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Fast methadone taper help

Yes I still have some of the oxy, gabapentin, Restoril, and loperamide. I pretty much wasted that patch. I got the medical tape and taped it on but it stayed about 30 minutes and fell off. I tried more tape but it just wouldn't stick. It looked dried out. Yesterday when I took it off I put the back onto it and placed in a ziplock bag. But after this mornings disaster with the wrapping tape I guess I ruined it somehow. So I tossed it in the trash. Now that I'm down to 4mg of methadone I think I'll just cold turkey it starting tomorrow. It's now been 12 days and I'm ready to get this over with. I went from 100mg down to 4mg in 12 days so should I expect the next 2 weeks without any methadone to be much worse than this?
 
Absolutely it is going to be more difficult.

You can get away with taking conservative doses of oxycodone for a 7-10 days perhaps twice a day, then getting rid of that (assuming your goal is to not use opioids; what are your goals with this detox?) and dipping into the gabapentin. Or if you have enough starting the gabapentin now. If you can, taking gabapentin for a few weeks to a month would be ideal given what you'll have to deal with.

There is a strong case to be made that the acute withdrawal from methadone doesn't get significant easier once one tapers past a certain point. That point seems to be between 20-5mg for most people, so you probably should consider just stopping now.

The upside to that is you can take you current dose every other day, filling in the off days with gabapentin or even a little oxycodone if absolutely necessary. Full agonist short acting opioid likes oxycodone are HORRIBLE comfort meds, but if you have to stay functional, and when used very sparingly, it is better than nothing. Just want to try and ensure you don't pick up a habit with it (if you use it for just a week followed by gabapentin this is not sure likely, at least not physiologically speaking).
 
My goal is to get off the methadone so I can get in with 2 new Dr's. One is a neurosurgeon and the other is pain dr. I need multiple spine surgeries but the neurosurgeon told me he wouldn't do it while I was on methadone because once released from the hospital it would be impossible to control my pain. His exact words were "it would take an enormous amount of pain meds that I'm not going to prescribe to ease your pain after these surgeries" I was in pm before (I was ran over by a semi truck) but my dr disappeared overnight. So most of us ended up at the methadone clinic due to that and not being able to find a new pain dr especially without insurance. I'm now insured and want to have these surgeries in hopes of it relieving some of my pain. I put another patch on so hopefully it will help. I'm trying not to take the oxy and I only have 30 100mg gabapentin so I'm trying to wait to take what I have because it's a month before I see my pcp.
 
badbarbiedolly said:
My goal is to get off the methadone so I can get in with 2 new Dr's. One is a neurosurgeon and the other is pain dr. I need multiple spine surgeries but the neurosurgeon told me he wouldn't do it while I was on methadone because once released from the hospital it would be impossible to control my pain. His exact words were "it would take an enormous amount of pain meds that I'm not going to prescribe to ease your pain after these surgeries" I was in pm before (I was ran over by a semi truck) but my dr disappeared overnight. So most of us ended up at the methadone clinic due to that and not being able to find a new pain dr especially without insurance. I'm now insured and want to have these surgeries in hopes of it relieving some of my pain. I put another patch on so hopefully it will help. I'm trying not to take the oxy and I only have 30 100mg gabapentin so I'm trying to wait to take what I have because it's a month before I see my pcp.
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What kind of relief are you getting from the patches? I wouldn't mix the oxy and fent due to fents superior binding affinity. I'm afraid it would waste the oxy. I'm just curious what kind of fent and oxy doses are required to make this bearable so I'll have an idea for myself getting off mdone in the future.
 
I couldn't get the patch to stay on even with the tape so I had to put a new one on. It's been on about 7 hours and I can't feel that it's helping at all. Maybe by tomorrow I will notice a difference. I ended up taking the oxy and it helped some. I am taking the advice of not taking too much so I only took 1 this morning and another about 12 hours later. I must have a lot of methadone stored up in my body because I didn't "feel" anything from the oxy but my wd's weren't as severe.
I apologize for the delay in replying. I have no cell service out here and my internet is crap. I live out in the middle of nowhere and if it's cloudy or raining then I can't get online or watch tv.
But I do appreciate all the help I'm getting on here and I will keep posting my progress as I go.
 
I'll give you credit you are far braver then I am. The thought of the kick your doing makes me want to run and hide
 
toothpastedog said:
Absolutely it is going to be more difficult.

You can get away with taking conservative doses of oxycodone for a 7-10 days perhaps twice a day, then getting rid of that (assuming your goal is to not use opioids; what are your goals with this detox?) and dipping into the gabapentin. Or if you have enough starting the gabapentin now. If you can, taking gabapentin for a few weeks to a month would be ideal given what you'll have to deal with.

