Does methadone become more addictive the longer that you're on it?

[Jealousi]

Will withdrawals become worse the longer that u take methadone? I have been taking it for a month and would like to get off of it before I become too addicted. It will be easier to detox from a month of methadone rather than years of methadone treatment? Or a few months for that matter? How fast does methadone build in your body? Is it a drug that u develop a quick tolerance to?
Once I stop taking methadone completely how long before I will feel opiates, and will opiates ease the withdrawals from methadone? Just as the methadone has helped withdrawals from opiates? The reason I ask is because I am more comfortable weening completely off of roxi's as I have dealt with those MANY times before. Methadone intimidates me, the half life.. the fact that I could b non functional for months and months after I stop taking it. I have a very busy life in which I have managed to keep my addiction a secret from everyone, there is no way possible that I am able to detox miserably for that long. I've kicked my opiate habit on my own countless times in the past, but only did it because I had to not because I wanted to. That is the key to recovery. You have to want it for yourself or you'll just go right back to getting high again. The point is that I am ready this time and not knowing any better I thought that methadone would b a crutch for me to lean on while kicking the habit for good this time. I had NO IDEA what I was getting into. I believe methadone should only b given to the addicts who are so completely out of control that they need a substance that powerful and addictive and EViL just to keep them from overdosing and killing themselves. Methadone, however is not ideal in my situation and I want off!!!

[bailey90]

Hey there man/women!
I am also a recoverying addict (clean date Jan19th, 2010 ). I was addicted to herion + roxys/oxys whatever i can get my hand on that would give me that nice happy feeling we all love to case =/. When i decided to get clean my first step was putting myself into the Methadone program. Thought it would be a good idea, gives me what i need to function and dont have to pay. Was there for about 10months and not once did i slip up and use. But the reason is because Methadone is ALOT stronger then any other drug and i was getting it free and willingly. Sense going on the program( no longer on it ) i try to talk anyone and everyone and tell them NOT TO DO IT!!!! The people that work at the clinic are just trying to do there job and help you out, which i guess in there own way they are, keeping you off the streets. But there just replacing your D.O.C (drug of choice) with a drug thats even more dangerous. Sorry for the rambling i just really dont approve of the clinic even tho they do help if you do the correct thing. But yes you are going to go into W/D (withdrawls) And the W/D is TERRIBLE it is soooo much worse then oxys and herion and i had W/Ds from both those drugs. Your W/Ds will depend on your MGs you take daily and amount of time you been on it. You said you only been on it for 1month which is good. But they will tapper you down like they did with me ( or you can just stop going completely which is a terrible idea ) I was on 135mgs and every 2 or 3days they would drop me down 5mgs. But they usually recommend you dropping 2mgs every week or few weeks even 2mgs every month. But i was in a rush to get ontop Suboxones so they did it quick for me. Once i hit 40mgs i started going into slight W/Ds at night. Once i was at 25/20mgs it was soooooooo freakkkkkkking baaaaaaaad! Imagine the W/Ds you had with roxys and times it by few million (seriously). The pain and anxiety and everything was threw the roof. But i new i just needed to survice 2more weeks and i would be all better on the Suboxones. But the life span on Methadone is fairly long. Sense you were on for only a month it wont take that long like other people. But your have about a week or little bit longer of hardcore W/Ds sry to say and then about a month till your completely better =/. The best way to tapper is doing it slowly like they say to. Every 2-5mgs every week-1month. BUT then your getting more addicted because your be on it even longer which you dont want. So i advice that you ask to be dropped 5mgs every 1-3days (depending on what you think be best and if your in a hurry to get off ). But if im remembering correctly i believe it takes 3-5days after your last dose for it to completely get out of your system and then the hard part comes with W/Ds. I think you said you might go back to roxys to tapper off then just try come off of those. Dont do it. If your looking for a replacement for it will go easier i would transfer to Suboxone. In my opinion there the easiest to come off of and they will take care of your W/Ds and cravings. I hope i answered some of your questions Sir/Mam. I wish you the best of luck not going to lie its going be very very hard for you, but stay clear minded and keep updating your status and were all help you threw it. Good Luck Again! Take Care

