Opioids Methadone Mega Thread and FAQ

[splenda]

So Ive been clean for 9 days thanks to methadone program. I'm on 30mg (liquid) and feel alright. I have such a low dose because I am nervous about being on it forever, or being too hard to come off. Basically I don't want to be on 150mg and next thing I know it's been five years. So here's my question... I am still craving the drug like mad, and I know that I always will. Though I'm wondering if maybe my does still isn't high enough. Is it more than just feeling alright? I'm not trying to get high Im just trying to stay clean. People say that when you find your right does you will know. Well I don't know... Just need a little advice. If it helps I was using around 100mg of OC give or take, along with every other opiate, fent,opana, hydromorphone, ect.

Since you're still having cravings this means you need to increase your methadone dose. Note one thing, MMT is for long term therapy. What a lot of people don't realize when going on methadone is that it's a long term thing and they usually aren't ready for the commitment that methadone maintenance requires and therefore usually feel unhappy being on it... while those who have had trouble with staying sober and are ready for a long-term commitment because all other options for trying to stay clean have failed (and are ready for the long term commitment, such as myself), tend to have a lot of success and feel a lot better/happier on methadone maintenance.

But yes, you shouldn't feel any cravings at all for opioids. You shouldn't feel any cravings to double-dose or to take any other opioids at the proper/correct dose of methadone for you.. once you reach that dose, as long as you aren't sick, you should stay at that dose because that's the dose that will keep you stable. If you aren't at the dose that wards away those cravings and keeps you not sick then you simply need to increase your dose higher. Remember, the majority of the time when people complain about methadone it's because THEY'RE doing something wrong or it's THEIR mindset, not the methadone itself that's bad. Most of the people I've seen who complain about MMT tend to usually want to still use drugs/are still using drugs and still want to get 'fucked up/get high' and don't want the long term commitment that MMT entitles. For those kinds of ppl (those who still want to get fucked up and don't want the long-term commitment), methadone tends to not be a very good option for them because it isn't like other opioids.

 

[splenda]

Oh btw, I have a quick question about methadone and codeine/guaifenesen. I was recently prescribed codeine/guaifenesen (10mg/100mg respectively per 5mL) for a really bad upper respiratory tract infection/cough along with anti-biotics but I'm also on 150mg of methadone a day. I was just wondering, would taking 5-10mL of the codeine cough syrup work in terms of reducing my cough (and not necessarily giving me any mental 'narcotic' effects) even with my methadone dose? Or does the methadone also 'block' the antitussive effects of the codeine also?

Thanks!

 

[AphexAcid93]

Please delete this, if need be- mods...

Okay, I just got into a local MMT less then a week ago...Okay, yesterday, the dosing-lady told me to be at the clinic at so-and-so time today....I come in, and get BITCHED OUT to the max, by my sponsor/counsler(sp?) for "being irresponsible and un-trustworhty" and "not worthy of you're dose-today!" well, turns out, the dosing-lady told me the wrong time to be there, for the meeting, and I was 40 mins. late...Now, starting tommorow I will be put on a 5 day-detox,
and have to re-start ALL OVER AGAIN from 10 mg's on up to where I was currently(90 mg's) ..has anyone else ever got fucked like this? I'm so upset, because it's such bullshit. I feel like just giving up the goddamn program, and saying fuck it; but I know in the back of my head, I don't want to do that ...

sorry, if I rambled guys...you all know how it is, when you are truely and honestly trying to stay on the straight & narrow, then someone fucks it up for you, over a minor tiny thing that is completly fucked up.

 

[debaser]

Oh btw, I have a quick question about methadone and codeine/guaifenesen. I was recently prescribed codeine/guaifenesen (10mg/100mg respectively per 5mL) for a really bad upper respiratory tract infection/cough along with anti-biotics but I'm also on 150mg of methadone a day. I was just wondering, would taking 5-10mL of the codeine cough syrup work in terms of reducing my cough (and not necessarily giving me any mental 'narcotic' effects) even with my methadone dose? Or does the methadone also 'block' the antitussive effects of the codeine also?

Thanks!

From what I know about methadone, it is also a very effective antitussive (like any other mu-agonist opiate). So you really don't need the codeine, especially on a 150mg dose of methadone a day. But i'm no doctor, so talk to yours about that.

