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A DETAILED LETTER ABOUT MY METHADONE TAPER/EXPERIENCE- would love some insight!

Mollypop45

Mollypop45

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Joined
Apr 13, 2016
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13
So- I started in at my methadone clinic 2 years & 4 months ago. I had never done heroin, although I had many "friends" & had a boyfriend who was 110% in deep with it.. I guess that was the one descent thing about my ex is that he sure wasnt proud of the fact that he was hooked on heroin. Any time it was around or in front of me he was very protective & would tell people to get it out of the room or whatever. Instead, I had a very heavy oxy habit that not THAT many people knew about. For about a year before entering myself into the clinic I was buying dones' on the stree just to maintain & basically to prevent myself from falling into the heroin pit. Also, all the dealers around selling dones started charging more because they were harder & harder to get during a chunk of time.. So, I finally just finally said fuck this shit, I can just go to the clinic & not waste a shit ton of money anymore!
With that being said- I was defintley not in a sober mind set. I wasn't WANTING to get clean, I just wanted not to hurt or go through horrible withdrawals because I had a career to hold down. Before I got into the clinic, I was spending thousands a month on drugs, as all of us addicts do!
I finally end up getting into the clinic- they start me at 30mgs & I go all the way up to 98mg. I remember people telling me "hey, word of advice.. one day you're gonna wanna get out of here, you might not be in the mind frame now, but ONE day you will so just keep in mind that the higher you go on your dose, the longer & shittier it is to get out of here". I took that advice to heart, which is why I got up to the random number of 98mgs lol I told myself to stay below 100mg. So last summer in July of 2016 I decided I REALLY REALLY wanted off this shit. I decided I was going to taper as quickly as I could up until I started to feel any sort of discomfort, well the fastest my clinic will allow is 5mg a week, so I did that until I hit 40mg and then had to fill out another evaluation for to be ok'd to taper further. So I got ok'd to go down to 10mgs at 3mg a week. Well my magic number is apparently 17mg lol I was getting horrible sleep so I decided to go back up to 22mg and then taper back down slow aka: THE RIGHT WAY!- also side note *I have never ever had a dirty UA so I am at M13 (where I only have to come in 2x a month now) so Now I am tapering literally 1mg every 2 weeks. I know that sounds fucking ridiculous lol but I finally told myself to just accept that this is a process, and I know we've all heard/read this before but the slower your taper the better & easier & most importantly- more successful you will be! So once you hit a lower number, my advice is to listen to your body. If you feel any pain, insomnia, etc. slow it down!
My question is: does anyone have any advice
For the last 13mgs. Any insight?? I'm wondering what to expect when I jump off from the last 1mg to nothing. I know we are all different & react differently but I'm
Just curious what other people experiences are. It's a scary thing to think about, not physically but just mentally. Because I just DONT WANNA FUCK UP AGAIN!!! :}
- for anyone who got through this novel, thanks for reading! This was my first official post :)
 
What you are doing is spot fucking on. You handled your taper excellently.

A lot of folks say that getting off methadone isn't all that much different once you get below 20mg. I had a couple friends who really struggled with making the jump lingering around like 4mg. I jumped around 14mg I think. The idea was that I'd use comfort meds to manage the detox, as I've come to understand that there is going to be a detox of some significance, even if one tapers all the way to 1mg.

Since I was jumping off above 10mg and to avoid any issues with precipitated withdrawal from taking buprenorphine before the methadone is out of one's system, I used codeine for three days at doses of like 300-600mg/day. Then I took buprenorphine (2mg twice a day) for another seven days. While I used the buprenorphine I was also taking 10mg diazepam twice a day, 800mg gabapentin three times a day, 150mg trazodone at night and 0.1mg of clonidine twice a day.

I continued to use gabapentin for the first four weeks or so opioid free. I used trazodone for sleep for a little over the first six months off methadone. A year later I just use melatonin.

Do you have any plans for your detox? Do you have a doctor like a psychiatrist outside the clinic? I highly recommend finding one who can help you manage your transition off methadone. It's a hell of a lot easier and more conducive to stability than sourcing everything on the blackmarket.
 
Slow is the way to go... I brought the wrath of hell down on myself not once but twice by going too fast on my morphine taper. Lastly... what TPD said... best of luck Molly!!!!

R13
 
Thanks for the advice/ insight! So no I don't have any plans as of right now, I'm trying to eat one though, & that's why I'm asking what other peoples insights are so I can kind of get a feel for what to expect. I've read other posts & asked others at the clinic & haven't really seen/heard any real clear cut advice ya know?
 
& yes I absolutely can find a psychiatrist, that's actually a great idea. My reg. Docs know about what I'm going through so I'm sure they can refer me to someone.. possibly an addiction specialist. That way if I can't sleep or feel like shit they can perscribe me some things to help- whatever that one mad is to help with anxiety or whatever (for opiate withdrawal) starts with a C.. I'm blanking & too lazy to google lol but you know what I'm taking bout.
 
