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Starting methadone

opiaterock

opiaterock

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 2, 2012
Messages
708
Hi all,

I'm sure there are lots of threads in the other parts of BL like the recovery area regarding methadone but I wanted to put this in here in EADD as that's the only part I really tend to visit if that's ok with the mods?.. (plus I know the users in here a bit and vice versa)

So anyway ya, gonna be likely starting on methadone next week or the week after. I just wanted to get some opinions as since I don't use every day and can still go without the gear for about a week at a time I had thought that methadone could make my habit worse... However, even though I can go around a week without gear, I still never feel right again (I'm sure I would again but it could take months - I guess this is some kind of PAWS that draws me back to heroin and makes me re-lapse. Thing is I could always chip since I started taking gear in '09 and when I would stop after a run, I would feel almost 100% back to normal - however, since November / December 2013 even staying off for 2 weeks I feel miserable, extra depressed etc.. this might be due to the fact I started shooting on and off along with my smokes around this time
( - the physical part is still ok after a couple of days)

Anyway I told the doctor all the above and the doctor thought that I would benefit from going on methadone for a very short maintenace period and then detoxing over a couple of weeks..the idea was that it would regulate the opiate receptors / and or allow, over time, the natural endorphin's to be created again in my brain, thus making relapse less likely

What do you guys think?.. I think it may be a good idea myself
 
Don't do it man, If I knew what I do now I would never of gone on methadone. Even though you will be held in the short term come a point you will have to get off of it and it will be a lot worse than it is now. Even if it is short term can you honestly see yourself wanting to stop it if you are feeling better? I have not come across anyone who has used a short term meth script without it turning into a next level long haul. You may as well ride the Paws now as methadone will make them worse, you got to face them at some point so why not do it now rather than make it get a lot worse and facing them at a latter date? It just keeps getting harder and harder and going on meth will pump your tolerance right up and you will have along road ahead of you. Another downside is it will give you a safety net to use so you will find yourself justifying use just because you have something to fall back on. I do feel for you mate, I have not used for a while and I am still suffering horrible Paws. Be thankful you can survive without mate as that is a real blessing, I find it takes weeks to clear the worst of the w/d symptoms with the 1st week being the worst and then a slow improvement as of then, you just got to stick with it mate as it does get better. Paws are a horrible beast but so is methadone and it will create a new level of suffering and is very hard to get off.
Methadone is a last resort in my opinion and should only be used if you have a severe habbit otherwise it wont be at all proactive in any way shape or form. If you must go down the replacement script route then I would suggest very short term subutex and no longer than a couple of months and no more than 2mg.
Think carefully mate as you could be heading down a long dark path where there will be a lot more w/d's, paw's and for a lot longer period of time.
 
^Its one of htem them YMMV things innit, it either works like a dream or they're liquid hellish handcuffs
 
Like the man said - its a dark path to go down, if you want natural endorphines do exercise (not just a gentle jog but a real work out) when i was in rehab i spent 2h a day in the gym and felt fuckin amazing. If you stay on methadone more than a month or so you will not be able to do a taper in 2 weeks, I have a script and normally am on gear but when i have to i do a 2 week taper but can only do this as I have no methadone in my system after a month your blood plasma levels are prety high as the 1/2 life is 36-48 hours after being on it for that length of time.
If its PAWS that is the worry i would look at other meds/ways of coping - you need to talk to an addiction specialist not a GP (from what you said his prescribed method is not going to end well IMHO).
Good luck
 
I can't understand why your doctor would recommend methadone when you clearly only have a psychological addiction to heroin. Methadone is a very insidious drug as you won't 'feel' like you're on a drug, but you will feel good and on top of everything. Before you know it, you've got a serious physical addiction and you're in for the long haul. If you're prepared to be visiting the chemist every day for months and ending up with a worse habit than you started with then go for it! I personally like methadone, but to me it's the lesser of two evils. Surely buprenorphine would be preferable treatment in your situation?r
 
Starting on methadone with the intention of coming off opiates is a strange way of doing it. It would be like switching from smoking a few joints a day to a full-on cigarette habit. If you can stay off gear for a week at a stretch, that's already a sign that you probably don't need methadone. You can clearly function well enough while your endocrine system is getting back up to full endorphin production.

The problem with meth is that it has an insanely long half-life. Even 24 hours after taking a dose, half of it is still in your system. Which means in practice that if you should ever want to take gear again, you find yourself having to think a whole day or more ahead; otherwise, you will simply be setting yourself up for an even harder time.

The whole process of tearing off the right size piece of foil, selecting a suitable pen or pencil as a mould, rolling a tooter and melting-on a beetle is all psychologically very addictive; I would hazard, in your case, at least as much so as any pharmacological addiction component. And if you are taking gear in order to avoid doing something else, deal with that first.
 
Thanks guys for your responses, I just feel really really shitty lately and can't stop relapsing, I don't have a medical card because I have a job or EUR12,000 spare so I can't go into a centre. I am goin starting today on 35mls, I will let you guys know how it foes. Also there will be zero other drugs, apart from my diazepam script and maybe a couple of drinks
 
Also i'm fed up running around places trying to score and wasting a pile of money on it every week... I'm just fed up with it so I think I can give the methadone a chance
 
it saved my life, however the withdrawals are hellish. also makes most people I know fat. If you can live with that over what may be certain death yer set. I went from junkie to owning one of the worlds largest cannabis seed companies. I feel ya.
 
