My girlfriend and I are quitting heroin and we just started going to the methadone clinic. Our goal is just too spend a week or two without dope and only use the methadone until we get the dope out of our systems. So I'm wondering if only a week or so on methadone with still give us crazy withdrawals when we stop. Especially since every doctor at the clinic says we have to be on it a year minimum. We just dont want to replace one addiction with another. I know it took a solid 6 months of doing dope everyday before we ever started getting dope sick so I can't imagine only a few weeks of methadone could do that to us. We've stopped before like this using subutext and had no problems after we stopped taking the subs, unfortunately we can't find those anymore. So any info on the subject would help a lot! Thanks
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BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
How long does it take before you get methadone withdrawals
- Thread starter Sickayakr
- Start date
ebola?
Bluelight Crew
This is not a good basis for a wiki article. Please read the guidelines of the subforum you're in prior to posting (and confirm that it's the right one to post in). But welcome to the site! 
(moving to Basic Drug Discussion)
ebola
(moving to Basic Drug Discussion)
ebola
Phil.McKeer
Bluelighter
I've never heard of anyone using methadone as part of a rapid detox. Another BLer might be able to shed more light on that.
I was going to recommend buprenorphine until I read towards the end that you can't find any. I consider a rapid subutex taper as being the "gold standard" for detoxing. If I were in your position, I would use every resource at my disposal to find some subs. If you can get H, you should be able to find subs if you work at it long enough.
I was going to recommend buprenorphine until I read towards the end that you can't find any. I consider a rapid subutex taper as being the "gold standard" for detoxing. If I were in your position, I would use every resource at my disposal to find some subs. If you can get H, you should be able to find subs if you work at it long enough.
The intensity of the withdrawal will be dependent on a multitude of factors.
- The amount of the initial methadone dose you need to stave off heroin withdrawal
- The duration and taper schedule you use
- some people handle withdrawal better than others
- misc- etc...
It's rare to go from being dependent on an opioid to then using methadone for a week or two without experiencing withdrawal. Usually the best you can hope for is to diminish the intensity and duration.
- The amount of the initial methadone dose you need to stave off heroin withdrawal
- The duration and taper schedule you use
- some people handle withdrawal better than others
- misc- etc...
It's rare to go from being dependent on an opioid to then using methadone for a week or two without experiencing withdrawal. Usually the best you can hope for is to diminish the intensity and duration.
For the sake of clarity I'll elaborate a little...
OP you are enrolling in a methadone maintenance program but you are looking for a methadone detox. A methadone detox usually lasts for 5-7 days using a taper plan that starts with approximately 30mg methadone and ending with 5mg. The amount in mg they start you on usually depends on the clinic more so than the size of the individuals opioid habit.
As I said before it can be effective for diminishing the intensity of withdrawal.
When people refer to a 'rapid detox' its usually something else entirely, which from what I have read is expensive, ineffective, and potentially
dangerous.
OP you are enrolling in a methadone maintenance program but you are looking for a methadone detox. A methadone detox usually lasts for 5-7 days using a taper plan that starts with approximately 30mg methadone and ending with 5mg. The amount in mg they start you on usually depends on the clinic more so than the size of the individuals opioid habit.
As I said before it can be effective for diminishing the intensity of withdrawal.
When people refer to a 'rapid detox' its usually something else entirely, which from what I have read is expensive, ineffective, and potentially
dangerous.
szuko000
Bluelight Crew
I would not advise you do what you are planning on doing. If every doctor is saying you need to stay on it for a year that probably means they do not do rapid tapers and you will get booted from the clinic if you try to rapid detox. The clinic I go to does not offer repaid detox and they will not allow you to put that as your goal meaning that you are not allowed to. They do not force you to take the medication but they do not give you the full control over it so you can not say "you are going to do this" they will say "no we wnot, you can stop going" believe me I tried I actually had to stock pile my subs and detox myself because I was told "we can not allow you to go below 8mg/day at this point." However once I told them I wasn’t coming back I was already on 2mg/day and I was paying 120 a week cash for my meds, they told me too bad if I cant afford the 70 dollars a week for 7 8mg pills I could not be on the program with less then 8mg/day.
Also it is infinitely better to learn how to adjust to sobriety without worrying about getting sick as even a rapid detox will leave you somewhat "off" there are no free rides and everyone gets sick. You may relapse if you are not out of the life style by months. I am working off coming down from 90mg for 6 months but in those 6 months I have not used opiates so I don’t associate sickness with dope. You will probably still associate sickness with dope and will crave dope because of it. My g/f and I call it "methadone sickness" not dope sick or withdrawal. So when she went from 40mg down to 30mg she would say for example "oh man this morning was terrible the methadone sickness from this 10mg dump is worse then the last one" because it is not opiate or dope withdrawal it is the sickness we get from getting our lives in order.
Most clinics will NOT allow you to rapid detox if they are for profit places. Rapid detox leads to relapse and death because of lowered tolerances. Sure some of us can do it and it works for some people but the nice thing about methadone is you don’t need to worry about getting sick and it allows you time away from opiates. If you find you can not do a rapid taper I would strongly reconsider sticking around for a year at the place. Please don’t view methadone as something you need to get off of right away. You will only make life hard for you and your g/f if you view methadone as something you need to get off of. You will get to the point where getting off methadone will be your goal and because of that it will be easy. You are going to get sick coming off opiates maybe you can avoid getting really sick but you can not avoid your recent experiences and if those include dope to remove a sickness its going to be hard getting sick and not using,.
