[the signlady]

Hi
My son (age 25) after years of heroin addiction (and all the other drugs) bouts of homeless etc, and multiple times on and off, finally decided methandone was his last resort.

He went onboard mid August last year at a local methadone clinic. His max dose was 100mg

He is detoxing now and down to about 26mg on a 1 mg per day detox schedule

He is now at the point that the detox sickness is daily. Seems the first half day after getting medicated are ok, but second half of the day is the problem

The other issue is that he is on seroquel and trazadone for mental issues. He also takes a multi vitamin and 1000 mg of calcium a day which has helped a bit.

Getting to see the clinic doctor is always difficult at this location and can be days to weeks with them, and he also just started with a new psychiatrist

fyi the clinic fired their psychiatrist last month without replacing here which is why he had to change his psych care

hes now the only one in the area who was independent of the methadone clinics-but is older and not really on the ball on the detox info)
his primary md is also clueless since he is a neighborhood md, who takes his medicaid/welfare healthinsurance but whose pactice is mostly older patients in the neighborhood

We are trying to find out if there are any OTHER meds other then the clonopin or xanax BENZO TYPES, which put him in veggie state-NOT a good mix with his current psych meds, that might be beneficial in easing the detox issues, ie vomiting, twitching etc etc

I will support him on legal additives (meds))I have him living back at home with me and want to help him get through this the right way,so he can move on and hopefully get past this

It makes no sense to either of us to stretch out the 1mg detox or upping the dose back up, since both only prolong the current situation and would only find himself back there again
HELP requested from MD or others

Thanks






lm

lm

[RoC1909]

Hi,

I made a post in regards to this in the "other forum".

Just stating in case you don't catch it

J

[jgcmd]

I am sorry to hear about your son's plight. I would recommend looking into Suboxone (buprenorphine). It is a medication that can only be prescribed by physicians who have obtained a special permit to prescibe it from the DEA. It stops opiate withdrawal symptoms but does not cause euphoria and is therefore not itself addictive. It is used to aid in withdrawal (detox) and promote abstinence (prevent cravings for opiates). Additionally, unlike heroin or even methadone, it is difficult to overdose on because even large doses do not usually cause serious side effects. I hope this helps.

[bobbyslady]

quote:Originally posted by the signlady

We are trying to find out if there are any OTHER meds other then the clonopin or xanax BENZO TYPES, which put him in veggie state-NOT a good mix with his current psych meds, that might be beneficial in easing the detox issues, ie vomiting, twitching etc etc

Phenergan will help immensely with the nausea but I dont know about the twitches.I wish I had more information for you.I would call around to a couple of other detox clinics and tell them your situation and see if they have any recommendations.Its a thought,possibility.Im sorry for what your son and family are going thru but you must be proud that he is doing something to make himself better.I will be praying for him and your family.Good luck to you.

[the signlady]

Seems like Suboxone is what everyone is mentioning
We looked it up, but has anyone actually USED it?
When you read the information, it reduces the effect of the methadone and has its own withdrawal issues?
So before really finding out, would really like to know if
anyone on these chats ever actually used Suboxone???
Thanks

FYI My son is aware of my posting, Im the computer person here
so he does know I am researching for info for him




lm

[have_empathy777]

It is so great that you are supporting him through this.
Great Idea not to put him on any Benzo type drugs because those are very addictive. Perhaps the anti-depressant is not working well with his body chemistrty. COunseling with a psychologist may help him and or group therepy to know that he is not alone at beating this addiction. I've been to rehab, NA and AA and I found that talking with a counselor, who I felt comfortable and i knew was actually listening, helped me a lot. Also, he needs to stay away from those people, places and things that remind him of using. Those are huge triggers. I don't know if anything I'm saying helps but just let your son know and feel loved and supported. Find out why the addiction resulted in the 1st place or allow him to explore through his thoughts and feelings and events with you or a counselor, friend whatever and let him know he can still do something with his life and take this as a learning experience. I'm sorry, I ramble alot and go off subjectbut BEST OF EVERYTHING TO YOU AND YOUR SON and I'll end like that.
Take Care,
RK

[the signlady]

thanks RK

He has been with THIS methadone clinic since august, HE does IOP SESSIONS three days a week, one on one with his counselor every other week. he was originally getting his psych care at the clinic, but this dr was mis diagnosing his other problems and mis medicating him, so guess what a few weeks back they fired her (must have had other people with issues with her) so he is now seeing a new psychiatrist but that means he is now starting over with finding the right med combo for schizo-effective, some depression and possible ADD (thats been an issue for years-unresolved) the two have many overlapping symptoms
With his insurance his new psychiatrist was the only one locally that was independent and not with a methadone clinic, since the other one close by wanting him to switch everything- not convenient, nor did it make sense since he was already doing the IOP for months

His primary MD, is not really involved in this type care, again with his insurance thru medicaid, selecting drs can be really a chore.
So momemtarily, hes stuck with a mix and match of clueless drs

The issue I was asking about, by the way he knows and read the original posting, is that he is down to about 20mg of the methadone on a 1mg a day decreasing dose, but at about 30-35 started the withdrawal problems, pain, twitching, etc.difficutly sleeping

The issue is that is is taking seroquel and trazadone which means the usual low dose of any benzo's to ease the withdrawl symptoms CANT be used-they make the methandone drop off quicker and basically make him sleep for a day. Several responses mentioned Suboxone, which we printed info on, but it seems to also reduce methandone effectiveness and seems to have its own withdrawal issues

So the big question, was if anyone in a similar situation, knew any other meds that would help with the withdrawal symptoms that would not interfere with the psych meds????????

The clinic dr-hard to get into see, will want to either increase him back up, or prolong the decrease --both of which will only prolong this and keep him on the methadone longer

Anyone got any other ideas???/
THANKS

lm