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Methadone jump off time?

B

Barrett66

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Messages
32
Hello. 3 years ago I was put on methadone for pain management following a bad auto accident. I was on 80MG a/day and have started a taper down with my doctor and am down clear to 2.5mg a day. I feel I can pretty much jump off now. I don't get any buzz or anything on such a small amount. MAYBE a tiny little energy but that's it (could be all in my head too). I also have 3xday 1mg alprazolam that my doctor says is fine to stay on but has pushed hard to get me off the methadone completely. Which is awesome. They've been Very cool to taper me VERY slowly rather than just say a couple months, deal with withdrawals and have a nice day like many doctors have done to patients. My question is...does anyone think I'll feel much withdrawal at all jumping off such a low dose? I have one more month at my next taper which will be 1MG/Day which isn't shit so should I just jump now? I do really want to be off it and focused on the mental part until Spring (it's Winter where I am) so by Spring I have great NORMAL physical and mental energy and can enjoy the weather and whatnot instead of being high. Thoughts? TIA!!
 
I definitely felt it when i dropped off at the dose. Not sure how much better stopping at 1mg would be. Probably better though. The withdrawal from that small of a dose isnt very severe but I was surprised how bad it was. Maybe go to the 1mg then stop. I was using the 10mg pills so the lowest i could measure was about 2.5mg.
 
Thank you. I reaaaaly want to be done and have a great will power. I think I'll wait until next refill and lower dose. I'm already at half what I'm prescribed so if I have issues I'll have a few extras. I'll try tonskipna day, normal dose, skip two days etc and see. I just wanna be done. Sooo close. From 80mb to 1 seems crazy but glad they tapered slow like they promised me when we discussed the med initially.
 
How long were your symptoms at this drop level if you don't mind me asking and were they immediate or after a few days?

Ty
 
I went from 380mg to 2.5mg, took me like 18 months.

As far as symptom duration, they last a while and come on slow. First few days are fine if i remember correctly, then it builds. Methadone withdrawal symptoms don't really peak for 8-10 days. Main symptoms were anxiety, sleep problems and body aches (especially the knees, for me). The whole thing was pretty much over in 25 days or so. The pain was surprisingly bad, had to take alot of long hot baths. Exercise helps too, id recommend it as much as possible. Who knows maybe you'll get off easy. Having been at 380mg at the peak made me extremely addictive to that stuff. I actually enjoyed methadone quit abit. If i could choose any opioid to abuse once in a while these days, it would be methadone.
 
Wow. Good job! And I thought 80mg was high. Yes I have withdrawn once years ago (I'm 50) and didn't even know what was happening when quit hydrocodone cold turkey because of no insurance. I was on 4x750 ES a day for a couple years and then my doc just said "last refill" and that was horriblenof him. I had ZERO drugnusage before this so it's all hindsight. I went to my in laws and by 6pm I couldn't stopped sneezing, wattery eyes and then the stomach...oh the stomach. For DAYS and days. I couldn't even drive 6 miles from their house to mine and didn't know why. I'm sure many here know this feeling. I didn't know why it was...thought a bad flu. 8days later I finally went to minor emergency. They asked what I'd been on etc and I told them and that's when I found out. Had I known I'd have not been as scared but wow. I though I was dying literally. So anyways. Thanks for the info again. I'm gonna "push it" a little further each day and see..I don't then no I'll have too much problem but good to have a little backup in the last 90days of this stuff. Weird drug indeed. I'll miss the energy boost I'm sure but if the stomach and restless leg can stay away I'm happy. Thanks again. :)
 
That is wonderful that you've tapered nearly completely off methadone. I was at 35mg dose and went cold turkey without it and suffered through the horrendous withdraws after having a mehtadone perscription for three months and ingesting opoiods for months prior. I am lucky to have reliqusihed myself of such narcotic medicine and have viciously sought other treatments for pain managment and opiod free habitual lifestyle adjusments. Overall, the methadone was a decent medication it was acquiring it at the Clinic that was difficult to maintain and not supportive of independent handeling of such narcotics. Glad to be over the worse of the withdraw symptoms and i hope you find the courage to withdraw completely and discontinue as its inevitable. Cheers to that!
 
Barrett66 said:
Thank you. I reaaaaly want to be done and have a great will power. I think I'll wait until next refill and lower dose. I'm already at half what I'm prescribed so if I have issues I'll have a few extras. I'll try tonskipna day, normal dose, skip two days etc and see. I just wanna be done. Sooo close. From 80mb to 1 seems crazy but glad they tapered slow like they promised me when we discussed the med initially.
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I highly recommend the skipping a day thing before jumping off completely. It is particularly plausible with drugs with a long half-life like methadone. Every time I've come off of long-acting drugs, I've started by switching to every other day, then every 3 days, then jump off. Even then you will feel some measure of withdrawal but it makes it a lot easier.
 
Xorkoth said:
I highly recommend the skipping a day thing before jumping off completely. It is particularly plausible with drugs with a long half-life like methadone. Every time I've come off of long-acting drugs, I've started by switching to every other day, then every 3 days, then jump off. Even then you will feel some measure of withdrawal but it makes it a lot easier.
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Yes, i belive the half life of methadone to be up to 30 hours and I wouldnt suggest missing a dose if possible but to continue with plan to taper off and discontinue.
 