Methadone in and of its self doesn't make you fat, though it is stored in your body fat. It does like all opiates/opiods slow your metabolism and give you constipation and if you stop taking gear you will get a normal appertite that will take a while to adjust to being 'normal'. Exercise is really good , like i said before vigorous exercise will release endorphins and make you feel great. 35ml is a low dose and will hold you by the sounds of it but wont stop cravings - the NHS seems to have a ceiling of about 70mls unless you really push which is ironic as the therapuetic dose needed to stop cravings is between 80-120 depending on the individual. As it was PAWs you were concerned with I doubt that dose will help that much, and there are better ways of dealing with them , see an addiction specialist.
I use to have the worlds largest cannabis seed companies until some cunt introduced me to H then bought the company off me for x3 bags - he's rich now and I live in a tent under the A12 underpass.

OH and there not called liquid handcuffs for nothing - the decision you make will have lasting effects for many years unless you are very very careful.
 
blondin said:
OH and there not called liquid
handcuffs for nothing - the decision
you make will have lasting effects for
many years unless you are very very careful.
Click to expand...
Very true. I got on my script in 2003 to try to get off gear but I just ended up using it as a way of stopping me clucking if I was short of cash.
I haven't used gear now since August 2012 but I am still on a methadone script but I am slowly reducing my dose.
My best friend has been off the gear now for 4 years but he is still getting a methadone script.
If you can use the methadone for a short period of time to enable you to get off heroin & then reduce and stop the methadone then that's what ideally you want to do but it's very easy to carry on using gear and be on methadone for years & years even if you are no longer using heroin.
I wish I had just gone cold turkey and quit that way rather than still be using methadone after all these years.
Weight gain hasn't been a problem for myself but I've always struggled to put weight on.
 
curious_24 said:
Does methadone control opioid cravings or is it purely physical?
Click to expand...

If the dose of methadone is high enough, I believe around 70-80ml then it should also block mental cravings.
Lower doses will stop you feeling physical withdrawls but probably won't stop the mental craving.
Our DSP doesn't seem to like giving out higher doses of methadone not sure if that varies around the country.
I was initially started on 55ml which stopped me clucking but did nothing for cravings which is probably why I carried on using as well.
 
curious_24 said:
Does methadone control opioid cravings or is it purely physical?
Click to expand...

Methadone simply helps to control physical withdrawal symptoms. Cravings are the psychological component of addiction. Therefore, methadone as a treatment can only be effective once the individual has managed to control their psychological addiction to opiates - usually when they are absolutely sick and tired of the associated lifestyle and no longer want to use. Then methadone can be extremely effective as a short term treatment option. However, this is often not how it is prescribed and is seen by the health service (and addicts) as a 'magic bullet' - which it certainly is not!
 
It is an enabler n also a very handy thing to have but one always regrets starting Methadone .

I got my first script in 1997 n it was Methadone Amps made by Welcome pharmaceuticals . 2 10mg n A 50mg concentrate a day I. Am on 15ml ATM.

it is not as restricting as folk say - liquid hand cuffs . I manqed to get a script in Porto very readily .

these days i am lucky enough to get oxy as we'll and Diazepam n Somnite .
 
inally got appointment with community drugs team week friday with drug worker & prescribing doctor.

Is it best to go when your rattling quite badly so they can asses more quickly?

dont really think its worth asking for methadone, really dont want to get locked into that - im hoping they might give me subutex but i suppose that will mean months of daily chemists visits and i wont be able to use benzodiazapines or be able to smoke weed.i think this has to be done - theres a potential 14 week residential rehab unit towards the end of spring. If i can stablise myself and try and do a quick home detox (supervised by the cdt i mean) then it looks like rehab is the only way to go.

I mean I know theyve ruined my life, but i love taking drugs and the only thing that can possibly change my thinking is 14 weeks of complete abstainance + whatever psychobabble they bombard me with in the meantime. I reckon id stick out the rehab but im skeptical that I will go back to some sort of drug use after. I mean, Isnt gear always the best when your just chippiing?You just feel on top of the world and then a few toots later you rolling around your bad in the most gorgeous nod ever. And yes i know i wouldnt be chipping very long just downhill from there so anyway thats where im at
 
i am on subs and they allow me to smoke weed mr stee :) go for it i say! if they say anything, claim rastafarianism (sp?/is that even a word?)
if i didnt have weed to smoke, i would be back riggin up in a matter of minutes :(
they are very understanding here, i think they expect some moment of failure as they constantly ask me "just the weed again? no opiates at all?"
even alprazolam (which i aint had in over a month) turned up in my urine and they were only curious about it and never pursued any form of talking down/lecturing me even, just asked if i do use anything other than my weed, could i let them know, im on a detox not maintenance, down to 3.6mg now :D near there, how have people found bupe/subutex tapers and whats to expect once they stop, no WD's the extent of gear is there?

opiaterock: long time no speak mate, could you not request a subutex treatment if the doc is so ready to throw u on a meth detox? i had the choice and chose subs as i acc want to get off
 
They too k me off my sub script, its bith a + and minus of subs, you cant just use a bit, if i was gonna use i had to go full at it, and i nthe ned i couldnt wait tlong enough to not go into WD. I might try get on a meth script, spending half my life rattling is driving me mad
 
Dont expect rehab to do anything that you dont want i.e if you really want to quit then you have a good chance of doing it - i was in Promis for 12-13 weeks and put on 2 stone, got a tan, met some lovely folk did all the group stuff and then scored a week after i left and nearly od'd and was back on it again - i just didnt want to stop, not really, i wanted to stop for other people but not for myself. plenty of people have succeded going thro' rehab so it can work but the stats are not good - any user of more than 2 years has a 5% chance of quitting for good rehab or not.
 
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