Opioids Methadone dosing frequency

[marienbad]

I've been doing methadone recreationally recently, no more than twice a week. What I'm wondering is, how many days is ideal to wait after doing it before dosing again? I took 20mg Saturday afternoon and then another 2.5mg Saturday night (yeah, was kind of pointless lol) and was thinking about doing some again tomorrow afternoon. I'm not noticeably high or anything anymore from Saturday's dose, but I know the stuff stays in the body a long time. I just want to keep clear of using it too close together so as to not cause any withdrawals. Like, when I do heroin or opana I always make sure to have a clean day in between uses. But methadone lasts much longer than those drugs. Is two "clean" days in between uses enough? I've done this once in the past, and everything was fine, but that was a lower dose, like 15mg. Typically I have three (if not more) days between uses. Thanks.

 

[Jabberwocky]

This is a graph for the half life of methadone after, I believe, you're first dose. It changes as you history with it evolves though, unless you were to take it like once a year or something...

See: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83491


apparently the half life of methadone is something like 15-60 hrs. So you could probably get by with two clean days between use, but you're better off (in terms of not letting it build up in your system) by taking more like 3-4 days off it in between doses. Say, take three days twelve hours off between doses.

Then again, if you were REALLY anal and wanted to be super duper sure you don't build up a tolerance, we're talking it using it no more often than once every six days. Since six is so close to seven, you might as well just take it once a week.

Methadone was the 1st opioid I ever had (okay, I was a freshman in college and didn't even know what I was taking, I just asked my roommate for something that would fuck me up and he gives me this without explaining anything except, "only take half"...), and I took it about weekly my first semester in college as a freshman. 10mg/week fuuuuuuuuucked me up. Each and every time.

 

[Trinity421]

You'll be alright. wait 72 hours after your last methadone dose if you wana be sure

 

[Miss Kirsty]

toothpastedog is spot on...I would do it once a week...I have just watched someone close to me get pretty addicted to my done...it was real easy to start using it more and more frequently....MSO (my significant other) just spent a month detoxing off it, and it was pretty fucking shitty...He was only having a slug outta the bottle, so i dont know what dose he was addicted to, but it only took him 3 months and he was pretty fucked up on it...As soon as he realised he was addicted to it, he stopped cold turkey and got all the withdrawal symptoms except vomiting and the runs..His first and last intro to RLS he says!

 

[marienbad]

hey thanks for the replies everyone. I know I'm playing with fire, basically I'm just curious (for my situation as well as just future reference or w/e) whether doing methadone say on Saturday and then on Tuesday and then on Friday is likely to cause any withdrawals after ceasing use for a wwhile after Friday. Like, doing heroin everyday for more than two days will get me withdrawals. But what about methadone, how many repeated uses in a certain time period will do it. That's basically what I want to know.

 

[mrflowers00]

a lot of addicts go to clinics that give them methadone once every morning i did it and it was fine i actually would have rather had it twice a day but thats just me

 

[Jabberwocky]

Methadone was my very first opioid. I found I experienced w/d like symptoms after using is consecutively two or three days in a row. But I was rather opioid naive, so I don't know. I would think that some could use it up to a week straight before they experience severe acute w/d symptoms, but others like me would only need to take it two or three days before they stated to feel w/ds after cessation of use.

That answer your question OP?

 

[marienbad]

Methadone was my very first opioid. I found I experienced w/d like symptoms after using is consecutively two or three days in a row. But I was rather opioid naive, so I don't know. I would think that some could use it up to a week straight before they experience severe acute w/d symptoms, but others like me would only need to take it two or three days before they stated to feel w/ds after cessation of use.

That answer your question OP?

I don't know, but thanks anyway. I think maybe there isn't really a solid answer to my question. Like you say, it's completely different for everyone. I seem to get withdrawals from opiates more easily than the average person, though I'm not sure whether doing methadone every other 2 days instead of daily is enough to do it after a few uses... tough to say.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Using methadone every other two days is going to allow it to significantly build up in your system so that upon cessation you will going into withdrawal. Might take a while to build up, say a two-three weeks of taking it every other two days, but it certainly will over time. This is thanks to the drug's looooong half life.

Good luck (now I understand your question btw )!

 

[marienbad]

heh, thanks! Yeah, that makes sense. I think my fear of withdrawal outweighs even my love of opiates, so I'm going to put a wrench in this every-other-2-days thing after today's use. 3 times shouldn't kill me.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Naw, not at all. Enjoy it while it lasts!!!

But like I started out by saying, if you want to make a realistic schedule for using methadone but avoiding w/d, you really have to limit your use to no more than once a week. The problem with that is that frankly, for 99% of people out there, this just isn't realistic when it comes to recreational use of drugs that are as addictive as opioids. Such certainly is possible, as many chronic pain patients can attest to, but then again they're not using the opioid for its recreational effects... Takes a very unusually self willed type of individual to be able to maintain taking an opioid as strong as methadone once a week and not fall into the vicious circle of dependency and withdrawal, you know?

Anyways, glad to have figured this out with you OP! Again, enjoy yourself

 

[marienbad]

Agreed, yeah. I was pretty much using done once a week, at most; it's only this past week when I changed that. But it feels wrong, it's just not a good idea -- and in addition to withdrawals and everything, the high is just not as amazing when you just experienced it the other day as it is when you haven't been high in a week or more. So once a week is definitely a good way to go.

Thanks for your help.

