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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Jumping off methadone at 5mg. Withdrawal questions/advice

M

mastab423

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Messages
16
I've been on Methadone for the past 7 months and am about to go into withdrawal. I'm wondering if members can share experiences or advice with me in order to make this time easier for me. I've never been through withdrawal so I'm really nervous about it. In the next paragraph I'll share the details of my treatment.

I've been on methadone since January. I started at 10mg and went up to 40mg before I weaned myself down to 10mg again. About 2 weeks ago I was on 10mg. I am currently taking 5mg daily and am experiencing stomach cramps and severe sweats at night. I have 6-7 5mg doses left and am debating whether to take them or to stop right now. I am currently taking 300mg of wellbutrin daily and haven't experienced very much depression at all but have a history of depression. Depression, Restless Leg, and stomach cramping is what Im mos worried about. I'm 23 and will be withdrawing at home with the support of my parents. They want to avoid me going to see a doctor, but are willing to buy me any herbs/otc medication/ supplements that will help me. I have access to a small amount of xanax (about 5-6mg) and about 4mg of Ativan. I have Clonidine as well. (I've never had a problem with benzo's, in fact I really dislike how out of control benzos make me so I'm not concerned about developing a psychological dependence to them)

Im looking for information such as: How long should my withdrawal last? What will be the worst part? What can I take to make it better? When should I take my xanax? How can I help the stomach cramps, nausea, Restless leg, bone/muscle pain? Any and all information you can provide to me would be really awesome. As I said before, I'm really nervous about this so I want to learn all that I can about it before I jump off.

Thanks in advance for your stories and advice.

Brad

PS Suboxone isn't an option for me. Methadone withdrawal is eminent.
 
Well aren't you the lucky duck. I had to give up Methadone at 195mg/day cold turkey. I cried myself to sleep (who am I kidding, I didn't sleep for a month) every night. You're only on 5mg, stop being a fucking pussy and jump off it. You have the benzos, you have the clonidine, you have the family support. Just do it. Not to be a dick, but sometimes you need that push, you know?
 
Well uhh thanks. That was completely unhelpful. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that, I don't need a push as I'll run out in 5 days anyway. Additionally you successfully answered 0 questions relating to my post and offered absolutely no encouragement or advice. Good job though. You have surely suffered through a horrifying, traumatic experience. Because YOUR experience was so horrible, it must then follow that mine will be, relatively speaking, a walk in the park. I shouldn't worry at all.. Oh wait, the world doesn't work that way... My suffering is relative only to my own previous suffering so, unfortunately, your extreme pain doesn't make my moderate pain any less moderate. Ill still suffer and while it won't be near as badly as you did, it will seem bad to me and I'd still like advice as to how I can make it less shitty. Again, thank you for contributing nothing to my forum.
 
Methadone w/d's aren't as intense as, say, heroin w/d's, but can be even more difficult because they w/d symptoms last alot longer. I was on 'done for about 5 years, and quit cold turkey at 100mg. The withdrawals, even though they weren't super intense, lasted for months. I heard numerous people who were patients at the same clinic say that it doesnt matter if you jump off at 100mg or 5mg, it still sucks.

you asked: How long should my withdrawal last? What will be the worst part?
I can't answer those, but you will discover the answers to those questions yourself.

>What can I take to make it better? When should I take my xanax?

You have some benzos, and clonodine. The benzos will relieve the tension and anxiety that is part of methadone w/d . I would wait until I absolutely NEED a benzo to retain my sanity before i took any. The clonodine i would take at the first sign of heart palpitations/chills, as the clonodine does a very good job at keeping those annoying symptoms at bay. If you have a limited supply of benzos/clonodine, then I would wait until absolutely necessary to take them. The w/d's can last for months. Conserve your comfort meds. Let your family help. Try to eat as regular as possible. Try your best to sleep, if you can't sleep, at least go through the motions of it to give your body some rest, at least. Just try to take it easy. The w/d's can be difficult, but if I did it, you can too.
I hear diphenhydramine (benadryl) helps with RLS, but I don't personally know as RLS has never been a problem for me.
Theres no reason to be nervous or scared, as that isn't going to help, you just gotta nut up and do this. When it's all over, you'll be glad you did it.
good luck to you.
 
:What can I take to make it better?

I want to echo the previous poster's comments about taking the xanax (or other benzos) only when you need them. Also, are you able to get more/different benzos? Valium or Klonopin are much better, as they are longer slower acting and have a much longer half life, so they stay in your body longer. Both Ativan and Xanax are short-acting benzos.

