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Methadone withdrawal
Hey I was wondering if anyone knew if while I was trying to withdrawal from methadone. I started to use my DOC again and I am going to try a withdrawal using small amounts of suboxone for 3-4 days and then nothing. A friend is locking me in his house (he is a nurse) and going to try and help me. My question is while I have been using opanas somewhat regularly (it's been about 4 weeks since I left my clinic and two weeks since my very last 11mg dose I took which was a week after the last one I was supposed to take).will the methadone withdrawal start over or be less and I'll have to deal with what I have been doing. The methadone withdrawal I had was hot/cold, my legs hurt but was not shaking like I have experienced from a bad opanas withdrawal, and the worst part was the mental part. It was taking over my mind and no matter what I try I ended up using something. I know this withdrawal will be bad but I am just wondering what to expect from the methadone now that's it's been a little bit. Any help is greatly appreciated.
I have been on methadone for 1 1/2 years @ 120 mg. I started tapering December 2016 from 120 mg and tapering @ 10 mg every 2 weeks. I made it down to 20 mg and now I am going down 2 mg every week on Tuesday. Today I am at 14 mg. it was ALL smooth sailing till I hit the 14 mg mark. It is a little rough but I am making it through. You have to stay strong and not let this break you which at some times it feels like it will. This is my first time tapering and I have gotten this far. I am unsure of any other ways but here was my experience through tapering. I hope this helps. Stay strong keep your eye on the prize!
hey Mike...welcome to the forum...well methadone withdrawal is a real MOFO.....it really maters how long you where on it what dose and your age all will factor into your recovery.......for me I was 47 at 150mg for almost 7yrs so the cards where stacked agents me.....it took a good 90 days to start to get over it in a perfect world your threw it in a month for most it is a 60 to 90 day grind of little or no sleep a ''energy crash'' that in itself is debilitating you just have to push threw this without opiets....as long as you keep taking things your brain will not begin to heal you must abstain from all opiets also for the mind games I suggest N/A it is a great progam....long after the drugs stop what I call the ''mind screw'' starts you must treat the addcit that is still alive and well in your head n/a treats the addict google a n/a meeting in your area give us some more info on how long how much and your age I have helped a lot of people off this hidious drug just know everything you go threw will be so so worth it
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GNARLY<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GNARLY<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Yes and no. After multiple attempts at "replacement tapers" I've come to the personal conclusion that they do not work for me. Maybe if I could turn back time and do a short 5-day Suboxone taper after my mild hydrocodone addiction it would've been possible, but not after long-term maintenance with a long-acting opiate.
I was on Suboxone for almost 7 years straight, never taking more than 8 mg/day and as low as 2 mg/day (which is actually still not that low, it's equivalent to roughly 60 mg of morphine.) Finally I thought I'd come up with a foolproof plan to get off; MS Contin. I averaged 200 mg/day for 2 weeks, and thought for sure I'd only had slight withdrawal from the morphine when I stopped. Needless to say, that's not how it happened.
I ended up enduring a full two months of SUBOXONE withdrawal (the difference is easily discernible) and another month of lingering effects that weren't as bad as the beginning, but were bad enough to prevent me from doing something productive.
I've come to believe the only way that kind of substitution works after long-acting opiates, is if you stay on the replacement long enough to both completely surpass the length of withdrawal for the previous opioid (a long time for both Methadone & Suboxone) and for your body to become completely dependant on the replacement. You can't just use something else for a couple of weeks and avoid the WD, it doesn't work that way. The best bet is to get the body dependant to a milder or shorter acting opiate, so after using that for a few months you'll mostly just have the replacement's WD to deal with. Terrible withdrawal is bad enough for a week or two, but when it continues on for months the odds of succeeding reduce drastically (IMO.) It can be done (and HAS, many times by many people!)
That said, it doesn't mean you're screwed. You can try to get some Lyrica or Neurontin & Clonidine if you have access to a doctor. If not, you can look into Kratom (from a reputable vendor only, though.) I would be very cautious with the Suboxone though!!! Both Methadone & Opana are long-acting, so if you take the Suboxone too soon afterward it will send you into precipitated withdrawal, which is the worst kind of withdrawal you can experience! Depending on the dose of Methadone/Opana you've been taking, you might have to go 3 or 4 days without either before starting Suboxone. Even then, you'd be in the same situation as the Methadone, without the clinic, but also without the full-agonist saturation.
Good luck.
I was on Suboxone for almost 7 years straight, never taking more than 8 mg/day and as low as 2 mg/day (which is actually still not that low, it's equivalent to roughly 60 mg of morphine.) Finally I thought I'd come up with a foolproof plan to get off; MS Contin. I averaged 200 mg/day for 2 weeks, and thought for sure I'd only had slight withdrawal from the morphine when I stopped. Needless to say, that's not how it happened.
I ended up enduring a full two months of SUBOXONE withdrawal (the difference is easily discernible) and another month of lingering effects that weren't as bad as the beginning, but were bad enough to prevent me from doing something productive.
I've come to believe the only way that kind of substitution works after long-acting opiates, is if you stay on the replacement long enough to both completely surpass the length of withdrawal for the previous opioid (a long time for both Methadone & Suboxone) and for your body to become completely dependant on the replacement. You can't just use something else for a couple of weeks and avoid the WD, it doesn't work that way. The best bet is to get the body dependant to a milder or shorter acting opiate, so after using that for a few months you'll mostly just have the replacement's WD to deal with. Terrible withdrawal is bad enough for a week or two, but when it continues on for months the odds of succeeding reduce drastically (IMO.) It can be done (and HAS, many times by many people!)
That said, it doesn't mean you're screwed. You can try to get some Lyrica or Neurontin & Clonidine if you have access to a doctor. If not, you can look into Kratom (from a reputable vendor only, though.) I would be very cautious with the Suboxone though!!! Both Methadone & Opana are long-acting, so if you take the Suboxone too soon afterward it will send you into precipitated withdrawal, which is the worst kind of withdrawal you can experience! Depending on the dose of Methadone/Opana you've been taking, you might have to go 3 or 4 days without either before starting Suboxone. Even then, you'd be in the same situation as the Methadone, without the clinic, but also without the full-agonist saturation.
Good luck.
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