I just started methadone two weeks ago for opiate addiction! I was at 50mg but was unbearably tired. So I talked to the clinic and they dropped me down to 45mg and i am still tired maybe not as bad, but pretty close to what it was, I am afraid of going down any lower because i don't want to feel any part of withdrawals. Also they tell me that i wont feel withdrawals when they take me off of the methadone, is this true? or not true? Everything I read say you will have up to a month of withdrawals, longer than any other opiate.
Does methadone continue to make you tired after two weeks on it?
Question posted by shygirl35 on 30 May 2010
Last updated on 16 October 2021 by Jimbon
Answers
I'm 59, and I've been on methadone since 2004, so 17 years now. I started at 5mg a day, went all the way up to 120mg a day. I use it for chronic pain (peripheral neuropathy in my feet). I'm down to 10mg a day (5mg morning and night) and I have no side effects. I've been at this low dose for several years now and have discovered that taking more makes no difference for me. So I'm fortunate in that respect. I've only come off methadone once for a short time due to stolen medication and it wasn't pleasant at all. Anyone taking methadone should be very careful, and always follow your doctor's instructions providing they have lots of experience prescribing the drug. If not, see a pain specialist. And as noted by others, everyone's experience is different. I can say, for me, it works like it should. Without it, I cannot walk.
I been on methadone 2 years and I sleep up to 16 hours a day still! I'm on 65.
I was As high As 75 but started to come down As I want to get off of it. When I started at my clinic I was told all kinds of lies now I'm stuck wishing I never started it! I don't want to scare you everyones experiance is different. I gained 90lbs and I sweat like a pig too!
Oh man i dont want to gain weight, I am fine where i am at and could probably stand to lose ten more pounds, people tell me no i am fine but i am not happy about it, but that is another topic, haha! So does a person have to be on it for so long , i was only thinking six months.. I dont want to do this for a long time! I really hate having to go there everyday to get this medicine and I cant go out of town, not that i ever really did, but would like to now that i am saving money, a little bit more money now anyway.
If I were you I would get off ASAP! And get a good support group and find another way to stay clean besides mmt. The wds are worse than oxies or heroin or morphine and can last for months. I was told there would be no wds when I was ready to come off then I met people who have been trying for 10 years. One guy on 0.25mg can't get off he said the wds are so bad. I'm terrified! If I had to do it all over again I would have used suboxone to tapper off I would have gained only 20lbs probably but I was 130 when I quit drugs so even 20lbs on Me wouldn't be As bad As the 90 I put on! That and it makes Me depressed my husband is on it too and I haven't had sex in a year. I can't wait till I can get off this crap. And I hope I can do it. I'm at the point now where I would rather be sick for months and feel normal again some day
I can't live like this much longer.
Weird you and I sound so much alike! My methadone clinic said i was suicidal and I told them i wasn't, I told them i would never kill myself just that if the world were to end today then it wouldnt bother me anymore. See i used to be scared of death well I am still i guess, but as you know when you are spending all the money and worrying about wheather or not you are gonna have to go through withdrawls the next day or a few days down the road, and then to have the opiates not work like they used to and you only take them to not feel the withdrawls. And so much more, I have depression pretty bad and have had it even before i started taking the lortab or what ever it was. I am also curious to know about having to take opiates again, what about if i have a surgery or what ever it may be, how does someone do that? Thank you for talking with me on this subject and what i may have added.
It all depends on your doctor. My husband and I have an extreamly strict doctor and when my husband had surgery my husband said he was on methadone and in order to have pain control he would probably need something a little stronger. The mmt doc said no problem bring the prescription bottle when you come see Me next and it was fine he got pain meds. Another time tho he went to the er passing kidney stones and he said he was on the mmt and they made him suffer. So it all depends. If you get off the methadone tho I would advise not taking any pain medication If you don't have to As a peecription sometimes sends people into a wurlwind
What do you mean when you say if i get off of methadone to not even try or take the pain pills again something about whirlwind? I dont understand! I mean if i have ot have a surgery or something then I would definitly have to have something for the pain... or were you talking about taking the pain meds at the same time as the methadone?
What I mean is. if you are ever totally clean again no mmt and you have to have surgery they give you opiates for pain taking just one can send you back into addiction. If your still on the mmt you shouldn't have a problem since mmt blocks the uphoria.
I’m glad someone else feels this way. It’s like they trick you into taking the stuff and they make it sound like it’s nothing to get off of. It’s a bunch of crap. They just want your money. It’s a joke and I’m beyond angry about it
Related topics
opiate withdrawal, methadone, addiction
Further information
- Methadone uses and safety info
- Methadone prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Methadone (detailed)
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