30 years of my life was methadone and buprenorphine daily. Since everyone has a different speed of metabolism, there are people like me that did not feel any withdrawal until the 6th day of using nothing. When i was on 80mg of methadone for the 1st 15 yrs, I could go 3 days before feeling a bit bad but after 15 more years on 20mg of Bup or Subutex,Suboxone, i could go 6 days without anything. Obviously, I have a slow metabolism. Possibly because i am 65. I believe now more than ever that one mg of suboxone or bup a day is twice what anyone needs and irresponsible by the Dr. You need to be clean of opiates when you start sub or bup. I have seen many street addicts after withdrawal try 1/10mg of sub and was always more than enough. Their pupils got pinned and they started talking non stop. They were high. The half life of sub is 36 hrs so why do Drs prescribe 5X a day???? Do not trust Suboxone, Bup Drs. Do your own research. One Dr in Indianapolis,In wrote an editorial and actually claimed that Suboxone and Bup are NOT addictive and there is no withdrawal. These drs should lose their license to practice. I never liked the feeling and the cloud that methadone and Bup gave me but i was so afraid that i could not work and go through the withdrawals. After I retired, I decided to stop cold. I have detoxed before and that was just as hard for me as stopping. The bad withdrawals started in 6 days and lasted 8 months. after 3 months of acute withdrawal, I entered what they call PAWS or post acute withdrawal symptom. Although the last 5 months are not as physical, the mental was worse for me. My brother is a Dr that treats opiate addiction. His advice was to exercise and use my mind. Fast walking , lifting weights, crossword puzzles are all things that try to wake up your natural opiate senders. I know this is the last thing you feel like doing but it helps more than anything i found. I doubt if there are many old 30+ yr addicts here so your withdrawal should be much shorter and kick in faster the younger and shorter amount of time on opiates. I know Drs are trying to keep addicts off the street with these drugs but I also feel that they are being very irresponsible by using high doses for long periods. In Europe, Suboxone or Bup, is given for brief periods in 1/10 of one mg daily for back pain. After i had cold kicked methadone, i felt great. I still had a bad back but as long as I exercised, no pain. I had no idea what sub was but my Dr said I was going to need it for pain or end up back on methadone. I started at 2mg a day and was increased to 20mg a day within a year. I raised my son alone since he was 9 months old and he had never seen me drug free until last year. He could not believe the difference in my behavior. We always had a good relationship but now we have great conversations about everything. He is disappointed that I allowed Bup to steal his real father. He has a very high I.Q. that can make growing up pretty frustrating. Now he is happy that he has someone he can talk to that understands without getting an attitude because they were wrong. So, I have that guilt to deal with now that I am awake. Looking back, after less that a year of using heroin many weekends with a couple 2 week runs, i had no business getting on Methadone. I was dead against it but i trusted a good friend, not knowing what was ahead. Methadone was always free and the clinics get govt funds for each patient so the nurse pushes you to increase your dose. What was supposed to be a 21 day detox, turned into a 30 yr nightmare. After i was on it a year, this clinic delivered a 30 day supply to my door. No charge. They make it so easy to stay on. Bup was just 3 dollars a month because insurance pays for it. There needs to come a time in our life when we become so mad that we have allowed drugs to steal our quality of life and not give the people we love who we really are that we are determined to be drug free no matter how long the withdrawals last. I read blogs about patients that have taken Bup over 10 years at high doses and it took 2 years of PAWS before they felt better. At 65 yrs old, I was still ready to go through 2 years of hell. It helps a lot if you don't have outside problems and you have someone's support. My son and the home gym was the perfect environment for me. He would listen to my rants about Drs not knowing anything about getting off opiates. Looking back, it is my fault for putting myself in a position to rely on anyone. I would encourage any addict to stop ASAP because the longer you rewire your brain to turn off the natural opiates and the older our body gets will make it that much harder to get back to normal. When you choose to stop taking drugs, there is no magic pill to ease withdrawals. The only non addictive meds that do help are the generics of the blood pressure pill CATAPRES and for sleep, SERAQUEL and for diahria, immodium.. The best way to repair your body is to create endorphins with as much exercise as you can do and do crossword puzzles or any problems that make you think. Your brain has been artificially wired and it needs to turn back on. I am glad that I was fine after 8 months because i fully expected the worst or 2 years. Remember that there will be minutes that feel like hours of misery. DO NOT lay in bed when you are awake. Get up and walk. A stationary bike and treadmill are great. I lived on them. you must eat right and drink over a gallon of water a day. One thing I did that my Dr did not like and I do not advise is I got a month refill of Bup and sat them on my night stand the day i quit to show myself and others that I was so mad about everything this drug does that nothing could ever make me take it again. I never touched that bottle. The worst I felt, the more determined i became to rid this poison from my life. My only regret is that i did not get this angry many years ago. Drs program us to think that maintenance on these prescribed drugs is the same as normal but it is far from it. We all can be drug free if we are determined to be so. Best of luck and may we support, care and pray for one another as we put bad things behind us.
