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Methadone info

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Posted 12/13/2009 2:00 AM (GMT 0)

Hello to everyone who takes or is thinking about taking Methadone...I have been taking it for over 6 years now along with other meds for the BT pain...so I know a little bit about it.  I can say, from my own experiences, that most PM Docs don't start you out on Methadone...they like to try other pain meds first.  Why?  Because Methadone is a very potent medication and shouldn't be taken lightly...I know that there are people that have nothing good to say about Methadone..and that's ok.. Not every pain med is for everyone.  I don't know why Methadone works for me and Morphine doesn't...I don't know why some people can take 40 mg. of Methadone and be fine and I take 120 mg. and sometimes I need more.  Who knows...What I do know is that Methadone is a very tricky drug...it stays in your system for up to 72 hours and it is so hard to stop taking it... Sometimes I wish I had never heard of it, but it does help with my pain most of the time. 

 

I know that when I first started taking it I would "NOD" off.  That wasn't a fun time, but it didn't last long.  Also the constipation is horrific....but take a stool softener and it will help.

 

My PM Doc also gives me Oxycodone 30 mg. for BT pain...and I need it every day....I can take it up to 4 times.  The Methadone effects do lessen over time, and since I have been on it for so long I am thinking about changing to Opana ER 20 mg. 2Xdaily along with 80 mg. Methadone...my Dr. seems to think it will work.  I guess after the New Year I will try it. 

 

If anybody needs to talk to me about taking Methadone feel free to do so...I am always happy to give my opinion and any help...

 

Me.

Posted 12/13/2009 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
Uniquelyme,
your always so very nice, thanks for the info on this medication, I wish I could give you some info, but I've not been given that medicine to try..
I hope it can help you and that you'll get relief and low pain days...
Keep us posted...
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((me))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
hugz
Posted 12/13/2009 7:09 AM (GMT 0)
I like your post very much. How are you admiinistered the methadone? I am torn between being a chemist for work, and having pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) for life. A lot of people I know with bad conditions benifit greatly! I would love the ease of pain, but I do not think I could be as functionable as I need to be for work. Again I enjoyed your post.
Posted 12/13/2009 11:20 PM (GMT 0)

 

 

I take 40 mg. 3Xday along with the Oxy IR 30 mg. 4Xday, but I don't work so I don't have to worry about the effects like that....I can understand being worried about how it would change your way of thinking at work... Meds do have different effects on people, but since I have been on it for so long it really doesn't do much anymore.  The only thing that worried me was the "nodding", but that only lasted a few weeks. 

 

It really does help with the pain, and even though I am considering a change it's not something that I feel like I have to do.  I read that many Dr.'s change up the meds so patients won't build up a tolerance...I think I'm past that point.  I just know that it has lost some effectiveness on my pain levels...

 

Methadone is a strong med, and some people don't like it...it helps, just not as much....

 

Me.

Posted 12/13/2009 11:28 PM (GMT 0)

 

 

I found this website about Methadone..it has so much info that I couldn't write it all down.  Here is the site:

 

http://pain-topics.org/pdf/OralMethadoneDosing.pdf

I think it will be very helpful.

Me.

Posted 12/15/2009 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
Wow that was an awesome website. I have always had questions about the medication and it answered about everything.
Thanks,
Posted 1/3/2010 8:29 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Uniquelyme,


Been on methadone for 3 years for chronic back pain and it can work wonders--only problem I've read about is affecting the memory and that it can build up and kill you, due to its long-term presence in the body. Now have a spinal stimulator (S1-L4 problems--got hit by a car right after surgery in 1995) and I have been cutting back from 3/10mgs to 1/2.5 mg each day and that will end soon. I recommend Methadone as a last resort--sorta like welding with a thermonuclear fusion jet--it gets it done, but easy to burn up everything in sight.
Posted 1/8/2010 3:34 AM (GMT 0)

 

 

Silicon Geek,

Hi and Welcome....I have been taking Methadone for well over 6 years and I'm not dead yet!!  I honestly have NEVER heard of it killing you because it builds up in your system....but then again, I am not a Dr. so......... but it does have some adverse effects... Like, you should be careful with your teeth.  For some reason, the people I know that take it long term have issues with their teeth.  Also, the constipation....but we all know about that here.

 

I don't think I would say it was a Last resort.  I know that with me it works better then Morphine.  I also know that it is being used more and more these days for CP. 

 

Every pain med has it's drawbacks.  Methadone seems to get the worst of it because of Anna Nicole Smith, but she was taking many other drugs too.

 

I am a Methadone Advocate, so I will say good things about it forever.... It literally saved my life....I was bad off with the pain until I started taking it.  And even though I am about to change to Opana ER, I will always be an Advocate for Methadone. 

 

With any Pain med. that is taken for very long periods of time you have to worry about building up a tolerance.  And after many years I feel like I need to switch things up a bit.  I want to get the maximum pain relief from whatever I take. 

 

So, I hope that your stimulator works well for you and I'm so happy that you don't need as much pain meds as before... We should all be so lucky...

 

Me.

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