Hello I have been on 135 mg of Methadone a day at a clinic for over 3 1/2 yrs now and I recently lost my job and dont have the money to pay for the clinic right now and they are starting me on MSW (medically supervised withdrawal) or so they call it, starting tomorrow, they will start dropping my dose by %10 a day until I either catch up on the $200 I owe now or I get to 0, I am wondering if I should just let this happen and see what it does to me, I have wanted to get off of this garbage for a while now, but I am also scared of what it is going to put me through. Just wanted to know what you all thought??? Is it dangerous to go this route to get off of it, or do you think I will be ok?? that would be going from 135 MG to 0 in 10 days, kind of scary!!!
Methadone Withdrawal - Want to get off Methadone but wondering the best way?
- Asked
- 7 Jul 2009 by dredwerx
- Updated
- 26 January 2013
- Topics
- opiate withdrawal, pain, methadone, withdrawal
Responses (16)
Sorry to hear you lost your job hopefully another will be around the corner.
As for the methadone withdrawl I think you should try and get some money as you will suffer.
The proper methadone detox is 10% drop every 4 weeks. So at 135 you would drop probably to 125 for a month and then down to 115 for a month. It's not quite 10% but it's should never be over 10%.
You would probably feel ok until you get around 50mgs and then you would start to feel the effects of to quick a detox.
Do you feel that having been on MMT for 3 1/2 years that you are ready to live without it??
This is very important because if you come off without wanting to then you will surely relapse.
I'm in Canada so I'm not familiar with your goverment assistance programs (I'm assuming you're in the States) but have you looked into that???
I am also real sorry you lost your job and hope that in the very near future another one comes your way. This may be a blessing for you, if you can try to look at it in that fashion. Being tied to a Methadone clinic is the same as being tied to the Dragon itself. Only this is legal. I feel methadone clinics are like cow Farms..once one is out another one comes in and the line keeps going. They make sure they over medicate ppl OR place them on such high doses they are enslaved to it. Im on 70 mg for severe back pain from a failed back sugery and you my friend are nearly doubled that. I dont doubt them clinics can and do help some ppl stay off opiods but remember this.. They rely on you guys to keep coming so they have jobs and the doses they give you guys are outrageous. I say this because I am really hoping you will see this and can get clean from all drugs including that methadone.
You are completely right about them not caring about the person as much as they care about their damn money, I am so upset with the clinic right now and my counselor, I mean I have been going to this 1 clinic now for the last 6 months and I have always paid my $85 a week right on time, I have never been late, and I have passed all of my drug tests, I have done all they have asked and then as soon as I get in a bind and lose my job, not to mention my wife left me 3 days before I lost my job, but I hit this wall in my life and they just turn their backs on me because I cant give them their damn money, it is sickening!!!
My withdrawl from suboxone was so bad i am trying methodone. My suboxone dose was 16mg (8mg twice a day). I am wondering if i made the wrong decision
Dear dredwerx,Please forgive me for taking a few days to correspond,but as I have also been dealing with withdrawal from m.s.contin due to a new Pain control specialist.I can tell you that what they are telling you will be pure hell.Methadone like any other opioid meds are extreemely diffficult to taper and stop.First off if you are in the US poick up a phone book and look into mental health clinics as well as United way,closest hospital,even Dept of family and children services.You can also speak with a social worker at the hospital for advice.What I would do in your circumstances is before you begin if at all possible start doing your homework in getting assisstance with this.If you feel you are ready to stop the methadone then ask specific questions in regards to your circumstances.There are resources out ther you just have to be willing to help yourself as quickly as possible.The reason I tell you to start immedietly is that after you begin the detoxing in itself causes confusion,depression, as well as taking a chance that you will try to get your hands on anything to stop the physical assault on your body,mind,etc.If after making calls all else fails in getting assitance finding medical care make sure your hospital recieves Govt. assisstance. Also call and apply for food stamps as well as state aid for medical.With any luck you will get someone that has a heart.Just always be honest in