Methadone for Chronic Pain User Reviews (Page 5)

• Medewin
• June 18, 2017

"Switched to Metadol {methadone hcl} from a rotation of morphine contin & hydromorph contin. The transition was without any complications or side effects. From 100mg of morphine twice daily {or 3x18mg hydromorph daily} ...to 4x10mg daily of Metadol {methadone hcl}. Almost a year has past & no worries! With 1 to 2 gms of medicinal cannabis & 40mg of Metadol daily, all of my pain and other side problems are now in the past. No side effects except lethargy {a lot of time in bed but not having quality sleep; I suspect a lack of REM sleep}. I'm attending a chronic pain clinic. I'm 65 years old with lots of youth experimentation with most rec. drugs. With acceptance from the authorities, the Metadol cost is covered."

• Denise
• February 25, 2018

"Methadone has been a lifesaver! I have been on oxycodone, OxyContin, opana, MS Contin and two years ago I was on 100mcg fentanyl patch every 2 days. I still hurt constantly and could hardly get around so my rheumatologist decided to try me on methadone and it is the best decision I’ve ever made. I take 40 mg a day and have a life now. Also no side effects."

• YURI
• July 23, 2019

"I've been through 8 back surgeries and neck surgery. I was taking 80 MG of Oxycontin 3 times a day for 17 years. Since the new laws have come into effect, they changed me to 80mgs of Methadone. It has helped somewhat with the pain BUT its also has bad side effects All I do is sleep and be tired and depressed!!! Plus forget about sex. It kills your sex drive I CAN'T DO THIS MUCH LONGER, METHADONE IS A TERRIBLE THING!!! STAY AWAY IF U CAN. I been on Methadone for 5 months now and want my oxycontin pills back. Methadone is OK for pain but it will cost you dearly in your well being and your sex life!!!"

• rocky
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 31, 2019

"Methadone works well, only thing is when and if you have to come off the methadone, its very hard. I started taking 10 years ago, and went from 40 mg to 120 mg. Worked real well for chronic back pain. Then the doctor started lowering my dose after the new opiate laws started. I been off methadone for well over a year now, but it was very hard to come off of, all kinds of side effects coming off the drug. Its hard to find a doctor to help since the new opiate laws come into effect. I'm now on the oxycodone 15mg 4 times a day, and they just don't last long at all compared to methadone"

• Suee
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 10, 2018

"I was prescribed Methadone for arthritis 15 years ago (no insurance). I started with 10 mg. 4 times a day. It worked well with no problems. I did have problems with some brands giving me nightmares and terrible night sweats, but it did stop the pain. I recently lost my pcp and was forced to find a new Dr. It seems most Drs now will not take a new patient who is on Methadone, so I am trying to wean myself off before my first appointment. I have been working on this since Dec.2017. It has not been easy, I am now taking half of a 5 mg. every other day. It seems to be working pretty well. Don't be fooled by being on a low dose, the withdrawal is still very bad at times. Arms that wont stay still, legs that make you get out of bed at 2 or 3 am. I can't give up. I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer almost three years ago, even my oncologist wont give me methadone."

• Eano
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 3, 2018

"My experience with methadone has been a life saving one! I am on 80 mg for chronic back pain, and have stayed at this dose for 3 years and have never had the need to go up on my dose which is an amazing thing about this med: once you find the right dose for your pain needs, you can stay there. I did experience some side effects,But for me its completely worth it because it provides amazing pain relief, and its not expensive. It's a very effective pain medication!"

• Benja...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 16, 2017

"Ive been using methadone to help manage my severe chronic pain. I take 80mg over the course of 12 hrs. I have seen posts about methadone and it appears that this medication some-what blocks out effects of other opiods. This is confusing to me, reason being that I am also given 15mg oxycodone IR for breakthrough pain. So my question would be, why would my pain doc prescribe that to work in conjunction with the methadone?."

• Col...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 20, 2017

"I have some bad news for all of you that are sooo happy to be on methadone. Eventually you will be taken off of the drug and when that time comes you will fully understand what an awful medication methadone is to get off of. The withdrawal from it is 3-5 times worse than any other opiate you have ever been on. Imagine severe oxycodone withdrawal or hydromorphone, oxycontin, hydrocodone, opana withdrawal. Methadone withdrawal is absolutely horrid and you will regret ever putting it in your body. The truth hurts and most don't want to hear it but its something the docs don't tell you. Goodluck!!!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 1, 2020

"I have experienced chronic pain issues for 18 years now. I was orginally started on a sustained release morphine product and stayed on it for approximately 7-8 years. I was then started on methadone. I cannot remember the dose I was converted to but I was eventually taking 40 mg four times a day. After a few years, I was tapered down to eventually methadone 30 mg three times a day, where I remain to this day. I have found it more effective than either morphine or fentanyl patches. It is particularly effective for the radiculopathy that I have down the backs of each leg. Unlike morphine, there seems to be much less nausea and vomiting, constipation, and urinary retention. I would also like add that I have not felt an increase in my pain that usually occurred when my next dose of MS Contin was due."

