Severe Methadone Withdrawl

[ChatGirl]

Hi, this is my first post and I hope I am posting in the right area but anyway and
I think I am not posting against any rules. . . :D

I was on 80 mgs of Methadone for a year now after 2 and a half years on Heroin...
I was not using anything else for the entire year on Methadone (It was from a clinic)
but I wanted to get off of Methadone and the clinic said they do not believe I am ready
to taper down yet... So pretty much I just stopped going, and that was 5 days ago...
Me and my therapist have been looking for a Detox program, but they are all full right now...
Well me being an idiot, I did not want to go through withdrawl, So I started smoking speed
which does keep most of the withdrawl symptoms away, however when I try stop smoking
speed they come back and bad... But as I sit here now, I have been up for 8 days, and
I do not feel good what so ever, and feel I am pretty much at this point switching from
Methadone to Meth and well ya theres the big problem...

So pretty much my question is, are there any alternatives to get rid of withdrawl ? I am
not talking illicit, I am talking non-addictive and OTC that I can get at a pharmacy (preferably
here in California)

Thanks for any advice :D

 

[Jabberwocky]

Welcome to BL!

There isn’t much in terms of stuff you can take to help that is otc here.

You’re basically limited to kratom (please order it online as headshops like to rip you the fuck off), loperamide (more in terms of GI stuff, high dose loperamide use is really a last ditch option that you don’t need to deal with), and DXM (high dose long term DXM use is very much something you want to avoid, but a few weeks of moderate use to deal with the acute withdrawal may be okay - there are a lot of caveats to using DXM for this so please ask if you choose that route).

Cannabinoids are helpful, but their more useful as an adjunct to kratom for your purposes (probably).

Your best bet (honestly) if finding another methadone clinic who is willing to provide you with an extended detox to help you transition of the methadone. Going in patient to detox isn’t really useful outside of the two or so weeks of acute withdrawal. You’ll still need a lot of help post acute detox. Also finding a psych who is willing to prescribe you the standard comfort meds (especially if you go the extended outpatient methadone detox) including clonidine and gabapentin is also something you really should consider.

Like I said, OTC options are very limited. Your best bet it getting back into a clinic and doing an extended detox program or a longer terms taper (meaning finding a dose you can stabilize on, then slowly tapering off over a longer period than just the six months extended detox option).

When I was on methadone it took about 1.5yrs if a very slow taper followed by comfort meds to get off “comfortably.”

Your living environment will also have a big impact on how manageable getting off methadone will be.

I’m going to move this to SL as it’s more appropriate for there. Quote my post if you need a quick reply.

 

[cj]

Yuck your living my worst nightmare. One option is to get on Suboxone for a quick month long taper. Start at 24mg and drop from there. That would provide some relief. The other probably most safe and sane option is to get back on methodone. If your already using speed the clinic is probably right that your not ready to be off yet. Methodone has the best long term outcome of any treatment option but the statistics for people who quit abruptly or are forced off are bleak to say the least. One study with a 2 year follow up found a very high death rate among that population. Your best bet is too get back on a clinic and work out a taper agreement.

If you insist on continuing gabapentin, benzos, cannabinoids, loperamide and kratom might have some benefit in combination