Hello everyone, I'm new: Tapering off of methadone

Hi fellow bluelighters,

Just wanted to tell you guys a little about myself:

Been addicted to pain pills off and on since 2005. Made the huge mistake of starting MMT about a year and a half ago. I've always been a on a low dose and quit taking it 20 days ago with the help of Kratom. I don't think I took enough of the Kratom because I got very sick about 2 weeks in, when I got low on my Kratom. I took about half a milliliter yesterday because I just could not take it anymore. I was in pure hell, agony, even thinking about suicide.

I am desperate to get off methadone and do not want to take anymore. The problem is I have a 7 month old daughter who needs constant care during the day. My husband was suffering because of my cold turkey detox, missing work, etc...my 14 year old daughter was suffering because she was missing school.

I want advice on where to go from here. I can't afford the Kratom or the methadone. I'm going to lose everything because of this stupid addiction.

Hi Groovy and welcome to Bluelight. I can tell by your post that you're struggling and are really ready to quit. Please know that you're not alone in your struggles and that you can make it through this, even though it might seem impossible now.

I'm going to move this over to The Dark Side, where more people will read it and you'll be able to get more insight and support. Please keep us up to date and let us know how you're doing. Much love to you.

I just got off methadone, i was on it for a year this time. I still sneeze like 50 times a day, lack of energy, insomnia nearly a month after. I was on 80mg and switched to high dose oxy/morphine for 10 days then did a quick taper of suboxone followed by benzos. I am now taking 5mg valium twice a day, loperamide twice daily, melatonin to help sleep, some times xanax, some times clonazepam, clonidine combined with these, gabapentin combined with these (which greatly makes the effects of the benzos work better. Going to the steam room/sauna helps sweat all the bad stuff out and if you can, force yourself to do some exercise at the gym (I can only do half what i used to on treadmill/weights but it still helps).

I am just taking it easy right now. I go back to a full schedule of University in 3 weeks so I am mentally preparing myself for that. Methadone is a hard drug to beat. The only way to beat it is to not take it, so i take the other drugs instead and it is working quite well for me. I have even quit smoking.

I hope that helps in some way.

Good luck.

Hey there, I am new and sort of in the same boat.

I started on methadone because I just couldn't afford my $100/day habit, or at least didn't like the things I had been doing to pay for it. I tried to quit cold turkey but it was an absolute unbearable hell, and I had no knowledge whatsoever about the things that might have helped me through a detox.
Methadone entitled me to welfare, welfare paid for the methadone and any other prescriptions, so I thought it was my best option for getting clean.
I started methadone about a year ago, stabilized at 70ml, and took my last 4ml dose on Friday.
I have prescriptions for clonodine and xanax, but they are both comically low doses. Xanax is .25mg, and the Clonodine is .025mg.
It's funny because until a few hours ago I had been misreading the clonidine bottle as .25mg, thinking I was taking an ok dose, and wondering why the hell it wasn't helping. Damn decimal point...you've foiled me for the last time!
We'll see if I actually make it to sleep tonight now that I know better.

I found that melatonin actually makes me very agitated. It is the sensation of being really damn tired but not being able to sleep. I am glad to hear it is helpful for other people, but it really isn't doing it for me. Maybe after adjusting my clonodine dose at bedtime tonight the melatonin will work better.

I have been taking diphenhydramine (Benadryl), which has helped me get a few tossy-turny hours of sleep a night, but I read in a separate thread here that it might actually be hurting me more than it is helping.
Bless you bluelighters and your glorious wisdom! No more benadryl for me.

I am going to go out and buy some loperamide tomorrow. That is another thing I hadn't considered. I did read somewhere that imodium was helpful for detox, but only to combat the ensuing diarrhea. By some strange luck I have not experienced any diarrhea yet so I wouldn't have ever thought to take it if I hadn't started browsing here. (Again, bless you!)

Anyways, enough about me, here is some helpful information for others, or at least I hope it is.
Things I have found helpful:
I am taking two 50mg tablets of 5HTP 3 times daily. If you're not familiar with it, it is an herbal supplement that boosts serotonin levels in your brain, combating stress and anxiety. It takes about a week before it starts to make a difference, but I am pretty sure it is making a big difference. I started taking it a few days before I quit methadone, and today I feel great emotionally. Still feel like shit physically, but my mood is great!
One thing though, if you are taking antidepressants or St. John's Wart, or basically anything else that does the same thing, don't combine it with 5HTP because it can cause serotonin syndrome, which = really bad depression. 5HTP works better for me than any antidepressant ever has and it is all I need.

I'm also taking a multivitamin, some extra B12 because the amount in my multivitamin isn't enough, three 500mg capsules of blueberry concentrate 3x/day for their antioxidant power (I hear antioxidants play a big role), and in the miscellaneous category a yerba mate/green tea/ginger blend pill that is actually marketed as a diet pill (called MetaSlim), but seems to help a little in terms of energy.
I can't really handle coffee as it makes my pounding heart pound harder, so yerba mate was my next choice. Doesn't seem to exacerbate the hypertension, which is nice.