There is a strong case to be made that the acute withdrawal from methadone doesn't get significant easier once one tapers past a certain point. That point seems to be between 20-5mg for most people, so you probably should consider just stopping now.

The upside to that is you can take you current dose every other day, filling in the off days with gabapentin or even a little oxycodone if absolutely necessary. Full agonist short acting opioid likes oxycodone are HORRIBLE comfort meds, but if you have to stay functional, and when used very sparingly, it is better than nothing. Just want to try and ensure you don't pick up a habit with it (if you use it for just a week followed by gabapentin this is not sure likely, at least not physiologically speaking).
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I have quit Methadone and Benzodiazepines 2 and half years ago, and if there was one thing I could tell about this battle was due to the fact I decreased the dosages over a period of more than 6 months, then 3 more months to get to 5 mg. It was pretty tough but it would have been tougher if I had done it quickly. I'm talking about long term goals.
 
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I actually just got off the phone with my clinic. I am always there at 4:30am and the director would allow me to do my 30 minute counseling before they opened at 5am. So today would have been my pickup day and I wasn't there. My counselor basically yelled at me that I have zero chance of doing this on my own and when it fails my chart will be open. I tried to get them to help me come off for the past year and they wanted me to come every day over a year taper even tho I was the highest phase (13 take homes) Which isn't an option since I was driving 3 hours round trip.
Anyway, in down to 3mg today and I'm confident my last dose will be Thursday. I feel like shit and this sweating then freezing is killing me. But I believe I can do this. My mother told me last night that she got me some weed & thinks it'll help lol. I've never smoked smoked anything not even a cigarette. What's funny is my mom doesn't even drink or do anything and she went out and got some weed for me. How in the hell does a 60 year old woman just magically know where to get it. She's been so helpful I couldn't have done it without her. I still can't tell the patch is doing anything so I dunno about those. In my mind I feel it's going to be so much worse after the last 1mg dose of methadone. I'm hoping not but from what I've read on here it's gonna happen.
 
Again I just wanna say how much I appreciate all the help on here. I live in a very rural area (pop. less than 400) in TN and I have no one who's able to help me with this other than my mother who has never detoxed from anything so she's mainly just here for support. CJ, TPD, you guys have been amazing! I'm not very social since my accident and I have a hard time asking anyone for help but I'm glad I finally got the courage to post on here. I hope one day I can return the favor. Not sure what time zone everyone's in but hope you have a good day/night...
 
It's all good OP, it's why we are here :)

Regarding your doctors, that is what pisses me off about the system we have in this country. You absolutely can do it yourself, according to your own goals and needs. Will it be easy? Nope. But it's absolutely possible.

Can you find a local doctor to help get you basic comfort meds? Methadone clinics generally speaking suck at prescribing appropriate comfort meds, and having a private doctor to work with is really really helpful. All the more so given your situation.

Let us know how things progress! Best of luck :)
 
My pcp has prescribed everything I have except the 2 patches I have left. He just doesn't have a clue how to help. I basically did my own research and told him what would help.
I just smoked weed for the first time and it helped for about an hour. Now I feel worse than before. I thought it would calm me and it did but once it wore off I feel overstimulated. My legs are jumping all over the place & my stomach is killing me. Most people I know who smoke are relaxed what's up with me? This was my first time and I didn't even smoke much. Is that a bad mix with methadone wd's
 
badbarbiedolly said:
My pcp has prescribed everything I have except the 2 patches I have left. He just doesn't have a clue how to help. I basically did my own research and told him what would help.
I just smoked weed for the first time and it helped for about an hour. Now I feel worse than before. I thought it would calm me and it did but once it wore off I feel overstimulated. My legs are jumping all over the place & my stomach is killing me. Most people I know who smoke are relaxed what's up with me? This was my first time and I didn't even smoke much. Is that a bad mix with methadone wd's
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Everyone's different, and cannabis is very complex in how people perceive its effects. In general I wouldn't say it is a bad thing to try during opioid WDs, but in general doesn't matter if it makes you feel lousy :\
 
I find cannabis to be a welcome distraction while in withdrawal, but it's therapeutic benefits are relatively minor when it comes to opioid withdrawal compared to more appropriate comfort meds. Some people seem to benefit more than others from cannabis, as simco said.
 
