[Melis11577]

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/472711451


On June 24th 2006 I lost my fiancé (Ron) to this deadly drug prescribed by a physician with a combination of other medications that acted as additives to the Methadone. He had knee surgery and became addicted to the percocet he was prescribed. He checked himself into Greenleaf in Valdosta, GA for detoxification. Upon entering the facility he was drug tested and did not come up positive for opiates (he had stopped taking the percocet 4 days before entering the facility). On the fourth day in detox he died sometime between 2am and 1pm in the afternoon (he was never checked on in all of those hours). The night before he died he was complaining of migraines and vomiting, apparently the staff thought he was still experiencing withdrawals and was not concerned about these symptoms. The symptoms of methadone toxicity mimic withdrawal symptoms physicians and staff must be very cognizant of the complex properties and metabolization of methadone. There were many errors made in my fiancé’s death including the fact that he was given numerous amounts of additive medications such as benzodiazepines. He had only been taking percocet for about 4 months and according to the DSM IV he wouldn’t be an appropriate candidate methadone maintenance treatment.

It doesn't matter specific reasons for taking methadone but what does matter is that this medication is deadly and physicians need to more prudent in prescribing it as well as monitoring their patients while beginning treatment of any kind using Methadone. I'm not sure if Ron was given methadone for the sole purpose for detoxification from opiates or if it was a combination of pain relief associated with numerous surgeries and opiate addiction. Methadone is difficult to properly dose no matter what reason it's being used for and primarily relies on the patient’s indications of how they feel (assumedly they are being monitored). There are ways to make the administration of methadone safer, it's just a matter of putting the focus on this drug and the deadly consequences when administered incorrectly or not monitored.

Many people are dying unnecessarily at the hands of the physicians they turn to for help. Methadone deaths are rising throughout the country. Ron was 32 years old and has 2 children from a previous marriage that now do not have a father.

Current statistics show that nearly 4000 people a year die from methadone. These deaths are mostly happening to pain management and detoxification patients within the first 10 days of taking initial dose. Most of these deaths are related to methadone prescribed with other medications that react as additives with methadone. Diversion of methadone is a serious problem because it lands this most deadly drug on streets. Statistics also state that methadone is contributing to more deaths nationwide then heroine and cocaine.

http://www.actionstudio.org/public/p...d=7555&tmode=0


www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[mpvt]

I'm sorry you lost your boyfriend but that happens to addicts.Methadone is a strong drug for sure but don't vilianize it just because it's been missused.You really don't know what your talking about.Get on with your life and quit blaming other people or drugs for your boyfriends death.....Dave

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by mpvt

I'm sorry you lost your boyfriend but that happens to addicts.Methadone is a strong drug for sure but don't vilianize it just because it's been missused.You really don't know what your talking about.Get on with your life and quit blaming other people or drugs for your boyfriends death.....Dave

Dave I know a lot of what I'm talking about. Addicts don't deserve to die. Doctors should be better educated about the drugs they are prescribing. Methadone is killing not only addicts but pain patients as well...did they also deserve to die?

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[shredded20]

You stated in your post that 4000 people a yr. die from methadone...how many people a year die in car accidents????...my point exactly should everyone stop driving??

[billy54]

How many milligrams of Meth was he on and was he on benzos while on the meth. I am sorry to here this But Im curious about his dose of Meth and how much benzo was he taking. I am on 160 mg of Meth and take xanax 6 mg a day for many years.

[DJdrew]

quote:Originally posted by mpvt

I'm sorry you lost your boyfriend but that happens to addicts.Methadone is a strong drug for sure but don't vilianize it just because it's been missused.You really don't know what your talking about.Get on with your life and quit blaming other people or drugs for your boyfriends death.....Dave

