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Intervention for someone on Methadone Maintenance?

F

FattyAcid

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 27, 2005
Messages
217
So, I am a methadone maintenance patient, and have been for about a year. I got on methadone after countless attempts to get clean in a hundred different ways, and even if they worked, I'd always be back to it within a season.... So, after losing everything that I loved, the respect of family and friends, not to mention ridiculous amounts of money, I decided to get on methadone maintenance.

I decided NOT to inform my family of this choice. I am 25 years old, am not using their insurance on it, and don't require anything from them at all to keep going. I also knew that they'd be judgmental, as my father is an alcoholic that goes back and forth between being clean and not, and it's affected my family negatively in more than a hundred ways. My mother passed away in 2006, she was extremely clinically depressed, and had become heavily addicted to butorphanol, an atypical opiate that was prescribed to help her with her frequent, debilitating headaches ( I used to get her a PALLETS of 36 of bottles per week from the pharmacy....the bottles she was being given contained what were considered month supplies for patients), she was also prescribed to and took: cylert (can anyone fill me in?) and tons of what she called "equigesics" which I dont know what they were, but she would give them to me when I was in a lot of pain, but I dont think they were opiates, but she wouldn't give me many. My brother has never been addicted to anything besides marijuana, which does not impair his lifestyle at all, so he is so strongly against me being on anything because of what substances have already done to our family, so I've decided not to tell him for the time being, maybe when I am beyond stable and he has no "big brother" bullshit over me, we'll talk honestly about it.

So, an ex-girlfriend, an addict herself, and literally the only person close to me I told I was on methadone maintenance, took it upon herself to tell me brother, and I quote "he is still getting high and needs an intervention" I thought it was pretty crazy, I take my program and it's advantages such as counseling VERY seriously, and love the way they help me keep moving forward.

I understand I am not "clean"when I'm on methadone....but I am NOT getting high lol.... what do you guys think? especially those of you in a program....do you think an intervention would help?

I've kind of run out of things to say for now, but how A. would it make you feel if you told one person you're on methadone maintenance and to never, ever tell anyone because i trust her and want her to know, then, in the name of "getting me an intervention", told my family and B. If everthing that would be said at an intervention is already happening....they "have their son/brother back", i am happy and productive, and really am not hurting anyone being on methadone maintenance. It hurts her, I guess, because she has a hard time staying sober herself and wants me to admit i'm just as bad off? I REALLY DONT FEEL LIKE I AM.....


anyways, like I said, I meant for this to be somewhat of a conversation....what do my fellow BL'ers think>
 
Hey FattyAcid, this isn't really Other Drugs material.. I'm going to send this over to the Dark Side for you, as I think you'll get a lot better responses over there.

OD >>> TDS
 
I think that your ex is sticking her nose where she aughtn't. It isn't her place to decide whether your family knows about this, it's yours. Besides, it sounds like you have the right idea with the program, and as a result will likely succeed in the end. Besides, no reputable interventionist would do something for someone who is already in treatment; it's kind of redundant, you know.

That said, there are probably more than a few disreputable interventionists out there, and your family might decide to do this on their own <shudder>. If she's told your brother, then maybe you should talk to him about it before it gets out of hand. Explain how the program works, and how you will be able to get clean in time by using it. Speaking as an older brother, I can tell you that the dominant dynamic doesn't really fly once you're a proper adult. If he's reasonable then he should be supportive. Many people aren't though, when it comes to addiction, recovery and harm reduction.

Best of luck, and keep us posted.

:)
 
Recently on the show Intervention there was a girl named Michelle who had been on methadone for 8 years I think, after only using heroin for a few months. Now I see something wrong with that. Most people don't enjoy being on methadone for the long haul.

That being said, an intervention is a stupid idea, a slow comfortable taper with therapy or something like that would be much more effective. I'm kind of in the same boat, confided in my sister about my benzo addiction, she gets stressed out and randomly blurts it out to my family. Now I have no contact with my family and that sucks because I've been tapering from benzos for 2 months now (and really dedicating myself to quitting), it's not even like I'm fucked up all the time, in fact I'm never high from them. Since you aren't reliant on your family for financial support and you are doing your best to deal with addiction, i'd tell them to fuck off. My family just does not understand and since my sister fucked me over I can't even explain my situation. For me, the family issues make me want to relapse constantly, so someone outting you to your family without even explaining the whole situation is very damaging and an asshole thing to do. At least I know not to tell her anything again.