seeking help as I can tell you if anyone ever fells you are not being fully honest in seeking help it will come back to not only bite you but also get you red flagged for future medical needs.So if all else fails and the detox becomes too severe you can go there and get treated without regards to your ability to pay.There may even be someone at your local Police or Sheriffs dept. that could advice you where in fact there are places and people to help you at this time.If you are out of work I realize that the Thomas method that is being advised could also be impossible to get the vitamins and juices your body needs.Do not let anyone shame you in regards to this as I can personally attest to the fact that there are others from all walks of life that have been in your situation as well.I hope you have someone with you through this as it is not an easy thing to do even with moral support.I will pray for you and hope you do seek help with this because I truly believe this is something no one should have to go through alone.Be honest with your caregivers and let them know what to expect and with the Good Lords help you will be off this awful drugs before you know it.Because you may as well forget trying to work though this I am sure there are some that have but to be perfectly honest with you I would have rather been shot than have to leave the house for the past 2 1/2 weeks.I could not even make myself get up to shower and put on clothes for thew first week.This was even with another type pain med and Antispasmodic for my legs.I felt they would not hold me up for more than a quick run to the bathroom and back.Sleep can be nearly impossible due to your bodies reponding to the effects of learning to decrease like this.Also I wopuld speak with the supervisor where you are currently at and let him or her know what your current situation is and ask for help .Sometimes when you go up higher in the scheme of things you may find someone more willing to help in amore comapssionate way than you have described. Good LUck and reameber I will keep uyou in my prayers .Let me know how things go for you. God Bless/Kathysbest/There is help out there you just have to do the leg work.Also if at all possible try to get copies of your records for future medical care as the request will ask for your reason.Take this and your meds with you wherever you seek help.Good Luck
i m so sorry for your troubles and hope for better days for you. I have not use methadone myself,but have used other meds that are very strong and had to get off of them by my choice. I did get medical advice for help first, and i used tylenol to help me wean off. but please do not do the same ,I did it for mind control, you know, thinking that the tylenol was replacing the other, and to also help me with the pain. I did feel withdrawel symptoms, which i think is hard not to do, but I made it and as long as you do ck with your doctor first before doing it, I think you will be ok, just remember to let your pysician know ahead of what your doing and your fears... I pray for you... good luck... remember, the docs will not let you do something that will put you in danger...
hello its me again, i re/read your problem n looked up what methadone really is an with the length of time you have been on it, my first response does not apply to you and i am so sorry.I do not understand how that is happening to you, i know your not having insurance, but the fact that your medical problems are taken so lightly is crazy !!Is there no public assistance you can get? are you not medically ill so that you can get dissability??? I wish I had something better for you, but if it helps any at all, i will pray for you and maybe you should try to get medical, who knows, you may just be eligible for it... let me know how you are please
You people should not be giving advice out after "looking up" a drug on F@#king Wikipedia. Also, god can't help you through withdrawals, I'm sorry brothers and sisters, but that's just F@#king silly and stupid. Your gonna have to pay money to get off of methadone, accept that fact and start your life anew, but just leave jesus and allah out of it. Those are fairy tales to keep you in line. They can't help you literally.
I was on Methadone for 3 years. I tried to get off the first time, 6 mths ago.
I was sick! This past time I got on my hands and knees and told the LORD that I needed his help! In return, he answered my prayers and I have been clean for 30 days! I only took vitamin b12 and vitamin C and folic acid. The
only feelings that I suffered during this time, was upset stomach and tiredness.
I did take imodium ad for that. I never went through any of those awful chills.
Our Lord is no fairy tale!! He help cary me through and he can do the same for any of you!! Take your life back. These clinics are the worst thing ever put in place!!