[bailey90]

im sorry i 4got to answer your 2nd part on how long it will take for you to feel opiates and if there help...
Well with Methadone because if has a long life span. It will take as long as it takes for the Methadone to completely get out of your system for you to feel the FULL effect of other opiates. So around a week till your beable to get the full effects of any opiates. If you take anything b4 the Methadone leaves your system you will still feel SOME of the effects of the drug your taking but not the full effect which basically is a waste if you think about it. And your question asking if taking any opiates will help with your W/Ds. Yes it will help. But if your going to take anything to ease your W/D REMEBER PLZ REMEMBER to take a very very small about to just bearly take the edge off. Because if your going take a large amount to take the full W/D away your just wasting all the time you just went threw with W/Ds because you got high. This way if you take say 2 vics/perc 5mgs every 4hours that should help you threw it alot. Thats what i did my 1st attempt to get clean and i was taking over 10 Oxy80s daily so the 2 vics or percs every few hours should be very helpful because it did help me quite a bit. So yes the longer your on it the harder and worse the W/Ds will be and im sorry i dont know exactly how it builds or how fast it builds in your body but i do no it attaches itself to your muscles. And yes with Methadone you build a fast tolerance with just like any other opiates. Sorry for replying twice just wanted make sure i answered your questions with detail. Good Luck!

[Jealousi]

Hey there man/women!
I am also a recoverying addict (clean date Jan19th, 2010 ). I was addicted to herion + roxys/oxys whatever i can get my hand on that would give me that nice happy feeling we all love to case =/. When i decided to get clean my first step was putting myself into the Methadone program. Thought it would be a good idea, gives me what i need to function and dont have to pay. Was there for about 10months and not once did i slip up and use. But the reason is because Methadone is ALOT stronger then any other drug and i was getting it free and willingly. Sense going on the program( no longer on it ) i try to talk anyone and everyone and tell them NOT TO DO IT!!!! The people that work at the clinic are just trying to do there job and help you out, which i guess in there own way they are, keeping you off the streets. But there just replacing your D.O.C (drug of choice) with a drug thats even more dangerous. Sorry for the rambling i just really dont approve of the clinic even tho they do help if you do the correct thing. But yes you are going to go into W/D (withdrawls) And the W/D is TERRIBLE it is soooo much worse then oxys and herion and i had W/Ds from both those drugs. Your W/Ds will depend on your MGs you take daily and amount of time you been on it. You said you only been on it for 1month which is good. But they will tapper you down like they did with me ( or you can just stop going completely which is a terrible idea ) I was on 135mgs and every 2 or 3days they would drop me down 5mgs. But they usually recommend you dropping 2mgs every week or few weeks even 2mgs every month. But i was in a rush to get ontop Suboxones so they did it quick for me. Once i hit 40mgs i started going into slight W/Ds at night. Once i was at 25/20mgs it was soooooooo freakkkkkkking baaaaaaaad! Imagine the W/Ds you had with roxys and times it by few million (seriously). The pain and anxiety and everything was threw the roof. But i new i just needed to survice 2more weeks and i would be all better on the Suboxones. But the life span on Methadone is fairly long. Sense you were on for only a month it wont take that long like other people. But your have about a week or little bit longer of hardcore W/Ds sry to say and then about a month till your completely better =/. The best way to tapper is doing it slowly like they say to. Every 2-5mgs every week-1month. BUT then your getting more addicted because your be on it even longer which you dont want. So i advice that you ask to be dropped 5mgs every 1-3days (depending on what you think be best and if your in a hurry to get off ). But if im remembering correctly i believe it takes 3-5days after your last dose for it to completely get out of your system and then the hard part comes with W/Ds. I think you said you might go back to roxys to tapper off then just try come off of those. Dont do it. If your looking for a replacement for it will go easier i would transfer to Suboxone. In my opinion there the easiest to come off of and they will take care of your W/Ds and cravings. I hope i answered some of your questions Sir/Mam. I wish you the best of luck not going to lie its going be very very hard for you, but stay clear minded and keep updating your status and were all help you threw it. Good Luck Again! Take Care