Most helpful thing I have found so far though is exercise. Getting up on my stationary bike seems like an insurmountable goal most of the time, but when I manage to do it, I feel almost normal for the rest of the day afterwards. The fever and chills make it kind of uncomfortable to work out, but if I turn on the TV or some music it kind of distracts me enough to get through it.

I hope that helps. As always, I totally recommend relying on herbal rather than pharmaceutical as much as you can because I am a filthy hippy and can't help but say that.
Don't give up, and remember, Groovy75, your being strong in the face of conflict is setting the right kind of example for your kids. If you can make it through this, you can damn well make it through anything. Much love.

hi, im kinda in the same boat as you, i keep telling myself that its all in my head but sometimes when i dont have any paimpills i do feel the difrence than when i dont have any, anyhow i came across a 3 part video on youtube, i just did a search for opiate withdrawl and in found a video on how to with over the counter meds, i plan on trying this as soon as i get the meds from the store, good luck and be strong,

i am also a newbee here, this is the link i found on youtube on how to with over the counter meds, i havent tried it, so please look at the 3 part videos carfully befor u decide, i plan on trying as soon as i get the mds , i hope it helps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVBLvitvG_A i found it just by searching for stop withdrawals from opiate

Thanks guys for all your wonderful, thoughtful and heartfelt replies! I am looking into all of ya'll's advice especially the herbal supplement for depression. Someone else told me that I may not have been taking enough of the Kratom for it to be helpful. I think I'm going to scrape the money together for the Kratom. The worst part of the w/d was the anxiety. Terrifying anxiety. Thanks again Guys! You have been awesome!

Hey Groovy, welcome to Bluelight and TDS in particular. I see you've already started a second thread in OD where you might get better replies on a taper schedule, we'll always be here in TDS to support you as you move forward if you need us. Lots of us here have made it out the other side of opiate addiction and regained a life free of it, no reason you can't do that too if you want it. Good luck!

Good luck man!

How many mg's do or did you take daily OP, how fast did you diminish and at what dose of methadone did you switch over to kratom?

there are two ways to detox of methadone, you've chosen to taper which makes sense since you have certain responsabilities that you could not just ignore for a few weeks were you to cold turkey. I saw you stated that your main problem was anxiety, you could take a benzo ONLY if it's for a short amount of time (less than 12 weeks is what is recommended with anxiolytics (xanax, valium klonopin etc...) you do not wish to replace one addiction by another.

Kratom, although being a weaker opioid than methadone (a lot weaker) is none the less addictive, a high dose kratom addiction i'm sure can be quite difficult to kick, then again i have never taken kratom, but have read threads about people struggling with the addiction to it.

Methadone exists in very small denomination of mg's, meaning you can taper very slowly towards the end, when it gets most difficult, to do so you need to have weekly medical visits with a doctor to adjust your dose according to what difficulties you may or may not be experiencing. You do have to accept in any case that detoxing from methadone will not be easy, that it will be a challenge, but that it can be done, don't hesitate to use this forum (in between seeing your doctor) for support and advice throughout the stages of detox

phatass said:

How many mg's do or did you take daily OP, how fast did you diminish and at what dose of methadone did you switch over to kratom?

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Hi phatass,

I tapered from 20 to 5 mg in about 6 months. I was getting it from a clinic. I don't have health insurance nor can I afford to go to a doctor to get any scrips I may need. I ordered more Kratom today and I'm going to give it another shot. I have not had any methadone today. I took about 1/2 a milliliter of methadone yesterday and today. I hope this does not prolong my w/d much more since I was clean for 20 days.

half a ml? mow many mg's?

also kratom strength can vary a lot, so depending on how much kratom you're taking you might be "digging further down", but between"jumping off" at five or one mg there's not much difference, at this point i believe the psychological addiction is the most difficult to kick. I would recommend you stop taking any opioids, and get rid of any you may have around, if you can't get a lower than 5mg denomination (which i think is the lowest in syrup form), it will be uncomfortable for a few days (to say the least) but after the physical withdrawl should subside

phatass said:

half a ml? mow many mg's?

also kratom strength can vary a lot, so depending on how much kratom you're taking you might be "digging further down", but between"jumping off" at five or one mg there's not much difference, at this point i believe the psychological addiction is the most difficult to kick. I would recommend you stop taking any opioids, and get rid of any you may have around, if you can't get a lower than 5mg denomination (which i think is the lowest in syrup form), it will be uncomfortable for a few days (to say the least) but after the physical withdrawl should subside

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I don't know the conversion of mgs/milliliters. I just took a baby syringe and sucked up a small amount to get me by. I have to take some sort of opioid to wean down. Like I said in my original post at the top, my family life is falling apart and my w/d lasted 20 days. I couldn't go on suffering. It was causing me to have suicidal thoughts.