I figure this might be suited more for The Dark Side, but I wanted some clinical (not anecdotal) opinions on the question.....Mods, feel free to move it, but please consider that I'm just trying to get a different demographic....I'd almost like to post it in both, but that is not allowed.
A good friend of mine always told me to be careful about the duration of dependency on opiates, that at a certain point, everybody passes a point of no return where they will never be normal without maintenance drugs, ever. But I also hear about people being on high doses of methadone for years, then succesfully tapering and leaving it behind. The brain is an incredible thing, I have to think it would learn to rewire/balance your endorphin system if you were dedicated to doing so. What do you think? Can a person become, for all intents and purposes, completely rehabilitated, no matter the length of their use?
(I worry because I am on methadone maintenance, and don't want to taper now but also don't want to always be on it, so I'm trying to explore my options)
A good friend of mine always told me to be careful about the duration of dependency on opiates, that at a certain point, everybody passes a point of no return where they will never be normal without maintenance drugs, ever. But I also hear about people being on high doses of methadone for years, then succesfully tapering and leaving it behind. The brain is an incredible thing, I have to think it would learn to rewire/balance your endorphin system if you were dedicated to doing so. What do you think? Can a person become, for all intents and purposes, completely rehabilitated, no matter the length of their use?
(I worry because I am on methadone maintenance, and don't want to taper now but also don't want to always be on it, so I'm trying to explore my options)