^Rtrain, I'm surprised a seasoned vet like yourself is asking this...No! Bad idea! Just switch to methadone if you don't like bupe and you're gonna be on maintenance anyway...
I spent almost two years on buprenorphine. For the second I chipped throughout. C/T'd the buprenorphine after that and got clean for maybe two months. Relapsed and shortly after got my ass on maintenance/a MMT program. Best decision I could have made, it works much, much better for me than Suboxone or Subutex ever did. On the methadone I'm on a practical dose (60mg) so it doesn't really fuck me up at all, but it does still give me that recognizable opioid buzz in a way buprenorphine never can. I have ZERO desire to chip or use any other opioid, which is totally different from my time on buprenorphine.
Ok.... If I am taking 2 mg of Sub a day. taken split 1 mg 2x day(stable for about 2 months on it), how much methadone would I need to give me a good high? I got like 60 mg on hand. I figure I should feel 20 mg but not sure if its enough to get me a good high, which is the goal here. And yes, I waited long enough for the Sub to wear off. Ive done this numerous times with other full agonists, but I have never even done methadone before so it makes the situation a bit more complicated. Also I know these 2 drugs are very unpredictable in their effects on people, but just a general idea would be nice.
For HR sake I want to take it easy and not do too much, but also don't want to waste a couple 'done tabs and not get a good high.
edit: well I took 20 mg and its been 3 hours, I feel pretty good but I am not nodding or anything. I'd say I am happy, maybe 5 mg more, but not sure if its just gonna be a waste.
I feel rather strange answering the OP's questions, as methadone is a
very powerful opioid and can easily cause an OD if the user is not well informed and
very careful about its use. That said, when I was on buprenorphine I did chip on heroin quite a few times, and heroin certainly isn't necessarily any safer (well, smoked, maybe).
For the reason, for reasons noted below, adding 5mg more of methadone to your dose after taking 20mg three hours earlier will make little if any detectable different, as it won't give you any recognizable effect for at least another one to four hours, after the first dose of methadone has begun wearing off.
Anywho, what was your opioid use like before you got on Suboxone OP? What was your tolerance like back then? Since you've only been on Suboxone for two months and you're at a reasonable/lower dose than the normally over-prescribed dosages of 8mg or >8mg, it will be a bit easier to use your methadone recreationally.
The best way to do it would be to not use Suboxone for at least one day before you try the methadone. Better yet, wait until you begin to feel the buprenorphine withdrawals, then take your pre-planned dose of methadone.
As you mentioned in your post, 20mg of methadone is I think both safe and a reasonable jumping off point. It should give you something of a buzz. The more you increase that dose of methadone, the more it'll be possible for you to get your desired full agonist opioid high. However, at the same time, the chance of overdosing also increases as you raise the dose - especially if you raise it in large increments (e.g. going from trying 20mg to 60mg of methadone is a
bad and potentially deadly idea).
Be careful. You tried that 20mg. Cool. Wait a bit, say like a week before trying again. Next time, after giving yourself a minimum of 24 hours since you last took any Suboxone, try taking 30-40mg of methadone. I
highly suggest you keep the dose increases low, like only increase your dose by 10mg each time until you have found your ideal dose. Based on how you feel at 30-40mg you'll know if you'll need 40-50mg next time to get where you want.
Frankly I don't think you'll need to go higher than 40-50mg. If you do, do yourself a favor and don't go above 60mg. Only do that if you've already tried all the lower doses first, starting with the lowest dose possible and slowly working your way up. Make sure you take break where you just take your regular Suboxone between your methadone excursions. Always take at least a 24 hour break off Suboxone before you take any methadone.
Now, if you aren't willing to even wait 24 hours since your last dose of Suboxone and want to take your methadone on the same day as your Suboxone to try and get high, it'll be much, MUCH trickier and more difficult to be able to safely get high off your methadone under these conditions. You'd need to take a higher, trickier dose of the methadone to make it effective with Suboxone freshly in your system. That will unfortunately increase the possibility that you'll take too 'done much and OD. You can't get around this. Just like trying to break through with heroin or other potent full agonists. Only thing that would help you here is to also experiment and slowly taper up your dose of methadone over a number of trial days, similar to what you'd do with my previous, safer set of instructions.You'll end up needing a lot more methadone for this though, in order to safely gauge the amount necessary without killing yourself I mean. Cause you can't enjoy the buzz if you're dead...
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
And always remember the following:
Methadone takes one to two hours to kick in. If you're in deep withdrawal some feel it's first effects at around the 45min mark. It takes about four hours to peak and begin to plateau. DO NOT take more methadone during this 0-4hr period to try and get higher, because there is nothing remotely safe that will get the methadone to hit you sooner or stronger. Making this mistake, redosing with more during the come-up period, has led to a lot of methadone overdoses.
Also it should be noted that you should not combine benzos, alcohol or other CNS Depressants (e.g. barbs) when you take your methadone. Again, it's a recipe for an overdose. Many have died from making that mistake as well, especially at higher dosages.
Good luck, have fun and, above all else, please be safe.
