Opioids Very Weird Psychological Side Effects From Methadone

[JessesLoco77]

HELP HELP HELP!!!
Hello fellows, I just recently switched from Subutex to Methadone. I did great during the switch, but you also can switch right away if you're switching from subutex to methadone, the other way is much trickier.. Well, I was moving up from 30mgs, from 5mg daily, now I'm up to 60mg. (which isn't real high but about average.) At about the 50mg mark I was noticing I was getting close to a good dose where I could start to get stable. But I also started noticing a bit of anxiety approaching me as the day went on.. Recently, I have been steady at 60mg, and I would notice some anxiety coming on whenever the meds would kick in but it wouldn't last too long. I've always had anxiety throughout my life, but I've learned to mostly cope with it.. Overall the anxiety truly isn't what this post is about..
The other day, I was at work, when all of a sudden I began to feel EXTREMELY weird and was getting this feeling of Deja Vu that was flashing through me in waves.. I kind of was having this ringing noise in my head and lots of beeps that would remind you of some kind of futuristic radar of some sort. I was just getting this strange sense of familiarity, and it was very uncomfortable and felt very negative. I was lightheaded, and honestly the feeling I was having is so hard to explain it seems impossible. Well, I tried to continue working but the feeling kept flashing through me and it was almost like I felt like I have felt these flashes before, but I can't place when it happened. My vision was blurry and kind of darker than normal. I started to freak out and went inside of my work and sat down and started slamming water thinking I was dehydrated. Another thing that crossed my mind was that I was going to have a seizure, and I thought about how people say that they have unexplained feelings of deja vu before seizures.
The place that I work at is very strenuous work, sometimes I feel lightheaded and like I'm going to pass out if I don't slow down, but I'm usually okay. I didn't have anything to eat that day, so I tried to debunk it by saying my blood sugar was low. I WAS WRONG!!

Now that I've been steady on 60Mg for the past 5 days or so, I've been experiencing this feeling while driving, while sitting at home, or while I'm at work.. It happens several times throughout the day, and honestly I have no idea what it is what so ever, but just want it to stop because it's extremely frightening.. I'm going to go down on my dose tomorrow to see if that helps anything, I was wondering if maybe my dose is too high for me and I'm just experiencing negative side effects from that.. If anyone has any feedback at all, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't have any mental health issues or anything of that nature, and questions I'll be glad to answer. I've asked my nurse at the treatment center about these unwanted feelings, and she looked at my like I was crazy. I know you guys are not doctors, but if you've experienced anything like this on methadone let me know. I'm trying to focus on treatment but if these feelings keep happening I don't want to continue this methadone. I've never had a seizure before other than one time when I smoked the synthetic marijuana, but I don't think it was a seizure maybe just a black out. Let me know guys PLEASE!! THANKS!!

 

[Jabberwocky]

First off the vast majority of nurses/nurse practitioners and more or less all employees of methadone clinics in the US know very, very little about medicine. So don't go trying to rely just on the clinic'a nurse practitioner - it'll get you nowhere slow.

Definitely make an appointment with your clinic's doctor ASAP! Often clinic doctors aren't much better than the nurses, but she needs to know about what is going on.

So it sounds like what you're experiencing is pretty damn serious. I strongly recommend you avoid alcohol at least until you get the side effects of your dose out of the way.

—How long have you been on methadone?
—What were you using before getting on methadone (during your time on bupe and before)?
—How long did you use before (how long on bupe and how long using prior to bupe)?
—what othe medications or drugs are you currently using?

For now, I highly suggest lowering your dose a bit. Was this stuff happening when you were at 40mg or 50mg? I know what sucks if 60mg is just starting to hold you, but this isn't something you need to suffer through forever (the slightly lower dose than what holds you I mean).

It sounds a lot like something is going on with your heart. Actually it almost seems like you were describing a "little" heart attack in your post!

I remember when I started taking methadone, maybe four months after I began, I had been abusing zolpidem for a bit. On morning driving to the clinic I began getting all light headed, dizzy and very nauseous. I had to pull over and almost, like actually more or less, blacked out behind the wheel. I had to sit there for a while before I felt even remotely capable of driving myself. I always thought that was related to the habit of binging on Ambien, which I'd last done the night before.

I honestly have no idea what is happening to you, but what I do know is that you need to be SUPER careful until this gets under control. I also know you need to tell the clinic doctor about this stuff ASAP. I can't suggest enough that you should talk to your GP ASAP too.

Let us know how thing develop. I hope you're able to feel better soon compañero!