I am have only been going to dose once every other day, and managed to get the clinic to bring my dose down to 110, but since I cannot attend treatment everyday that's all that I could get them to do for me. So I found myself stuck, and going 3 days at times without getting that dose of methadone I felt as if I was gonna die. This created a whole, new bigger problem in my life. I lost my job bcause the w/d's were too bad to hide while working. So with my last little bit of money I managed to score 20 8mg strips of subs. Now I'm faced with trying to make the switch when I'm on such a high dose of meth and cannot b tapered off. They cannot help me at my clinic since I cannot attend everyday, and now I just plain can't afford it. I kno I have to wait 72 hours from my last dose bfore taking subs. But is that even long enough for me having such a high dosage? I plan on visiting the ER if I have to wait longer than 3 days bcause I kno from experience that after 3 days is complete agony. And hopefully they can give me something to ease my withdrawal symptoms...

[newyorkgal]

First, I am NOT on a methadone program but it is NOT evil. It has saved lives. People are different and need different things. Methadone is just one way of combating addiction for certain people. It is definitely not for everyone but I really hate when people call it "evil". For a hard core addict with many relapses under the belt, it might be the only way to go. I was on a methadone program, did the right thing, and it saved me from a heroin addiction that surely would have killed me eventually.

Second, I do not think that you should even think about switching to sub from a dose of 110 mgs. even if you don't take it daily. Actually, if you've only been taking it for a month and only take it 3 or 4 times a week, your best bet would be to use the methadone to do a slow taper. Once you get down to around 30 mgs. you can switch to sub. If you do use the sub, there is something called the COWS worksheet which you can google which will tell you when you're able to make the switch. However, I personally don't think the methadone w/d will be as bad as above poster said if you're talking about 30 days a few times a week.

[disabledleo]

Have to say "GREAT POST"
To the point & direct. Hope your post will guide this person the right way.
I am impressed & you should know that & it should make you feel GOOD.....
Have a wonderful day

[newyorkgal]

Thank you so much Leo for that post. I don't know everything about everything but what I do know, I post about and it kind of bugs me when people call methadone "evil". Is it highly addictive and hard to get off of? Yes. Are there people who are heavily addicted to other opiates? Doing bad things to get their doc? Chronically relapsing? Well, there is methadone which can be a huge help. Again, not for everyone and a last resort, but I know it saves lives and when used properly, it's just another treatment.

[yezdegerd]

Thank you so much Leo for that post. I don't know everything about everything but what I do know, I post about and it kind of bugs me when people call methadone "evil". Is it highly addictive and hard to get off of? Yes. Are there people who are heavily addicted to other opiates? Doing bad things to get their doc? Chronically relapsing? Well, there is methadone which can be a huge help. Again, not for everyone and a last resort, but I know it saves lives and when used properly, it's just another treatment.

I am extremely thankful for my methadone clinic. Do people abuse methadone? Yes, but if used properly can change someones life for the better. Once you're at a stable dose you know longer get the "high" feeling. I started abusing opiates because it gave me that OOMF i needed to get up and be happy with life. I am still able to get that without chasing drugs and all the stress and stigma. The amount of opiate addicts that make it out of their addiction with complete abstinence is so small in number you wouldn't believe! Did you know that on all the addiction shows on A&E like intervention that those people are all on long term suboxone use, yet considered sober? It's because they are. They simply take a medicine daily to feel better.