richard10...I was "hijacked" by a local clinic and I want my PCP to wean me off methadone, not them. I can't afford the clinic and the slow rate of weaning they require. I am hoping I could go from 130mg/day to 50mg/day. Is this possible? What can I expect to happen if I do? I need help FAST!
RLM
Can I go from 130mg to 50mg overnight w/o problems?
- Posted:
- 16 Nov 2010 by richard102055
- Topics:
- methadone
Details:
Added 20 Nov 2010:
I would like to add that I was being treated by a licensed physician who had me at 80mg/day and when he went on vacation, I had to go to this clinic to get my refill that was due as my dr. was not in town. The clinic only gave me a daily dose of 35mg. and assumed I was there solely as a patient. This was NOT the case. I wanted to go back to my dr. when he returned but the clinic took over my case as well as several other patients by telling us lies about our doctor. Very unethical. I wish to return to my doctor's care at a dose that is better suited for me; not some jacked-up dose they have me on. Is this possible to drop back down without any major physical problems? PLEASE HELP ME!
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also, let me add that I've gone from 35 to 16 mgs since thanksgiving with very little w.ds... super tolerable. Let them rapid detox you and when you can't deal with it, stop for a few days and see how you do. thats what i did
and im down to 11 tomorrow. Also, drink wheatgrass!!!
I was at 135mg for about two weeks. Then came down to 130mg for 2 weeks. Presently I am at 125mg for the past 5 days. This is as fast as the "clinic" will allow me to lower my dose (5mg per 2 weeks). I know it's only for money, not the sake of the patient. However, my financial state has changed greatly as of the other day and I may be having to go cold turkey and am scared!!!
Hi Richard. It's been a proven fact that the safest decreases of methadone should be no more than 10% every 10 days to 2 weeks. So I would have to say going from 130mg to 50mg is too fast. I'm only repeating what it states in the medical guidelines. I know some of these clinics are bad news and only in it for the money. But you have to do this safely too. Shame on them for lying to you. Maybe you could file some sort of complaint? I know you want off the methadone fast. But the chance of relapse is even higher doing it that way. Please give yourself the best chances to get off and stay off the methadone. A slow taper combined with counseling is your best bet. Is there any underlying condition that causes pain? If so, you'll need to take that in to account. Be safe and have a wonderful new year.
chris
"For Medically Supervised Withdrawal After a Period of Maintenance Treatment
There is considerable variability in the appropriate rate of methadone taper in patients choosing medically supervised withdrawal from methadone treatment. It is generally suggested that dose reductions should be less than 10% of the established tolerance or maintenance dose, and that 10 to 14-day intervals should elapse between dose reductions. Because Diskets can be administered only in 10 mg increments, it may not be the appropriate product for gradual dose reduction in many patients. Patients should be apprised of the high risk of relapse to illicit drug use associated with discontinuation of methadone maintenance treatment."
CHRIS: Thanks for the info. I will discuss this with the "so-called" counselor at that blasted clinic tomorrow to set up a tapering plan of 10% of my dose every 10-14 days as suggested. I can only hope this works for my funds are extremely limited and I am facing possible completely having to stop going to that clinic. It's too expensive. Rich
Best of luck to you, Rich. Please let us know how it turns out for you.
Thank you. Right now I am very afraid. I feel as though methadone has total control over me & my life. I'm scared. I'm not living, just existing and I HATE THIS! God, please help me!
Hang in there Richard. I know this is very hard to do, but try to talk with someone. Can you get to an N/A meeting? Maybe some counseling? Even friends or family you can turn to just to talk about stuff. It can help a lot. Fear can eat us up inside if we let it. So many people have gone through this and may be able to help you cope better. I remember going through this too. I really didn't have much in the way of a support system in place, no one I could talk to that would understand my fear and pain I was in. But it did get better with time. Time and finding the right people to talk with. You're not alone in feeling this way. Try to look more positively at the situation too. I know it seems impossible, but even in the worse case scenario, there's always still hope!
R do hang in there. I will be at 0 this Friday. I went from 35 to O this Friday since this Tday. That's just a little over a month. 35mgs in one month. Your body knows best. Everyone is different. I say screw with being 'totally comfortable' during the w.ds. SO WHAT if there's some discomfort, aches and pains, mood swings, depression, irritability? That's US coming back to life. Remember turning 'adolescent'? All the hormones and the wild mood swings? No one said we needed drugs to get through that. Illnesses? We just went through them. You should expect to FEEL. That's the goal. We need to stop babying ourselves and catering to the F>E>A>R (false evidence appearing real) Taper as fast as you can for as long as you can TOLERATE. That means to the point where your whole self states quite strongly "O.K.
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I'm GOOD here for a little bit.' And then, after a couple few nights where you feel well and are sleeping, taper some more!!! My clinic resisted very strongly my tapering; I had to miss two payments to have the clinics comp. start rapid detoxing me... and then when I went in to fix it, since I had been at the lowered dose already (13mg dosage from 35 in just three days) and was already handling it, I told them it didn't make sense to up me back to where I was... just to keep it at the lowered dose. That kinda caught them off guard and they couldn't argue it as I wasn't it severe w.ds. It was OBVIOUS. So, again, I had to beg and beg to go down faster, but they wouldn't let me (Dr. forgot to sign my decrease papers --hmmmmm) so I missed my paymt. due date very intentionally, and for the first time EVER the clinic was willing to float me through Jan. Really? I told them no, taper me NOW... it's stupid, I only took half my take home dose and have been at 4 mgs for three days... why change it... I'm done. and finally, finally, they let go. It's scary, their agenda. Thats not to say I haven't had excellent care through the clinic, please don't misunderstand me. What I'm tryint to say
is that our recovery is in our hands totally, and that may mean we get creative, active, and self empowering... WE MUST. Times are a changing, and we should change with them.
THANKS TO YOU for your kind words and support. It means so very much to me right now. I go in tomorrow (Fri.) and get 3 take home doses since I am at Level II. I am going to purposely half the dose Sat-Mon and see what happens. If all seems "okay" then I will tell them they will NEED to reduce my dose to 65 (from 125). And continue from there 10mg a week if I can to get off this stuff ASAP for I do not have the money to stay on it and I DO NOT NEED IT! I do have pain issues but there are much better SAFER ways of dealing with my pain than narcotics or methadone! My body knows this and I KNOW THIS! Thanks to you guys I am feeling stronger about this whole ordeal. I know no one in my area who has been thru this and gotten away from this clinic that "hijacked" me from my doctor in the first place with their lies and deceit. What they have done to me is wrong on so many levels.
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I have spoken to two other doctors and pharmacists about what they did/are doing and have been told that the Clinic is at fault here and should be reprimanded for what they did to me. I have to get well first, then, go from there. THANK YOU GUYS AGAIN SO MUCH!
Richard