Methadone Withdrawal : (

[BananasAndOranges]

Ok so it has really only been a month straight of 30mgs, is this going to be hell? So far today I've done two lines to cope....I got a few vicodin. Should I go to a doctor and tell him I'm a previously in mmt and quit because of the addictive aspect of the drug? I dunno. Helps?

I want to be opiate free for awhile I don't know if I should heroin,vicodin taper or what. OR if I should go down at the clinic and tell them I want off...I want to know the fastest easiest way. I don't mind one or two days of shit.

 

[belfort]

you want to be opiate free for awhile??then what, go right back to them??if so, you are just going to be living the constant up and down rollercoaster...

if you are kicking methadone, its going to last longer than 1-2 days...30 mgs isnt a high dose and a month isnt long so you definitely dont need any heroin or vicoden to taper..just tell the clinic you want off of it and they will detox you slowly...

whats your goal here, to just lower tolerance so u can go back using eventually?

 

[T. Calderone]

Methadone withdrawal can definately last more than a couple days. I wouldn't suggest heroin if your ultimate goal is to get off opiates. How much vicodin do you have? That will stave off the symptoms at least. Do you usually see one doctor that knows you well? I had a psych doctor that mainly gave me antidepressants and when I told him I was seeing a pain doctor that gave me oxycodone, he was mad! He prescribed suboxone and refused to write me anymore ativan, saying mixing benzos with opiates is dangerous.

 

[T. Calderone]

When you said clinic, you mean methadone clinic? I've never been there but I hear it's a pain in the ass. The one here in my area is privately owned, and for new people they want you there at 6 am for admission, plus your fee. I would only go there if I absolutely had no other options. Your physician may be able to better help you taper off. Wish you the best. ~Theresa

 

[BananasAndOranges]

you want to be opiate free for awhile??then what, go right back to them??if so, you are just going to be living the constant up and down rollercoaster...

if you are kicking methadone, its going to last longer than 1-2 days...30 mgs isnt a high dose and a month isnt long so you definitely dont need any heroin or vicoden to taper..just tell the clinic you want off of it and they will detox you slowly...

whats your goal here, to just lower tolerance so u can go back using eventually?

My goal is to be opiate free. I don't like methadone its to much out of m pocket thats why I mentions vicodin and heroin to at Least make the w/d a little less tense. I have maybe eight vicodin. I dunno If I should maybe ask a doctor let him know and if he can just script me like 30 norcos and then itd be over

 

[oliphill]

You DEFINATELY want to cut down.. I just came off 70ml and between .6 and 1.7g heroin a day.. I got given 70ml first day, then 50ml next day then 30ml last day and I can tell u it was the hardest thing ive ever done in my life. 3 weeks of horrible physical symtoms then it started to tail off. I'm 26 days off it and i still dont feel right. I didnt sleep for 12 days and now im getting 2-3hrs max.

Basically if u can cut down first! 1ml a day sounds good..

 

[BananasAndOranges]

I want to switch to Subutex. SO its been a month of using 30mgs of methadone, will this be easy at all? I'm going to use for a few more days then go without for a few and then take a sub right when I start feeling shitty. Will I get sick....18hrs was not long enough last time I plugged and subli. took about 3mgs and got horribly sick for a day.

 

[Carl Landrover]

^
It's recommended to have to multiple days away from methadone before switching over to suboxone/subutex. You'd be better off going on vicodin or some other opiate that doesn't build up in your system like methadone. If you were on vicodin/heroin for a few days then you could probably wait until you were physically WDing and take some sub.

Would you be hoping to taper off of sub then? Are you getting prescribed it or just have a few you can get? WDs from suboxone last a while as well. It's easy to taper with them, but regardless you're always going to have to WD at some point if you want to get clean.

How long have you been using overall? The longer you use the harder it is to get off.

I want to know the fastest easiest way. I don't mind one or two days of shit.

Just about everyone can go through one or two days. If it was one or two days then there wouldn't be hundreds of threads and posts talking about how hard it was to get off opiates. Even if it's not particularly intense, it's still really draining and easy to get weakened by fatigue after barely sleeping for a few days and barely ever feeling comfortable.

 

[High Kite]

I quit methadone cold turkey and don't recommend it anyone. I don't know where I got the "strength" to do this - It was the hardest thing I've ever done (120mg of Methadone to nothing) = 6 weeks of intense discomfort 24/7 and another 2 of on/off discomfort.

I went to the ER once and took the pitiful scrip of Valium for 2 days and then back at it.

In my own opinion, it would be better to quit methadone all together and take the smallest amount of opiate that will stave off the worst effects for a while, this is a very risky path to take but I just can't recommend Methadone to anyone except maybe someone who is on deaths door step from opiate addiction. I do not agree with the Governments policy regarding Methadone. I believe it would have been better for me to have friends/family administer tappering amounts of opiate with some valium , booze , weed as needed, not too much though. The Valium helps quite a bit. Trying to reintegrate yourself back into the normal world while having to visit a methadone clinic for tappering for a year is very difficult. I do not believe the only alternative to heavy opiate addiction and the downward spiral is Methadone. There are other options, however, they do take a bit of money and family/friends to help as doing this all alone is quite difficult, especially if you are on your last legs, have no money, pissed off those around you etc.

 

[BlueberryfishY]

Methadone is no joke, when i came off of 95mg's a day i thought it would never end, i ended up in the ER twice in the first week off of it, it was the hardest thing i've ever done, it took a good month and a half befor i could get on my feet again and like 3 months to get over the worst of PAWS.

May god be with you, i had to fall to lose it all.

 

[belfort]

^^yep, the worst thing about methadone is the length of withdrawals...after the worst physical withdrawals were over for me i had to deal with the exhaustion and blank mind, agitation that seemed to last for months and im not kidding...thats what always amazes me about people that kick opiates and they are better in 6-7 days..im like WTF lol

 

[theseeker]

^

It's easy to taper with them, but regardless you're always going to have to WD at some point if you want to get clean.

This is precisely correct in my experience. No matter how well constructed a taper is- there will always be some unpleasantness to deal with when you ultimately stop taking opiates completely. However, you can help cushion the blow- i.e. you can minimize your physical sickness by doing a taper. The art there is to do a taper that is long enough to be comfortable but not so long that you're just prolonging the inevitable. If you have a Dr. to advise you that might be best. I hear that subs are good to taper with due to their long half-life.

Just keep in mind that your brain might be screwed up for a few weeks after you completely stop. You're going to have to outlast that. If you can get past the first two or so weeks opiate free- you will continually improve. After a month you should be very close. 2 months and you'll be free. You need to be tenacious though. Physical exercise can be of great help.

All the best!