Opioids Methadone Mega Thread and FAQ

[DeLee]

Does anyone else have trouble PISSING at the clinic? I don't mean because your afraid of failing.....I mean PISSING, in general?

Heh, hell yes. I had that problem when I was on Buprenorphine too. Its real anoying you just want to piss, take your medication and go on 'bout the day but you can't press out a fing drop!
What I found, OK this will maybe sound a bit strange but bear with me.
All you have to do is hold your breath, relax and you will come to the point when you almost start to panic a bit because you need air,
just hold your breath longer and the piss will be pouring out.

- Do not hold your breath so you pass out. Hehe. It takes a little bit of training but since I discovered this I have not had a problem at all, works 100% of the time.
Yes it sounds a bit weird and I don't know what happens in the body but it works for me.

I've been constantly on methadone since February '10 and I've been addicted to opioids for over 7 years now. I was turned down both in my city and in Warsaw for methadone substitution.

Sorry to hear that man. Is that the reason they give you, that every place is taken and they can't put any more people in the program?

Here in Sweden we have pretty tight controls for who gets to go in the program and not.
You need to meet a certain criteria like 2-4 years of documented opioid-addiction to get on Subs/Methadone.
Methadone being the hardest/ with the tightest criteria.
I believe we are only like 14 people in my city who are on Methadone.

 

[adder]

It's the same here. But there are papers back from a few years when I was to go to a hospital ward for the first time but I didn't give my assent in the end (there was no talk about any detox and I saw the ward, there were only speed and marihuana addicts; I wasn't of age at that time so they wanted to put me in the ward for youngsters). But this has gone for years. Most answers I get are like "we have no places". Well, it's actually true programs in Poland are overpopulated and the Ministry of Health hasn't done nothing with it for quite a long time now. This is just how it is here. If you're an addict, don't even think of spending holidays in Poland - foreigners aren't accepted even with a psychiatrist's note, that's because there are long queues among people in the country...

 

[SubDude]

The private MMT clinic [in usa] I went too had no requiements.... other than telling them I got hooked on oxys and done on the street. The only other thing was having enough money for the exam and 1st dose. How could you document opiate use other than from a pain mgt clinic?

 

[docbp87]

The thing that scares me, and kind of annoys me about methadone is how quickly my tolerance has gone up. I have only taken it 4 or 5 times, never more than once in a week, sometimes with as much as a month between times using. The first time I took it, I got a great high from just 15 milligrams, now it takes 30mg, after only 4-5 uses, spread out over about 3 months. Is this normal? I'm not surprised that a higher dosage than normal is necessary for me, as I am a huge dude (almost 6 and a half feet tall, over 300 pounds), and back in the day when I used to use Hydrocodone it used to take between 60 and 70mg to really get me in a good place. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

 

[SkagKush]

^ methadone is similar to most other full agonist's and tolerance will build quickly......so no, i dont think your being paraniod.........

 

[SpunkySkunk347]

I have found that I need to wait at least 2 weeks after taking methadone before I can feel the effects of other opiates again.
45mg of hydrocodone is usually a hefty dose for me when my opiate tolerance is baseline, but taking 45mg after having taken methadone 3 days earlier will cause me to feel nothing

 

[SkagKush]

^ what is the dose of done'? two weeks is a crazy long time.......

 

[adder]

How could you document opiate use other than from a pain mgt clinic?

That's easy. Papers from detox ward(s) and papers from therapeutic centers are documentations of opioid addiction. Most people who get addicted don't need opioids for treating some kind of pain. The official requirement to be taken into the maintenance program is failing in quitting after being detoxified 3 times and being in a therapeutic center 3 times after detox.

I have never done a detox in a detox ward - I'd have to be either a madman to spend like a month with junkies who just wait to steal sth from you or who act like mentally handicapped people taking drugs they get through grating in windows... I tapered down to zero with methadone a lot more than 3 times and getting back to addiction and I've gone to like 10 private psychologists. But it's impossible to write a paper yourself you made a detox yourself and every fcking private psychologist wants money for writing one damned sentence. So I'm lost here.

