[babidolli22]

I'm a recovering addict and I have been going to a methadone clinic for the past year on a daily basis. I am on 120mgs per day but i'm thinking that it's time to start the detox process but I want to do it the rite way so I don't get sick. Being in withdrawl is my biggest fear and with my anxiety I just can't deal with it so I have to be very careful of how i'm going to do this detox without getting sick and since the clinic is leaving it up to me to decide on how much I want to come down each week or month I think that's a great thing but i'm not too sure yet on how much I should come down per day/week. If anyone has had a similar experience and has advice then please let me know. I am very determined to get off this methadone because I don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life.

[snowman76]

Originally Posted by babidolli22

I'm a recovering addict and I have been going to a methadone clinic for the past year on a daily basis. I am on 120mgs per day but i'm thinking that it's time to start the detox process but I want to do it the rite way so I don't get sick. Being in withdrawl is my biggest fear and with my anxiety I just can't deal with it so I have to be very careful of how i'm going to do this detox without getting sick and since the clinic is leaving it up to me to decide on how much I want to come down each week or month I think that's a great thing but i'm not too sure yet on how much I should come down per day/week. If anyone has had a similar experience and has advice then please let me know. I am very determined to get off this methadone because I don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life.

The clinic is leaving it up to you on how much you want to come down?? Boy are they setting you for failure!!! I'm currently tapering off Methadone, but for pain relief. And let me go ahead and tell you, there is no way you are NOT going experience ANY withdrawals...they are just part of the process. I was on 60mg a day and now I'm @ 7.5mg a day. And during that whole process, I never felt sick. Just some aches and such...the worst for me is the leg cramps... I don't know if you ever experienced any growing pains when you were younger. But that is what they feel like to more than anything. At night, I take 2 alieve's to help with those.

If you are at 120mg a day, then go ahead and plan on taking 6+ months, possibly longer, to be completely off....and trust me, it's not an easy road...

But at least you have to right mind set about not wanting to be on it for the rest of your life. The sooner you start the taper process, the better!

[cheekysod]

actually i disagree with the last poster.
when i was on the methadone, they leave it to you when you want to do your drops, otherwise you get unhappy addicts complaining, you need to do it WHEN YOU ARE READY. not when they tell you. so babidoll, you are the one in control.

yeh good on your for deciding not to stay on for life tho. we call it liquid handcuffs over here.

all i can tell you, is take your time, try 5mg at a time. see how you feel. at 120mg, you shouldnt even notice 5mg, even right down to 100mg.
just work it how you feel, and remember you can always change to subs when you get to 30 or 20mg.
i did, and although i am still on sub since july, i have not used, (we can hit our methadone here) a needle since july 10.

subs are equally as difficult to get off, but tapering down is a lot easier, i went from 12mg to .5mg, where i am now. i did that in about 5-6 months.

only you know when you are ready mate, thats why lots of clinics do not push a forced taper on anyone, so good on you for wantin to go down.

like i say, take your time, and you will do it. if you really want it.

all the best
cheeky

[newyorkgal]

I also disagree with snowman. I think you're very lucky to be in control of your taper. It will make things easier. It's way early in the process to even think about sub, where you have to be at least down to 30 and hopefully, you can do this taper without even having to switch. You have to give yourself 8 months or longer to do it right. You should have no w/d going down 5 mgs. a week from 120 to 60. Then you can slow it down and go down 5 mgs. every couple of week (Meth has a long half life so you need time to adjust to each drop). When you get down to 20-30 is when you can decide to continue on or switch to sub. In my book its 6 of one, 1/2 doz. of the other. Once you're on that low dose, you really slow it down, start dropping by 1-2 mg. every few weeks. During the last mgs. you stay on each as long as you feel you need to. Chances are you will still feel a little discomfort after getting off, but if you do it s...l...o...w it shouldn't be that bad. Then, there is always that subutex option once you're on 30.

[intelmetal]

I can't help but chime in here, as I was in your shoes ( same size ). Just kidding. I had no problem at all dropping 10mgs a week from 120mgs down to 80mgs. Now from 80mgs to 20mgs took me 3 months. It was a little uncomfortable but not like anything awful. When I got down to 20mgs, I sat at that dose for about 8 months I don't know why, I guess I just lost interest in tapering. Then in May of 2009, I decided to switch over to subs and have tapered to zero over 75 days. I can give you all the details or you can read my thread " Intelmetals own thread " on the need to talk forum. If you can't find it, let me know. I was up to 360mgs of methadone every single day for a long time, so I know a little about methadone tapering LOL (not really funny, but it is nice to laugh at ourselves during these trying times). Keep posting and you will find tons of support on this site.
Stay determined !!!
Steve