Question about taking barbiturates with methadone

[Lbm1985]

Does anyone have any experience mixing methadone and barbiturates? Very bad idea if you've not done so. I don't recommend it and I most certainly learned my lesson the hard way because I didn't know barbiturates would cause a rapid increase in methadone metabolism. I just wonder how long before I'm back to normal. I didn't know I was going to cause myself to go into withdrawal.

For the record this is not typical behavior for me to mix any medication with my methadone that I'm not prescribed. I don't even know why I did it. It had been years since I did anything like that. I don't have any excuses to make for my actions. I just chalk it up to utter stupidity. But I know I sure as heck won't be doing it again. I'm just gonna take my methadone and that will be enough, like it had been.

It has been approximately 4 days since I took the last of what I had. I felt fine while doing it. Honestly didn't even feel different whatsoever. But then the next day it was like a switch was flipped and I took my methadone around 7 am and by 5 pm I was in bed shivering with the cover around me but I was also sweating and my skin felt like it was burning. I told my husband I feel like I'm in withdrawal but I'm sure that isn't it because my methadone holds me over til the next dose. Hell I've missed days because I couldn't get to the clinic on time and still been fine. Never ever felt this way before.

This is day 4 or 5 and I'm hoping today is better. By the time I made it to the clinic to get my dose which I literally just took 30 min ago, I had goosebumps all over my body. My eyes were tearing up horribly. My nose was running like a faucet. I was sneezing and yawning my head off. Nothing tasted good. Tried to smoke and threw up. Stomach cramps. Yall know the drill I am sure. What gives? I now know after doing some research (too late) that barbiturates will cause that. But why not when I'm actually taking them? Why after? And how long do I have to feel this way before I feel decent again? What I wouldn't give to be able to undo taking those stupid things. But hindsight is 20/20 I guess. I just know I ain't ever gonna be doin that again.

 

[Zonxx]

I havent heard of this, my mother was on methadone for 6 years and among the list of drugs she was on were barbs it may've been a reaction to a certain one

And yeh methadone will hold you over because it has a very long half life.

Try taking a hot bath, you said you tried to smoke? Weed?? Id reccomend some good hash or some Shatter for the nausea, a dab will also get your blood going n warm you up but its only temporary
I know you dont get take homes which sucks so i cant suggest a dose n a half of methadone but hot baths, some chicken soup'll have ya feelin better ditch the barbs altogether IF thats what caused it. Other than that uhh i mean this is a harm reduction site ... but id personally try smoking abit of coke, for me when im out of my morph oxy n hydros for a few days i smoke coke pretty much through the day i still have some pain but most of my wd symptoms are alleviated...until i comedown every 20min that is

You had a reaction to SOMTHING forsure, but you really should not miss days for methadone. You need to build it up in your system.

 

[KS78]

This doesn't sound like a barbiturate and methadone interaction at all. What's the name of the barbiturate? Was it stored in a bag with Naloxone?

 

[Lbm1985]

Nope no naloxone involved. It was actually just fioricet so butalbital was all it was. Just a VERY large amount. I used to take fioricet for my migraines. My friend's wife gets them and had just gotten them filled the other day so I asked him if he would just get a few for me to hang onto just in case I got one of my God awful headaches. Didn't think a thing of it. I held onto them for about a week and a half.

Then the other day idk what I was thinking. I mean I won't even try to make any excuses for myself. If I have something I feel like I need to take it. Even though I never thought of fioricet as recreational by any means. Only would take one or two at the very most every once in a while and only for headaches because they were helpful. But for whatever stupid ass reason yeah I just started with one and kept going and going til they were all gone. Idk how many I even had. I just know it was a hell of a lot.

