[MyGreenEyes]

Well... I decided that I am finally ready to get over the fear of not having something to lean that I've been dependent on for about two years. I'm new to this site and after reading some of the information passed back and forth, I decided to share my story and get feedback from anyone who was willing.

Where do I start? In the summer of 2005 I was in a horrible accident where I shattered the right side of my face, died and was revived, memory loss for 6 months and a very, very long recovery process. The right side of my face now consists of titanium plates. Due to the pain I was in and the continuous infections in the plates, I was put on countless medications for pain. Being a young, healthy and athletic woman before my accident, I was somewhat sucked in with what the doctors were giving me and it became a normal part of my day; the more medication I used the less it hurt and the more 'normal' I felt. Days turned into weeks, weeks to months and before I knew it I was unable to feel normal without the medication.

I decided to start methadone... This was a decision I made while in the midst of a horrible withdrawal moment and completely desperate for anything that would help. I started taking the medication and I felt like my world flipped aroud for the better. I was finally at ease with waking up and not having to reach for the pill bottle, timing out how long I had before I would need to take another one and being able to be with friends and family without feeling that I was hiding something from them.

I started out at 35mg a day and tapered down really slow. I had to go up a few times after trying to drop too fast and since then I feel like I have been smart about how fast I've gone down. I've been at 2mg for about 3 weeks and a few days ago I went down to 1mg. I had my last dose a little over 48 hours ago and honeslty havn't felt anything more than irritation and being somewhat foggy. Last night I had some hot and cold flashes but was able to sleep with the ambien my doctor supplied me with when I told her my plans to quit.

I guess I'm wondering what to expect from here. I've been reading the horror stories about methadone but I'm pretty determined to get through this thinking positively so I am not tempted to go back if things get worse. I have a takeout that I haven't even used (1mg) and am not planning to use it. I kept it in case I start getting the creepy crawly feeling at night. I experienced this when I was trying to detox off of the pain meds and couldn't handle it. I can deal with any withdrawal besides that.

Anyway... sorry this is so long. Anyone out there who has used ambien to sleep while detoxing? It seems to be working for me. Also, I hear the peak is around 48 hours and I'm feeling pretty good. Not sure if its because my dose was so low when I quit or if its because I'm actually sleeping so my senses aren't super sensitive.

Anyone who can relate... please reply

[Robert_325]

Congratulations! You've done incredibly well. I hesitate to say you won't feel anything yet though. The w/d symptoms from methadone can hit you after a few days even at 1mg.

It would not be a failure if you felt bad to take the taper down even lower. Let's hope you don't need to but I see people taper down with methadone to nothing if possible. And the ambien is okay at the point you're at right now. As long as you aren't taking the methadone the ambien will be okay ... just be conservative as you can with it.

Please keep us posted how you're doing. Again congratulations on your recovery. You are definitely a success story. God bless.

[MyGreenEyes]

Thanks Last night was the first night that it hit me (just a tad bit). But, when the first wave of any type of withdrawal is felt it feels like it will never end. I ended up taking half of my 1mg dose... waited for an hour or so and took the other half. I was able to sleep for a couple of hours and woke up this morning in a foul mood. All I thought was 'what's the point of getting out of bed'...
So instead of moping around all day I got dressed, got my computer and my school books and headed down to starbucks so that i wasn't alone. I'm not looking forward to 'later on', whenever it might be that I feel it full force, but if it's not here yet I can't worry about it. Cool that its right before Easter... blah

[batss]

im not really an expert on anything. infact im on subs for heroin addiction, but i think you would be better off not using anymore methadone, like your 1 mg rescue kit, again. maybe get some short acting opiates to get you thru. like hydros or smt. i honeestly dont know ******** about pills. is vicodin the same as hydro? i just know drugs and i think you should switch up your methadone to something else. just my two cents. i dont believe theres a risk of you getting addicted to something weak as hydrocodone, you seem to be a very strong willed person. i think youll do it but yeah, methadone is a hard ass kick even though you might not realize it til days after your last dose. good luck

[melinda7.5]

Originally Posted by batss

im not really an expert on anything. infact im on subs for heroin addiction, but i think you would be better off not using anymore methadone, like your 1 mg rescue kit, again. maybe get some short acting opiates to get you thru. like hydros or smt. i honeestly dont know ******** about pills. is vicodin the same as hydro? i just know drugs and i think you should switch up your methadone to something else. just my two cents. i dont believe theres a risk of you getting addicted to something weak as hydrocodone, you seem to be a very strong willed person. i think youll do it but yeah, methadone is a hard ass kick even though you might not realize it til days after your last dose. good luck

