Methadone and Pain: What Users Say

• Mar...
• January 30, 2017

For Opiate Withdrawal "Never lost any teeth, been on methadone on and off since I was 20, am now 37. I was an IV drug user and had a problem smoking crack. I believe it is a myth that your teeth fall out. I have been clean now 6 years, nothing helped me but the methadone. The key to being clean is you just have to be sick and tired of running. After I had been homeless, they took my kids - I just got sick of it. I am currently on the same dose for years, been clean of all drugs, and have my children back. Methadone also helps me with my pain I experience due to 2 back surgeries. It saved my life and my family!"

• Meo...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 7, 2016

For Pain "Was in a wheelchair with severe back issues. Tried all kinds of pain meds, including Vicodin, and in the long run, I ended up in worse pain. (Rebound). Been taking methadone for 10 years. Haven't been in a wheelchair since the first month of use. Still have a little pain, but it is definitely tolerable. Life has changed for the best ever since."

• Dav...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 3, 2016

For Chronic Pain "I was recently admitted to a behavioral health center for clinical depression. I am addicted to prescription pain meds and was given small amounts (0.5 mgs twice a day) of methadone for seven days, and was released with enough for seven more days. Not only did I no longer crave my previous narcotic meds, my pain level was the lowest it was in years! I suffer from RA and degenerative arthritis in my back. I've tried several other treatments for my chronic pain, including epidurals and a Fentanyl pain pump that went horribly wrong when the catheter came out of my spine three times, causing an infection that ended with a hole in my back the size of a golf ball that required more surgery."

• Fus...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 1, 2015

For Chronic Pain "Have had 5 major cervical surgeries. Fused C2-T1 posteriorly and C2-C5 anteriorly. Lots of nerve damage and resulting pain. Many years on Oxy's and Fentanyl. Several years ago, I started Methadone Tx. Worked up to 120 mg/day in divided doses with Dilaudid for breakthrough. It's an excellent pain med and cheap if you have to pay for it. But after OBAMACARE destroyed my insurance (4X), no pain management doctor will even talk to me. I'm currently having to wean myself off these meds as the pain returns. These docs only have to cover pre-existing conditions if they accept you as a patient. So if you lose yours and nobody will talk to you, you're in a leaking boat without a paddle! It's not easy to stop, that I promise you... Go very slow if you must!"

• Nei...
• July 25, 2008

For Pain "I was on OxyContin 40 mg 2x a day but had to increase its strength as time passed. Then the doctor put me on methadone 10 mg 4x a day. This has been effective without any increase in dosage over the last year. I am now trying an additional drug with it called Lyrica 150 mg 2x a day. Now almost pain-free, only breakthrough pain occasionally. Before, life was not really anything to look forward to, just pain, pain, and more pain. I couldn't even sleep. Not so now with methadone."

• Jtm...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 17, 2015

For Opiate Withdrawal "Methadone helped with my chronic lower back pain. I worked up to 80 mg a day. The doctor had his license suspended. Cold turkey withdrawal!!! On day 7 and it's pure hell! Oh yeah, at first I was great, could move, work, you name it. But after, no doctor would see me because of who my previous doctor was, I had to withdraw! Beware, my friends, when you go off methadone, you will hate your doctor for giving it to you and wish you were dead to stop the horrible pain. And it takes months to feel normal again. Just getting up to get water takes a long, agonizing experience! Please get off soon with professional help. I didn't have that. Hospital detox was too full, so they sent me home with blood pressure 90/60 and falling. Had to call an ambulance to go back!"

• Sav...
• September 4, 2011

For Pain "I was started on Vicodin, 6x a day, in 2003 for a traumatic lower spinal injury that never healed properly. Over the next 4 years, I ended up taking 2-3 Norco 6x a day, and that wasn't cutting it. I started suffering from radiculopathy, which is debilitating, and ended up seeing my pain management specialist once a week, getting 120 Norco and 30 100 mg MS Contin each visit, and having to go twice a week because the medicines weren't helping, for injections of Dilaudid 12 mg IM. After another 3 years passed, my doctor began to worry about my acetaminophen intake. He decided to put me on methadone, 25 mg 3x a day, and it saved me. I have breakthrough pain, but Norco helps to where I am pain-free 90% of the time!"