Concerning private maintenance programs - there is no such a thing here. There's only one detox ward I know of and it costs hell a lot. Anyway, I couldn't afford anything privately for some huge amount of money... The minimum netto salary here isn't even 1000 PLN (= about 250 € or about 350 $). It's hard to afford a new car from the low-end earning twice that... And private maintenance program?

 

[SpunkySkunk347]

^ what is the dose of done'? two weeks is a crazy long time.......

Usually 30-40mg
I also only occasionally use opiates (sometimes having 6+ months between uses), but I've also found that I've developed a permanent tolerance that doesn't go away even with long breaks. Ive found this permanent tolerance is especially prevalent with hydrocodone. I once used to be able to get decent effects with 10mg of hydrocodone, but during one week-long binge my dose raised from 10mg to 15mg, then to 20, then 25, and finally 30 before I ran out and the binge ended.
For a few months afterwards (only using about once every 2 weeks), I found that I actually needed about 45mg of hydro before I got the effects I wanted.
Now, I need at least 30mg to feel a reasonable euphoria, and this is even after months have passed from my last use.
But I still prefer the dose of 45mg, even at baseline tolerance.

 

[adder]

Is the dose you're referring to the amount you take? That's definitely too much for a 45mg of hydrocodone addiction. 30mg is what people shooting up usually get at detox wards at the very beginning. Taking 45mg of hydrocodone one can easily maintain at a much more lower dose of methadone than 30mg.

 

[Pegasus]

^Yeah, for sure. I'd try like 15mg at that level.

 

[Ubiquitous]

Ok, so I read a bunch of the pages in here (extraordinarily long thread) and a lot of the info was helpful. Some dispelled some myths and some was simply silly, but the good guys were quick to pounce on those posts in a hurry. Thanks for your diligence.

Now, I know I should probably be able to make an educated decision myself here, but I'm overly cautious (especially after reading some of stronger warnings in here about methadone) so I'm going to quickly spell out my scenerio and ask for your input. Hope you don't mind. If you do, that's ok, I'd rather get yelled at than go in blind.

So, I've been taking oxy's for years now. Generally I do not exceed 60mg in a day although I have doubled that on occasion. Not often, but it's happened. Sometimes I take it necessity when a disc in my back I busted up in a sled riding accident acts up. And sometimes I take it recreationally. In either case, I don't generally exceed 300mg in a full calandar month.

That said, the oxycodone is getting expensive. I've built a tolerance slowly and for that I am grateful, but after several years it's finally starting 30mg is finally starting to lose it's effect. Supplimenting with more would be extremely expensive, plus I prefer not to go higher as the stuff plays havoc with my lower guts (if you know what I mean.) I dislike feeling like I'm giving birth when I take it for two or three days straight. Now that you have a bit of history....

I was giving 2 10mg of methadone. Even before ever getting it I've heard the horror stories. So despite being offered much, MUCH more at no cost, I opted to only take two home with me. I did this because with some substances I seem to be able to manage addiction very easily, but there have been a few in the past that have gotten their claws deeper into me than I am comfortable with. So being inexperience with methadone, I did not want a ready supply on hand. Simply needing to go get something is generally more than enough of a "cooldown" for my better judgement to kick in.

That said, if I understand the information here correctly, methadone can NOT be used to suppliment the oxycodone as it will block the other opiate from taking effect. So, how do you recommend that I handle this. And never having taken it, how much should I begin with. I also gather that it will remain in my system for much longer than oxy so taking repeat doses would be a bad idea. So after I open with a small dose, how long do you recommend that I wait before administering more if there is little to no effect and in what increment?

