trying to get off methadone. need advice

[cait.nicole90]

Hey everyone. So im a 24 year old female and small and I need advice on the fastest, safest way to get off methadone. I have been addicted to opiates for about 7 years, and couldn't go to a detox or anything to get off, so I started going to a methadone clinic about mid February and I regret it. I want to be clean so bad and have the motivation and support to do it and am so ready.. I don't want to end up with a worse addiction then I had to begin with. So I got up to 50mg and last week went down to 45mg and haven't felt anything at all, saturday I didn't even dose and had no issue. So I'm supposed to continue going down 5mg a week, but that will still take roughly 2 months and I'm really not wanting to drag it out that long. I want to do it in like a month, so I'm thinking of trying to go down 5mg every 3 to 4 days, as long as I can handle it. With what I've heard about how rough it will be and what I have read online have me scared and worried... so I'm asking if anyone can please give me any advice, or their own experience with getting off, and just help me figure out the best way to go about this. Thank you in advance.
-Caitlin

 

[xxcystalxx]

So i have some experience with this i was on methadone for 6 months and i wanted off really bad, i thought i was ready so i started going down 1 mg a day and this wasn't fast enough or me because i was at 80mg so i jumped to 5mg a day and then at 30 mg stopped going completely and i will tell you i will never ever do that again!!! i went through hell for 14 days i literally thought i was going to die!! i do not mean to scare you but i m being real with you. i know a lot of friends who have came down 1mg a day and safely detoxed with minimal pain or symptoms. So my advice if you want to come off fast do it 1 mg a day and go until your last dose and you should be fine. i know when you want to be clean a day seems like forever but its worth it to not go through the hell of methadone withdrawal. hope this makes sense good luck

 

[cj]

Patience is a virtue OP. The slower the taper the better your chance of not relapsing once your done.

 

[jaspersilence]

I pray for you my friend,but to put it bluntly,your plan will cause you some major discomfort...stick to the regiment and it will end sooner than you think...good luck

 

[cait.nicole90]

Thank you. I really appreciate the feedback. Super helpful.

 

[Rewster451]

What they said. Tapering off slowly also helps to ease you into what comes after detox; life without opiates. It's really important to not rush through this process. Remember, part of the addict mentality is wanting mental change to happen NOW. Part of kicking is letting go of that.

I can't actually preach or anything, so I hope I didn't come off that way. I still use opiates frequently enough to know I'm addicted. At some point I know I'll have to kick too. So I just wanna say good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[HappinessInAPill]

I take methadone and I have the same sentiments about it as you do. I'm down to 20mg and I'm now tapering at 5mg per month, though I started at a faster rate before clinic policies changed. I usually only dose every other day, and I feel fine, but wouldn't consider jumping off until I'm at about 5mg. It's a slow process and it sucks, but is it worth your recovery to risk quitting too soon? Good luck to you.