the better, A year ago I made a half ditched effort at quitting dope by doing a 21 day methadone taper, starting at 40mg (when I was using at least $100 worth of the best dope you can get in Oakland, which doesn't mean much :/), jumping off at 5mg. Part of the problem in my situation was that it took 3 days of taking 40mg to make me feel stabilized, (as the first day 40mg felt like a rinse) and then the taper dropped me 5mg every 2 days after that. In the end I would have preferred to have just done a one week taper because what happened was when I finally was taken off the methadone (at 5mg, ridiculous), I started going into acute withdrawal, from the methadone.

Quick 1-week tapers are the best way to kick dope, if you're not going to go cold turkey (which is horrible, but in the end a triumph). Yes, it will not be as comfortable, but at the same time, it will not drag out the withdrawals either, or give your body time to become dependent on the methadone (and yes an opiate is an opiate, but eventually you will start to go through methadone withdrawals if you stay on it too long), which are much longer and painful enough that it leaves you wondering why you hadn't just kicked the dope CT.

Since you say 20-30mg holds you for a good 24 hours, so I would start with 30, and do a taper that looks something like this:

• Days 1-3: 30mg
• Days 4: 20mg
• Day 5: 15mg
• Day 6: 10mg
• Day 7: 5mg
• Day 8: 2.5mg or none

I would also try to have some of the following medications/drugs handy, especially for when you jump off:

• Clonodine
• Neurontin
• Xanax/Benzodiazepine
• Zofran
• Kratom
• Loperamide

 

[timetohunt]

Thanks to both previous posters. I think I may morph the two suggestions, I've got a lot of work upcoming and not much bed time available. Stretch the week to a 10 - 14 day mod. I know I will have to pay the piper at jump off. But since I'm not a years long done user, is 3-4 weeks of titration still a long term w/d sentence? Also, I know of the PAWS, its a grumpy lethargic stage. I'll try to give my best, but there will be Times I'll be stopped in my tracks. Loads on my plate.

 

[timetohunt]

In the early days I could actually do a CT. Now, I'm definitely an insane mess in a deep dark abyss, thinking of the eventual death of my soulmate. I don't fear death or the afterlife or lack thereof, I fear pain and life. I did a CT coming off of insulflated oxymorphone once. I could barely walk. But did walk to relieve myself and sip water....nothing else I could manage. Not even the ability to read or hold a one minute conversation. I snapped out in day 5, worn out and shaken hard but I was younger then. Famous last words, but by god and soul this is the last time before I end it for good.

 

[rsmith46]

Its good you don't have a daily Methadone habit, you are just using it to detox off the oxy. Methadone is commonly used for a 21 day detox of pain pills. The oxy only has a 4 hour half life, that's why its hard to taper with. Methadone has a 24 - 36 hour half life so its a much easier ride, takes 6 days to leave your body and to feel any withdraw.

 

[timetohunt]

If anyone would wonder 'why not sub'....I'm prone to Serotonin Syndrome (SS) and sub is one of the worst offenders. SS is only brought on by use of certain medications. It could still be possible if short used, but I suffer greatly through transition for 3 days. Fear, can't communicate. It's a later opiate use thing, this would have been fine if it were within my first 3 years of use. They say all long term opiate users will get some form of SS, it's hardly noticed in many many users. My episodes can be 36 hours of vomiting and horrible neurological twitching. Very under studied, but some info is there if you dig. Ever seen a long term opiate user just get very ill out of the blue when flu can be ruled out. It's a good chance that its SS. Not many doctors have a clue. Some other offenders can even be flexeril plus SSRIs are on the list.

 

[rsmith46]

Serotonin Syndrome really sucks, my DR's had me on like 5 meds that either block the uptake of Serotonin, SSRI's like Paxil and meds that increase Serotonin. Even my eye drops for Glaucoma increase Serotonin. I was so sick I thought I was dying for 2 years, your right the Dr's couldn't figure out wot was wrong my shrink kept upping my dose of Paxil . I finally figured it out, can't even list all the symptoms.

 

[Znegative]

huh^that's interesting, I've been taking myself off of subs using kratom, and in the last few days I've kind of dosed too high and I am experiencing exactly what you describe. I even thought it could be seretonin syndrome, just because the effects of the kratom suddenly changed for me, and became more psychedelic but in a stressful way. Earlier in the day I was twitching so much that I could barely sign my name on this form I had to fill out. Obviously I'm not going to redose the Kratom, I'm going to try and wait for as long as possible before the sub withdrawals kick back in (which will probably be tomorrow morning) and then I'm going to decrease the dose drastically to try and reset my tolerance so I can get the opioid effects again.

Also, I don't mean to come off as if I think CT is 'the way to go', just to clarify. In situations where it's the only option, it's kind of 'nice' in the way that it's over faster, and if you have clonodine and some benzo's one can even get a little sleep, and it's also cool, when you're through with it and feel proud, like 'yeah I can do this!'.

I wanted to mention also, that while you are saving your nasal cavity some suffering, the oral BA of oxycodone is higher than insufflation.

Whatever you do, just make sure that you don't end up raising your tolerance with the methadone by staying on one dose for too long (as it builds up in the system). I wish you the best.

 

[timetohunt]

Serotonin Syndrome really sucks, my DR's had me on like 5 meds that either block the uptake of Serotonin, SSRI's like Paxil and meds that increase Serotonin. Even my eye drops for Glaucoma increase Serotonin. I was so sick I thought I was dying for 2 years, your right the Dr's couldn't figure out wot was wrong my shrink kept upping my dose of Paxil . I finally figured it out, can't even list all the symptoms.

Wow, yes. I thought I was dieing, sickly and slowly for almost two years running. I knew it was related to using because in detox, after about 18 days...gone. The sub is worse than full opiates. At least regarding SS.