• Snags
• February 5, 2018

"I have neuropathic pain and after trying other opioids without success, I found Methadone 10mg tablets to be very effective. Prior to commencing Methadone, I was extremely depressed at the thought of living with the constant pain. Methadone has been a God-send for my condition. My Pain Management Specialist slowly titrated my dose and eventually recommended that I take 50mg per day. I have now been on this dose for over 10 years and it has truly given me my life back. I returned to work as a nurse and have never looked back. In Australia, anyone on opioids long term, must have a permit, so regular reviews are required with your Pain Management Specialist. This inconvenience is minimal when one considers the benefits of living relatively pain-free."

• one...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 11, 2021

Methadose (methadone) "I have read all the reviews of the methadone medication. The ones that really stand out to me are the people that are taking methadone and say how it saved their life/took all their pain away, and then will say how it rots your brain, or warn you to not take it, etc. If you have a doctor that knows what he is doing, has experience in providing this medication to patients, and YOU follow the doctors' directions about taking the methadone, there shouldn't be a problem at all. It will take your pain away and you will have a life worth living. Now, not all medicines work the same for all people. There are exceptions to EVERYTHING.....in other words, the medication just may not work for you due to your body chemistry. Then, go to your doctor and tell him/her the situation and there is something out there that will help you. You and your doctor just have to find it and sometimes it takes a while. Be patient, you will find it. Yes, I do take methadone. It works very well for me."

• Paul
• April 28, 2021

"I don’t understand why all you people are having a problem getting your methadone for chronic pain. Joints destroyed by ongoing RA and doc has no problem writing script every month. These doc are treating you people badly. Find new doctors!!"

• Mutti
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 8, 2019

"My mother was taking opioids for vascular narrowing which left her feeling like she had migraines all the time. She has no other health issues, but they put her on methadone 10mg 3 times a day. We were accusing her of abusing it because of her behavior. She swore she wasn’t. She has gone from 120 to 86 pounds, has chronic stomach pain and is a shell of her former self. Yesterday, we took her to the ER. She was good all day and then they gave her a dose. She was babbling nonsense, had no idea what was going on. For her, this drug is bad news. We are hoping to treat her weight issues, loss of appetite, lose the stomach pain by taking her off this. She will be treated for depression and hopefully, they will find a better way to manage the headaches. Otherwise, we’re watching our mother die a slow death. She has no quality of life right now and at 70 she was running circles around the rest of the world. Five years later and it seems unfathomable she is in this state."

• Trent...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 27, 2015

"Been taking since 2008 since all other treatments failed. I get 80 percent pain relief with min side effects - problems staying asleep. But good out weighs bad. Pain started 1981 since workplace injuries and accidents. Worsen 2005 Neck back hands shoulders etc."

• Clinder
• January 17, 2019

"I was put on this after trying so many other pain meds. I am paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury nearly 18 years ago and have severe back pain and nerve pain below my injury. The methadone worked. However, I began to notice that I was having a hard time with simple things like composing an email. I was stupid all of a sudden. I’ve always been a writer and all of a sudden I couldn’t even think of words to write! One day I started looking up side effects of methadone and what I found was incredible. So many people had experienced the exact same thing. I immediately started weaning myself off of the meds but after being on them for over a year, I was worried the damage was permanent. I’m still not sure if I’m back to my old self and it has been a few years since I stopped the methadone. If I had been warned that the medication would take away my intelligence, I never would have gotten on it."

• venus8i
• August 15, 2013

"I have bad knees and use an electric chair. The doctor gave me methadone because I asked for it and turned down surgery. I took 10mgs a day--one pill. Not only was it better for pain then anything else I had taken but it helped even more with my depression/suicidal problems. It did not cure suicidal problems but I found myself happy and busy making things. I had to slowly take myself off when I realized I was taking 10 pills. The next time I saw my doctor she saw a very different person..sad and unresponsive. I remained that way for 6 months. I now only take Vicodin & Prozac and am doing well."

• NicoleR
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 24, 2017

Methadone Diskets (methadone) "Best decision I have ever made. Been on 40 mgs for about a week and a half and I already feel better, don't even want the other drugs I was doing, pretty much anything short of a needle. I have more energy and I am already starting to feel like myself again. Just my experience, I know everyone is different. I give 8 out of 10 effectiveness."

• JKay_32
• December 21, 2017

"I have major back problems, and 2 herniated disks in my back. They are rubbing against my spine, and I have been in so much pain for years. Between that, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scoliosis, and nerve damage, I stay in a lot of pain. Methadone is the BEST medicine that I have ever taken for my pain. It has given me my life back! Methadone is sent straight from heaven. It allows me to be somewhat normal, by easing my pain enough to where I can stand it. And live day to day, without being in pure misery all the time. It truly is a wonderful medicine for people like myself, who truly need it!"

