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Methadone/Suboxone switch

4thDimension

4thDimension

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 6, 2010
Messages
38
Location
Sydney
Hey guys I am currently in hospital detoxing from methadone. I have been on methadone for 4 months and have reduced from 55mgs to 20mgs in ten days. Now my doctor wants me to switch to suboxone and then start tapering down the sub until opiate free. I on the other hand am thinking of just keeping the methadone reduction going until I am methadone free. My doctor tells me coming off the last of the methadone is the hardest and that switching to suboxone and reducing that is much easier.

Can someone please give me some advice on what course of action I should take. I feel so close to being free of the methadone but am a little scared of the horrific effects of reducing the methadone.

Thanks guys,

Jimbo.
 
Yep do what your doctor says.

my heroin using friends refuse to go near methadone let alone go on the program on fact of the withdrawals from large doses of methadone cause. Take your doctors word that if its going to hurt its gonna hurt.

now just make sure you don't abuse the bupe. Bupe is, apparently, a quite affective analgesic.
 
Methadone has a prolonged withdrawal, some heroin addicts, I've read about, say no fucking way to methadone, and go straight to Subuxone. Buprenorphine in combination with naloxone is an effective way of treating opioid dependency issues, Just don't stay on the shit for years and years, otherwise you'll look back and realize what afucking idiotic move it was.

Listen to your doctor, he will probably give you a dosage of 12 mg buprenorphine,

Methadone is also an effective pain reliever to chugs.
 
I have decided to just keep tapering off of the methadone. I can't do a 48 hour withdrawal, it will absolutely wreck me and I don't have the stamina to do it. Also I get some nasty side effects from the suboxone. I will taper down and 5mgs per week and just pray that the withdrawals are not too bad.

I have also been having chronic constipation with the methadone. Is there anything I can do to get me going again. I have tried just about everything available and still cannot go.

Is the suboxone less constipating than the methadone?
 
4thDimension said:
I have also been having chronic constipation with the methadone. Is there anything I can do to get me going again. I have tried just about everything available and still cannot go.

Is the suboxone less constipating than the methadone?
Click to expand...

There are heaps of threads on opiate constipation here, as well as this megathread.

I found suboxone constipation to be pretty bad, so I don't see it being much different than methadone induced constipation.
 
I find bupe less constipating than methadone. If your still constipated and you've been dropping your dose for some time, this would could indicate that it's still a pretty decent sized dose (for you) doctors tend to overshoot your tolerance level rather than undershoot it, just to make sure you're comfortable and won't be tempted to go back to your opiate of choice. Some people are very surprised when they stop taking bupe or methadone and have a larger tolerance than they did going in.

With suboxone the lowest dose is 2mg, and it's tricky to split in half let alone into quarters. With methadone I'm guessing you could get the dose smaller much more easily.

The less time you've been on the program the easier it'll be to get off...with the transition from methadone to bupe taking a little while, you'd probably just be better slowly removing the methadone like you're doing IMO.
 
4thDimension said:
Hey guys I am currently in hospital detoxing from methadone. I have been on methadone for 4 months and have reduced from 55mgs to 20mgs in ten days. Now my doctor wants me to switch to suboxone and then start tapering down the sub until opiate free. I on the other hand am thinking of just keeping the methadone reduction going until I am methadone free. My doctor tells me coming off the last of the methadone is the hardest and that switching to suboxone and reducing that is much easier.

Can someone please give me some advice on what course of action I should take. I feel so close to being free of the methadone but am a little scared of the horrific effects of reducing the methadone.

Thanks guys,

Jimbo.
Click to expand...

