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Has anyone ever come off of Methadone

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Posted 1/10/2011 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
I am asking because I have been doing some reading and everywhere

it says that it is difficult to come off of Methadone, which includes

some pretty bad withdrawal.

Has anyone ever come off of Methadone and experienced any of this?

I know I have just started Methadone and am not sure how long I will be

on it but what I have read kinda scares me.

thanks for any input

Posted 1/10/2011 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
Suzane,
When I was younger I was on methadone maintance for almost 5 yrs and I went into detox for 21 days.
I had to be down to 60 mg to even get into the detox. I was origionally on 70mg all those years.

So the detox is a drag from 60mg to 20mg but the last 20 mg you start to feel it and then the last 10mg to 5 mg was very difficult but the worst was 5mg to zero and that is when the 21 days is over and I left the hospito and was completely insane running around looking for dope. This pain stayed with me for ever and so I would do all kinds of other stuff to make up for it like drink but it almost seemed like the myalin sheath over my nervous system was gone and it really was a neuro pain.

I never went back on the methadone but was always in pain. I just found out this year that I have chronic lyme and probably half my life and this is very painful so now I am on roxycodone or buprenorphine for pain and was just wondering today if I should try methadone but I am not sure it will be any different.

I finally accepted the fact that I will be on pain meds forever now that I am 55 but that methadone thing was back in the 70's. Now they have ways of detoxing people with meds.

There is a thread on the lyme forum about dental stuff that is going on and there is great info on people with tmj pain and all the other situations that come up from this. maybe hop over there and take a look . I was fascinated by the info.

good luck
Posted 1/10/2011 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
   Dear Suzane , I have been on methedone more than once due to drug addiction and I think it varies . The best way is to reduce very gradually , which is probably the case with most meds . I came down 2mg,'s at a time , every 2 weeks but the individual does it at their own pace . Since your a on a relitively low dose , I would say just come down slowly and you should be ok .Don't be scared Suzane if it helps you its a gift , the withdrawl like I said is individual , but if done responsibly  isn't any worse than any other med . Usually folks have a hard time if they have overmedicated or abused it , which I have done so I know . But done right its ok , at least it was for me .  Best of Luck Mikel 
Posted 1/10/2011 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
coming off methadone is terrible. of all the opiates it might be the worst because of it's half-life and because it builds up in your body tissues including fat, bone, ect. i was told by addictionologist that they cannot even use suboxone until your down to 40mg per day and dr. drew pinsky on celebrity rehab said one of the worst biological states a person can be in is severe methadone withdrawal. if it will have to be perminate it is a great pain-killer but there are other good options without as severe abstinence syndrome. i like hydromorphone. good luck with your pain.
Posted 1/11/2011 12:03 AM (GMT 0)
i was not paying attention when i saw who started the thread. i believe methadone is a good option for you because you have had intractable pain and for some people people with that problem get good results with methadone. God bless. good night
Posted 1/11/2011 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Obviously I am not wanting to come off the methadone now since i just started it dec. 20 for my chronic pain.
Most of you here know of my case. It's just today i was reading on the internet and got into reading of cases of people that had a hard time coming off of it.
Posted 1/11/2011 3:59 AM (GMT 0)
Suzane,
I just started Methadone in October. I've been really struggling with it, but can't afford anything else. I did talk with my PM about withdrawal. He said that he would just switch me to a short-acting narc & then have me withdraw from that after a few weeks. I have gone through withdrawal from short acting narcs in the past &, though not pleasant, it is entirely do-able. I should point out that I am not on methadone for addiction, but rather b/c it's a cheap way to treat chronic pain.
I suggest you talk with your PM. If he's worth his salt, he should be able to come up with some kind of a plan to get you off the methadone.

Post Edited (Frances_2008) : 1/10/2011 9:02:21 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/11/2011 4:24 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, I did when I had RSD. I was taking 80 mg , t.i.d. , so I was on quite a bit of it. As Mikel said, the tapering off it and any withdrawal is individual but I have found that it is worst when you read a bunch of horror stories about how difficult any medication is to come off of. It's almost like setting yourself up for a bad experience because instead of judging your own symptoms or lack of them for what they are , yours and yours alone, some people tend to take the bad experiences of others into their heads and then they interpret any symptoms as attributable to withdrawing off a medication. It's not just methadone that it happens with.

It wasn't that bad, in fact, it was no worse than coming off any other opiate except for the fact that withdrawal is a bit slower because of the half life of it.

My best advice is to make sure that you develop a taper plan with your doctor, and discuss with him or her any bothersome symptoms if you experience them. And you may not. I know many people who have been on methadone for pain management who have had minimal to no withdrawal problems when stopping methadone.

Best of luck with it , when it is time to stop taking it. Don't worry about until then.