I understand that personal discretion is also advised, but your expertise and general recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps I am overly cautious, but that's my nature and I would like the word of the experienced before proceeding with this. Due to the seeming nature of methadone I don't think I will opt to use it recreationally. There's really no need anyway as I can always fall back on oxycodone for that and have a good handle on that particular drug. Doing the uncessary for the same purposes just seems foolish. So I expect that the first time I try methadone will be when my back goes into a fit. When it's acting up it generally does so for 2-4 days before what I did to irriate it begins to taper off again. Then I'm (not completely pain free) but pain free enough that it doesn't require opiates to manage for anywhere from a few days to a week or two before I tick it off again.

So, to sum up. I have can safely and comfortably tolerate about 30mg oxycodone in a single dose. I would like to try methadone strictly for pain relief. I and do NOT need to be numb. So please, if possible, recommend a dose that should just temper pain for someone who has never taken it before. And again, how long until redosing and at what increment. Again, I'm just requesting recommendations.

Thank you very much for all of your help.
This is probably the most helpful bunch of people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.''

Edit: Wow, sorry, didn't realize I typed that much.

 

[funkysoul]

Are you crazy?? Methadone is nothing to play around with, and to tell someone that it is only slightly stronger than Hydrocodone is beyond stupid. I am a methadone Maintenance patient, and the highest MG that is given on the first day for even a hardcore heroin addict like me is 35mg. Whoever is reading this persons post, 40mg can kill a non opiate tolerant person in a heartbeat. In fact, the 40mg tablets are no longer available to pain patients, only for maintenance. Please be careful with using this medication, especisally if you are using benzos or anyother medications like that. Methadone IMHO is not even a good recreational drug because it doesnt make a person high like other opiates. Hence, people OD because they don't feel anything. Again this is only MHO. But I am sticking to my guns concerning how deadly this drug can be when abused.

LillyF40

I am not on H and havent taken it for a long time, i have been using codeine phosphate 15 and 30mg for a year and a half for pain relief and the added bonus of a buzz , its got to the point i need in excess of 400mg a day to get relief and a buzz so a mate of a mate hooked me up with a 200ml bottle of the green stuff. I have never taken it before and took 30mg dose then 4 hours later another 15ml dose which tipped me over the edge, i wasnt sick or anyting just felt really wired liek id done some dirty speed and also had to keep telling myself to breathe but think this was me paniking, i wouldnt advise more than 30ml dose for anyone who has never took meth before tho, just ride the waves as they do come in waves , thne i took 10ml the 2nd night, 20ml the 3rd night and 15 ml the 4th night, i am using it as a pain relief as its way better than the codeine which has stopped working near enough and for those hours im on it i feel great and fluffy which beats feeling poorly and being in pain, i am aware of the risks of meth and the addiction possibilitys i was wondering as you r on a meth program could i higher my dose a bit and upto wat ml's would be safe to use for maximum effects bearing in mind i am ill and on other meds so my body is dealing with a lot so dont wanna push it to far but wanna be in no pain and feelinga s great as possible, would 30 ml be an ok dose on day 5?

 

[adder]

I am not on H and havent taken it for a long time, i have been using codeine phosphate 15 and 30mg for a year and a half for pain relief and the added bonus of a buzz , its got to the point i need in excess of 400mg a day to get relief and a buzz so a mate of a mate hooked me up with a 200ml bottle of the green stuff. I have never taken it before and took 30mg dose then 4 hours later another 15ml dose which tipped me over the edge, i wasnt sick or anyting just felt really wired liek id done some dirty speed and also had to keep telling myself to breathe but think this was me paniking, i wouldnt advise more than 30ml dose for anyone who has never took meth before tho, just ride the waves as they do come in waves , thne i took 10ml the 2nd night, 20ml the 3rd night and 15 ml the 4th night, i am using it as a pain relief as its way better than the codeine which has stopped working near enough and for those hours im on it i feel great and fluffy which beats feeling poorly and being in pain, i am aware of the risks of meth and the addiction possibilitys i was wondering as you r on a meth program could i higher my dose a bit and upto wat ml's would be safe to use for maximum effects bearing in mind i am ill and on other meds so my body is dealing with a lot so dont wanna push it to far but wanna be in no pain and feelinga s great as possible, would 30 ml be an ok dose on day 5?

