[babidolli22]

The worst thing ever

I do know how it feels to be in withdrawal from methadone because last year I was on 80mgs and I had to go to the er one nite because I had the worst stomache pain ever and the nurse ended up giving me morphine via iv and after 2 shots it really wasn't helping the pain so she decided to give me "something stronger" she said and as soon as it went in the iv, I felt like I was dying and she then asked if i was on any meds and I told her methadone and she was like " omg,your in severe w/d rite now,just calm down ok" . Let me tell you she gave me 10mgs of nubain and you can't mix it w/methadone and I was in the worst w/d ever. She actually told me I almost died it was that bad and inorder to stabilize me they had to give me shot after shot of morphine and deludid which obviously could have put me into an OD so I was very lucky to wake up the next day. I was high as hell for 3 days after that and it was awful and this is the main reason why i'm so afraid and want to get off the methadone becuase I don't want to be in a situation like that again.

Ok so now for my current issue:

I have been going to a clinic for about 1yr now and I'm currently on 120mgs a day of methadone and I want off. i'm so tired of going there everyday and I kinda feel like the methadone is a crutch in a way because i still have to drive everyday to get it or else i'll get sick if I don't have it after 2days and I don 't want to worry anymore about getting sick I want my life to be as normal as possible and eventhough I feel great and i'm proud of myself for what I have overcome this past year I just want off the methadone already.

Also,I do not have take homes due to living w/a mom who is in active addiction so imagine the hell I go through but thankfully I am strong or i would have never been able to do this. I have no support outside of my weekly group at the clinic and my counselor. Everyone else I know or knew is eithor out drinking at the bars everynite,on dope or pills,or doesn't care about anything so I usually stay to myself. It gets lonely and depressing obviously but i'm greatful for my son,he is what keeps me sane and clean. I have been through a hell of a lot in my life and eventhough I live w/an addict which isn't the best thing for me, I feel so much better now than ever and all I want to do is stay positive and sober so my little boy can have the mom he deserves.
If you can relate please give me some advice because i'm scared to drop the methadone the wrong way and end up sick.

[htoth19]

Hey girl. I'm in a similar boat. I'm on the methadone too. I went into the hospital a couple years ago with severe stomach pain. I told them right away I was on methadone. They found that I had a bad ulcer, from poppin so much advil with the methadone to get that extra 'kick' I ended up tearing apart my stomach lining. Now, I have to be careful what I eat,I could never take advil again, And I am still on the methadone.....but that night I was in the hospital I found out I was pregnant with my daughter.
That night we decided since I was only on 25mgs of methadone at the time, I would just quit cold turkey since I was scared to hurt my baby takin the pills. (that also meant staying away from my parents who gave the pills)
I'll tell ya. It was the worst 43 days of my life. I sat on the couch night after night just crying and shaking and screaming and rocking back and forth. My fiance just sat in the bathroom by himself crying his eyes out so I wouldn't see him...he felt he needed to show me only strength. Which I later told him was bullsh!t. But he took care of me every second he wasn't at work, and somehow, I finally was able to get some sleep one night, and when I woke up, the pain had stopped. I felt like I had gotten my ass beat big time, but I wasn't in that all too familiar pain.
Don't ask me how, but sure enough after all that I ended up getting back on the methadone (well after I had my daughter of course).
But now I am down to 7.5mgs, and slowly tapering off. Make a thread ATT Robert....he will know he best way to taper you off. I cant really tell you that how he's got me doing it would be best for you, since your mgs are a lot higher than mine...but he will know.

~Heather

[newyorkgal]

Your ER story sounds like a real nightmare, babi. That is why it is SO important to tell the staff at ER's everything youre on. There are ways to taper of methadone but it is difficult and it's a very slow process. At 120 mgs. you can ask them to taper you at a pretty fast pace. It's once you get down to the lower doses that you have to slow down the taper ALOT. One alternative is subutex but you have to get down to 30 mgs. methadone or less before you can do that. The other alternative is taper off the methadone which you have to do at the slowest pace possible. Are you on the liquid or pills? If liquid you can taper by 1 mg. at a time when you get down the the low doses. It's definitely doable.

[babydaddy724]

Hey there! I can deff help you out in you situation because I was in a very similar situation as you. Ive been on this forum for a good while but there are people here such as Robert and Melinda that provide the help people need here which is awsome. But when it comes to methadone I am more than happy to jump in because I have personal experience. Anyways I was on the same dose as you for the same amount of time. 120mgs and I wanted off of it so bad I could taste it. Trust me I know what it is like to have to go to that clinic every day you get so frustrated. This is what to do. Im not sure how every clinic works but the one I was going to offered a 21 day detox. So I chose to do that and what happens is, they will drop you down 5mgs a day for 21 days.. I did that and when I got down to 15mgs that was my last day there. Now remember this very well its important... The golden rule when it comes to this. First you need to get you hands on suboxone, whether it be a sub doctor or an outpatient clinic that provide subs.. Now the very important step you must follow is this, you need to be under 30mgs of methadone for your last dose and you will need to go cold turkey for a minimum of 72 hours (3 days) before you can think about taking a suboxone. If you do not do this you WILL go into precipitaded withdrawal and you will want to die. Its really not that bad because of the long half life of methadone you will not start to get really sick untill a couple days after your last dose. I think in my situation my last dose was a tuesday morning and I waited it out until friday morning then I took my first dose of suboxone.. I was scared because I was praying I waited long enough before I took the sub. Anyways I took my sub (4mgs, they give the 8mg tabs there and I took a half) the minute I walked out of the suboxone clinic and while driving home about a half hour later (its about an hour drive to the sub clinic here) I stopped at a sheetz for gas and when I got out of my car I felt like a million dollars... I ordered food and a cold coffee drink and sat outside while I soaked in the thought of me never having to drive to that clinic again. Trust me it can be done. Lots of people are terrified to get off of methadone and I understand why. Trust me if you follow what I did or something along those lines you will be on here pround to tell you story of how you got off of the hell we call methadone. If you need any further advice stay on these forums and post... Lots of people here that are more than happy to support and help you.. Good luck and stay safe.. Keep in touch

[babidolli22]

Thanks for the advice and your experience babydaddy but I am way too scared to do the 29 or 21 day detox. It would be great to be off it that fast but i don't think I could go through the withdrawal part at all without wanting to turn to something to help the pain ya know and that is something I don't want to do.

[babydaddy724]

I understand trust me but you will not get sick during the 21 day detox... At least I didn't anyways. Even when I got down to like 20-30 mgs a day I didn't feel any discomfort because I was still dosing every day just a little less than the day before... I was only really sick for about a day and a half and that was when I went the 3 days cold turkey right before I started the suboxone... hope this helps...