• Kaiser...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 3, 2017

"I take a few drugs for pain due to chronic pain. Valium, soma and medical Cannabis for spasm,s Lyrica for neuropathy and methadone for intractable pain. Methadone has been a godsend I currently take 140 mgs a day 50mg, 40mg and 50mg this was a slow titration from a starting dose of 20mg daily. If you don’t know methadone it can take up to 2 hrs to work and it builds in ur system so I implore all u newbies out there be careful. Methadone has given me my life back it doesn’t get into ur bones or rot ur teeth(it does lower testosterone so get blood work) it is however an SNRI and binds to the NMDA receptors essentially helping with depression if u stay under 100 it doesn’t kick other Opiates off the Mu receptors allowing things like oxy to be used for breakthrough pain"

• Anonymous
• December 15, 2020

"Went through spinal fusion etc.. 1992 I was put on MS contin 100 3 per day. Then insurance ran out and was put on 360 methadone 10 mg pills per month. I was on that for 12 years then went down to Ten mg 300 a month. Then this sad sorry government got involved. Keep in mind that what was suppose to be care between you and your doctor became a government intervention. Why? Yes I understand that there was abuse always is. However why all of a sudden? I gave this much thought and finally it dawned on me. Money, most of us are on SSD so who was paying for the meds? Of course the federal government. Think about all the billions they saved kicking us off pain control drugs. All you heard for years was OMG opioids they are so bad for everyone. I think it is Government propaganda. Did they care about us suffering from chronic pain? I don't think so. The government is forcing people to buy street drugs like heroin laced fentanyl. You never hear about those stories."

• Jenna
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 30, 2022

"I was on methadone HCL 10 mg tablets/4 a day = 40 mg for 18+ years. It worked incredibly well for my chronic pain and gave me a good quality of life. I have a rare genetic disease that causes extreme pain. I had no side effects from this medication Every other med was tried including Subutex when that was new at the max dose which did nothing. Enter the "opioid crackdown" in 2017. I was forced off methadone in a rapid 4 week taper and could not find pain management that my insurance covered for a year. I literally almost died. Now the only option they will prescribe is Belbuca which does not work at all (it's a fraction of the strength of Subutex even at 900 mcg max dose compared to 32mg) and won't stick to my cheek. I'm also a rapid metabolizer due to a Cytochrome P450 gene mutation. I would love to go back on methadone but no one will prescribe it in my state. What has been done to chronic pain patients with no addiction history like me is criminal."

• Profe...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 17, 2021

"After being diagnosed with chronic lower back pain and RA at 36years old my PCP refers me to a pain clinic. I went to the same clinic for 2 1/2+ decades. After being prescribed and taken as prescribed hydrocodone tablets to fentanyl patches were used for part of my treatment. Plus the doctors procedures. I told my PC doctor that the methadone was the one that lasted all day and all night on a 20mg split dose and I could think clearly, work and function normally with little to no pain. MY tolerance did not rise on METHADONE as most of the pain meds I was prescribed . I prefer METHADONE over any med. for pain."

• Glass...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 25, 2018

"I have been on methadone for chronic pain for over 13 years, eventually taking approximately between 50 to 60 milligrams per day. About one year ago, methadone was not relieving my pain as it had done before. My pain management doc would not increase the dose, nor did I want him to. In fact, he wanted the dose decreased. Methadone, seen by the pain management community here in one of the biggest cities in the US, is NOT a good pain management medication. If you want to change to a new pain management doc, they are unlikely to take you if you are on Methadone. I know; I have tried. I am now off of methadone as of 22 days. I have a new pain management doctor, highly respected, and not a "typical pain management doctor." I am sure that I will set up a true "firestorm" for those of you that find that methadone treats your chronic pain. It is an awful drug, IMO. It dulled my feelings, meaning I was never able to cry, etc."

• Sam
• May 25, 2020

"My GP put me on HydroMorphone and it changed my life, pain tolerance went up etc. After 1/5yr she sent me to a pain clinic. There docs bridged the HM with the MethaDose (MD) by increasing the MD and decreasing the HM slowly. We went up to 100mg MD and it didn't worked. He lowered it to 10m and still not worked. Somehow, both decided to keep it on 35mg twice (75mg total)a day. Feel a bit better, but after like a month of taking it and so on, I've started having vision problem, tiredness, sleep days/nights, body flashes, sweat all the times, lack of energy, low mood, depressed, loss of appetite, gain wight somehow, NO MORE SEX, loss of memories and hard to focus. So, I asked the pain clinic to change the MD for a better solution and now it's been a month I'm on Suboxone. Uh, you don't know whether it is how useless the Suboxone is or how much withdraw I am having. Plus having a severe headache and I don't have tolerance anymore for my back pain, loose my patient too fast, swearing and a lot more."

• Roxie...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 15, 2023

"I was prescribed methadone for acute and chronic pain from an incurable genetic disorder a few years ago. (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). It was wonderful and very effective. No euphoria. I had previously thought methadone was used only to keep opioid addicts from withdrawal. I didn't know it actually helped with pain. The one BIG problem I had was that other doctors, including all ER docs, thought the same thing. They all thought I was a drug addict! When I stopped taking methadone, every doctor I saw after that assumed I was an addict. They didn't tell me that; I learned from a judgmental nurse that her doctor didn't prescribe pain meds for drug addicts like me. (I went there because I broke my ankle.) Methadone's association with drug addiction is a huge problem because it is an excellent pain medication."