Methadone isn't used in such high doses for analgesia, at least not at the beginning. The starting dose should be like 2.5mg to 5.0mg every 8 hours and the dose may be increased to 10mg. The usage of methadone as a maintenance program opioid and as an analgesic are 2 completely different things. The analgesic action doesn't hold for 24 hrs despite the long half-life in most people. And just like with buprenorphine higher doses are used for maintenance. Long long time ago I had shot intramuscularly twice as much codeine as you took and still 800-1000mg of codeine is hard to compare to methadone. The only thing I can say is I shortly switched to injecting morphine (started at 40mg) and eventually I switched to 16-20mg of buprenorphine after I had taken 160mg morphine / 40mg levorphanol and then I switched to methadone because bupe didn't work out for me and I started at around 80mg of methadone but that's hardly comparable as I did lower my tolerance a bit with buprenorphine. Usually I would go for a bit more methadone when I shot up 160-200mg of morphine. It's 1:1 with morphine on a weight basis but given the fact it's different in structure, cross tolerance isn't full.

Another thing is the withdrawal after abrupt discontinuation of methadone is terrible and way way worse overall than after kicking heroin or morphine. It comes on slower but on day 2 you know you're withdrawing and while it isn't as strong as after morphine/heroin it seems like it's never going to end so you'd pick a 10-day morphine/heroin withdrawal any moment. You're off for a 2-month withdrawal with this thing... Besides methadone differs in structure compared to morphine-like opioids and cross tolerance plays a big role here when the dose is adjusted for both maintenance and pain.

If I were you, I wouldn't go for methadone as a pain medication. It's never used as a first-line medication for analgesic purposes. If it's so bad then you should have talked with your doctor to switch to something else instead of increasing codeine to the point when the ceiling dose was almost reached.

 

[DJKAOS]

will taking pod tea on top of methadone bring on the withdrawals?

 

[limonov]

will taking pod tea on top of methadone bring on the withdrawals?

No, and I think you are confusing buprenorphine with methadone- methadone is simply a very long acting full-opiate agonist, just like the morphine in the poppy tea.

However does have a habit of saturating your brain to the point that other opiates have a hardtime 'breaking through' the methadone buzz (so you don't really feel them), but methadone, often in combination with opiates and/or benzos, kills a great deal of people so tread carefully- you can take more, but you can't take less.

 

[DeLee]

Hello I have a question about Methadone and ROA.
I have 100mg/day of Methadone, 20ml = 100mg.

What do you people think about taking your methadone in 2 doses over the day?
Like if i would take 10ml 2x.

If anyone has tried this and maybe can write a few lines please do. Whatever you think of it.

 

[limonov]

Hello I have a question about Methadone and ROA.
I have 100mg/day of Methadone, 20ml = 100mg.

What do you people think about taking your methadone in 2 doses over the day?
Like if i would take 10ml 2x.

If anyone has tried this and maybe can write a few lines please do. Whatever you think of it.

it depends on your tolerance, but there is no reason that redosing methadone wouldn't work, although dividing your dose will probably result in you being a bit less high for a bit longer. In my experience I've always been kinda dissapointed by redosing 'done, because it takes 2 hours to properly distribute through your body (oral) you're still left waiting a long time before you start to feel it getting stronger- I find it's better to decide on how much you want to take and take it.

 

[adder]

Unless you're not that 5% of people or whatever who need split-dosing because they otherwise start withdrawing in the evening, there is no point in dividing your dose. It won't give you any high or whatever you're looking for by doing this.

 

[DeLee]

Unless you're not that 5% of people or whatever who need split-dosing because they otherwise start withdrawing in the evening, there is no point in dividing your dose. It won't give you any high or whatever you're looking for by doing this.

Thanks guys for your replies!

I was just curios because my methadone start to wear of somewhat in the evening about 12h after the dose. This can be just purely psychological though.
It isn't really a big problem because I go to sleep shortly after anyway and take medication for that so I get sleep so I just sleep through it anyway.