Why is everyone who is still in pain wanting to get off methadone

[dankesheon]

I am wondering why people, at least a couple of the posts I have read are so determined to get off of pain meds. I am with RA, Fibro, Scoliosis, Hep-C...I can't treat for any of it, due to liver involvement. I cannot take the RA drugs, which would make me terribly ill as well as possible killing me. I am only 45. My doctor had to place me on ADD drugs to keep me from missing out on life, due to the high dose of methadone. I am of course aware of all the addiction involved. But what is a life with so much pain you cry? What is life with being so drugged out that you simply sit with a blanket and watch tv. Especially a person like me who has no cure for either of my big ones, RA and Hep-c. I have already tried the Hep c tx and it failed miserably. I am a 1a. My doctors are kind and want me to be able to live life, not cry in pain or be so logy that I cannot function. My pain got so bad, that I spent an additional two years working, thinking that I would just have to suck it in. Imagine going to work each day, with tylenol 3, in so much pain that you have to step out and cry? You cannot function? You are always in your head wondering is this all there is?
I am here to say that I do not regret taking my methadone, or the adderall. Also, Ambien for sleep and Klonopin for anxiety. I am aware of how that sounds. But my brain and manner do not appear loaded. I know, if for some reason I got seperated from these drugs due to natural disaster or something, I would probably go through hell or even die. But I am on "keep her comfortable drugs" since I am cure free. What does everyone here think? Dana
Not judging, just curious. I shared all of my stuff with you all. I will keep an eye peeled for a response. God Bless.
One more thing. It is important to remember: I don't feel loaded. If I did, that would be extremely different. I can handle myself in any situation. Love and light, Namaste
Perhaps it is my Reiki Mastership, or my Crystal healing I do on self, or meditation directly with spirit. Love to all.

[natalile]

Cheers hunny, i don't see the point in suger coating it, I'm an addict 2 both & vallium also, God i'm a mess, But the way i see it if  just 1 of my posts are read by someone & a critical stage in there choice of getting of herion i don't want them to think methadone alown will help. Will power, Support ect is what u need. The meds u take to get of your addiction can sometimes make things worse xxx
peace nat xx

[Holliee]

Hello I just read your post and I agree with you as I to am on methadone and have been 2 1/2 yrs and it has saved me in so many ways and lets me function in life and be able to work my pain is something awful and all other medicine I just took way to much and was high but on this I maintain very well and have been on same dose for 2 yrs now. Best of luck to you, My best friend is also on methadone her husband shot her in back and she has hep c so really on pain medicine she can take also....DO you have any side effects from methadone do any of you

[mikeyg51]

Im sorry...I spelled your name wrong!  

[mikeyg51]

I really feel for you Natalie.....I used heroin and many opiates for years, extreme amounts each day.  I am actually quite happy to see that you look at the bright side of ur problem.  Methadone or heroin (although I'd love to see you stick with the methadone so you don't have to cop on the streets), it's all pretty much the same.  You are honest about it and you still are there for your family it seems.  I'm not too familiar with methadone except that I had used it to get high years back, but then I found suboxone and used that.  I just wanted to say that it was very pleasant to see your side of being addicted!  No one's every really put it that way, they usually just lie or bash themselves, etc.  It is what it is, and being straight forward is the best bet....Hopefully, you can maybe just use the methadone and not the heroin anymore but that is for you and only you to decide!
Great post!

[newway]

We are all so different emotionally and physically.  Unfortunately, I am an addict with chronic pain - scoliosis, degenerative disc.  Pain meds are not something I use just for pain - I increase my use for that "high".  No one should have to live in pain - and we each have to make our own tradeoff's - if you can function on methadone, and it keeps the pain at bay, and you do not have to constantly increase - that's great.  For me - the way I used it - the personality change, the drug seeking behaviour, the constant foggy - distant feeling - was too much - so I am trying to get off the opiates and find some other solution.
I by no means feel that what I need to do for me is what is right for everyone.  Chronic pain is exhausting.