 

[JessesLoco77]

I've been on the Methadone for about 2 weeks or maybe 3.. I was using subutex for about 2 months before the methadone.. I haven't abused any drugs since starting the treatment program other than abusing the bupe, that's why I switched to the methadone. I really am enjoying the methadone and trying to focus on treatment but this is making it very hard. I'm not having a heart attack and that's honestly the most idiotic thing I've heard if you truly believe those are symptoms of a heart attack.. LOLOLOL I was abusing subutex through IV but I stopped awhile ago.. I'm not going to talk to a family doctor about this, there really isn't a point, they can't adjust my dose to my liking.. I was just wondering if anyone had had this happen while on methadone, I'm leaning towards Depersonalization Disorder if anything, or maybe even vertigo, but I have NO symptoms of heart attack bud.. ANYONE else would be great..

 

[Fire&Water]

Gotta have something to do with abrupt(ing) the subutex, even though you switched
over to m'done youre gonna experience withdrawals one way or alot of another...

 

[JessesLoco77]

It's not withdraws I know when I'm withdrawing..

 

[Fire&Water]

Im not talking the usual sense / symptoms of w/d...but you know best

 

[tacodude]

Gotta have something to do with abrupt(ing) the subutex, even though you switched
over to m'done youre gonna experience withdrawals one way or alot of another...

Did you read nothing? It was after 2-3 weeks. The bupe is out of the equation at that point

 

[Fire&Water]

Try 6 - 8 weeks er' maybe not

 

[Hammilton]

I doubt it was at all related to methadone. Get a head CT or MRI done. Strokes can cause deja vu.

 

[manboychef]

Why you jumping on toothpastedog. He means well.

You could be having a panic attack. Those are some of the symptoms I have when I am having one. I would go to your GP and explain your symptoms. It may be unrelated to your methadone, so saying you should go to your GP is extremely sound advice "bud".

Having you taking methadone regularly before this? Do you happen to know if your body tolerates it well?

 

[Purfectlycrazy92]

I'm on day 17 and still having a mental battle

 

[Erikmen]

I used to be on methadone for many years on an average of 70 mg a day and have never experienced the symptoms you related.

I suggest you seek for medical support and explain your situation like you did here.
I don't think it has anything to do with methadone but everyone is different. Considering methadone is very strong moving to 60 mg rather quickly may have caused some side effects.

I'm sure you probably know this but methadone is a very hard drug to get off. The longer you use the harder it gets.

Good luck!

 

[swisscurrie]

NDMA receptor antagonism is involved in Methadones mechanism of action, and this effect has been shown to blunt the reinforcing/rewarding effects of opiates. (more potent/full) NDMA antagonists include Phencyclidine and Ketamine. The effects you are describing could be related to this.

 

[JessesLoco77]

It does have to do with the methadone guys. I've honestly gotten used to it. But it's only when I'm on a fairly high dose or go up on my dose and start to notice the opiate effect that I used to get from heroin. I've missed my dose several times and it doesn't happen, it only happens after the medication kicks in. It's almost like people describing an out of body experience. Whenever i get the wave of seeing myself i look like I gasp for air, and my eyes get really big in surprise. But in reality none of those things are happening. I'm able to act normal while it's going on because I've nearly gotten completely used to it happening after it's been going on for months now. I'm on 65mg and stopped going up as often since this started happening. I'm always terrified I'm going to have a seizure, and that's because seizures are my biggest fear. But it definitely is the methadone causing, I was just wondering what it's effecting in my brain to cause it. I was wondering maybe low blood pressure or something like that? Even just being so high that I'm out of it, kind of like people in hospitals on morphine..

 

[Hodor]

As swisscurie said, Methadone (or more specifically, its Dextro-Isomer) is an NMDA antagonist, meaning it acts as a dissociative (à la Ketamine/PCP/DXM), which could explain your condition.

Interestingly, Germany also offers treatment programs with pure Levo-Methadone ("L-Polamidon"), so as to activate your opioid receptors with fewer side-effects than normal ("racemic") Methadone... however, this does not necessarily make it "better" as a tool for actually getting off opioids, as the NMDA antagonism is also responsible for some of Methadone's pain-killing and, perhaps more importantly, anti-addictive effects.

 

[Screaming_Skull]

i would talke to your doctor at the clinic...what was your dose of Subs you I'vd a day before you got on Methadone???

 

[Jabberwocky]

I would also talk to a your GP and have her find you a specialist to talk to further about this. It could be indicative of a serious underlying condition brought out by the methadone. Generally speaking, very, very few people experience what you have with methadone, or else it wouldn't be one of the most effective treatments for maintaining placement in recovery. And although it's a very, very safe drug when used and monitored properly, it isn't without potential side effects or serious issues for a minority of the population. I'd take this as a sign that there is something going on that you need to get figured out and work on.

Maybe methadone isn't ideal for you, although I actually kind of relate when you said things got a bit better at a lower dose. I find a dose of 30mg has infinitely less side effects thant 60mg, 70mg, 80mg or 90mg. In fact I'm much happier on 30mg than I was 90mg, and I wasn't ever experiencing any particularly unpleasant side effects.