Suboxone to methadone due topain but having regrets (UK)

[DJ25]

OK so I was started on subs around 4 years back after abusing pain meds like codeine, dihydrocodeine (CWE), morphine and then poppy pods, the last month or two of addiction I did heroin up to 1gram a day maybe but could tolerate more...anyway I was doing fine on subz and came down from 24 mg at my highest to 16 mg.... then shit went pair shaped...

I started having bad pains in my hip area,I had problems in my left hip as a kid, but this was the opposite side my right hip, turns out I have trochanteric bursitis and have terrible trouble walking.... I had an ex ray and nothing came back btw, I was prescribed anti inflammotories and a cream, I asked the GP (who for purposes of this thread is a twat) for a hydrocortisone injection but he said they didn't work for my type of pain. However after researching (did this after going and going on methadone due to time constraints) they DO work and that is actually a key treatment so I'm pissed off.

Anyway the next day I had an appointment with the CDAT doctor and basically said that anti-inflams weren't working which was true and that I needed methadone in order to get some decent pain relief from my doc or even use the 'done itself... He agreed, however it was when I was doing my 3 day cluck in order to go on meth that I realised that my sub dose had been way to high, I basically came back to life (while in withdrawal) and saw a little of the old me who felt much less out of it and able to take life on and get back to the gym the Uni courses I fucked up and get off what meds I need to as I'm on loads of medz- diazies and gabapentin, effexor etc- I have gone from a healthy 13 stone since psych/opiate meds to 20 stone through eating more, lack of activity and lower metabloism due to antipsychotics and that last day of withdrawal gave me a sense of hope that at a lower sub dose I could feel 'OK' and live at the same time..... But I feel I fucked it all up.

I am only on 30 mls methadone (1mg/ml) atm and in theory I could just do a switch back to where I was however my key worker said I was the one who asked so lets get me up to a comfy dose of 'Done and we can always go back.... So basically a no not yet-

The thing is I'm shit scared of coming down off meth as opposed to subz maybe because of the hellish stories on the net, so
Q 1.is tapering meth worse in terms of witjdrawal vs tapering suboxone?
2. shall I get back on subz while I still can ? They did help the pain just thought meth would hit it harder


And as I understand it my treatment is my choice in the UK right so I'm guessing the CDAT (community drug and alcohol team) don't want to the fuss of the paper work to get through.

Anyone have any views on this, feeling left down by the NHS again...

Many Thanks

David

 

[Bodda]

My best wishes to you DJ25, I hope it works out well for you

I have found methadone worse in answer to your question.
I find the 2nd question in regard to what medicine to use a question only you can really answer, it's whatever you think is best.

I wish you luck, I truly feel for anyone with these kind of issues.

 

[Sammy G]

Q 1.is tapering meth worse in terms of witjdrawal vs tapering suboxone?
2. shall I get back on subz while I still can ? They did help the pain just thought meth would hit it harder

Definite yes on the first one.

As for the second question, I'm a bit puzzled. You say you came 'back to life' during withdrawal? How was the pain during that time?

I find it baffling that your doctor would suggest methadone for pain relief before exhausting all other options. Seems a bit extreme to say the least, especially if you were already on a suboxone taper. I'd seriously consider seeing another doctor to be perfectly honest.

Best of luck...

 

[backroll]

1.is tapering meth worse in terms of witjdrawal vs tapering suboxone? Can be, the lower doses of meth can be grim compared to subs from my experience, but both well managed in theory should be tolerable. It's the afters that hurt...

2. shall I get back on subz while I still can ? They did help the pain just thought meth would hit it harder. I think possibly yes, FOR ME: subs for the win, meth for the fail, but as usual it's horses for courses

You certainly need to alter this merry-go-round of treatment though. I fucking heart the NHS, but pain-management treatment is always going to make some customers very very unhappy. Sounds like you could do with winning the lottery and getting some independent, private advice

 

[DJ25]

Well I shouldn't blame the doc, he did try and tell me meth for pain was no good but I just thought he was bluffing (I mean a full mu agonist). He said if your docs would prescribe opiate pain meds then I could see a reason to go on methadone but I said they won't because I'm on subz and they know (well some know) that they block opiates.....I suppose it was the addict in me maybe seizing an opportunity to get on meth and get- hmm 'high' would be wrong but maybe out of the discomfort of the sub withdrawal as the sub taper was making me quite down.....The actual wait for meth-it was the cold turkey for 3 days that strangley had me feeling a little more with it.... The pain wasn't bad and I was taking 2 co-dydramol every 4 hrs but that's 20mg in two tabs (combined) and it may have helped the pain of withdrawal, I would have thought I would have needed a much heavier dose of DF (when I clucked from heroin I took 2 x 120 mg a day and still felt off) saying that I didn't like subz at first but got used to them- I do know though that there was some sub left in me as it obviously tapers itself over the 37-72 hrs half-life it has.......

YES- I ran into methadone too quickly without seeing enough doctors, I am an anxious and inpatient kind of guy who likes to know what's going on maybe a control freak, but I also just wanted to be out of pain, I had also just come down a dose from 18 mg of sub to 16 mg and was feeling shitty (why did they do that when I told them in advance that I was having hip pain), seems I should have demanded the sub goes straight back up to 18 mg and seen the doc I saw today, who actually gave me a cortisone injection script I'm due to have on friday which is a good treatment I read....however my reading has shown me that this condition can be chronic and debilitating...

Maybe pushing subs back up to 20 mg would have helped maybe I should have pushed that... It's a pickle when you have addiction and moderate to severe pain that may or may not be chronic, I may have used a sledge hammer to crack a nut, but if this cortisone injection in to the bursae helps on Friday then next week I'm going back on subz and I'm not having some arse hole key worker saying "we need you comfy on meth and that there's too much misinformation about methadone" that may well be true...but I can't be comfy on methadone knowing full well I have to go through worse withdrawal than subs.... Maybe answered my own q, but some say subz is also long and drawn out and PAWS are bad due to it's anti-d effects... maybe I need to go through it or them both and make my own mind up.

Thanks for the thoughts guys, I'm searching the net constantly for oppinions and know they vary on meth vs subz tapering.