I'd actually recommend against seeking out a psychiatrist who only (or primarily) focused on addiction or those associated with addiction treatment centers. The best IME (as a patient and as a professional) tend to be those who also have at least as much experience dealing with other mental health concerns. It's a good practice to find a good doctor by asking folks at the local or regional big advanced medical school(s) who they'd recommend for what your needs are. And having your doctors coordinate is a golden idea.

You also want a psychiatrist licensed to prescribe buprenorphine, so it will be both a little easier (because all you need to do is look into different buprenorphine providers from the SAMHSA's list online) but it could also be a little more difficult (because there are a limit to how many patients doctors can prescribe buprenorphine too and the best doctors/programs are often overworked or hard to find).

The medications you want to look into are primarily: gabapentin, clonidine, diazepam, buprenorphine and a sleeping med like trazodone. Ibuprofen and loperamide can be used as needed. If you can get some codeine, tramadol or other weakish opioid to transition from the methadone to the buprenorphine, that would be ideal but not absolutely required. An you'll only need those five meds for one to two weeks in order to get through the acute withdrawal, although having a sleeping med around for a while after that can be very helpful.

Gabapentin and clonidine are not abusable and specifically used to treat opioid withdrawal, so they won't be a problem getting a doctor to prescribe. Some doctors are uncomfortable writing scripts for benzos to people they know who have had issues with past drug use, but any compassionate and knowledgeable doctor would be willing to prescribe a small course for a week or two (clonazepam can also work, basically you want a moderate to long acting benzodiazepine). And of course you'll have to find a doctor who is licensed to prescribe buprenorphine.
 
So I'm totally not judging the route you went & I think it's a great idea but I'm also weary about doing any bupes or any other opioids just cuz in my mind it feels like taking 5 steps back :( know what I mean? Like I'm totally down for gabapentin- I've taken that before and the clonidine for sure & any kind of muscle relaxant for sleep but I'm just worried about doing any bupe or codeine. I'm fine with taking a couple benzos if I have to but I'd want just a bit to get me through. What do you think?
 
I def don't take it personally :) I'm just pleased to see you so interested and committed to what you are doing for your recovery.

Well, you'd be able to get along well enough with just something like clonidine, gabapentin and something like diazepam. But using something like buprenorphine is hardly a step back. It's only used for a week or two and it's purpose is simply to treat the acute withdrawal. You don't feel anything from the buprenorphine when you use it like this, don't become tolerant, dependent or withdraw from it.

In what way would it be a step back? I understand your healthy aversion to putting any more opioids in your system. That said, the buprenorphine purpose here is to get you OFF opioids. I'm curious to hear more about your concerns with this.

If anything in those whole recovery from opioid use it's become glaringly obvious that most people do much better when their withdrawal is well treated and they don't suffer any more than absolutely necessary. The other meds will make a big enough difference on their own to see you through withdrawal in relative comfort, but the buprenorphine does help significantly support the process. Avoiding the discomfort buprenorphine will help prevent will help give you the best chances for success in early recovery.
 
Well that's true! See I guess I never thought about it that way. I will have to do some more research but getting what you're saying! I just remember taking those a long time ago when I was still runnin and gunnin lol I'm open to it for sure now that I see your point & I def. agree with the less you suffer (unnecessarily) the better success you have.
 
Like I would take them on and off randomly when everyone was dry and that's the only thing available.
 
Right. This is an entirely different situation. Using buprenorphine like this isn't going to want to make you go out and get high. You really won't even notice it if you only take like 2mg twice a day. It'll just keep you from the worst of the acute withdrawal.

It's good for you to figure this out for yourself, doing your own research and such. Please feel free to ask about anything related to this here.
 
Hey Molly, I'm going through kind of the same thing right now. Other than I have been at my clinic 6 years. Highest dose 89mg. And I'm also tapering... at 14mg right now. So I was just curious how you are doing. Would love to hear about your progress. Thanks. And good luck to you!
 
Hey! Wow I haven?t gotten on here in a long time so I?m sorry for such a long delay in getting back to you! I am doing great!! I jumped off of my last 1 mg dose on January 11th. Have you ever heard of Kratom? I actually ordered some for the days I have a tough time, it?s natural & essentially takes any withdrawals away. It?s also totally legal & easy to order online. I?m basically using Kratom as a crutch until I?m out of the woods (1 month or so) because Keaton?s half life is relatively short. I recommend trying this if you run into a time where you feel like you might relapse or are just really needing to get through the day (for work or kids etc) you really do not get high from it, you might get a tiny buzz but nothing major. I recommend you look into Kratom and do some research to see if that?s something you would ever consider. It?s worked incredibly well for me. How are you feeling!? Are you off yet? Let me know, & best of luck to you!
 
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