Methadone and Withdrawal: What Users Say (Page 2)

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

For Chronic Pain "I have some bad news for all of you that are so 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 it's something the docs don't tell you. Good luck!!!"

• Aan...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 30, 2018

Methadone for Opiate Withdrawal "Methadone has been great for me. It's important to get a stable dose, as a lot of people are afraid to be on a high mg. But whatever it takes to get you to not use is key. If you're on a low dose but still using, then what is the point? So don't beat yourself up, just work with your doctor. It's nice not to go through withdrawal, and not to mention it is great when the drug-seeking behavior finally is over with. Do yourself a favor, and if you're struggling with addiction, try this."

• Adm...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 26, 2016

For Opiate Withdrawal "I used prescription drugs for over 10 years, I finally self-admitted myself into a methadone clinic. It has saved me and hurt me. I have to go to the clinic daily (20 miles round trip). I want to be free of all opiates, but I'm scared of the withdrawal. This clinic is government-run and very hard to get things done."

• jud...
• September 22, 2008

For Opiate Withdrawal "I have been on methadone for 3 years now, this medicine has helped me greatly. I don't know where I would be today without it. I can't remember ever feeling this normal and happy. I had no withdrawals at all coming off opiates and going onto this medication. If you are thinking about giving it a go, I recommend it 100%. It gives immediate relief."

• ISP...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 4, 2014

For Opiate Withdrawal "I was on the fentanyl pain patch, 75 mcg, and 2 Percocet 10/325 for neck surgery that never healed. I wanted to stop, but I already knew what stopping without help would make me: very, very sick. So I went to a place that charged me $90.00 a week for a dosage of 75 mg daily, plus NA meetings as many as I needed. All was great, after a year, no more cravings, so I decided to taper off and hope the neck pain would be tolerable. So after 2 months of tapering, I was finally clean and sober. (I thought) My last dose was Thursday morning, and by 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning, the withdrawal I tried to avoid happened. Throwing up nothing but bile because I couldn't eat or drink anything, then after about 36 hours of that, the runs come and stay for about a day and a half."

• Anonymous
• February 4, 2010

For Opiate Withdrawal "I am an opiate addict, started abusing OxyContin, then went to heroin. I started methadone maintenance 8 months ago. I have not used since. It works great for me, stops cravings, and helped with my anxiety and depression. I take a daily dose of 90 mg. It has given me my life back! However, I am afraid of detoxing from methadone due to symptoms of opiate withdrawal. My counselor says that I can go down as little as 2.5 mg a week until I am no longer dependent. I am starting a very slow detox soon, I will let you know how well it works."

• daz...
• February 4, 2009

For Pain "I take methadone and Parafon Forte for severe spinal and nerve pain in legs and feet. I tried oxy and all the other pain medicines. This combo is the only one that totally eliminates the pain. I tried to get off the methadone and go back to Percocet, and the pain returned, and the withdrawals were horrible. I will be a methadone man for life."

• Met...
• July 31, 2016

For Pain "Been a methadone nurse for 10+ years and have seen the good and bad. The good is it has helped a number of people with pain. And those who use it for pain tend to use it like their other prescribed meds. The bad comes mostly from those who use it for substance abuse treatment. Methadone is NOT a treatment of substance abuse, but a tool to aid in the treatment of substance abuse. It does not cure withdrawal, it stops withdrawal symptoms when at a therapeutic level. You will experience withdrawal symptoms when methadone is tapered or discontinued. Those using methadone for substance abuse tend to treat methadone in similar ways as a street drug. I have seen people lick the inside and outside of the cup when dosing. And camp out in front of the clinic."

• Aim...
• January 29, 2018

For Chronic Pain "When it was first prescribed, I'd have given it a 10/10. I've tried almost everything to manage my pain, and nothing worked as well with as few side effects as methadone. I took it for years, gradually needing more and more. My doctors assured me it was safe and that it wouldn't be like other opioids. Methadone has ruined my life, even taking it exactly as prescribed. I'm currently withdrawing from it because I refuse to be addicted to it anymore, and it's pure HELL. Worse than anything else I've ever come off of in my entire life. Don't use long-term. Please, do yourself a favor and get off now."

• flu...
• November 10, 2008

For Opiate Withdrawal "I was addicted to any opiate I could get my hands on before my 17th birthday. I was taking these for my back pain, and it took away the pains of life. I wanted to stop but didn't want to become a registered drug addict (then I wouldn't get medicine for my back pain), so I started to buy other people's takeaways. At first, it was great, but soon I noticed I was taking more and more instead of less. That was when I decided there was no other way. Eleven months later, I stopped taking methadone at 5 mg and didn't get too many withdrawals. Methadone is good because it allows you to continue work while dropped. There were hard times, but I'm glad I did it."

• Amy...
• October 20, 2009

For Opiate Withdrawal "I was addicted to painkillers for four years. I got on methadone, although it helped, I ended up starting to use cocaine. I was on methadone for 7 years. I went from 80 mg down to 1 mg. I thought my withdrawals would be slight, but they were really bad. I relapsed about a week after getting off methadone. I now am on Suboxone and have no cravings for any drug. I am in the process of weaning off. I definitely recommend Suboxone over methadone for someone who is trying to decide what route to take."

• sta...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 11, 2024

For Opiate Withdrawal "I've been in this for 18 years. This is a life saver for a lot of people. My niece, for one. But for me, when I started, it was too easy to get and not enough info on how strong it is, drug interactions, and the worst withdrawals you can imagine. The internet was not as easy to have then, like it is today, so I had to take the clinic's word for you can stop whenever you're ready. I was on Lortabs, my doctor just closed up and left one day. I had 2 small sons and had to take care of them without withdrawal. My point is do your research. I wish I would have taken the week of not sleeping versus a lifetime of methadone. It was worth it for some, I want to make that clear. Good luck to everyone."