[ftblmom]

I have been in severe pain since 1999 with the disc issues and Fibromyalgia and soforth and so on.  I was on the weak stuff at first the hydro  and percocet and then had to find my own help with oxycotins....Then in 2004 Dr. Prescribed Methadone and I have been pretty clase to pain free since.  I also have not had to increase the doseage. I am still on the same as I was 5 yrs ago,  I feel and this is just me...... This med saved my life it saved me from going to the streets for other drugs for pain releif.  It has increased my quality of life.  The only time I had the foggy , tired side effects was when I first started taking it, I spoke to my Dr. and the Pharmasist,  and you know how on the papers you get with your scripts when you pick them up.  Alot of meds say side effects will subside after you take your med for  a couple of weeks.  I did exactly as I was instructed and now my life has never been better on any type of pain med.  In my opinion there are people who think if you need to take something to control pain then you are addicted.  As per every Dr. I now have to see they tought me this, the difference between NEED and WANT... ADDICTION and DEPENDANT..  The ones who do not follow what the Dr. tells them or increases the dose themselves are the ones showing addictive behavior,  and a majority are not even in the type of pain some meds call for.  Now like me I feel you fall under the catagory the Doc. puts me under our lives DEPEND on this medication to increase the quality of life.    

[gnarly_1]

hey girl  i to was put on methadone for pain management for degenerative disks in my back the problem with methadone is you build up a tolerence to it over time.
I started at 40mg and it was magical at how good it worked but then i gradually
went up 10mg at a time to 150mg (over 6 yr)  to keep it working as a pain killer
now i feel it just wasn't doing it anymore and was sick of living on something so
strong that was doing nothing....dont fool yourself it puts you in a "fog" that you relize
when you start to get to lower doses im currently at 4mg and already feel mutch more
alert , at this point im kinda in a slow withdrawal witch can su## at times but my end goal will be worth it SOBRIETY. its less then a month away for me ....as far as pain goes I agree with biker  im able to cope with the back pain now much better now
then when on the meds....4mg dosent do annything for me now so im prity mutch
on my own but i feel beter for the most part...aside from the withdrawals life is getting better as a whole so it is worth doing...for me at least, good luck with your illness"s  and i hope you to will see the light and get off the methadone yourll feel better in the long run  .......Gnarly    

[BIKERDAD1963]

Medication affects people in different ways. For most of us it starts to ruin parts of our lives and we decide that we would rather be in some physical pain rather than put our families thru emotional pain. A lot of us find out that we can deal with the pain easier once of the meds. The meds lower your pain tolerance over time and once off the meds you dont even notice a difference in the pain. Some of us just use the pain as an excuse to take the pills. For me personally I hated what the pills were doing to my family life so I decided to get off them. I was and am amazed at how better I can deal with the pain without the medication. If the meds arent affecting yours or your families life then so be it. Sometimes pain meds are necessary for quality of life but if you dont try it without the meds you will never know. Most of us dont even realize what we are doing to our families and ourselves until its to late. Just stay in control and dont let the meds be in charge.

[Susan252]

Thank you so much for your post!  You're story sounds like mine, minus the methadone.  I have RA, fibro, scoliosis and a 12 inch steel rod, and hep c 1b.  I have not done the rx for the hep c because genotype 1 is the hardest to treat.  I didn't talke anything for pain for many years cause of the liver issue, and then one day the pain got so bad that I went to my doc and he prescribed me hydrocodone.  I started to take it and what a difference it made for the pain!!! 3 years later, I went from taking 2 a day to 7 or 8 a day, and am having trouble weaning.  So far my blood work is all normal, that's good and also for years I have been taking milk thistle and other herbs for the liver.  
I can relate to the pain you are in and the way it grips your mind with "is this all there is"?  I don't think anyone should suffer physically, and it sounds to me that you are taking care of yourself very well.  Does methadone help with the pain and is that only for alcohol detox?  
I am a Reiki 2 and someday will go for the master, but have not been able to focus much on the metaphysical realm cause of dealing with this addiction.
I will be getting radiofrequency ablations done on my back soon and hopefully that will help with the pain and then the doc said that he would start weaning me.  I am trying to wean a little myself before that point arrives.  Namaste to you also, Love and Lighe

[natalile]

I'm on methadone,But not for your reasons, I realy feel for you. Is some ov your ilnesses due to addiction ?,Unever said in your post,
Enyway im a LONG team hreion user 16 years & have been on methadaone for 5 years now, poss longer. The mistake i made was not using it the correct way when the doc gave me the scritp now am addicted to both stupid eh.
But on the times i don't use herion methadaone helps me live, work, & play with my kids.I no thats a cop  out but its my life @ the mo,Im trying hard 2 make changes but 1 thing @ a time.The same goe's for you do what u need to do 4 u hunny xx hope things get better
peace nat xx