There have been some good suggestions, but one that has been missed is LOPERAMIDE (Immodium)! Take at the first sign of "loose-stools" or honestly, even before, but after you go off the 'dones. Go to the drug store and get the BIGGEST BOTTLE they have of the generic version (it'll be half the price of brand-name Immodium). I mean, honestly, you have to listen to your body, as I took double the dose, then triple the dose and was still running to the bathroom every 5 minutes. So basically, take them until you don't have to go dashing to the bathroom but at the same time, don't take so much that you'll constipate yourself (although this will be pretty tough to do during a long withdrawl) This symptom is more annoying than painful or scary. Loperamide is great (it used to be a subscription drug), just listen to your body until it adjusts, and then slowly stop taking them. HINT: Load up them at NIGHT as you won't be awake to take more, and that can produce issues...lol. This is assuming you sleep through the night, which may or may not happen.

Other supplements/things you can take to lessen WD's:
- L-Tyrosine, it is a precursor to Dopamine and should help with depression/sluggishness. Take on an empty stomach. Also, start slow with it, as you are already taking Wellbutrin. (More on this later)
- A good multivitamin. This will help with all the nutrients your body loses naturally and actually does make you feel a bit better. Think of it as an "insurance plan" for your nutrition.
- Melatonin. This should help you sleep through the night. Get a timed release version, if possible.
- Bonine (Meclizine). This is one you don't see suggested everywhere, but I think it's one of the best kept secrets for opiate WD's. A friend, who is a Pharmacist suggested it to me and it worked really well, especially for an OTC med. If you can get your hands on the prescription Ondansetron, that's even better, but I don't know if that's possible (it's not a controlled substance, btw)
- Gatorade/Water: Anything to hydrate you after your nightsweats, or sprints to the bathroom. I would wake up parched and down a whole quart of Gatorade. Actually, I'd urinate very little too, which told me again that I was dehydrated and needed it.
-Potassium, Magnesium: Should help with muscle soreness and restless leg, as the magnesium is supposed to be calming.

There are a lot of herbs/supps/meds that I could keep listing, but I picked my favorites :) The last option is, you mentioned you had some 5 mg pills... what about splitting them and going down to 2.5 mg for a bit? I'm not saying DON'T stop taking methadone, you do want to get on and off those meds as quickly as you can, but if you're not comfortable even at 5 mgs, taking 2.5 mgs could be a bit of a psychological safety net as well as mitigating the severity of the WDs.

Hope this helps! I may post more in a bit, after a little research :)
The last thing
 
On Wellbutrin....

I wanted to double-check my facts before I suggested this, but I'm thinking that if you don't have any issues with depression, and you're worried about hypertension/being jittery/the sweats, you may want to lower to dose, or possibly eliminate it.
(IMPORTANT NOTICE: I'm NOT a doctor, this is just my personal opinion. I'm making this suggestion with some of my own personal experience with Wellbutrin combined with the information I've read).

Wellbutrin acts as a mild stimulant along with it's anti-depressant properties, so this is something you'd probably want to avoid. Chemically it's closely related to amphetamine, and while this doesn't mean much on it's own, it's properties mimic an "amphetamine light." The SSRIs (Lexapro, Celexal, Paxil, Prozac) have been shown to be slightly better with anxiety and depression ^ Papakostas GI, Stahl SM, Krishen A, Seifert CA, Tucker VL, Goodale EP, Fava M (August 2008). "Efficacy of bupropion and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of major depressive disorder with high levels of anxiety (anxious depression): a pooled analysis of 10 studies"

(I hope the link works, but I'm a Greenlighter and I'm not sure I can post links yet. Either way, I wanted to cite something at least). Also, the drug is not prescribed if the patient is experiencing high blood pressure or heart rate, which are again common opiate WD symptoms. Also, the fact that the drug is often used off label for cocaine addiction should tell you it is a substitute for stimulants, and thus, might make your nervous/anxious symptoms worse.

Again, I'm not a doctor, but I believe this could help you. There is no harm in cutting down your dose, if you can. The fact that Wellbutrin acts as a minor stimulant combined with the fact that you said your depression wasn't bad would lead me to suggest this. Perhaps ask your doctor, or whomever is scripting the Wellbutrin for you to switch to you an SSRI for this period of time.