My old man has been in your boots before,hes sitting here telling me what to type.He tried to do what your thinking of doing.Then he got right down to about 1mg of methadone then stoped.Then he had the worst WD's of his life witch lasted about 9 weeks he said it was total hell on par with smack WD's.He comming off it makes you wanna use soooo bad for the 9 weeks of WD's.
The 2nd time he got addicted to smack he went on the methadone program and tapered himself down to 20mg and then was advide to switch over to sub.He says the first week of changing over is pretty uncomftable but then once you stablise yourself on dose of sub then its much easyer to drop down week by week.Then once you finnaly come off sub you do get a lil bit of WD's for maybe 2-3 weeks max but these WD's are nothing compaird to methadone....sorry about me spellin lil bit highhhhh
 
As far as constipation goes, I'm on 24mg of bupe and while I go to the bathroom less often than I do sober, and it takes longer when I do, it's never been near bad enough to cause a problem.

I've never withdrawn from either so I can't give any advice there.

now just make sure you don't abuse the bupe. Bupe is, apparently, a quite affective analgesic.
Click to expand...

You can't really abuse bupe a whole lot with a decent opiate tolerance. Injecting high doses will give you horrible precipitated withdrawals (with suboxone anyway, which I'm assuming is what we're discussing), and even increasing your sublingual dose will only increase your mood a bit.

I find bupe works adequately as an analgesic and it tingles the opioid receptors enough that I don't crave other opiates all day, but it's definitely not getting me high. I do occasionally pop an extra 8mg a few hours after my initial dose and have a more relaxing afternoon, but even then it's just a bit of a mood boost, no real intoxication.
 
I just still don't know what the hell to do! I think just tapering down the methadone until zero is the most straight forward way. Switching over to suboxone then I have to ween of that junk. I am just a bit of a pussy when it comes to withdrawals and I am currently in a psych hospital for extreme anxiety so how the hell could I go 48 hours without my methadone for the bup transfer?

I was under the impression that once I get to 5 mgs of methadone I could then just jump off. I have only been on the done for 4 months, I mean how bad could it be?

I am already hospitalized for mental issues so this is a very difficult decision for me. However, I am always of the opinion that the most straight forward option is the best option.

I really appreciate all your help guys, it's amazing that I am getting better advice from you all than the doctors here at the clinic!

Either way I feel as though I am fucked. It is messing with my mind and I need help
 
If you think going 48 hours off methadone till you swap to subs will be hard, how hard is going to be just jumping right off? It sounds like you're in a situation where you want as little stress as possible, so why not take it slowly?
 
You are already getting down a very low dose of methadone. Personally, if I were also in hospital and facing this choice I might go with very slowly tapering down the rest of the methadone and then seeing how I go with whatever withdrawals come. This would probably just be so that I could get off it, but in your own situation you may feel differently and given that you are trying to get mentally well you want to make sure you are not adding extra stress that is avoidable. Have you talked to your doctor about what treatments they will make available to you for easing the withdrawal? Getting off at a low enough dose combined with the right medications can make handling it a lot easier.

I agree with Crankinit, take it slowly and try and relax. See what support is available to you and let us know. :)
 
48 hours without methadone at the dose your at is not that bad at ALL.. methadone has a VERY long halflife, W/D's dont even realy start until 48hours without the drug. Problem is with people like you that have it built up so much in there heads that its going to be SOOOO BAD, the anxiety youre building up on your own is going to make it very hard for you to ever get off the stuff..

as far as dude saying his dad went through 9weeks of withdrawl, thats utter bullshit, i dont mean to call you a liar but if you say you were w/ding for 9weeks youre a liar...

Taper down slowely til youre at 1mg then go to .5 mg, stay at .5 mg as long as you need to and then when theyre stronger mentally, try going off it. I can tell you are not strong enough or anywhere CLOSE to strong enuf mentally to do this at this moment in tinme.
 
^ I tapered from 140mg to 15mg within 5 months and spent the bulk of it feeling like i was in mild withdrawal, it was hell, now im on 20mg bupe, feeling alive again, fuck methadone to hell unless you're coming off some habit 32mg bupe can reach. Cannot stress enough how much better i feel now lol.
 
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