 

[BananasAndOranges]

This is why I preach to those who think methadones good for getting high. It made me puke my fucking brains out of ct on 30mgs for Maybe 3 months. It didn't take long. Methadone is synthetic. Its super addicting because it relieves all your opiate addiction problems at the proper dose. If I could go back in time I would have never did some of the stupid moves I made nor would I have got back on methadone but my habit wasnt really small by any means. Now I feel like hell after like 7 hours after dosing most days and yes I do metabolize fast and it causes me to get a little warm and sedated two hours after I dose but thats not why I am on it. Its a maintenance drug and had it been used as one us ex junkies would not be stuck in the handcuffs of a system. Im so glad I only go two times a week as of next week. For someone on MMT thats like a fucking miracle. Yes once a month if you must but seriously try not at all. I think the intoxicated state it can leave you in is very forced and unlike morphine its not as forgiving. Morphine is the ONLY drug , that and fent, that I can compare intoxication from methadone like but its not fun nor is it safe and like I said because of misuses in the 90s this is why we cannot just get months supplies at pharmacies for opiate addiction. Be Careful.

 

[lazylazyjoe]

In general, you know it's too close together when you start getting WD and feel like you must use. I'd say about 3 or 4 days would be a good amount to wait. If you're dosing on consecutive days, give your self a week.
Methadone is too long acting for a "weekend warrior". Unless you really don't want anything else, or have no access, try a shorter acting opioid. Only good thing about methadone is it gives you alot of bang for your buck.

 

[Znegative]

Methadone was my very first opioid. I found I experienced w/d like symptoms after using is consecutively two or three days in a row. But I was rather opioid naive, so I don't know. I would think that some could use it up to a week straight before they experience severe acute w/d symptoms, but others like me would only need to take it two or three days before they stated to feel w/ds after cessation of use.

That answer your question OP?

Tis makes sense since even though you stopped after a couple of days, there was still methadone built up in your system, so for the next couple days WITHOUT taking it, your body still had the 'done attached to your receptors (almost as if you were still taking it, just at continually lower dosages). Long acting opiates and benzo's are the ends that seem to build up tolerance the quickest.

 

[Jabberwocky]

^Yup, I remember sitting in one of my uni's cafeterias, still SUPER strung out one day four (after using 10mg once a day for each of the three previous days) and having to run over to the corner and uncontrollably projectile vomit up everything I'd just eaten... not fun. Lol, but it still, such an experience with my first opioid didn't stop me from becoming a full blown addict. As naive as I was, at the time I had no idea what was going on (I mean, yea, I realized it was the methadone, but given my mental state at the time I wasn't exactly with it). Funny how that works, huh...

 

[Znegative]

Yep, for some reason prolonged use of heroin always ends up with me in the ICU due to severe asthma attacks. It's strange because I never had that problem from other opioids/opiates. I always figured it was the cut or perhaps heroin's histamine release effected me more strongly than say, oxycodone. I eventually started to dose myself with prednisone after I had been on a dope run for a while, to try and prevent the inevitable asthma (playing the pharmacist again)

However, it didn't stop me. When you're addicted it's easy to push those kinds of dangers out of your mind. If you're lucky enough to live through them enough though, you can be at least smarter about how you use.. I personally hope to not touch heroin again. I slipped up recently (past two weekends have binged on dope), and I'd really rather use pharmaceutical narcotics if I go back to opiates again.

 

[Jabberwocky]

However, it didn't stop me. When you're addicted it's easy to push those kinds of dangers out of your mind.

Amazing how this works, absolutely. And it certainly makes sense that that issue you mentioned landing you in the ICU could have been caused by a histamine reaction. I also experienced something like that, but it didn't present itself till I was shooting dope in Boston. But that's another story, for another thread

I too, a couple months ago, "intentionally" relapsed. But the whole process, having to deal with certain people (as I wanted the best possible dope), jump through certain hoops, and, even though I got a great price, it was still money I didn't truly want to spend (much less could afford)... It all just fucking sucked - the worst part being I didn't even need to put myself through this in the first place.

And of course since bupe was still in my system, even though this was a couple grams of some very high quality dope, I still barely felt it. What I did feel, I don't know. Being fucked up and nodding on heroin just isn't worth it any more.

These days, thank Dog, I'd much, MUCH rather catch my little buzz everyday from suboxone than do all that just to use something that has (unfortunately I still believe this has more to do with the social consequences than the actual drug use...) already brought me to my knees, more than once. It's just not fucking worth it.

I have too much to gain by staying the course, and too much to lose by doing otherwise. It's as simple as that single sentence.

Lol so much for saving that for a more appropriate thread

 

[Znegative]

Yeah man, bring it over to Drug Culture, we don't see muc of you over there

Anyway, with drugs like methadone or buprenorphine, I'd say using once a week is the most sure fire way to not raise your tolerance (and you can't be using other narcotics either). I'm pretty sure with bupe, it actually takes 12 days for the body to eliminate any trace of the drug, and I imagine it would be similar with methadone, so if you really want to get back to baseline, use 2x a month, and you can probably get away with using some weaker opioids too (hydrocodone comes to mind)

 

[thelung]

Have you thought about starting at a methadone clinic for methadone maintenance therapy (MMT)? If you're using regularly it might be an idea...i'm just throwing it out there. BUT, if you can detox yourself from the methadone by all means DO THAT INSTEAD - you don't want the ball-and-chain that comes with MMT. Best of luck to you. THELUNG