 

[splenda]

From what I know about methadone, it is also a very effective antitussive (like any other mu-agonist opiate). So you really don't need the codeine, especially on a 150mg dose of methadone a day. But i'm no doctor, so talk to yours about that.

Yeah, methadone's anti-tussive effect is great but only works for 6-8 hours. Therefore, I get a great effect in the mornings right after I dose but when the analgesic/anti-tussive effect of the methadone starts to decrease in the late afternoon/early evenings, my cough gets tremendously worse. So I was wondering if supplementing with the codeine in the late afternoons/evenings would help with this cough.

 

[debaser]

^ Ah ok. I think it will help, yes.

edit: but be careful of any UA from your MMT center...

 

[splenda]

^ Ah ok. I think it will help, yes.

edit: but be careful of any UA from your MMT center...

Yeah, I hope it's worth taking it and will have some minor help with the cough especially before bed... this cold sucks .

Yeah if I do decide to take the codeine/guaifenesen syrup I am going to have to take my bottle in tomorrow to the clinic to show to my counselor to register the medication so that if codeine shows up on my UAs it would be disregarded since I have a script for it... but I'm not 100% sure if it's worthwhile taking yet because I don't know if the codeine will still have its antitussive effect since I'm on methadone...

I've taken DXM earlier this week before I got prescribed the codeine/guaif today and the DXM helped a little bit with my cough... so I'm wondering, would codeine help with the cough too (even though I'm on methadone)?

 

[Cloud_9]

So Im in a pretty hairy situation here. I have been on anywhere from 60mg-120mg of methadone for about 2 1/2 years now for neuropathy stemming from a surgery as well as a way to reduce my cravings for other illicit opioids. Now last week I was flying to New York to see my grandfather who was dying and wanted to see all his grandchildren before he died. So before I left I called up my doctor and asked him if he could sign for an early pickup as I pick it up every 2 weeks and I had 3-4 days left until a pickup.

Fast forward to the flight home... it was supposed to be a single plane all the way back with a stop-over in Chicago. In Chicago we were all kicked off the plane and forced to take another plane back to our final destination. I was pretty much pushed off the plane in a daze after waking up from a short nap and by the time I realized I didn't have my keys with a container on it that had 4-5 days of methadone in it I couldn't run back and stop the plane of course and now I am stuck with an early prescription and half of it is gone. I have reported the exact specifications of the key-chain to the south-west lost and found but honestly I'm not holding my breath.

I am concerned because if I talk to my doctor and say "It disappeared" he will more than likely think I am "drug seeking" and since it was already and early refill which would raise red flags on its own, a lost, early, half-gone refill has me almost convinced he would not even want to refill the prescription or would drop me down to a dose that would only be a token amount. I have been working my way down from 120mg to about 60mg now and while it hasn't been fun its not outright withdrawal. I have been holding back on asking him to change my high BP medicine to clonidine and prescribe some temazepam but I think that could be to only way I would be able to make it even reasonably close to the time I am allowed to refill it. Should I try to schedule an appointment at the CDRP (chemical dependency and recovery program) that I could be seen at without my PCP being able to see the records of or would that be a bad move? I genuinely would like to stop using methadone eventually and the only thing stopping me now is the damn awful dependency and not really any of the addictiveness as after 2 1/2 years any euphoria or nodding is long gone. Any fresh ideas about the possible alternatives would be very much appreciated but I'm not sure about what more can be done except tough it out at way less than I am comfortable at.

 

[thelung]

^ can't you just bust the container open with a sledge hammer?

or am I misunderstanding and you left BOTH the keys AND the container on the plane..?

if you left the keys on the airplane but have the locked container, I'd just somehow break the container to access the methadone inside...

Anyhow, this was a few days ago and I am interested in what did eventually happen?

 

[Cloud_9]

or am I misunderstanding and you left BOTH the keys AND the container on the plane..?

Yeah..... unfortunately I left about 1/3rd of my methadone on the plane or in the concourse on the way to the connecting flight. I have been tapering down ultra-fast from 110mg-40mg in the past week and just completely ran out today.