Whiskey is nasty but many continue to drink As soon as you feel the effects of the wd When you stop the Kramton What then ? There really is no escape from the final wd One may get a "get out of jail free card" but most have to face the reality of Addiction. Take care and I do wish you well. lesa
Reading my journey ... ive been off methadone since last April. Was kind of rough, but i took a few pills here and there to ease wdls, and i think that helped...
today i am clean from methadone (11mos) and pills about 4 mos. i simply cannot sustain this addiction financially and am tired... just tired... take kratom every now and then ... still a journey, but the more time passes, the easier it is for me.
Thanks for the support.
How you doin ? How was your Easter.
God Bless
How are things going?? You haven't posted in awhile. Hope all is well......peace
Woo hoo!! Good morning another day under your belt:) Your story really moved me. You have a lot on your plate. Do you think you might be grieving the losses? Grief is a powerful thing. Just a thought. my counselor has me on welbutrin and abilify. It has helped my depression and I don't cry as often. Everyday I would wake up nervous thinking the withdrawal would begin but it didn't. It never came. Did you get any sleep at all l as night? Have a great afternoon. I have a dentist appt will check back later. Peace be with you
I am on day 138 on no methadone. So this is new to me. I was nervous too wondering if my withdrawals were gonna get worse. I don't know if that's the case with you but it was for me. I didn't have sleep issues but normally I get 4 to 5 hours of good sleep. So I am up a lot normally. Are you getting any sleep? What are you nervous about? Sometimes talking about it helps :) I used weed to help me get off methadone. I suffered no withdrawals and just transitioned to life with no methadone. It is possible. I have depression issues which I see a psychiatrist for and talk about my issues. For me meeting and NA didn't work (tried for over twenty years) to make it work. So I tried a new way with a psychiatrist color therapy among other things for my success. I am Methadone free and IMO sometimes you have to listen to yourself on what path is right for you to achieve success in your goal.
I am glad your doing good:) keep posting your journey
hey Girl......well a big congrats on getting off the methadone....you have slain the dragon... each day that passes you will start to feel better...after the 2 weeks is up (the physical part) it will be time to get off the kratom start by taking a little less each day and try also skipping a dose every other day....Kratom has helped a lot with methadone kicking....nothing is full proof and just keep in mind it is addictive use caution and only dose when the withdrawals are to much to stand the real key here is to dose only when it is really bad if not skip the dose many people have used Kratom successfully all though we cannot recamed anything habit forming...a lot of people use weed or benzo's in the end your going to feel i...but it wont be nearly as sever as doing nothing...keep us posted
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Gnarly<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Hi Davidmel, thank you for your openness. I want you to know when I write as I'm vey sure everyone else here who has posted to you, Is thinking very much about how what we write will be taken...how can we answer by telling you what you need to know, keeping in mind you are going through a great deal.
Again me personally it seemed you were hoping by taking the kratom it would make withdrawal easier. I believe you need to know the truth... Also I thought by your posts you were jumping. So that's why we were letting you know.
Now that you have told us now may not be the time for you, thank you for letting us know.
Remember everyone writing has been through withdrawal. We've been there and we have not forgotten no matter how long or short ago.
Also NA personally I would not call it a 'christian' group. Your higher power can be ANYTHING. And you are seeing someone so that's great. It's not like your not doing anything.
Again thank you for being open. Don't be afraid to open.
It is good for you and it helps us.
Hi Davidmel, Ive been thinking of you and came to see how you are and see you haven't posted as you regularly do): So many people are here for you. Please share with us how you are.
Congrats on Jumping , what everyone has told you is very true, there is no escaping the wds, you must face your addiction. I was friends with someone who tried the kratom route , to only end back up on subs instead of methadone. It takes a few days to really start to feel the methadone leaving your system. Keep your head up, you got this .
At some point you are going to have to lay down all the mood altering drugs and face this addiction head on.
So what are your thoughts? Is it 3 days since you last took methadone? Are you having any withdrawal symptoms? How much kratom are you taking? Do you still have the takeaway of methadone, have you taken any? I'm just wondering how if you do still have it, what is the purpose? As you know it will only temporarily make you feel better.
Have you thought about going to detox?
If the fear of how severe the withdrawals could be (and I don't blame you. Methadone withdrawal is not fun at all) and this what is making you look for alternatives to try to ease your withdrawals then this might be what you need.
What support do you have? From memory you're seeing a therapist/counsellor? Are you being completely open with them?
Good morning:)Just a quick wishing you a great day!!
Lesa just said it. When you stop taking the kratom you will feel the withdrawals it's exactly the same as taking a pill but in liquid form. We would drink anything no matter how ghastly if it meant we wouldn't feel sick.
Congragulations on jumping off the methadone.....do you think you can do it without the kratrom though?
That's awesome!! Your doing great:) I am so happy for you.