KarenInTexas
Greenlighter
I've a lifetime of addiction problems but right now I'm pretty excited about divorcing my husband of 12 years and moving to a fairly small (compared to Houston, TX) city on the Bodensee(most Americans have it on the map as Lake Constance but I lived in a town called Pfullendorf, West Germany 30 years ago and we called it the Bodensee just like everybody else that lives in the area does) named Uberlingen, Germany. The Bodensee divides Germany and Switzerland Anyway, I've been on Methadone Maintenance for 4 years I've dramatically lowered my dose but it's still up there at 160 mgs a day. I have a German friend that is going to help me out when I first arrive. We knew each other 30 years ago and after the invention of the internet we found each other. I am so freakin' excited about going! I asked her about getting Methadone and she said it's no problem but I don't know if she understands about Methadone Maintenance. She might just be thinking I take 10 mgs a day. I used to speak fluent German but it got a little rusty. And her English never was too good. Well, it's not suppose to be since I was in HER country, she was not in MINE. I was nervous enough telling her that I take Methadone daily. When we hung out together I just drank a WHOLE LOT of German beer. That was 1979-1982 or 83. Naturally I don't drink anymore because it doesn't go too good with Methadone. Or at least that is what I was told. the question I have is: Do they have MMT clinics in Uberlingen? I can't find anything about Methadone clinics in Germany. THAT is not a good sign! I definitely don't want that other stuff. what's it called? Darn. It's a narcotic antagonist so if I take it, it will put me into withdrawal. It's more common now and regular physicians give it out but you don't get that little bit of a high. I'll remember the name in a minute. I'm leaving my car here(in Texas- I'm selling it) so I don't think I can go too far. I'm flying into Zurich, Switzerland,because it's actually closer to Uberlingen than the next closest airport in Germany which is probably Stuttgart, which is about 2 hours. so maybe they have Methadone treatment centers in Switzerland. I went to my clinic yesterday and showed them my plane e-ticket and they started to make out my transfer paperwork and asked me the name of the clinic I would be transferring to. I was like "uh...I don't know". I sounded like a bloody idiot!Oh, I remember the name of the other drug. It's Suboxone. I definitely do NOT want Suboxone! I found some information on something in Europe called Levomethadone. What the heck is that? It sounded a little too much like Suboxone. I actually have a science degree and took a year of pharmacology. (You know I "Aced" that one with my eyes closed!) but the chemistry got a little too complex for my brain. I can, without a doubt, tell the difference in my memory (much worse) while taking Methadone. However, since I lowered my dose from 320mg, I feel like a whole new person! I don't feel like lowering it anymore right now. I also have been taking Xanax for about 3 years but only about 30 mg a day. I actually had a panic attack and had a heart attack! the problem was not because I'm not healthy. My blood pressure, cholesterol, weight everything is perfect. I work out at the gym 4-5 days a week for 1-2 hours and I have not eaten "fast food" since the 80"s. Except Subway. I eat the Veggie or the Turkey with no oil or Mayo. I still wear the same size clothes as junior high school. I had the heart attack because I was born with a congenital defect. There is an artery that is suppose to go around my heart but I was born with it going THROUGH the center of my heart and it becomes very narrow in the center. I always had heart palpitations when I would run long distances or on the gymnastics team in high school but I never knew why. So when I had the panic attack, my heart was beating so fast that it closed off the oxygen to part of my heart. Fortunately one of my daughters is an EMT and she saw me. My signs were unusual. Naturally it was extremely painful in the center of my chest and it would come and go. but I was also VERY dizzy and nauseous so I was laying on the bathroom floor next to the toilet thinking I needed to vomit but nothing would come up. she said all she knew about hearts was to give aspirin. Since her son (my grandson) was only 2 years old, all we had was liquid aspirin so I drank it down and the cardiologist said that probably saved my life. Since the rapid heartbeat was keeping the artery closed my red blood cells got sticky and started sticking together to close it off completely, even after the panic attack was over. The anticoagulant in the aspirin broke up the platelets- and here I am to tell the story! Since I drank it so early in the attack the reaction is called "stunned" my heart, so all the damage was repaired by my own healthy body. He wanted to put in a shunt but since it's in the center of my heart and I'm very healthy, he said it's better to just leave it. I asked him if there was anything I should do and he said "No, you are my healthiest heart attack patient I've had in 30 years!" Just take a baby aspirin every day.
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