If I could I'd explain to my family that I'm trying my best to quit, sure i've fucked up in the past, but that's over now and am working towards a full recovery. I'd also not talk to your exgf for a long time, possibly forever. If you can somehow explain the whole situation and your family is open to hearing it then I think it can work out fine, it's not like you're any different than before your ex outted you.
 
I'm not sure if I understand properly if they are actually planning to do this intervention or if it is just a comment made by your ex-girlfriend. Yes it does seem like she is getting involved in something that is not her business. You asked if an intervention would help...what is there to help with? You say you are happy with the treatment approach that you have chosen and it sounds like it's working for you. You are not at all dependent on your family so they can't use that as leverage to make you do something that you don't want to do.

If my father and ex-girlfriend tried to initiate some sort of intervention on me while I'm being effectively treated and neither of them are sober themselves, I'd laugh in their faces and walk out. If they don't even take the time to speak to you and assess the reality of the situation, then what value do their opinions have? To me that just seems completely absurd and unacceptable.

Anyways, I hope you do what is best for you. Good luck whatever happens :)
 
To clear it up, she told my brother, via instant message, that " I was still on drugs and need an intervention", he in turn asked me

It's really, really, not her business. I am very pissed off..... she thinks she's helping me, but in reality, her problem with me being on methadone is she doesn't want to be on it, so it makes her uneasy when shes around it, so thinks nobody else should be in methadone treatment either.....meanwhile, she takes 2 milligrams of xanax every night for sleep
 
Ah, so you've spoken to your brother then? Sounds like reasonable heads have prevailed.

I have issues with interventions in general, in all but the most extreme cases. There are many different treatment options, and inpatient isn't the best fit for everyone. Stay the course, and you'll be clean in time!
 
My family treated me like a drug addict for the entire time that I was on bupe or methadone. These drugs affect everyone in different ways and I think it was difficult for them to compare my life on these drugs with my life beforehand. I constantly said 'it doesn't even get me high! it's doctor prescribed!' but despite being highly intelligent they just didn't care - they wanted the normal me back and thought I needed to suck it up.

In hindsight I have to say that I can totally understand their reaction. The distinction between methadone and heroin is 100% arbitrary. In many ways the former is alot more destructive. It's only now that I'm clean that I can see how truly, utterly, inconceivably fucked up my life was on maintenance.

(What I mean by that is that, although maintenance kept me from relapsing and to a degree allowed me to focus, I was still absolutely a drug addict; all I cared about was getting my dose, after that I just want to be alone to try and buzz to the limited degree I could. I neglected all relationships, lost all ambitions, became totally misanthropic, put on weight...I was basically a drug addicted recluse. So you need to compare the pros of maintenance (keeping you away from illicit drugs) with its harms (keeping you still essentially drug addicted).)
 
I wld get off the methadone, I know how so isn't as scary as most addicts think,
Ther are plants, herbs, and extracts that will get u off methadone, jst do some research,
U can thank me later :)
 
I don't intend on staying on methadone forever. And I certainly try and be much more social and productive while on maintenence, as I said, I work the program as much as I can.....

Like I said, too, I've detoxed many times, for months at a time, and always find myself going back to maintenance somehow or another.... I want to slowly taper while upping my natural endorphin flow, in fact, I planned to be cutting back right now, but don't need any other reason to slow me down, I am having problems elsewise that I am working on and if I detox now, will lose my focus on them, things that I think will help me maintain being sober later on
 
I feel really bad about lying to my brother, but like I said, I know exactly how every one of my family members feels about drugs, even maintenance, and he would not respect me, and I think that's bullshit, so I've decided to keep that from him
 
I can appreciate that. Some people just don't get anything other than 'Just Say No'. Keep staying the course, and you'll do well. Maybe sometime, after you've been clean for a few years, you can fill him in. For laughs if nothing else.
 
I did 21 day outpatient methadone detox after being addicted to opiates for over 11 years. I started with my first dose at 20mg, 2nd dose at 19mg, and so forth until on the 21st day I got no dose. It wasn't exactly fun. The first week I had headaches and my body hurt but it was no where near stopping cold turkey. I will admit I did not have the will power to taper myself down, so that's why I chose a facility that I had to go in every morning to get my dose and take it there. Don't be fooled by some of those clinics, most of them will try to get you on a maint program so they can collect more money.

Also, do not underestimate the power of theraphy or a support group. They have been a safe haven for me and many others in time of crisis.
Good Luck
 
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