• Bre...
• November 5, 2016

For Opiate Withdrawal "I've been drug sick since last Wednesday. The hospital did nothing for me and scoffed at me. The ER doctor was such a jerk. I turned down his offer of a few Lortons. I quit this cold turkey through a fault of my own. I forgot to get an appointment, and the pain management clinic doesn't even care. I spent an hour trying to do their piss test, and the desk is 1 foot from the door. Nice attendants at the desk and a witch of an office manager. But there is one worse withdrawal, Cymbalta, which I quit cold turkey, and the only thing that saved me was doses of GABA supplement."

• EML...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 31, 2022

For Opiate Withdrawal "I have been on the '(M.A.T.)' Methadone since 2016. I went all the way up to 125. But because I take Xanax, they would cut my dose in half until I was able to not have that in my system, so I just never went back up. I stayed at the half dose and then went down from there, and I am currently on 19 mg. Today was the first day that I actually felt a physical withdrawal because I did not take my Sunday take-home dose. My husband was tragically killed back in October, so my counselor suggested that I don't go down at least until springtime, but I was going down 5 mg at a time and then I started going down 1 mg until I got to 19 mg."

• Win...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 15, 2024

For Opiate Withdrawal "At first, I’ve got to say it was scary. It can have you feeling all sorts of ways. I’ve come down from 90ml to 10ml. What worries me is how the deep pain in bones and sore legs is dealt with? Should I be prescribed something else to cope with this? Methadone truly saved my life. I tasted withdrawal by my own stupidity missing the chemist, and it was not nice, but don’t think too much about it. Remember it and set alarms so you don’t miss. It gets you into a routine, go at the same time every day. If you aren’t like me and forget (which in a way is good because it shows your body is starting to forget the addiction), but do it how you feel. Start with what the doctor recommends, take it easy, and don’t read all the stuff about it being impossible to come off methadone, and do not accept staying on for the rest of your life. Life is beautiful ❤️"

• Gra...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 11, 2024

For Opiate Withdrawal "I am 27 years old. I have a love/hate relationship with methadone. Even though methadone helped me come off illicit drugs, it has severely impacted my life to the point where I don’t have a life. Everyone always says methadone is supposed to help you improve your quality of life, but mine has drastically declined in different ways while on it. About 5-6 hours after I dose, I become extremely tired. I sleep about 15 hours a night, waking up still tired, having chronic fatigue during the hours I am up. The first month I was on it, I was sleeping close to 20 hours a day until my body got more adjusted to it. Also, when I was just taking illicit drugs, I was extremely more active and social. I could go 2-3 days without using before withdrawals set in. With methadone, I experience withdrawals every single morning. No matter what dose I am at, it doesn’t last 24 hours. My social life is nonexistent, I haven’t hung out with a friend and done something in 4-5 years."

• Deb...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 28, 2021

For Chronic Pain "I have been treated for chronic back pain for 16 years. 5 bad discs. My doctor tried me on every other type of pain medication before trying methadone. I was doing very well until 2 things occurred. First, the pharmacy switched me from the round 10 mg tablets to the rectangular ones. Then, with the so-called 'opioid epidemic', our doctors have been running scared with the DEA breathing down their necks. In the last 2 years, my doctor has cut back my dose 3 times, with absolutely NO evidence that I was abusing the medication (which I DO NOT, knowing full well what the consequences of abusing an opiate ARE!) And there was no evidence that I was impaired by the dose I was on! I told the doctor that I was experiencing symptoms of withdrawal on 40 mg. She refused to believe me, at first. Later, she cut my dose back to 30 mg per day, about 2 weeks ago. I now have stomach cramps daily and several other withdrawal symptoms. No pain relief for quite some time. I have to go on Suboxone, now."

• Wei...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 12, 2024

For Opiate Withdrawal "I started the program in 2013. I was taking approximately 300 mg of OxyContin a day, and when I could, I’d use the 75 mcg patches if I needed to hide my use. I wish I had discovered methadone before I lost my job. I started at 40 mg and was up to 180 mg in no time. I started titrating 2 mg every month, but now I’m trying to go faster, I’m currently at 90 mg and am happy, but am also afraid of the withdrawal after. My counselor has told me that statistically I’m going to be on methadone for the rest of my life, and I don’t want this leash tying me down. I hate waking up feeling like crap until I dose. I’m getting 13 take-homes and will soon qualify for 27. There was a guy who recently OD’d the 2nd week he got off the program, but he was titrating at 5 mg per day! He got a craving 2 weeks later for heroin and tried the same dose as he was used to, or so I heard. Good luck to whomever reads this."

• sam...
• December 26, 2015

For Opiate Withdrawal "I was on MM for 6 years at 115 mg. I had clean UAs through this time. I was prescribed some Librium by some ER docs due to a bad bloody nose caused by high BP and 3 months of drinking. When the clinic I was going to found out, they dropped my dose immediately to 40 mg and kicked me off their program 2 weeks later. I had to go to another more expensive clinic and use heroin because of the withdrawal I was feeling. I had to start at 25 mg and increase 5 mg every 4 days. I am on 40, it is still not working very well for me."

• Anonymous
• November 10, 2008

For Opiate Withdrawal "It allowed me to continue to work while dropping the withdrawal side effects, which was not easy, but I was able to handle it."