I kinda caved and scheduled an appointment with my PCP and I am going to bring my ticket stub and show him and just hope he is understanding about the whole deal. I also am considering asking him to bring me down 5mg a week until I feel like I am using the absolute minimum I can while still getting the benefits of pain-relief and opioid management. Hopefully those two things together will convince him that I really am not trying to abuse this shit, and that this was just a freak accident. I will report back in the morning tomorrow and see how I come through. Wish me luck.

 

[Pegasus]

^I wish you luck! Jesus...

 

[simonadebisi]

I cant believe some of this stuff on here... one saying 10 mg is not a good starting dose for a non tolerant user... and one saying that it is equivalent to morphine...

Methadone is way stronger than morphine, especially due to its oral bioavailability... never do anything else with methadone pills but eat them... Im 200 pounds, and my first dose of methadone ever, 10 MG, with zero tolerance, got me so perfectly faded, and for the longest time, a dose of 30 MG would get me the perfect fade, for years this worked out great... and at the same time i could take 200 MG of morphine and feel nothing at all (no its not because the methadone was blocking it either)

new users should never try anything over 10 MG, and should never try re dosing even a few hours after, thats how most of the OD's on methadone happen

 

[thelung]

Cloud 9: Oh jeeze (*DOH*) that sucks. I'm sure if you explained exactly what happened and stuff to the clinic they would at least consider making an exception and giving you back what you lost. Good luck with the entire situation ~ thelung

 

[Cloud_9]

Cloud 9: Oh jeeze (*DOH*) that sucks. I'm sure if you explained exactly what happened and stuff to the clinic they would at least consider making an exception and giving you back what you lost. Good luck with the entire situation ~ thelung

Yup.... thankfully I don't use a MMT clinic for my maintenance therapy. I have a legitimate case of neuropathy from a surgery some time back and I when I realized I could get my PCP to write it with a wink and a nudge for "chronic jaw pain" I was so thankful I wouldn't need to line up at 6am in the freezing cold waiting for my methadone! Originally he wrote for a month at a time which I didn't think I could handle will-power wise and so I am picking up 154x10mg tablets every 2 weeks now. I figure going 12 days on and 2 days off is much easier than 25 on and 5 off.

But in regards to getting a replacement prescription; my PCP is such an awesome and patient guy. He kinda gave me that look as if to say with his face "Wow.... this is the best excuse you can think of!?" Thankfully we have a pretty trusting relationship and he just basically called me a "dumb-ass!" and that next time I'm traveling to keep it somewhere I can be sure it won't wander off from. Luckily he pretty much just had a couple jokes at my expense and we talked about how I want to be tapering down so when I will be in Russia this summer I won't be thrown in jail for being in possession of what is the equivalent of a schedule I drug there. We decided to try a reduction of 5mg per week. I am pretty sure that 5mg a week won't be anything too stressful; but anyone care to comment on my taper plan? I am not going to be completely coming off of methadone as I still need it for chronic pain issues but I certainly could stand to be using much less; perhaps 30mg-50mg?

 

[MarkusOnmethadone]

I have been on methadone for 6 months now and i'm on mixed feelings about it. In someways its great and on others, horrible.

I don't have cravings for opiates and my life quality has sky rocketed, but i have terrible mood swings and absolutely horrible and/or disgusting nightmares/annoying dreams.

I also have to go pee, in like every 30 minutes, annoying, but at least it wakes me up from those horrible nightmares.

Few nights ago i had a dream, where i saw a UFO, then this alien looked from the "window", my eyes caught on flames and i ran to my father with baseball bat, asking him to "beat me to death" with it.

I often see dreams, where i do something horrible to my friends and they all turn on me, start to hate me and attack me. Or same thing with my family.

I have a dose of 65mg/d, if i wouldn't know, that i took some opiates at the morning, i could think that the drug i'm taking, has nothing to do with opiates at all. I'm not even slightly high, which is good in fact, because i have zero cravings for opiates, it's like methadone has erased the addiction from my memory. But for those, who seek maintenance to get high, youl be disappointed, i guess this can change with higher dose and of course it can work on different way on some other.

I'm on a type of maintenance, where im not allowed to take benzos, which isn't that bad, cause methadone has lowered my anxiety.

I"celebrate" my success in the treatment, studying and sports by taking alcohol or pregabalin few times /month OR to help with the mood swings, with pregabalin, i have zero negative feelings from methadone.

i would like to know, if i want to celebrate and relax sometimes and wanted to take oxycodone. How much should i take with my dose and is it even worth it?
I know some people who take oxy sometimes and like it, but others say it works only slightly, with no euphoria.

