Wow, that's rough. I can read between the lines on the post you made on 8-10-14. That is a for-profit methadone clinic (I mean which ones aren't?)... but honestly - I would've went to the suboxone. Tough decision though, but truthfully, methadone withdrawals are much, much worse than suboxone withdrawals. suboxone is more of a light physical and moderate mental withdrawal, while methadone is both heavy mental & physical withdrawal.
I'm not saying that suboxone won't give you bad w/d, because it will, if used in large amounts over a large amount of time... but, on the countrary - methadone will give you way, way worse withdrawal than suboxone, because methadone is stored all around your body. I'm not sure, or 100% on this, but I think methadone stores in your bones, muscles, and fat... Suboxone doesn't attach to your body this much, if you get what I'm saying...
You're 3 months in? You also stated that your counselour said you can switch treatments 3 months in? Go ahead and try to get that suboxone appointment, and try to switch. The longer you're on methadone, and as your doses increase, the harder & longer your withdrawals will be.
I'm not saying that suboxone doesn't have the same effect (bigger dosage, longer use leads to harder & longer w/d) - what I AM stating though, is that suboxone withdrawals won't be nearly as bad as methadone withdrawals. Methadone is also highly addictive.. and you CAN get a type of nod/high off of it, if you saved enough take-homes. You cannot do this with suboxone maintainance, yet, you'd be getting the same expected results - reduced cravings for opiates, and a blockage of any opiate you try to use.
There's more pro's with suboxone vs. methadone, which has more cons. This is just my advice, but get off the methadone while you can!
Your life might be coming together, and it seems like the dread of opiate addiction is over (aka. being trapped, handcuffed to an addictive drug such as heroin) - but everything will return when you finally attempt to get off of methadone/suboxone. You might have got your life together over the next 2 years, got a wife, made a family, even bought a house, and landed a great job... Yet - you're still on methadone/suboxone maintainance, you're still trapped/handcuffed to the drug. When you decide to get off of it, even with tapering, methadone is like living in hell, while suboxone is probably considered easier and less harsh with the w/d symptoms in comparison. Yet, you might go insane for a month with the methadone w/d. Literally, mentally unstable. How would you hold up all of these goals you've achieved? That family - seeing what you're going through, that house you paid for with a loan, and your job. You definetly can't attend to them for the next month, as you'd be recovering.
In my opinion, get off the methadone with a suboxone taper, or taper the methadone right now.. Go through the withdrawals (which will be WAY better than if you use the methadone any longer - the longer you're on it, the worse your withdrawals) Anyways, go through the withdrawals while they won't be as intense, then build up your life. It will become harder for you to go back to drugs if you've built up you're life, not chained to the addictive chemicals. If you've built your life up whilst on a methadone/suboxone program, it will all go down the toilet once you try to eventually get off/taper off of the methadone/suboxone.
