new here

[nojoke05]

Well hi everyone I'm looking for some friends that might have some positive answers to me getting off methadone I know its saved my life I have a wonderful house a wife and a new baby on the wAy now I'm going down I was on 120 mg now I'm on 60 mg I would love to have some positive advice everythging I hear is so bad I'm so scared please help

[eyeofhorus2010]

Keep in mind that no matter how uncomfortable you are after the jump off point it's only temporary. I've gone through stretches of abusing oxycontin 80's (ten a day) Methadone (8 to 12 a day) Percocets (30 to 40 a day) Vicodin (80 to 100 a day) over the course of 9 years. During the short periods of having run out of pills which was only a day or two I would feel so bad and sick that I was certain that I had become one of those lost causes, doomed to always be on some sort of opiate because I had wrecked myself to the point that getting clean and living a normal life was no longer possible. Because, you know, I was that exception to the rule.

Not so it turns out. I quit back in August for the umpteenth time. I relapsed a few times since but never binged like I used to which always led back to full blown active addiction. I think I'm at around the 40 day mark since the very last time I took anything, I quit trying to count days several years ago because that never seemed to help me stay clean anyway. So since August I've taken Vicodin on 3 occasions.

I feel so good now. I wake up a little tired, get a cup of coffee and ease out to the garage for a smoke and by the time I come back inside to get a refill on my coffee I'm wide awake and ready to take on the day.  I now wonder why I ever thought I needed those pills so badly in the first place. I never felt this good on them with the exception of when I first got hooked and thought I could take on anything and that only lasted a little while before it was a matter of trying to mainain for the sake of normalcy.

So, don't be scared. Work your taper plan and don't make the mistake that it's okay to take an extra once in a while to just take things up a notch. Stay with the plan and when you finally do quit them altogether you'll hopefully have your mind set in the right place. At that point treat each day of discomfort as getting one day closer to being free of the nightmare. It feels so good to manuever through this world under your own steampower. I'm now addicted to staying clean because this just feels so much better.

Stick around, keep posting and reading. We're all here for you and that's important because it's the support I get here that has helped me keep the Dyke plugged and my mind right. You'll see. And I gaurentee that when you do get to this side you'll be telling all the noobs the same things you've been told.

I can't wait to see the day come when you exclaim to all and everyone that "Nojoke05 is feeling good". Get excited about it cause it's a comin. Close this chapter in the book of you life and start the next chapter clean, sober and as a proud Dad. You can do it.

[Jaybay]

60 mg isn't exactly a "low" dose.  Keep on tapering and don't think about quitting until you're below 10 mg.  No two detoxes are the same, but stopping at 60 mg and stopping and 10 mg aren't even in the same ballpark.  You seriously need to talk to the people at the clinic about your detox plan.  Listening to your ex-girlfriend is only freaking you out unnecessarily.  If you go into detox already anxious and expecting the worse, you'll only make the worst happen.

You need to have a talk with your clinic about how billing works going forward as your dose lowers.  Most clinics offer some kind of counseling - have you taken advantage of that?  NOW is the time to start learning how to cope with your pain and general life stresses.  You want to have those skills on autopilot BEFORE your detox.  If you do the mental work, you'll have a powerful tool in your detox toolbox that will last you the rest of your life to prevent relapse.

Take a look at the far lower right corner of this page and print out the Thomas Recipe and Amino Acid Protocol pages.  You can use the ingredients listed in either plan to help ease you through your detox when the time comes.  Take the time now to stock up.

[nojoke05]

O man thank you so much there is a light on mow that I didn't have before that is wonderful that you have gone down that far one of my problems is I don't have any insurance and it cost me 107 to go to the clinic a week and I want to go down slow but I'm wondering if ill have to still go when I'm down to like 10 mg or 5 I would hate to pay that much for nothing but now that I think about it I'm so scared about hurting I would pay it and its not the size of my dose its just the thought " should I just quit now since I'm so low ?" I have always heard such bad things about coming off one girl I used to date there said when she came off she was up for days and would see stuff! Like she went crazy and someone told me its the same weather you quit from 120 or 10 mg so I just don't know I would love to hear from you sometime again ty so much for writing

[switzygrl]

hi, I'm new here too...have been reading, watching, & following for a couple of wks b4 i finally sign'd up. Ive been on MMT for about 6 yrs 160mg at my highest dose. Ive been tapering for the last year or so, am down to 17mg (and counting) but with the same fears as you. i have been on both sides i walked off at 20mg a few yrs ago(relapsed)  & now the taper. seems to me the taper is much better and less painful. still have w/d but so much milder and i can stil work.... i beleive that a lot of it is in your mind if you want it you will get it... you have so much going for you as far as your wife and baby (on the way) for support & the will to get through. so many great people here for hope/support & really great ideas/ways to ease the discomfort. i would love to hear more from you & others.. I'm sturggeling with the same fear ..

[Jaybay]

Congrats on the baby and working to get your life sorted out!  Can you tell us a little more about yourself and how you came to be on methadone in the first place?  Do you have chronic pain or are you using the methadone for addiction harm control?  Was the decision to taper and get off methadone altogether entirely your own or was it dictated by someone else?  Your mental state going into detox makes such a huge difference to its success.  I sincerely hope that you are working with a doctor or clinic and have emotional support as your taper continues.  If you have all that support in place, you're so much more likely to detox with fewer problems and maintain your sobriety.

Fear and secrets are your biggest enemies right now.  Gnarly_1 is a community leader here (along with Dominosarah) and has a knack for writing truisms that stick in my head, one of which is, "Our secrets keep us sick."  Another good one is, "It's OK not to feel OK."  Of course you're scared!  That's normal.  It's also OK.  The fear will pass as you complete your detox and when you're out the other side you'll have a sense of pride in that accomplishmment like you've never had before - and well-earned to boot.  Please continue to post and read.  We'd all love to hear more from you.

[laurel453]

Hi, welcome here !!!

i don't have experience with methadone but i am bumping yoour post so that someone with experience can help you, good luck :)

but don't feel scared, please, there are many people here that have gone through the same path and are off the methadone so you have reasons to feel hopeful, don't you ever lose your faith that there is light at the end of this tunnel !