Sandi

 

Posted 1/11/2011 4:54 PM (GMT 0)


As most of you know I have been taking 120 mg. Methadone daily for about 10 years now... I also take 30 mg. Oxycodone up to 5 times daily for BT pain. Coming off of Methadone scares the bejeezes out of me. I have heard, seen, and read all the Horror Stories about people coming off of it....or rather, TRYING. Since I am 43 and have been on it for soooo long I feel that I will be on it til the end...And I've accepted it. I have been contemplating changing to Opana ER but after a change in my PM Dr. I've changed my mind. She has a new plan and it doesn't feel like it would be easy to do it...she wants to cut off the Methadone, start the Opana Er, and add Klonopin in between doses for WD. My other PM was going to keep me on Methadone, add the Opana ER, and titrate over time. Keeping me on the Oxycodone. I tried once to switch to Morphine and that didn't last but a few days and I was actually begging to bring back the Morphine and get my Methadone back. I have noticed, that people that are overweight have a harder time of it....since Methadone stays in the fat cells it makes sense. Maybe if I lost weight it would be easier. But any way you look at it Withdrawls SUCK!! We are trying to ward off PAIN and going through wd's is painful... I do know some people that have come off of it with help of Xanax, or Suboxone. So it is doable.

I understand that when someone first starts down the Methadone Road they aren't thinking of the long haul..I suggest that if you intend on stopping it at any time you talk to your Dr. in the beginning about staying at the lowest dose possible so it can be done. I wasn't aware of this info. when I first started so I just kept going up and up and up....I wish I had stayed at a low dose... But if I can help anyone it's worth it....I'll be on it forever, and that's okay.

Rhonda
Posted 1/11/2011 5:42 PM (GMT 0)

Thank you for your replies. I too am taking it for chronic pain and not addiction.

I wish I had not read those horror stories yesterday.

I will be talking to my pain dr. about it at our next visit just so I have an idea

about it when and if that day comes. I have only just started taking methadone

on Dec 20 and only taking 10mg a day. I will keep in mind to stay as low a dose

as possible. Thank you for your help.

May I ask how you find it is helping with your pain? Are you happy with this med.

Posted 1/12/2011 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
 

   I was on fentanyl patch got up to 100mg, and only 15mg morphine immediate release and 15mg morp sul for break through pain. I think I took the 15 immr at bed time I remember it was hard to stop but did. the patch was very difficult I think it last for 3 wks (withdrawl) not sitting still and not being able to sleep was worse part, but did it w/no help. Although I tried to get help it was horrible in washington state,where I moved to. No dr would take me on as a patient because they wanted nothing to do w/fentanyl or oxy etc pain management wouldnt help. Alot of addicts lived there so they wouldnt help, not even to get off! But I've been reading these comments but no one has mentioned the meds methadone etc has stopped working on the pain. Some have said stay on low dose etc. But what I experienced w/fentanyl is it quit working on pain in a short time and increased 25mg more did nothing for pain. So was wondering if methadone is that way too? where you have to keep uping it? It made me sleep way too much & the thought of having to up it so much was scary, since I already slept too much from it! Thanks for all the info.  

Posted 1/12/2011 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
TMJ,

The other thing that I forgot to mention is that there is another way to go off methadone if you need to, and that is for your doctor to calculate your dosage of methadone into another long acting and short acting opiate in place of the methadone.

If the coversion is done correctly, it is a smooth transition from methadone to the new opiate . I've done it twice since being back in pain management and my pm wanted me to try methadone again , and each time I didn't tolerate it as well as I once did long ago, so he simply coverted my methadone dosage over to the new pain med and used long acting and short acting to create my new dosage on the new med.

It works rather well if the doctor is familiar with the conversions from other opiates to methadone and back again, you won't notice that you switched.

Don't worry, if you feel that you have a decent relationship with your pm doctor, discuss your fears and see what he says.

I truly hope that methadone works for you, I know the titration is horrible to have to go slowly with, but there is a reason for it, to watch for negative side effects and to see how well your body responds to the methadone and so that your body adjusts to the side effects slowly. I know that you know all of this stuff, but just wanted to reassure you.

Sandi

Posted 1/12/2011 8:52 PM (GMT 0)

Yes,to answer your question, it really helps with my pain...of course I'm on a much higher dose then you are....but I have been considering switching over but that's been going on for 2 years now...I guess I'm scared....but don't worry so much about taking the Methadone, if your Dr. is willing to talk to you about it, and you are informed, then you'll be great.....

It's different with everyone so don't listen to all the horror stories, they only apply to a few...

God Luck...

Rhonda
Posted 1/12/2011 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks again for all you replies.

Uniquelyme, you're right, no more reading those horror stories. I will give this a chance to work for me.
Posted 1/14/2011 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on 10 mg of methadone twice a day since 2006 and it has saved me. Of course, I take Norco for breakthrough pain as well. I am 67 and do not ever plan on coming off the Methadone. Hang in there everyone. I feel your pain, sincerely.
Posted 1/14/2011 4:22 AM (GMT 0)
Wow Twinks I am so glad it has helped you so much. I am hoping for the same for myself.

I am on 10mg daily.
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