Opioids Been on methadone for 5 years, started tapering slowly and I have EXTREME leg pains

[Phistagon]

Back in the day I posted on the Better Living Through Chemistry board on ToTSE.
and I thought I was too smart to get addicted and ended up getting hooked IV'ing 80's of Oxy when I was 17.
around the time I was 19, I made an equally stupid mistake and went into a Methadone Maintenance Program and have been on it ever since.
Managed to get back in school, finish high school, then go to University.
My highest Methadone dose was 85mg and About 1.5 years ago I started slowly tapering by 2mg/week but when I got to 48mg I had to stop because my legs were hurting like fuck.
It seemed like my methadone was wearing off way faster then it should. If I took it early in the morning I was hard pressed to fall asleep at night, So I took it mid day.
My Legs only stopped hurting for a few hours after taking my dose then it was back.
My doctor gives me permission to start taking half my dose in the morning and half at night to combat the leg pain and the apparently beginning of WD's
It works for a while. Suddenly my legs start hurting like shit again.
Fast forward to 3 months ago and I am still at 48 and decide I am taking a semester or two off of University to get off methadone once and for all.
My doctor agrees with the plan but then backs out after I have taken time off school and says he wants to go really slowly (2mg/month) so I dont feel even more shitty.
And then once I'm at 30mg switch too Bupe.

Anyways, i'm rambling.

What the fuck can I do for my legs? Have tried Quinine,Methocarbamol,Ibuprofen,Alcohol,stretching,baths,magnesium,vitamins, and tons of other shit.

Was thinking about maybe Loperamide? what do you guys think of taking Loperamide while I am still on methadone? Whether or not it shows on my weekly drug test I frankly dont give a fuck at this point. If I have to do this for the next year or two while I taper I would rather quit cold turkey or kill myself... or atleast cut my legs off. I feel worse then when I quit Cold Turkey from Oxy's at a Detox place. And I'm still on 44mg a day!


p.s: Its not an "itch" or "tingle" like RLS its just straight up pain that moves from my calves to my thighs.
P.p.s: Sorry for shitty formatting, cant sleep either.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Oh yeah I am very familiar with this horrible pain. It feels as though it's in your bones, correct? Surely some of the things you have tried helped somewhat though, even if they didn't help enough. I know I can tell the difference between taking nothing and taking any of the things that you named (aside from alcohol, alcohol is a bad idea during methadone WD from my experience and it actually speeds up the elimination of the methadone from your body). I find a multi-pronged approach is best. The biggest thing that helps for me is getting exercise, which I know can be very hard to force yourself do when you feel like crap. Swimming and walking are good. This is what I recommend (do all of the below, not just one thing):

- daily exercise
- chelated magnesium every day
- hot baths with epsom salts
- ibuprofen extra-strength liqui-gels
- try not to have long periods of sitting or lying down (aside from when you are trying to sleep)
- something that helps with sleep because the night-time is the worst, when you're lying there having trouble sleeping and your legs are aching

As for loperamide, I tried it while I was tapering methadone and I didn't find it to help much, but maybe that's because didn't take a high enough dose since I felt it was worsening the insomnia - it had a weird stimulating feeling for me. Everyone is different though and some people do say they find it very helpful, but IIRC couldn't find anyone else who had actually taken it to help with withdrawals while trying to taper methadone. I don't see the harm in trying it (don't start out with a ridiculous dose of course though). As for worries about the clinic you can just tell them you are taking loperamide, it's over the counter so they shouldn't care. Diarrhea is common when lowering one's methadone dose.

I tapered off methadone after being on it for 10 years so please let me know if you need any advice/support. Best of luck to you

 

[RedRum OG]

I wouldn't recommend lopermide because many say that it has rebound effects after quitting, if you use it for a while.

However, I would highly recommend exercise, specifically aerobic. When you're feeling okay, maybe right after dose, go exercise, and get into the habit of maybe a half hour every other day at the very least. It works wonders for RLS, it's the only real cure I've found. Once your body is used to it at least, the first day or two it may make you extra sore, but long term it'll save your life

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I wouldn't recommend lopermide because many say that it has rebound effects after quitting, if you use it for a while.

This is a good point, loperamide itself is dependence-causing and if the OP even tapered as fast as 2mg/week that would still be a couple months left of tapering (plus however long after getting off methadone completely) and you can't just take loperamide that whole time, so it's much better to try for healthier long-term solutions.

 

[Rawrzxor]

- daily exercise
- chelated magnesium every day
- hot baths with epsom salts
- ibuprofen extra-strength liqui-gels
- try not to have long periods of sitting or lying down (aside from when you are trying to sleep)
- something that helps with sleep because the night-time is the worst, when you're lying there having trouble sleeping and your legs are aching

First, I should say I don't have much experience with the horridly excruciating withdrawals I've read about; though, I have experienced a lower circle of PAWS hell.

I've heard a lot of good things about kratom as another tapering alternative. Though, it is still addictive, so you'll have to be careful about reinforcing the, "I'm doing this to get off methadone, it's okay if I down 100gs a day". It was an excellent pain killer for me, and allowed me to sleep; but, again, mine weren't bad at all.

Though, swimmingdancer's advice is probably best in the long run.
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Ahhh, here we go: http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/607680-The-Kratom-(Mega)Thread-v2