Xorkoth said:
I highly recommend the skipping a day thing before jumping off completely. It is particularly plausible with drugs with a long half-life like methadone. Every time I've come off of long-acting drugs, I've started by switching to every other day, then every 3 days, then jump off. Even then you will feel some measure of withdrawal but it makes it a lot easier.
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Exactly whynIm going to donut this way. Kinda "wait until I feel like crap" then take my dosage and keep pushing it out as far as I can until I can just handle total completion of my med. Soo close. :) I knew I'd have to do this, mybdoc and I so me at length.abiut it before prescribing and I definitely did not want OXYs for pain. I knew I'd abuse them eventually and the m-done I've taken less than prescribed in most cases and only when needed so as to avoid addiction as much as possible. TY :)
 
xdefiance said:
Yes, i belive the half life of methadone to be up to 30 hours and I wouldnt suggest missing a dose if possible but to continue with plan to taper off and discontinue.
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Correct 30-36hrs so many don't feel the withdrawals for a couple days but depends on dosage too. I'd imagine a high dosage not taken even the next day could be miserable. TY :)
 
xdefiance said:
That is wonderful that you've tapered nearly completely off methadone. I was at 35mg dose and went cold turkey without it and suffered through the horrendous withdraws after having a mehtadone perscription for three months and ingesting opoiods for months prior. I am lucky to have reliqusihed myself of such narcotic medicine and have viciously sought other treatments for pain managment and opiod free habitual lifestyle adjusments. Overall, the methadone was a decent medication it was acquiring it at the Clinic that was difficult to maintain and not supportive of independent handeling of such narcotics. Glad to be over the worse of the withdraw symptoms and i hope you find the courage to withdraw completely and discontinue as its inevitable. Cheers to that!
Click to expand...
Thank you!! Yes it's been perfect.if such a thing....I've taken only.or.oess my dosage and never abused it and my doctor said if I don't then he won't enforce a clinical delivery method where I'd have to go in daily and get my dosage etc so I've been pretty vigilant to get off as the pain will allow and now I'm just tapering and don't need for pain anymore. Just tonwithdralw as less as possible. Glad you got off them too. It works if ya work it I think is the saying. TY
 
Slow and easy is definitely the way to go with methadone. I got all the way down to 1mg per day and suddenly realised I was wasting everyone's time by picking up such a paltry dose, so I just never went back. That was over 5 years ago now and I don't miss it one little bit. Having said that, I've got down to similar doses several times before and just wasnt ready to jump off so increased my dose again. You have to be in the right frame of mind before you take the plunge, but you'll know it when you are.
 
Oh yeah!!! I tried (foolishly) to cold turkey it at 10MG since it was so much lower than 80 (original dosage) boy was I wrong. I gave them to my wife and said only give me one if it's been a week and I'm REALLY sick etc (she's my support system and we also discussed this before beginning my pain management) and man was I wrong. Two days later and 6 hours in and I can't leave the house, bathroom, no sleep, legs kicking like a maniac and sweats/chills etc. so I called my doctor and he said literally "no way in hell you'll be able to unless you didn't have any to take and had to suffer through it and I don't advise it whatsoever, start taking your normal 10mg immediately" and by the morning I was 90% normal again. So I'm very grateful of this very slow and stretched out taper option. I've heard from sooo many who weren't given the chance or took their script too soon for fun etc. like we've all done at some point probably and had to suffer through until refill time or beg borrow etc just to stay well. I've been very careful since that taste of massive withdrawal. Weird howmit builds up in your receptors for so long over time. I thought I'd kick off at 10 no problem.... Never beennso sick in my life.
Ugh.
 
Barrett66 said:
Oh yeah!!! I tried (foolishly) to cold turkey it at 10MG since it was so much lower than 80 (original dosage) biybwas I wrong. I gave them to my wife and said only give me one if it's been a week and I'm REALLY sick etc (she's my support system and we also discussed this before beginning my pain management) and BOY was I wrong. Two days later and 6 hours in and I can't leave the house, bathroom, nonsleep, legs kicked my like a maniac and sweats/chills etc. so I called my doctor and he said literally "no way in hell you'll be able to unless you didn't have any to take and had to suffer through it and I don't advise it whatsoever, start taking your normal 10mg immediately" and by the morning I was 90% normal again. So I'm very grateful of this very slow and stretched out taper option. I've heard from sooo many who weren't given the chance or took their script too soon for fun etc. like we've all done at some point probably and had tonsuffer through until refill time or beg borrow etc just tonstay well. I've been very careful.
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Sounds like you have a very wise and supportive doctor. That can make all the difference.
 
Yes, I got very lucky. I have spoke to people who were just cut off one month and left to deal with it on both the doctor's fault but also because they were abusing and got caught too so I've been open and honest with him since before I began it and Inthink that helped. He knew I wasn't seeking drugs etc. (Not saying I wouldn't have in my younger days lol) but this time I didn't wanna play games and really needed the help with pain..
 
I have none... that snis literally just to keep me from withdrawing. At about 5MG my pain had healed up and I can just takena few Tylenol and I'm good. But my doc said regardless he wanted to taper.me.so I wouldn't be sick.
 
Nice one mate, stick with it I'm sure you'll be fine. I would actually advise against missing doses because this means you will start to build up a stash of methadone and it's very easy to convince yourself that a little treat of 10mg or so to get a buzz won't hurt. But it does. You have a good doctor so follow his advice to the letter.

Best wishes mate!
 
Yeah those extras gonto my wife whonis VIGILANT and won't give em up. After a couple days and I'm ok. We flush a few each time. This way I can still TRY and taper a bit more but minimal and notnhave extras later. I thought about that before and don't wanna be tempted but I'm so over the shit that I don't think I'd want to have them for recreation anyways. Goodnthinking though indeed.
 
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