Hi batss
Yes vicodin and hydro are the same thing...LOL
and let me tell you they are addicting...OH MAN ...
that is what started my pill habbit...
I went from vic's to perc's then to the oxycontin...
they are all bad...
Have a good day...
Melinda

[mpvt]

You won't get bad withdrawls until day 4-5 as serum level takes that long to change.
I think you went down from 2 mgs to 1mg to quickly. You should have stayed at 1 mg for at least a month and then drop to .5mgs. Methadone is an exellent drug but you have to wean off of it extremely slow or you will suffer terrible withdrawls. All in all I wish you the best and hope that you get lucky and don't suffer, hang in there and come to the site often for support.....Dave

[MyGreenEyes]

Hey all,
I am done with methadone... have been for a week now. I feel incredible. I had a night or two where I wanted to rip my skin off but I got through it. I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms since. I don't know if I'm just lucky, or if I wanted to get off it so bad that I set my mind to beat it no matter what. I filled out my discharge papers at the clinic yesterday and it felt great knowing I wouldn't be a slave to that place anymore. It helped when I needed it but I don't want it anymore.

[ddosher]

Originally Posted by MyGreenEyes

Hey all,
I am done with methadone... have been for a week now. I feel incredible. I had a night or two where I wanted to rip my skin off but I got through it. I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms since. I don't know if I'm just lucky, or if I wanted to get off it so bad that I set my mind to beat it no matter what. I filled out my discharge papers at the clinic yesterday and it felt great knowing I wouldn't be a slave to that place anymore. It helped when I needed it but I don't want it anymore.

Kudos to you for making up your mind. The work does not stop when you put the substance down. The work SHOULD be just beginning. I hope and pray that you recognize your need for support in some kind of recovery program and in the higher power of your choice. Good luck.
Donna

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by MyGreenEyes

Hey all,
I am done with methadone... have been for a week now. I feel incredible. I had a night or two where I wanted to rip my skin off but I got through it. I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms since. I don't know if I'm just lucky, or if I wanted to get off it so bad that I set my mind to beat it no matter what. I filled out my discharge papers at the clinic yesterday and it felt great knowing I wouldn't be a slave to that place anymore. It helped when I needed it but I don't want it anymore.

The thing about what DAVE said is that dropping off methadone from 2mg down to 1mg doesn't seem like a lot but that is 50% of the dose you were on. Then jumping off at 1mg is 100% of that dose. It's the same thing when people taper off suboxone. We always suggest doing a reduction based on the total daily dose and then taking it all the way down to zero slowly just like Dave suggested. Doesn't mean that is the ONLY way you can do it, but it's definitely the way to do that is most comfortable on YOU.

I'm behind you 100% and so is Dave and everyone else if you can do this and not be too uncomfortable, not anymore than what you want to deal with at least. We just always recommend the most physically comfortable way to detox if possible. So best of luck to you with the way you're doing it. God bless.

[MyGreenEyes]

Thank you all for replying and giving personal input. It helps me see beyond my own experience and makes me feel less alone. This has been one of the toughest things to go through, besides my accident itself, and I am finding that although it sucks... its VERY doable.
I want everyone to know that I had been tapering myself of SLOWLY for over a year before I got low enough to quit taking it. I understand the concern with quitting such a huge percentage of my dose, but I was working with the nurse (who was EXCELLENT) and feel blessed to have gotten treatment at the place I did. I hear horror stores about methadone clinics and I just have to say that mine was extraordinary with how their patients were treated. I'm still attending groups twice a month and I'm not going to put an end date on it because I'll go for a good while. I don't want to lose grips with sobriety and know that if I surround myself with people who are still at the clinic I'll be reminded of how badly I wanted to get out of treatment and get my life back. Remembering this will help me.
I feel like I'm a different case than a lot of people because I never had an addiction before this. I've always been healthy and active and this really shattered my life. I had memory loss and by the time I 'came to' I was already hooked on the medication without knowing it. Its been a wild ride but I made the choice to get help, and now I'm praying that this will be the end of the road with 'medication'. I'm on lexapro to deal with my PTSD issues and that's all I want to be on. I'll get off that soon enough.