Well, I signed up for the 21-day methadone detox, to begin the day after tomorrow. Does anyone have advice for me on how to make this any easier? The clinic seems to encourage people to go on methadone maintenance, but I am determined to resist this. Can I expect to feel symptoms at the end of the 21-days, when they cut me off at 5 milligrams? Have I made a mistake trying this method, given I'm 64, have slow metabolism, live alone without much support, and am coming off of 10-12 balloons a day of IM black tar heroin of pretty decent quality? Methadone kinda freaks me out.
Good to hear you're making a plan to get your life back... it really takes a plan that's as concrete as an opioid addict's shit.
While methadone will reduce the intensity of opioid withdrawals a fair bit compared to short-acting ones, they also unfortunately extend the length of acute withdrawals. That being said, I'd still try to get some supportive medication for when you make the final jump off.
Clonidine is, in my experience, by far the most effective and important (somewhere in the area of 0.2mg every 6 hours stops most acute withdrawal symptoms for me). Something to help sleep (temazepam, zolpidem) can also be a lifesaver but must be used intermittently and for no longer than a week straight unless you want a new physical dependence even worse than the one you've already got. Something to help nausea/vomiting (ideally an ondansetron/Zofran prescription, but OTC Dramamine/Gravol is definitely better than nothing) can also be a big help. And lastly, some loperamide/Imodium can be used in order to not have explosive diarrhea every half hour - STRICTLY FOLLOWING the directions on the package,
NOT to be used in megadoses!!!
Other than that, it's important to remain well-nourished and well-hydrated throughout the duration. A very good multivitamin with a generous dose of magnesium (I'd suggest magnesium glycinate, but if you can't find it, just about any form besides magnesium oxide is great) would be recommended. And one simply can't understate the importance of exercise and staying active! During acute withdrawals, you will probably feel more lethargic, fatigued, and weak than you ever have before and likely will find it exhausting just to stand up, but being active will really help your energy levels and can even help speed up recovery somewhat. And just like your body, keeping your mind active is important throughout ALL stages of recovery (acute, post-acute, and even very long-term) and can help your brain recover more quickly. You're 64 so I don't know if you play video games, but challenging video games are a great activity for this. If video games really aren't your thing, any kind of new learning can be immensely helpful though - learning a new language in particular is considered to be just about the best workout your brain can get.
Good luck and godspeed!
