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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

help with ultra fast methadone taper, been 1 month so far

Chris R

Chris R

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
25
been on methadone for just about a month, started at 20mg/ml then went up 10 every 4 days until reached 80. 20 was enough to hold me but i kept going up thinkin id get a high out of it, boy was i wrong. now im starting to go down, im at 60mg/ml and not suffering atm.

.. my question is, since ive only been on methadone for a month, can i continue to taper super fast seeing as I didn't even get a chance to stay at higher dose for long. im trying to jump down 10mg/ml every 4 days, thats my plan. is this feasible seeing as its only been a month and I didnt stay at the high doses for more than a week or two. can i drop down super fast, i wanna be completely clean and wanna do everything in my power to avoid a methadone addiction thats greater than 20mg/ml. help/advice?

(as a side note, when i started MMT i only had a quite mild addiction, no terrible withdrawals or anything, ps; i'm in in Canada if that makes a difference.)
 
i don't understand, i only see your one reply tellin me not to double post.. i dont see any other posts.
 
You are very wise my friend, in not wanting a methadone addiction. Methadone was THE hardest opioid to come off of in my experience. Worse than heroin, dilaudid, suboxone, oxycodone.. I had to quit cold turkey off of 85mg after being on it for 18 months. Ugh. Nearly drove me to suicide, and ultimately went back to heroin after 44 days of constant terrible physical/mental symptoms.

Cutting down 10mg every 4 days is pretty quick in my opinion, seeing that you certainly have already become physically dependent on it. You should drop 10% instead of 10mg, as the lower you get, the drop will still be relative to your current dose. The lower you get, you can increase the amount of days between drops as well. Four days isn't really enough to even get used to the current dose, in my opinion. Though lucky for you, you haven't been on it for very long.

May I ask the reason(s) that made you decide to get on methadone in the first place? What opioids were you using beforehand? In my opinion methadone is really only suitable if you have a SERIOUS SERIOUS addiction and have numerous failed attemps at getting clean such as giong to detox, tapering your DOC, and even using buprenorphine. Methadone is really only good for another long term substitute.
 
I diasagree, I would do a fast taper at this point, and I don't think it would be too hard. If you taper by 10% a week or whatever could be disdvantageous, will take forever, and is not necessary for someone who has been on methadone such a short time & wasnt stabilized at a high dose. Will explain more later.
 
Swimmingdancer said:
I diasagree, I would do a fast taper at this point, and I don't think it would be too hard. If you taper by 10% a week or whatever could be disdvantageous, will take forever, and is not necessary for someone who has been on methadone such a short time & wasnt stabilized at a high dose. Will explain more later.
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Yeah, perhaps. I wasn't saying to increase the time between drops, merely suggesting that if it gets too uncomfortable you can always take a little more time to stabilize. Since he is already physically dependent, I don't feel like tweaking the taper to make it more comfortable (if necessary) will set him back all that much.

If he is doing fine at the rate he is going, then certainly by all means continue at that rate! I was just offering some suggestions on how to make it a little more bearable once the dose gets lower.

Though, you are right, I reckon that since he hasn't been on it for long at all, a rapid taper would indeed be the way to go. But, it's hard to accurately say without knowing what his habit was before he got on the methadone. If he was non-tolerant before starting the methadone, then absolutely I would taper as fast as possible. But a pre-existing tolerance/habit would effect the entire process, in my opinion.

More info needed.
 
Yeah, i just did the 10% a week thing after being on methadone for 10 yrs and i regret doing a slow taper. Also when i was only on methadone for the length of time the OP is I could taper quite quickly with relatively little discomfort. Just on my phone or I'd explain in more detail :)
 
This is my first post and first reply but was seeking the same answers you were... I went to the methadone clinic three weeks ago after being on a pretty good binge of every opiate imaginable. (2 years) They started me at 30mgs of methadone and then bumped me up to 40mg for a week. Then they started the taper of 5mgs every day. Im on my last day and dosed this morning at 5mgs. Im stressing out because I feel fine and havent felt any wd symptoms. Im not sure what the next few days are going to be like but ill keep you posted. But honestly I would recommend going down 5mgs a day. I know the stuff builds up in you but I havent felt shitty at all. Good luck and smoking weed at night has helped a lot. Helps at least to put your mind at ease
 
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