• Joe...
• April 29, 2008

For Opiate Withdrawal "Using opiates for more than 5 years (mainly OxyContin), I used methadone to get off of it. If your mind is on nothing besides living clean and sober and you don't mind some minor discomfort, you can be clean and sober in less than a week. Stick to it and attend meetings, and your life will transform for the better, without a doubt."

• Anonymous
• June 1, 2009

For Pain "I was just put on methadone less than a week ago for severe pain related to a recent, failed back surgery. I have degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis. I need to have fusion surgery, but am not ready for surgery again just yet. The methadone has been great. I can sit with very little or no pain at all. I still use Percocet as needed for breakthrough pain. The methadone is allowing me to push the surgery off a few more months, so I'm not bedridden all summer. I can still function at work and be there for my kids without being doped up. Definitely recommend it."

• che...
• November 12, 2008

For Pain "I have been on everything in the last 4 years for feet problems. I was up to being able to chew up 2 x 80 mg of oxy at 1 time with little pain relief, so I got the doctor to switch me to methadone, and it works well. Still have some breakthrough pain but can deal with it."

• no...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 13, 2015

For Opiate Withdrawal "I hate it. I've put on 50 lbs even though I'm starving myself and not eating carbs or sugar, and everything I eat is fat-free. I've been detoxing, and I'm so tired, the only reason I get up is to get my dose. The person they gave me has no clue what he is doing. I've finally requested a new case worker. Also, I'm in more pain than ever. Everyone that's been going there for a long time is all bent over, in wheelchairs, and has no teeth. Now my bones are starting to crack when I walk, and I've aged 5 years looks-wise. Can't wait to get off this."

• Ter...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 18, 2017

Methadone for Chronic Pain "When I was seeing a doctor, I would get 30 mg in the morning, 30 mg in the afternoon, and if I needed it, 30 mg at night. Between those times, I took 30 mg of instant-release morphine three times a day if needed. This was better than just the methadone. I had no pain at all with the methadone, and no morphine with it. I would say, on a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 7 or 6, and that's the diskettes. I found that the liquid did not hold me as long, and within 8 hours, I was back in pain. At least my pain is tolerable now."

• cJS...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 5, 2022

Methadone for Chronic Pain "I was referred to a pain clinic by my neurologist because of my ongoing chronic pain from a benign brain tumor, fibromyalgia, and a lot of other disorders. The neurologist at the pain clinic put me on 60 mg/day of methadone for pain management and Lorcet 10 mg for breakthrough pain, which I took for 20 years. I had mild pain, yes, medium pain sometimes, but nothing like before. Then, I got a call from the clinic saying that I could no longer be a patient there unless I could pay cash because Medicare stopped letting them treat their patients. I went into shock! I had an appointment scheduled in 5 days, but I would also have to pay cash for it. The clinic told me that they would refill my pain meds for 30 more days to give me time to find a new doctor or clinic. So, I thought crisis avoided, I can find a doctor in 30 days. I actually found a pain clinic! I left with no methadone, I went through the most awful torture, pain, and sickness. It's been 45+ days now, still sick! Just say no to it, please."

• Con...
• February 24, 2009

For Pain "I started taking methadone for back pain last month. I had been taking morphine for the 10 months prior, and after dwindling funds and no insurance, decided to go through the withdrawals from the morphine on my own. After about 2 weeks of hell and the pain, I went back to my doctor. She decided that methadone was a better, less expensive alternative. She was wrong. Methadone has placed me extremely on edge, and the pain in my back is barely touched. I would not recommend this medicine for pain."

• Gue...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 23, 2018

For Pain "I decided to stop taking methadone on my own. It’s been eight days, and I’m in so much pain I can’t even let any clothes touch my skin. That’s how much it hurts. Is this normal?"