Can someone be allergic to cannabis? I am allergic to all cold meds like Sudafed. They make my heart race, vomit, muscle jerks and I have even passed out. Eventually I realized it was the cold meds. Tried coke twice in my life and reacted the same way. I'm also allergic to tons of other stuff but what I'm getting at is that's exactly how I felt after I smoked today. I'd say within 45 minutes. Like I'd done a stimulant. It just doesn't make sense. My poor mom feels terrible she blames herself and I know she was only trying to help. Before my accident I wasn't allergic to anything. But since then it's easier to tell what I'm not allergic to. Im thinking maybe because they removed a good bit of my obliterated liver, entire spleen, intestines, and later my gallbladder and appendix that somehow caused all the allergies.?
Anyway, I won't be doing it again. I'll stick to the comfort meds. I was just wanting this horrible anxiety to subside a lil bit. My dr won't give me benzos for daytime because the Restoril is a benzo. Which doesn't help me sleep even when I take more than I'm prescribed. It doesn't even relax me at double the dose of 15mg.
 
Temazepam is a rather hypnotic benzo, so it's really only useful for a) sleep or b) getting high. Some people love the recreational effect, other don't get anything from it (recreational doses are many multiples of 15mg however).

It is possible to be allergic to cannabis, but what you're describing sounds like the uncomfortable side effect many people who try it experience. I find tolerance to help diminish them, but hey if you don't enjoy it why do it? Maybe try CBD, but don't expect a magic bullet.

I mean, thinking of it as an allergy isn't illegitimate by any means, it's just a different sense of the word compared to saying someone is allergic to opiates (folks who are allergic to codeine for instance can experience a sever, life threatening histamine reaction - it sounds like you're just deacribing the reason a lot of people simply find cannabis makes them uncomfortable/increases stress levels of all sorts).
 
Sounds like a normal reaction to cannabis for someone who's not a heavy user honestly.
 
I've got through a few severe opiate withdrawals. Never methadone like you're on, which I understand is kind of a beast. But I've never had the luxury of tapering or even using things like subs to wane off. If I were you I'd check into the hospital and have them detox you with plenty of comfort meds. Sucks, but its over quick at least. I was in rehab a year ago using tons of PKs, about equivalent of 800mg oxy a day. I started, my first day there, on a subutex taper. Anyways, had some health issues got shipped off to the hospital shortly after taking my first sub. They wouldn't give me any pain meds at the ER, but basically kept me sedated with ativan / clonidine over 4-5 days. After that I went back to rehab and they gave me one 10mg diazepam and that was it. I got through the worst part of it with little discomfort. Tail end of withdrawals still lingered but that just included sweating / chills / diarrhea / kicking, but i could handle it. Anyways i remember looking at the other patients on a sub taper being really jealous, but then i realized that they had to go through the pain of getting off at some point too and in many ways it just prolonged their misery. Anyways, just an idea... not sure if you can take time off work for a week but I also trust having the process in someone elses hands over my own. If the pain gets too bad and I have a fix... tough to say no. Best of luck, whatever you choose to do. Remember how strong you are, you are stronger than you think. Don't give this little pill or syrup or habit any more power than it has... if you want to get off it, YOU will. Don't put these drugs on some pedestal. You will look back once this is all over, and realize you made it out to be worse in your mind. Sorry for the long ramble. you got this!
 
I wish I could have went to an inpatient detox but unfortunately here all records are electronic and my insurance will not pay for any pain managment if you're labeled an addict. And I will require pain managment for the rest of my life due to my injuries/disability. That's what started the methadone use to begin with. My pm dr disappeared overnight and I couldn't get into a new pm dr so they sent most of us to the methadone clinic. Now my neurosurgeon says I need multiple surgeries but he won't do it while I'm on MMT. Today is my first day without any methadone. Yesterday I took 3mg and decided to just stop. I tapered from 100mg to 3mg in 12 days. The anxiety is terrible. But this horrible weird feeling in my brain is much worse. I will keep posting as I progress. I'm breaking the oxy in half which is hard because they're the tiniest pills I've ever seen. They're 20mg but I don't want to take them all up and have nothing since I don't see my dr til the end of the month. Now that I've officially quit taking any methadone it should be about 2 weeks of wd's is that right?
 
Well i didn't take any methadone today. Yesterday I dosed at 3mg and just decided to stop altogether. I don't think going 2 extra days to get to 1mg and then stop would have made much difference. I'm sick and I don't want to prolong this anymore. I'm trying to stay hydrated but it's hard when you can't eat or drink. I still can't tell that the patch is doing anything and I've had this one on for over 24 hours. I haven't taken any of the gabapentin yet because I only have 30 of the 100mg so I'm trying to wait as long as I can since I'm sure I'll need more than 1 a day. I'll let y'all know how it goes as I continue detoxing. Hopefully someone down the road can benefit from what I'm learning during this detox.
 
I really urge you to try and get more gabapentin. It will help a lot. Saying how much withdrawal to expect is tricky, but given the nature of your taper two weeks isn't unreasonable to expect. If the going gets too tough, keep in mind there isn't anything wrong with getting back on your meds to try the process again.

I really feel for you OP. This hardly sounds like fun :(
 
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