I've since researched interactions between methadone and butalbital. I've read a whole bunch of studies regarding barbiturates and methadone and looked at a bunch of those sites, ya know, that you list the drugs and it tells you interactions. Says a major interaction exists between methadone and butalbital and that butalbital somehow speeds up the metabolism of methadone in the body. It said if you mix the two, like if your dr actually has you on a dose of each then once you start the butalbital you may have to have your methadone dose increased because of the quick metabolism it causes. I'm not sure if it does this with other drugs but it did say something about an increase in a certain liver enzyme, can't remember what that was called, but it said it could increase your metabolism of methadone at rates of like 70% faster. I saw that number on several different sites but some just said it increased the metabolism without specifying any certain number. But everything I read basically said get ready to experience withdrawals if your dose of methadone isn't increased.

Thank you for the suggestions. I am trying to just tough it out. I've just not been able to find any forums where anyone specifically mentions the concurrent use of methadone and fioricet. Probably wouldn't have ended up being so bad on me if I hadn't taken like a handful of the damn things. They're all gone now and I won't make that stupid mistake again. When I said I tried to smoke I actually just meant a cigarette. Lol. I don't smoke weed. Not that I think there's anything at all wrong with it. I'd smoke it if I could. But every time I've ever smoked weed in my whole entire life it has not gone well. I am already a pretty anxious person and weed makes it like 100 times worse. I can't handle my anxiety on weed, even though a lot of people have recommended weed to me to help with that very issue. Lol. As for the suggestions regarding other drugs thank you for trying to be helpful as far as something that will possibly help with the withdrawals. I'm seriously hoping I'm gonna be over it today. I think where I took so many and butalbital has a long half life also, it is just gonna take a little bit of time to get that junk out of my system.

I actually do really well with my methadone 99% of the time. I mean I've not had any issues til now. I hadn't taken anything else with it. Hadn't desired to take anything else with it. I was the same way with subutex but my body just didn't interact well with it and I felt horrible the entire time I was on it. The methadone I just go in and take it and don't give it another thought. I feel good and life feels normal and all that jazz until the last few days. I mean I've gone up in dose before because I have felt like it wasn't holding me over as well but hell even during those times it still lasted me for the whole day and into the next morning. The symptoms were just coming on very mildly then. Even when missing a day I've been fine. Just not in the best mood lol. But this is like full fledged horrible withdrawal and it comes on at about 5 pm each day for the last few days. The only thing that has given me any relief is to drink a max chill shot, one of those CBD drinks which do make me feel better for a while after I drink them and help me relax. But it is still misery. Fingers crossed that yesterday was it for the withdrawals and I will feel well all day today. Lesson definitely learned the hard way. I did request an increase in my dose but it won't get approved til sometime next week so if I start doing well again before then I will tell them I don't need it right now after all and I'll just tell them I must have had the flu and mistook it for withdrawals or something.

 

[Lbm1985]

Well guys...just to update quickly. It apparently still wasn't over as of yesterday. I did have 2 take homes for today and tomorrow and my husband suggested I take just a little out of each bottle (it is the liquid). I broke over about 7 pm or so and I did take just basically a little sip of each bottle. Anyone who has taken the liquid knows 75 mg is really not a lot at all when you're talking the amount of liquid. So more than a sip and I'd have been cutting way into my dose for today and tomorrow.

But I guess it wasn't all in my head. I mean I didn't think it was anyway but anything is possible. Had it just been in my head of course I'd have felt immediate relief. But I didn't. Didn't actually think it was going to help but after about 20 min I felt a little better. Still wasn't feeling 100 percent last night but I was much much MUCH better than if I hadn't taken any extra. But like I said, it wasn't a lot that i took. I got up this morning and felt like I'd been hit by a damn mack truck. And the stomach cramps were terrible. Took my dose for today at about 8 am. The cramping etc went away a few minutes after I took it. Let's hope today is the day I start feeling normal again. The amount of that stuff I took, it should take it about 10 days to be out of my system which puts me into the middle of next week actually. But I would think that as the amount left in my system lowers I should gradually start to feel normal again. Let us hope so!!!! Because this has been pure misery and like I said I learned my lesson bigtime.