.First I went cold turkey at 65mgs,it was horrable,the first 3-18 days were so painful,I got on a regime of vitamins and supplements,and exercise,quit sugar and redmeat.Insomnia was a real bitch,but had my doctor put me on ambien for a month,it is a benzo and can be addictive too,so only take as directed.Your going to have to come down some before you can just jump off.I wish you the best,my friend..James Boles..
ambien is not a benzo
hey just left the program my self.i know its going to be a long road. same thing happen to me.i paid every day for 2 years.worked my way to 5/1 take home a week.only had to go to
clinc,once a week.it was hard they took 2 days off of me for missing a doctors app.make a long story short she cancel 2times one do to weather .anyway .i got pissed like who
is this nur.to have control over my life.she was areal bitch she just like having the control.
some reson she never like me caues i mined my own bus.any way.told clinic.i wanted to be detox.istoped paying.here i am left at 50mg started at 115mg they made it hard on me
so got pissed.left ,found methadone pills on street detoxing my self slowley.best thing i ever did just not going to that clinic every day is the best.ihave a job that i have to be there
and be able to funtion.reson i started the clinic.one more thing when i got my self down to
Thank you honey, I am facing the same thing and am terrified, I have three kids, I have my boyfriend to help but will be with my 3 yr old in the daytime... I felt a tinge of hope reading what you wrote, thank you and please pray for me~Jade
I too am just coming off methadone . What a nasty ,nasty drug. they dont explain to you when they prescribe this crap how bad the side effects are and how bad the withdraw is if you have to come off of it!! I am at day 7 without any and this has been the worst. I now have withdraw and my pain is worse than before. I have had several neck surgeries and they say the nerves are damaged and there is no help except the pain clinic. I wish I had never started the methadone. So if you are out there wondering if you should start it DONT. I read on another site about the Mag/zinc combo and tried that it seems to have helped some. And also the benadryl has helped me get some rest but is leaves you feeling more wrung out than normal.
This site feels like a life saver since I am alone in this process it is nice to
have found some where that someone understands what i am going through
my husband has beed supportive but doesnt get it really. Well good luck to any all trying to fight this drug.
I recently posted an answer to a question similar to this. This was my experience with detoxing from methadone. In my opinion if you want to get off the stuff then try to find a way to get more money and do it slower... I detoxed 10 mgs a week and it worked for me. I HATE THESE BULL--- CLINICS! They will dose you up no problem, but when you have no more money they leave you in detox hell. How I did it was pretty hardcore, but I did it... I hope this helps...
I just got off methadone program myself. This is my fifth day without it. I wasnt on nearly as high dose as yours. And I am sure your body doesnt need as much. People who are over 70 mils, if they stop drinking usualy only after 3 days they only start feeling sick. What I would suggest lower 10 mils a week until 50. Then start lowering 5 mils a week. This is slowest you can go. And most likely you wont even feel withdrawals from it until you get to about 50. Then what you will have is sweating and feeling like you wanna strech your mussles all the time. If you see that your body gets adapted faster, tell your doc to lower twice a week. And if you feel too sick(cant sleep at night, restless legs) then try lowering 5 mils a week. Most people I know get addapted to the dose in 3 days, then they feel fine with new dose for 4 days and lower again. All I am saying if you can do it faster DO IT. If you cant DONT. Make sure you have something to do during withdrawal period.
FYI- yes we have clonidine in the US - and it is an excellent drug to use when going thru methadone (or any opiate for that matter) withdrawal. and it isn't habit forming - good luck with your detox
I just just started a clinic once discovering that my dose of opiates had become too high to overcome on my own. I just want to say thank u to all of u for you're stories, they are def not the "recovery fairytales" that are posted on the wall at the clinic. My dose is now @ 80 mg after 2 weeks of treatment. I, however still am not fully comfortable at this dose, I am still experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the opiates. But upon reading these forums it has become VERY clear to me that I *will not* be increasing my dose anymore! Infact, I started the clinic to get clean, not to become terribly addicted to just another drug. My plans are to now stay at this 80mg dose for another week or so and let my body get used to it, then start to climb back down almost just the way I came up ..only slower. It appears that I can't come off as quickly as they dosed me up.
That is kindof scary! I was only on 50mg & wanted off of it & my Pain Mgt doc said it could take a year! I got down to 10mg (but with tons of pain) in the hopes as they told me in the first place they would get me back on Vicodin. I hated Methadone with a passion! Well, they wouldn't give me anything for short term pain relief, as said Feds wouldn't let them, so back on Methadone, but only 20mg. Doesn't help my pain at all. If you were taking it for opiate withdrawal it may be different I really don't know. If you were taking it for pain, I think it's too fast. Methadone isn't that expensive. Can't you affort it? Ask caringsonbj, he has the info on Roxanne (who makes methadone)for patient assistance. Hope this helps...