Before methadone, i often injected oxy, with doses between 40-80mg 4-5 times /day, i guess i need to take some more now with methadone?

If there is others in methadone here, what drugs you prefer with methadone? What works well? I guess psychedelics(like LSD, mushrooms), ecstasy etc, wont work?

I'm not planning to start use drugs frequently or anything, probably i won't even try anything except prega, cause im too afraid that i would loose my home doses or even get thrown away from treatment. But its nice to fantasize, plan and increase knowledge and MAYBE even relax and have fun like once a year, cause my life is very hectic now.

I have a love/hate relationship with methadone, the good sides are very good and the bad ones horrible. In the future its maybe possible to change it to bupe and i will. But only if i am allowed to get 2xdoses of bupe /day, cause one dose of bupe simply dosen't carry to the next morning for me(i have been in bupe treatment in the past).

 

[MarkusOnmethadone]

And about methadone again.

If i want sometimes to nod with using done from the streets with my own dose how much should i take?

If i remember correctly, you need to take higher dose for two days, before you really feel it and get everything out of it, meaning, if i want to nod, i take higher dose and at day 2 i take again higher dose and i might nod?

With my 65mg/d dose, how much should i take? Is 80 mg on first day and 85 on second enough?

I have once taken 70mg at first day and 75mg on second and only felt little effect. Meaning that when the dose started to kick, like 2 hours after i took it, i felt a slight "glow" and was relaxed for couple hours.

I have heard people talking about double dosing, but that sounds crazy. I guess double dosing is only taken once and not again on second day, to feel the effect and/or be nodding?

 

[daddict]

"If there is others in methadone here, what drugs you prefer with methadone? What works well? I guess psychedelics(like LSD, mushrooms), ecstasy etc, wont work?" - if you're on a stable dose of methadone it shouldn't interfere at all with your trip. Save some for the comedown though ...

 

[debaser]

Be careful taking methadone with other drugs, downers or not downers. I'm talking about the dreadful side effect of mixing three or four drugs with one opiate: constipation. Last time I mixed methadone with perfectly legal and prescribed drugs and almost finished to the ER, had I not used a stool softener enema. That's painful, guys, painful as in giving birth, lol. Or not lol, hum.

 

[thelung]

Yup.... thankfully I don't use a MMT clinic for my maintenance therapy. I have a legitimate case of neuropathy from a surgery some time back and I when I realized I could get my PCP to write it with a wink and a nudge for "chronic jaw pain" I was so thankful I wouldn't need to line up at 6am in the freezing cold waiting for my methadone! Originally he wrote for a month at a time which I didn't think I could handle will-power wise and so I am picking up 154x10mg tablets every 2 weeks now. I figure going 12 days on and 2 days off is much easier than 25 on and 5 off.

But in regards to getting a replacement prescription; my PCP is such an awesome and patient guy. He kinda gave me that look as if to say with his face "Wow.... this is the best excuse you can think of!?" Thankfully we have a pretty trusting relationship and he just basically called me a "dumb-ass!" and that next time I'm traveling to keep it somewhere I can be sure it won't wander off from. Luckily he pretty much just had a couple jokes at my expense and we talked about how I want to be tapering down so when I will be in Russia this summer I won't be thrown in jail for being in possession of what is the equivalent of a schedule I drug there. We decided to try a reduction of 5mg per week. I am pretty sure that 5mg a week won't be anything too stressful; but anyone care to comment on my taper plan? I am not going to be completely coming off of methadone as I still need it for chronic pain issues but I certainly could stand to be using much less; perhaps 30mg-50mg?

5MG/week sounds pretty reasonable, and 30MG-50MG also sounds like a good place to be especially since you're getting the tablets, not the cherry concentrate...i'm of the strong opinion that the methadone tablets are superior to the methadose cherry oral concentrate that some/most mmt clinics use.

Anyhow, your doctor sounds really cool. Good luck with your taper and keep us updated

 

[debaser]

^ Yeah but the methadone syrup takes effect sooner, like within half an hour instead of 2 hours with the tabs. Hey, can't have all I suppose.