Methadone question

[Formula382]

Does taking low dose methadone for pain relief lower your tolerance to other pain medications?

I currently take 2-40mg op's and 6-8 Roxie 30's per dAy for back pain. When I run short before my next fill, I take methadone, 10mg twice a day.

If I were to stay on the dines for a month, will my oxy tolerance be lowered, or does the methadone just add to it? I recently posted about some side effects i was experiencing. They have pretty much all gone away. Other than a couple of aches, I'm doing ok on the low dose methadone listed above.

 

[Escapedysphoria]

Methadone is a full agonist opioid and will only maintain a tolerance. I've heard things such as very very low dosages of Naloxone, NMDA antagonists such as ketamine and DXM.

 

[effie]

Methadone is an opioid like oxy etc, and it's a full agonist so what it does to your tolerance depends on how much you are taking. If you take a reduced equivalent dose, your tolerance will go down (but not much, especially if it's not much lower and it's only for a month) where as if you take a higher dose your tolerance will go up. If you take the same equivalent dose it will stay the same.

20mgs meth is roughly equal to 40 - 80mgs of oxycodone according to this conversion chart, so that's less than you were taking in terms of oxycodone but converting is an approximate science and if you didn't feel withdrawals then it must have been around the same equivalency. The other thing about methadone is it has a much longer half life than oxycodone and in some people it accumulates a little over time, meaning your daily blood levels are a little higher than your daily dose would suggest.

Glad low-dose methadone is working for you - it is gaining popularity as a pain killer here in the UK

edit: ninja'd by Ed!

 

[paper planes]

in my personal experience it messes with my tolerance a little maybe its because it has a long half life..but most ppl i know dont like methadone but i do

 

[debbbideb]

It does for me for sure. Annoying but i still love Methadone for it's other benefits.
I have another methadone question. I am now on 70 a day and know that alcohol is a no no. I drink everyday sadly... like one or two...but it scares me. I have done really bad things to my body (drugs/booze)in the past, but this seems to worry me so much. maybe i'm getting old. my question is... when they say mixing the two will put you to sleep for ever..how many do you guys think is too many..is 2 or 3 shots cool?

 

[Pjkt2501]

I usually take ~1mg bupe a day to keep happy, coming from a 30-75mg/day roxy habit (I did taper a bit).

20mg methadone had me "where I wanted to be" - 10mg was underwhelming.

 

[TheLostBoys]

I have a low tolerance & usually take 30 to 40mgs of vicodin a day for back pain with 200mgs of tramadol added in. I can take 2.5mgs of Methadone (yes, thats very low) & it does wonders for my back & last forever..............I dont do it to get high, just to take the pain away & it does the job..............

 

[rocketqueen]

My understanding is that methadone is cross-tolerant to all opioids. So, no. In some cases I think methadone potentates other opioids, particularly if you are not fully tolerant to it (methadone). Methadone is special though, and has some very peculiar pharmacokinetic properties, the biggest one being tolerance. You will always get high on a banger of heroin. Once acclimated, you will NOT be getting high on methadone.

 

[rocketqueen]

It does for me for sure. Annoying but i still love Methadone for it's other benefits.
I have another methadone question. I am now on 70 a day and know that alcohol is a no no. I drink everyday sadly... like one or two...but it scares me. I have done really bad things to my body (drugs/booze)in the past, but this seems to worry me so much. maybe i'm getting old. my question is... when they say mixing the two will put you to sleep for ever..how many do you guys think is too many..is 2 or 3 shots cool?

No, not cool. Methadone and alcohol mix as well as methadone and benzos. Which is to say your chances of waking up dead are pretty good when you abuse both (or, God help you, all three). Of course, most of us are addicts and risk taking is all part of the "fun."