Have a little respect Dave. You're talking like an addict yourself; you seem to be pretty concerned about protecting the reputation of this drug, without regard to how much of a j*** a** you're being to someone who lost her fiance. There's a lot of good people out there that get hooked on pain pills because of injuries/surgeries, including a close friend of mine; this woman's fiance was a good man, he went in to detox so he could get help and overcome it. Sorry to criticize man, but I don't like how you threw a label on this guy without any regard to his loved ones, and without giving a **** to find out what this guy was all about. Some of the best people I've known have been addicts at some wayward point in their lives, but decided along the way that they were going to overcome it. It's pretty easy to stand up on the self-righteous soapbox and call out somebody else's flaw; it takes a lot more guts to look at yourself and think about the things you need to change-which is what people in rehab are doing, making them possibly braver and bolder than yourself Dave; I guess we'll find out if you are trying to change when we see your next post... Back to the drugs, I had never even heard of Methadone, and I appreciated the warning, thanks for helping us all become more aware, and good luck with the petitioning. I too have run into too many doctors lately that don't seem to know a whole lot about what they're doing as they've tried unsuccessfully to put together my broken hand... so I always appreciate being better educated about things to look out for when the doctors themselves might not think to. ---Drew

[mpvt]

I can see by the recent posts that we have some new people around here that are not very educated on addiction or opiate drugs so I will leave it at that.........Dave

[sydbean]

Dave~

Amen, amen!!!

~Syd

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by shredded20

You stated in your post that 4000 people a yr. die from methadone...how many people a year die in car accidents????...my point exactly should everyone stop driving??

No but there on restrictions on driving, such as having a license, wearing a seatbeat, speed limits, prevented from driving while intoxicated.

I don't think I said anything about stopping methadone even though it wouldn't bother me a bit if they did !!!!

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by billy54

How many milligrams of Meth was he on and was he on benzos while on the meth. I am sorry to here this But Im curious about his dose of Meth and how much benzo was he taking. I am on 160 mg of Meth and take xanax 6 mg a day for many years.

he was on 60mg of methadone and I'm not sure of the mg of the benzo's he was taking klonapin and valium..I'll have to check the medical records

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by DJdrew

Have a little respect Dave. You're talking like an addict yourself; you seem to be pretty concerned about protecting the reputation of this drug, without regard to how much of a j*** a** you're being to someone who lost her fiance. There's a lot of good people out there that get hooked on pain pills because of injuries/surgeries, including a close friend of mine; this woman's fiance was a good man, he went in to detox so he could get help and overcome it. Sorry to criticize man, but I don't like how you threw a label on this guy without any regard to his loved ones, and without giving a **** to find out what this guy was all about. Some of the best people I've known have been addicts at some wayward point in their lives, but decided along the way that they were going to overcome it. It's pretty easy to stand up on the self-righteous soapbox and call out somebody else's flaw; it takes a lot more guts to look at yourself and think about the things you need to change-which is what people in rehab are doing, making them possibly braver and bolder than yourself Dave; I guess we'll find out if you are trying to change when we see your next post... Back to the drugs, I had never even heard of Methadone, and I appreciated the warning, thanks for helping us all become more aware, and good luck with the petitioning. I too have run into too many doctors lately that don't seem to know a whole lot about what they're doing as they've tried unsuccessfully to put together my broken hand... so I always appreciate being better educated about things to look out for when the doctors themselves might not think to. ---Drew

Thank you very much for your kind words

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by mpvt

I can see by the recent posts that we have some new people around here that are not very educated on addiction or opiate drugs so I will leave it at that.........Dave

Dave, what makes you so educated on drugs??? Just because you take them doesn't make you an expert! Is everyone on methadone so blinded by this drug and overcome by apathy that they will do anything to protect the reputation of methadone. Have you even bothered to read what I am trying to do? Why don't you do a little research before condeming me for just trying to save lives!!!! The FDA issued a warning on methadone on 11/27/2006 are they uneducated as well??

Fact is people are dying because this drug is being overprescribed and patients are not being educated on the drugs they can not mix with methadone.

Over your eyes, maybe you can learn something.

http://www.myspace.com/stopmethadonedeaths

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[mpvt]

Of course they have issued warnings,methadone is a strong drug and when abused or prescribed the wrong way then people are going to die,no different then any other drug that's potent.Yes, I very much agree with you that the drug is being prescribed to the wrong people at times but thats for the DEA to handle which they do.I also agree that methadone should never be given to people who are taking benzodiazepines but I've been warning people on here for years about this.I also have a problem with methadone being prescribed to young people with a 2 or 3 years addiction.So I understand that methadone has it's problems but they far out weight the number of opiate addicts that have gotten their lives back on track with the help of methadone or the number of chronic pain patients that have finally gotten relief after years of suffering..........Dave

[mpvt]