Also it is infinitely better to learn how to adjust to sobriety without worrying about getting sick as even a rapid detox will leave you somewhat "off" there are no free rides and everyone gets sick. You may relapse if you are not out of the life style by months. I am working off coming down from 90mg for 6 months but in those 6 months I have not used opiates so I don’t associate sickness with dope. You will probably still associate sickness with dope and will crave dope because of it. My g/f and I call it "methadone sickness" not dope sick or withdrawal. So when she went from 40mg down to 30mg she would say for example "oh man this morning was terrible the methadone sickness from this 10mg dump is worse then the last one" because it is not opiate or dope withdrawal it is the sickness we get from getting our lives in order.
Most clinics will NOT allow you to rapid detox if they are for profit places. Rapid detox leads to relapse and death because of lowered tolerances. Sure some of us can do it and it works for some people but the nice thing about methadone is you don’t need to worry about getting sick and it allows you time away from opiates. If you find you can not do a rapid taper I would strongly reconsider sticking around for a year at the place. Please don’t view methadone as something you need to get off of right away. You will only make life hard for you and your g/f if you view methadone as something you need to get off of. You will get to the point where getting off methadone will be your goal and because of that it will be easy. You are going to get sick coming off opiates maybe you can avoid getting really sick but you can not avoid your recent experiences and if those include dope to remove a sickness its going to be hard getting sick and not using,.
I agree with the post above..
If you leave a maintenance program after two weeks your last dose would be the same as the initial dose. Most likely 40+mg/day, which isn't a dose you would want to drop off from. Also if you leave after two weeks its unlikely you will be allowed back in.
basically you will just prolong the inevitable withdrawal...
If you leave a maintenance program after two weeks your last dose would be the same as the initial dose. Most likely 40+mg/day, which isn't a dose you would want to drop off from. Also if you leave after two weeks its unlikely you will be allowed back in.
basically you will just prolong the inevitable withdrawal...
szuko000
Bluelight Crew
It really makes me sad when people view methadone like that. I understand why people do but if your so hell bent on getting off it before your even on it you will not have an easy time recovering. It is vital that you understand this is going to take time and you need to trust that YOU will know when its time to come off. I have noticed in my recovery and even my g/f there comes a point where you feel like you dont need methadone and you are only getting it because it is a remnant of a past life and eventually that thought will make you get off of it or on the other hand you may realize you need to be on methadone for life I cant tell you what you will discover about yourself in recovery but I do know if you have preconceived notions of what recovery is for you, you may not fair too well, even if it is your second time around. From personal experience this is my second round of recovery, this one is taking longer then the first one and I COULD NOT do suboxone this round. I got clean off of 8 months of subs and stayed that way for 2 years sub and opiate free. Hell drug free but crack (lol) and weed but no opiates at all. Then i relapsed went harder then ever and suboxone would not help the cravings at all so i opted for methadone this round. Had I held the same notion i did "subs are the only way methadone is a life sentence" I probably wouldnt be clean and i got my g/f on methadone after i found out people dont know what they are talking about.
She owes her life to methadone. We have been together for about 6 years and i was clean for 2 years, she never got clean. We discovered opiates together after a year of IV dope i got on subs got clean and stayed taht way for 2 years total and she used the whole time. She had a bad reaction to subs and still took them for a month but stopped and thought she could never get clean. I stayed with her because i love her and shes above dope she just needed something and that was methadone. She went from a 300 dollar a week habit that was destroying us to a 0 dollar a week habit and having a great life. Because of methadone. She went to 90 in January and is at 20 now and they wont let her drop as fast as she wants. She is considering telling them to fuck off and never going back because she is strong enough now, because we havent thought about dope in 8 months. She is going to tell them she doesnt mind dropping by 3mg a week or every other week but they can not tell her "only 2mg every other week" I know she will be ok.
God if only i could show you what life was like before she went. How many times she cried saynig she would be a junkie forever and she should kill herself. How she was an emotional mess and now only 8 months later she is a strong confident individual. Her therapist nearly fell out of his chair when he saw her after 3 months. She went from 70lb to 110lb with muscle and more importantly a menstrual cycle she wears nice clothes and is trying to get a job.
Methadone saved my girlfriend and by extension it saved me. All I ever wanted was to know she could be safe if anything happened to me or that my tiny life insurance policy I got was split between my mom and her because as the only one with a job if i died she needed some money to hopefully save herself with all the things i worried about our future are now not even a concern. Please dont view methadone like a bad thing, if you could only see with your eyes what i have.
She owes her life to methadone. We have been together for about 6 years and i was clean for 2 years, she never got clean. We discovered opiates together after a year of IV dope i got on subs got clean and stayed taht way for 2 years total and she used the whole time. She had a bad reaction to subs and still took them for a month but stopped and thought she could never get clean. I stayed with her because i love her and shes above dope she just needed something and that was methadone. She went from a 300 dollar a week habit that was destroying us to a 0 dollar a week habit and having a great life. Because of methadone. She went to 90 in January and is at 20 now and they wont let her drop as fast as she wants. She is considering telling them to fuck off and never going back because she is strong enough now, because we havent thought about dope in 8 months. She is going to tell them she doesnt mind dropping by 3mg a week or every other week but they can not tell her "only 2mg every other week" I know she will be ok.
God if only i could show you what life was like before she went. How many times she cried saynig she would be a junkie forever and she should kill herself. How she was an emotional mess and now only 8 months later she is a strong confident individual. Her therapist nearly fell out of his chair when he saw her after 3 months. She went from 70lb to 110lb with muscle and more importantly a menstrual cycle she wears nice clothes and is trying to get a job.
Methadone saved my girlfriend and by extension it saved me. All I ever wanted was to know she could be safe if anything happened to me or that my tiny life insurance policy I got was split between my mom and her because as the only one with a job if i died she needed some money to hopefully save herself with all the things i worried about our future are now not even a concern. Please dont view methadone like a bad thing, if you could only see with your eyes what i have.