I was reading thru some old posts and couldn't help but notice something ..makes methadone?? I'm confused, is this even possible?!
I mean methadone is fairly expensive, and then the gas money and not to mention time that u have to put into it all. U mean there's a way to get the methadone without all of this BS that goes along with it???
What I meant by "makes methadone" is the name of a drug company, Roxane. It is the brand I prefer, & is fairly inexpensive. My pharmacy always puts the price; what insurance paid; & what we saved by using our insurance. My hubby gets 180 a month, & our cost of copay is $5.00. I understand he has no insurance, but what I noted was the entire cost of 180 pills was only $27.00. Maybe this is a price my insurance company will allow for this drug. I don't really know. Just that is what is says on the receipt. Mary
Hi dredwerx,
I'm coming off of Methadone after almost 4 years, I started coming down REALLY fast, and I hit a brick wall of horrible withdrawal. I had been taking 190mls a day and started coming down by 10mls every 2 weeks. By the time I cut down by 60mls (putting me at 130mls) the withdrawal I was going through was so intense it felt almost like cold turkey. So now I've had to stay at 130mls for an extra 2 weeks. I see my dr tomorrow and I think I'll come down by 5mls every 2 weeks instead. It's so frustrating when you want to be off of it so badly, but doing it that fast isn't worth the hell you'll go through. I wish you the best of luck, and would love to know how you're doing.
Hi Criss - quick question - do you mean milligrams(mg) when you talk about your dose (when you say mls) ? - because 190 mgs a day is an unbelievably high dose - i'm not even sure if they allow people on my clinic to go that high (located in Connecticut) Best advise is to do a very slow taper , you should feel fine until dose reaches 10-15 mgs , then you may start to get a little sick ( if so ask your program to prescribe something to help you sleep , like atarax, vistaril) Good Luck
B.
Further Information
- Methadone Information for Consumers
- Methadone Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side Effects of Methadone (detailed)
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Thanks for your comment Dave I appreciate it!! While I do want to get off of the methadone, this is not the way I planned on it happening, I had hoped to do it at my own pace, ya know, going from 135 to 0 in 10 days actually scares the hell out of me!! I will look into this Thomas Recipe tho, thanks for the suggestion.
Good Luck Dave. I will be doing the same thing. I am currently suppose to be taking 60mg daily. Sometimes I do good other times I do more. Actually I got down to 10mg a day in 2005. It last about a year then I relapsed. But now I have no choice. I have to get off of this stuff. ... Hope we both are sucessful... Kim
its been awhile since u wrote this, but i just found this site and have been reading the post to hopefully get some info that would help me, i am withdrawaling from methadone, i was at 90 mg but slowly brought myself down to 30 over a 10 month period, i am chosing to get off because i am soooo tired of being dependant on stuff, and i am tired of paying over 300 a month, to be on it, i know i wasnt prepared to kick now this is my 7th day off, and everyday i have been doing a roxy, to help with the pain, i feel like i would rather be dead, i also was given a suboxen, to help but now i am out of everything any suggestions would be appreciated and i just want u to know u are not alone.
What's up everybody. I'm on 15mgs now, down from 80. I'm coming down 1a wk. So far, so gooemd. I mean, I'm dealing with some insomnia, other than that, i'm hangin in there. I drink alkaline water, a lot & i'm taking some supplements to help. I want OFF this shit, but i'm too close to be stupid. if there are any suggestions to help me come off,please share them,thanx
i definitely feel your pain. I am going from 150mg to nothing. I have been on it for 3yrs as well. I am on it for pain but do have a history of addiction. I dont go to the clinic bc I cant afford it. My dr says it is time for me to come off so he gave me an 8 day supply at 80mg and said after that I am done and have to find an inpatient to detox. The problem is all the inpatient here does cold turkey detox. Good luck! I am scared too.