methadone taper

[tryingtokeepittogether]

I have been on methadone since jan 2011 and off all street drugs ever since.  I am now a mom with a carreer and with a totally different life then I used to and can't wait to get off the meth.  While meth def helped me get "clean" I hate the side effects (as everyone does). Was on 90mg and I tapered down by 5mg , then by 2mg until I got to 6mg and I thought i was going crazy- I guess I wasn't prepared for it becasue I had felt totally fine up until then. So I went back up to 10mg and felt good- stayed there about 6 or 8 weeks and started coming down again by 1mg per week.  Was feeling good until I got to 5mg 2 days ago. I can deal with it- mostly fatigue, no motivation, headches, insomia, restless legs at night.  So my question is if I am going to "feel" every 1mg drop and feel like crap for 3 or 4 days until my body gets used to it would it be better to jump off now at 5mg and just get it over with or keep going down by 1mg every week until 0. I just feel like I would be dragging out the inevitable to keep going if I am going to feel sick with every drop. Is jumping off at 5mg that much worse then 1mg? I have read so many diff things.  ANd i don't see how staying at 5mg for say a month would help if I would still have to eventually make the drop to 4mg etc.  Any experiences?  I have a baby and a job so can't be deathly sick.  I am very motivated to get off and I just want to be done.  Tired of it all.  Just want to feel again. I don't have any support really as my family does not know about my past addictions and my "new" friends are pretty much all people I work with as I cut all my old friends out of my life when I stopped using. Any support/ help would be much appreciated.  Thanks!

[gnarly_1]

Hi  well there is always apprehension  about quitting any of this just know now if you jump you will be fine it is really hard for most to go lower then 5  my withdrawal wasent any harder then it was at 5mg it will just give you a 5week head start time to just go for it.
...............................................Gnarly...................................

[tryingtokeepittogether]

Oh I know I keep changing my mind.  After reading what Gnarly said I was all ready to jump at 5mg.  Going from 6mg to 5mg was rough- then like I said got put on steroids which make everything feel worse- achy all over and worse headaches.  So I have 1 month supply with the last week being 2mg.  So decided to at least do the week of 4mg.  I bought the calcium/mag/zinc and taking Vitadone and I'm on day 2 at 4mg I feel so much better then last week- just still no motivation.  I bought the L--tyrosine with B-6 but haven't taken it yet cause I read somewhere that it could make the initial wd/ detox worse but not sure if thats true.  Ugh what to do... the addict in me would never just throw out drugs so I feel like if I now they are there I will want to take them but if I take the rest of my bottles which would be down to 2 mg and then they are all gone mentally I would do better with the withdrawal. (that prob sounds f***** up. ) this is so scary- meth has been such a crutch to stay "clean".I can't wait to be done.  Everyone tells stories of how long it takes to feel like themselves again and I feel like I don't even remeber what myself feels like. But looking forward to finding out.  The whole time I was on meth I thought I was clean and that I beat the addiction but now that I'm coming down with the taper its like starting over again- kinda scary.  I'm rambling- I have been up since yesterday morning- I work nights and then stay up all day with baby - so tired. But anyways keep posting on what you decide- good to know someone is in same position as me.  Congrats to yo as well!

[tryingtokeepittogether]

Thanks for the support and answer. Still deciding what to do took last day of 5mg yesterday and due to take 4 mg this AM.  I broke out with bad posion ivy and am on steroids which is making me feel worse so thinking about taking 4mg for the week on the steroids and then jumping.  But I am getting prepared with the vitamins and stuff.  What do think of this Thomas recipe? Besides the benzos cause thats not a good idea for me trying to stay clean (and have a baby to take care of) but the L-tyrosine- would that help you think? Getting so nervous have been reading alot of posts which I think helps.  My goal is to have some energy to enjoy this summer with my baby, and feel again. Thanks again

[jleeflcntrygrl]

Your AWESOME! Thanku for posting. I'm tapering off slowly too, but I just started so this gives me hope too that I can do it also. The ppl on this forum are really great, helpful and knowledgeable. So stay on and let us know how u r doing! Great work! Prayers sent your way! U CAN do this!!

[gnarly_1]

Hi and welcome to the forum........well I was on methadone almost 7 yrs at 150mg it took me 8 1/2 months to taper off  I started feeling crap py at 20 mg tapering is ez in the higher doses but most of us start to feel it at 20 so count your blessings  I remember 5mg I was tapering and each drop came with 3 or 4 days of withdrawals  there really is no reason to put your self threw the agony  I went down to 0 but if I had to do it over I would have jumped off at 5 the withdrawal from these low doses is for the most part Identical so save your self the grief and jump off  if you plane to take it all the way down go to walmart and pick up a 3 in 1 vitamin Calcium/ magnesium and zinc start taking 4 with breakfast and 4 with dinner in a few days you will notice your withdrawals are not as bad I only wish I had found this sooner .;..what ever you decide we will support you and help you all the way down your no longer alone in this we have several members who have beat this drug I wish all the luck in the world remember you can do this...........Gnarly