Hope all this helps, and good luck! We've all been there and even though it seems scary or nerve-wracking, you CAN get through this and come out the other side. Going slow with the meds is key, remember ;)

-SpinningFree
 
One suggestion I have is wait as long as you can bear it to take the xanax and ativan. Its probably a good thing to have as little as you do. It is enough to help but not enough to risk any chance of becoming dependent on them. I would wait to use them around day 3-7, which should be the worst. The one thing they are best for is sleep.

Now you say you have 6-7x 5 mg doses left..is it possible to wean down anymore? or skip days, like start taking them once every 2 days until you have 2-3 left, then taking every 3 days. It honestly might be a good idea to not have any left, because you don't want to get deep into the w/d and then pop one out of desperateness. Having them lying around when you are hurting real bad could end up being counter-productive. Also if they are around after you get through w/d, you don't want them there to temp you into using them, that is a relapse waiting to happen.

No reason suboxone should be an option, you got down to 5 mg of methadone for a reason, now its time to stop not replace it with another drug. Good luck
 
Day 3-7 is when it will start to get bad, methadone has a much longer half-life than most other opiods, which means the body will take longer to fully expel the drug from your system. Every individual metabolizes drugs differently as well, you may be faster or slower than others.

Clonodine will really help with sleeping, and you should have no problem getting that from any GP as it has absolutely no recreational value. Be careful with the immodium, while helpful for preventing the inevitable rapid bowel movements, it is still an opiod. The Xanax will help you when you most need it for a few hours, but it's not going to make everything peachy, it will make things slightly less hellish. Since you only have a very limited supply, take some whenever you need a short break from your stay in hell.

I wish I could offer more help, but I'm in a similar position, except there's no way I'm going through that agony again, at least for now.

Good luck.
 
mastab423 said:
well uhh thanks. That was completely unhelpful. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that, i don't need a push as i'll run out in 5 days anyway. Additionally you successfully answered 0 questions relating to my post and offered absolutely no encouragement or advice. Good job though. You have surely suffered through a horrifying, traumatic experience. Because your experience was so horrible, it must then follow that mine will be, relatively speaking, a walk in the park. I shouldn't worry at all.. Oh wait, the world doesn't work that way... My suffering is relative only to my own previous suffering so, unfortunately, your extreme pain doesn't make my moderate pain any less moderate. Ill still suffer and while it won't be near as badly as you did, it will seem bad to me and i'd still like advice as to how i can make it less shitty. Again, thank you for contributing nothing to my forum.
Click to expand...
... =d
 
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/569872-The-Opioid-Withdrawal-Megathread-and-FAQ

The link above has tons of advice and support that I think will answer a lot of your questions!
Look for the Thomas Recipe on here. I've heard wonderful things about it. I had some things on the recipe list but the rest I got at Walmart.
I wish you all the luck and health in the world. I am going to go through WD next week from Norco and I'm feeling exactly like you are.
Message me if you want to keep in contact, maybe we can offer each other support and information through it all.
 
I just jumped off 4 mgs 10 days ago and honestly klonopin's, phenergan, and weed helped me get through. Just go ahead and jump, I should have jumped weeks ago and waited thinking the withdrawal symptoms I was feeling at night would change or get better. Through the detox the only issues I had were dehydration/nausea. I had no RLS, some soreness, but it was surprisingly nothing like a heroin detox. I'd suggest taking benzo's when you need them for sleep or anxiety. I felt mild symptoms from day 1 and ended up in the hospital on day 4 for dehydration, and at day 10 I'm starting to feel better. But take enough benzo's and you'll forget you're even withdrawing.
 
I felt mild symptoms from day 1 and ended up in the hospital on day 4 for dehydration, and at day 10 I'm starting to feel better. But take enough benzo's and you'll forget you're even withdrawing.
Click to expand...

Day 10 and starting to feel better? Really? How long were you on methadone for if you don't mind me asking?
 
opi8 said:
Day 10 and starting to feel better? Really? How long were you on methadone for if you don't mind me asking?
Click to expand...

2 1/2 years tapering to 4mg. I mean the detox is longer, but its nothing like heroin withdrawal ct, unless you're jumping from a higher number. IMO I had a very easy withdrawal, minus the nausea and some insomnia. Benzo's, weed, pherengan, immodium, all live savers. You can't let what others say affect how you're going to feel during your detox. Be prepared for the worst but expect the best. Having a good attitude and getting out makes time fly fast.

Oh yeah and fucking thank god for music.
 
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