Hi Melisa:I took some time out to read through your web sites and Ron's web site.I see what your doing and yes if you can make methadone safer then by all means.What I gathered from your posts is that you were trying to get methadone taken off the market and I don't agree with that.It is well known that methadone should not be taken with benzodiazepines,alcohol or any other depressants as the risk for respitory failure are just to great.Up here in Ontario Canada, my doctor will not prescribe any patient methadone if they are taking any depressants.His patients have to turn in weekly urine samples and be seen at least twice a month in order to get a methadone prescription.Were alot of the trouble lies is with pain doctors who are prescribing methadone to patients who are not ready for methadone.Also most of the methadone related deaths are from the methadone pills and\or waffers which mostly come from pain clinics and not methadone clinics.Everyone has to do their part when it comes to powerful drugs like methadone and yes there are some doctors who are not doing a competent job.Methadone is unlike any other opiate a pain patient or opiate addict has ever taken.It has an extremely long half life of 24-36 hrs which is one reason why when you take it you don't feel it like you would if you took a vicodin ect.This is were alot of people that die make their mistake.They take let's say 20mgs of methadone for a bad back.They wait a couple of hours and can't really feel it working so they take another 20 mgs.ow they have 40 mgs of methadone in their system and it's going to be their at least for 24 hrs.If this patient is not opiate tolerant then the risk of respitory failure is great.Addicts also make this same mistake because they are looking for a high which they aren't going to get,at least not what they are looking for.The addict takes to much and then maybe takes a couple valium so they can sleep (thinking that the methadone didn't work for them and they will be up all night in withdrawls)come morning someone usually finds them in bed dead.I work with pharmacists,doctors,nurses and patient advocates on harm reduction and methadone does occasionally come up.We seem to have a better hold on it here then they do in the states but up here methadone is not prescribed nearly as much for pain as it is in the states.I hope we understand each other better now.....Dave

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by mpvt

Hi Melisa:I took some time out to read through your web sites and Ron's web site.I see what your doing and yes if you can make methadone safer then by all means.What I gathered from your posts is that you were trying to get methadone taken off the market and I don't agree with that.It is well known that methadone should not be taken with benzodiazepines,alcohol or any other depressants as the risk for respitory failure are just to great.Up here in Ontario Canada, my doctor will not prescribe any patient methadone if they are taking any depressants.His patients have to turn in weekly urine samples and be seen at least twice a month in order to get a methadone prescription.Were alot of the trouble lies is with pain doctors who are prescribing methadone to patients who are not ready for methadone.Also most of the methadone related deaths are from the methadone pills and\or waffers which mostly come from pain clinics and not methadone clinics.Everyone has to do their part when it comes to powerful drugs like methadone and yes there are some doctors who are not doing a competent job.Methadone is unlike any other opiate a pain patient or opiate addict has ever taken.It has an extremely long half life of 24-36 hrs which is one reason why when you take it you don't feel it like you would if you took a vicodin ect.This is were alot of people that die make their mistake.They take let's say 20mgs of methadone for a bad back.They wait a couple of hours and can't really feel it working so they take another 20 mgs.ow they have 40 mgs of methadone in their system and it's going to be their at least for 24 hrs.If this patient is not opiate tolerant then the risk of respitory failure is great.Addicts also make this same mistake because they are looking for a high which they aren't going to get,at least not what they are looking for.The addict takes to much and then maybe takes a couple valium so they can sleep (thinking that the methadone didn't work for them and they will be up all night in withdrawls)come morning someone usually finds them in bed dead.I work with pharmacists,doctors,nurses and patient advocates on harm reduction and methadone does occasionally come up.We seem to have a better hold on it here then they do in the states but up here methadone is not prescribed nearly as much for pain as it is in the states.I hope we understand each other better now.....Dave

Thank you Dave for taking the time to read what I am trying to do. I have actually taken some of Canada's law in regards to prescribing methadone to use as an example of what we should be doing here in the U.S. I actually found a website where people on methadone are telling other what OTC drugs to take with their methadone so they can get high..what vitamins will effect methadone's metabolization in the liver and so on...this is scary!!

I have said several time I don't personally like methadone, I don't like any psychotropic or narcotic medications but for the purpose's of my fight I want methadone to be safer and for those of you who don't abuse your prescriptions...I am no threat at all!

