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Avatar universal

How do I get off Methadone please ? Buprenorphine ?

Dear members,  I apologise for my prior message which contained a lot of rambling - I seem to be worked up over this issue and am now dumping all my stress on you poor people - please forgive me.  The problem that complicates my situation no end, is that I have strong rheumatoid arthritis pain which needs daily medicating. The methadone mostly covers my RA pain, and so while this is great, it's not good in terms of weaning off Methadone, because I will be left in agony with no pain relief, as I reduce the methadone.  HOW DO I DEAL WITH THE STRONG PAIN OF RA, WHILE WITHDRAWING FROM METHADONE ? (sorry, not shouting ;) I do not like Cortisone type drugs which are usually the mainstay for RA pain, it seems.  While Methadone isn't a great drug, I feel that Cortisone or prednisolone is a severely damaging and toxic drug, and can leave one is all sorts of trouble if taken long term.  My main concern is my gut health, because I used Celebrex for many years in lieu of the regular RA protocols (DMARDs).  This had damaged my gut extremely with ongoing gastritis, and now I've become very sensitive to all drugs.  Gut inflammation, equals mental and emotional agony for me - due to the close link between the two - brain cells reside in the GI tract !  Leaky Bowel Syndrome, is a huge problem and exacerbates my general condition, ad infinitum.  So, as you can see, opting for cortisone for pain relief is not an option (due to the fact cortisone is toxic and irritating to the gut lining), while I'm trying to wean off methadone.  Opioids are the bain of my existence because they are extremely addictive, and cause anxiety - this is all linked to the fact I have ADHD. ADHD folks are known for their predisposition to becoming dependant on opioids etc.  Most regular folks who use opioids for whatever reason (usually post-op pain relief or other pain issues), can manage to wean themselves off these drugs in a reasonable time frame, without experiencing such agonising side effects. I'm not for a moment, saying that weaning off is a breeze for them, or that it's even a little bit easy - I know it is the most awful thing to experience whatever your circumstances are.  However some of us have a hell of a time achieving this task.  I guess I'm looking for some hints or directions that would be useful.  And as I've already  managed to whinge about, giving you a right royal pain in the posterior LOL, no one seems to interested in helping me address these issues, within my health system here in Australia. The methadone program, is a tightly controlled regime with no room for empathy or taking into account, an individual's circumstances.  Thanks again to you all, and I hope you all manage to have better days ahead.  Please take care -
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Avatar universal
im from syd to why not go on subutex then you can get a monthly script and dont have  to go in all the time my partner is on that and has come off it b4 the withdraws are minor and last a week not even
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Avatar universal
iv been on methadone for 9  yrs  im 29 was an iv user and now iv had enough and im now on 2mg i was thinking of swapping to the subutex for a coulpe of day its got natracksone in it so should take the done right out of me ruduce my self after 1 week so i dont get addicted and im feeling gd rigjht now comming down half a ml a week then i dont know maybe 0.5 a wk any surgestgens pls
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Avatar universal
Two yrs ago I detox off from Methadone, It took three months in bed and another three to get right. Now my doctor put me on Oxycontin and vicodin, but he negleccted to wean me so it was bad. Detoxing needs to take time from this drug. You need to reduce a few mgs. a week or  so. and if it gets really bad up a little. I do not believe you;ll get through with out any pain but, do not cold turkey. It was tough for me but, I was on a very high dose and you just have to decide that your going to make it. I also used klonopin to help. Good luck.
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