Opioids Maybe a dumb question but I'm curious...

[EP158207]

So, imagine someone is a heroin addict. Then they decide they are tired of being an addict and want to come off the drug. They can then take methadone and function normally (I assume?). Why do they then try to come off the methadone? Why not use it as maintenance for the rest of their lives? I have actually met a man (through work) who has been taking methadone for 10 years or so and doesn't seem like he will taper, and he hasnt used in that amount of time. why aren't more people doing this?

I'm just asking based on all the threads I see here. I mean I have asthma, and I take an inhaler everyday to control the asthma. So why not take methadone as I would the inhaler to prevent withdrawals, why go through w/d if they are as bad as people say they are?

Edit: the only downside I see is that many strong painkillers wont work on you, but there are always alternatives to opiate painkillers.

 

[sekio]

Methadone has side effects in some people, also people don't like going to the clinic every day/weekend to get their fix.

If you want to move/vacation somewhere methadone is illegal, there's a little bit of a problem there too.

 

[f33lg00d]

Some people don't like being addicted to opioids. I agree though people should have the option to be addicted to anything they want, the main difference between heroin and methadone is legality imo.

 

[Ziggy stardust]

It is a hassle to be tied to a clinic. I was on meth 12 yrs, but it did interfer with my travel plans and I just didn't want to take anything physically addictive any longer. I got 28 take homes a month, but it took yrs to get granted that.
There really are few places you can't take meth...some parts of Africa and Russia.
It's certainly better than the dope life, but if you can avoid it I would..
Plus its like $260 a month at my old clinic. Money saved!

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

I mean.. some people stay on it for the rest of their lives.. but most people don't like the idea of being dependent on an opiate, any opiate, for the rest of their life ya know? It's not really an appealing idea.

So, they want to use the methadone as a crutch for a little while so they can build a better life, learn how to stay sober by developing ways to deal with cravings, etc, and then come off slowly and be opiate free.

For most people, the end goal of any maint med, is to be totally opiate free eventually.

 

[f33lg00d]

Withdrawal isn't the illness like asthma. Opioid abuse imo is the symptom of underlying mental illness, so you're only covering up the problem instead of treating it. So people including myself believe that some peoples depression is caused by endorphin deficiency, but full mu agonists overcompensate for any sort of natural deficiency; so I think for some people a partial agonist like low dose suboxone is one of the best antidepressants for people. I personally found suboxone the best for my mental health but can't find it on the streets atm and am scared and embrassed to goto the doctor and admit to my family the extent of my drug problems (they're so naive when they caught me stealing oxy from a parent after a major surgery they believed I was selling just for weed, ik I'm a horrid person). Kratoms good too but it's more expensive and doesn't last as long and more often gives me recreational feelings.