Melissa

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[tom316]

Melis I am sorry for your loss. I look at methadone like this: How can a drug that causes "so called " longer withdrawl periods and worse symptoms be better. I know what it's like to be a slave to a Methadone clinic,I've done it! I'm almost 21 days off of 100 mg of methadone cold turkey.No cravings and I'm doing fine! Take care of yourself and don't let anything stand in your way!

[MoonlightandWine]

quote:Originally posted by mpvt

I'm sorry you lost your boyfriend but that happens to addicts.Methadone is a strong drug for sure but don't vilianize it just because it's been missused.You really don't know what your talking about.Get on with your life and quit blaming other people or drugs for your boyfriends death.....Dave

MLAW

[Melis11577]

quote:Originally posted by tom316

Melis I am sorry for your loss. I look at methadone like this: How can a drug that causes "so called " longer withdrawl periods and worse symptoms be better. I know what it's like to be a slave to a Methadone clinic,I've done it! I'm almost 21 days off of 100 mg of methadone cold turkey.No cravings and I'm doing fine! Take care of yourself and don't let anything stand in your way!

Thanks Tom !! Good luck with your recovery and stay strong & positive!!

much love
melissa

www.renato-capozzo.memory-of.com

[MAT_saves_lives]

Although Prohibition ended 70 years ago, a new agenda of temperance is alive and well and growing at an incredible rate. With the advent of the internet the development of new citizen groups loosely modeled after "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" we have found Methadone maintenance, highly structured with 50 years of proven efficacy, at the center of a new debate. In the media and online a lot of scary claims are being thrown around. The most dangerous of these are not those that are false; we who are reliant on Methadone assisted treatment are quick to debunk those. Rather, the dangerous ones are those that are true or partially true when there is no research that shows the cause and effect and that's being implied. These groups are hell bent on perpetuating the myth that methadone is "trading one addiction for another" or that it's a "number #2 killer" all the while portraying the professional working men and women who have found a new life thanks to the availablity of methadone maintenance programs as people who use your tax dollars to feed their addictions and support their immoral lifestyles. They paint a picture of uneducated, mentally unstable street people driving recklessly between the clinic and the ghetto, robbing little old ladies and running over unsuspecting school children, a trail of dead bodies in their wake. Noone escapes their judgemental criticism. The Doctors and clinicians are no better than the evil street pusher, derelict doctors out for money randomly give away free drugs at ridiculously high doses, supplying the community with such a glut of free methadone that it's almost forced upon the young innocent children in our communities. How else can these people come to terms with the thought that their loved one may have had some responsibility in their own death?

This newest group, HARMD ("Helping America Reduce Methadone Deaths") is fueled by anger and grief. Their apparent spokesperson, Melissa Zuppardi, constantly makes misleading statements about the number of people killed in methadone related deaths in an apparent effort to exaggerate the extent of the problem and enhance fundraising and legislative lobbying efforts. There is simply no legitimate reason to insist falsely that methadone related deaths are a growing epidemic. In many of these cases methadone is scape-goated, pointed to as the "cause" of death regardless of what other drugs or factors exist.

Methadone maintenance treatment gives those of us who have struggled with opiate and heroin addiction a fighting chance to take our lives back. Some stay on maintenance for the rest of their lives. Others slowly titrate down after years, even decades, of treatment. Studies done by Dr. Kreek and others have shown that Methadone heals damage done by heroin use and when taken over the long term can reinstate endorphin function making it an ideal drug for some. Granted, there is no shortage of people just "out for a high" giving Methadone a bad name; and no, we are not all Boy Scouts, but we are good people who deserve to use a medication that has worked for us and many before us. Just because it doesn't work for you, or because someone wasn't careful doesn't mean you have to put all your energy into a senseless War On Drugs, putting MORE restrictions on a drug that people are using to save their lives with. Neo-prohibition is NOT the answer.

Methadone maintenance treatment has had clear benefits in reducing heroin abuse and its medical and psychosocial complications, it is medically safe to use on a long-term basis, and may have broad benefits for the disrupted biology that is associated with heroin abuse. Do not buy the fake science, pumped up statistics and misleading rhetoric of these groups. Stricter laws will only make treatment less accessable, more lives will be lost, and those loved ones we have lost will not be brought back.


Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.