Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark
Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark
Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark
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Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark

To provide a better understanding of the very important role methadone plays in the treatment of addiction.
 
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prodoneboston




Male
Number of posts : 9
Location : Massachusetts
Registration date : 2009-12-22

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PostSubject: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptyThu Jan 14, 2010 1:42 am

I just wrote this long story on here and then lost it. I dont want to re-write it at the moment, it's getting late, but basiclly I'm wondering how difficult do you think it would be to ween off methadone after being on for about 3 weeks and maxing out at 90mg for 4 days and than down to 85 for the last 4 days. this medication is kicking my ass personally, its been a rough start and i'm really considering getting off methadone and trying something else. im sorry i know many have been on for years and years and im asking about what to expect withdrwal wise after only being on the clinic 3 weeks. i really don't think its going to work for me and i want to get off before i get too far into it. i can explain everything at a later time but for now im just wondering what one would be in for after 3 weeks. thank you.
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prodoneboston




Male
Number of posts : 9
Location : Massachusetts
Registration date : 2009-12-22

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptyThu Jan 14, 2010 4:56 pm

well, i'm coming off. i met with the clinician today and im gonna come off 3mg a week. i had high hopes for methadone, but the side effects i get are not comfortable at all. maybe i didnt give myself enough time to let it work but i'm gonna go with my gut on this one and come down slowly and try another method of staying off drugs. i have a certain respect for methadone and the people it has helped and i hope it saves many more people from the misery of being hooked on street opiates and pills.

again i ask does anyone know what to expect symptom wise coming off this week to week/ any suggestions/ {my question mark button isnt working}. again, i've only been on the done for three weeks and as of now i'm at 85. is it safe to switch to suboxone/ I don't know, I feel like I'm doing the right thing here but any help or info is greatly appreciated.
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mmtforme




Male
Number of posts : 48
Age : 49
Location : Stillwater ,Minnesota
Job/hobbies : the outdoors
Humor : Caddy Shack
Registration date : 2009-12-22

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PostSubject: My 2 cents   Quick Question EmptyThu Jan 14, 2010 6:54 pm

Hi, When I was first on methadone, I was put on it in a hospital because of too many OD's on Oxycontin and Fentanyl. Anyways, they got me up to 90 mg in about 5 days and I was discharged under the conditions I follow up at a methadone clinic they set me up with while I was in the hospital. I did exactly that. I was there for about a month and I left due to they were committing fraud with my insurance and it was a horrible clinic. I ended up quitting cold turkey of of 90 mg and I was on that dose a total of about 5 or 6 weeks. I suffered flu like symptoms for about 5 days, but for me it was easier than going cold turkey off of oxycodone and hydrocodone like I did 2 years earlier. Don't get me wrong, it was no fun at all, it was horrible, but I know there are worse things in life. If I had to go back in time and do it over, I would taper, but, eventually you have to go to 0, and no matter how slow the taper, you will go thru withdrawals. Another time I was tapered off of 90 mg, going down 2.5 mg every 4 days,. and I had very little discomfort at all, mostly sleeping problems and mild anxiety. I was in the hospital too, I just remembered, and they also gave me clonidine (NO, NOT KLONOPIN) and a small dose of phenobarbital twice a day until I left the hospital at 20mg/ day and went to inpatient treatment where they continued the same taper wiothout the clonidine and phenobarbital, and it was a successful taper. As the doctor called it, a Cadillac taper. I wish you the best with whatever you choose to do. Feel free to email me anytime for and questions or support, halfmarathon6@hotmail.com. As far as Suboxone, I am no expert, but I am, pretty sure they do not recommend switching to Suboxone until you get down to 30mg or less of methadone. And even they, they say you should not take any methadone for at least 72 hours, or even more, you should be exhibiting signs of mild to moderate withdrawal before the switch to suboxone or else the naltrexone in the suboxone(which is an opiate antagonist) can possibly send you in to immediate withdrawal,. similiar to Narcan, if you have ever experienced that. It is used intraveniously for opiate overdose, I had it a few times and it saved my life, but coming to anmd being in strong immediate withdrawal is tough. Take care.
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prodoneboston




Male
Number of posts : 9
Location : Massachusetts
Registration date : 2009-12-22

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptyThu Jan 14, 2010 9:24 pm

Hi and thanks for the reply. I know what your saying and part of me just wants to suck it up and cold turkey off it. You were on it 5-6 weeks, Ive been on 3 and had very little opiate use the month of waiting to get on the clinic after i got out of detox around thanksgiving. if i taper 3mg a week, that'll bring me to aug of this year until i reach zero, and your right I'll still reach zero and deal with w/d anyways. i even think having it in my system that long compared to just going off now might get me more hooked on the shit since its extra time of having it in my system. i've kicked heroin runs i' have been on longer than 3 weeks with managable sickness AND discomfort but i got through just the same. obviously though, the problem is eventually i ended up picking up again and this time around I really do not want to go back to using dope or any opiates. i just want it all out of my life. i dont have experience coming off methadone but ive heard all the horrors and shit people go throgh and i dont want to set myself up for failure by doing the cold turkey thing and opening up a can of worms im not ready for. maybe i can get my hands on some suboxone, do cold turkey 3,4,5 days until i cant take it anymore and then do the switch-a-roo for a bit until i'm better. i know for a fact i can kick suboxone pretty easy, almost no problems st all. im pretty much just typing out loud at this point but again, any replies are helpful and appreciated. thank god theres a place to vent about this stuff online.
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methadonian




Male
Number of posts : 4
Location : Jacksonville, Florida
Registration date : 2009-12-11

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PostSubject: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptyFri Jan 15, 2010 2:58 pm

I hear you prodoneboston and think I can understand where your coming from and your concerns about this medication. I have been on methadone, off and on, for the better part of 15 years now and can honestly say that it has been a true lifesaver for me personally. The most important thing I can think of to tell you is to keep in mind the fact that your body and your mind are two very different and distinct things when it comes to quiting methadone "cold turkey". Before you start to try and quit your mind will tell you that it will not be as bad as you may think. That you can do it, will do it, no matter what. Your body however is gonna be the only thing you can truelly count on to tell you the truth.Over the years I have tried to quit "cold turkey" as they say, numerous times with absoluteley no success. A slow taper is always the best way to go and I wish you success with your current situation. Methadone is a Godsend for people who are opiate dependant and it has a very good track record in helping people abstain from whatever their opiate drug of choice happens to be which brings me to this question. I realize that methadone is a medication that may not be suitable for everyone who tries it but before you start tapering down have you honestly examined why you decided to get on methadone in the first place?

It took me many many years, wasted years of my life, to finally come to the inescapable fact that I just could'nt live and enjoy life like other people do without a little help from my opiod friend. That because of my use of heroin and other drugs I had somehow changed the way I experience pleasure and just could'nt seem to get by without using. I'd spend 2 or 3 years in prison and come out determined to never ever go back to using. I'd go to AA or Na meetings, I'd take up a new hobby, a new girlfriend, a new job, I'd move to a different city and start all over again. Anything you can think to try and quit and stay quit for always ended in failure for me. I would always gravitate back to using no matter how good or bad things in my life happened to be. It was a real mystery for me as to why I kept returning to dope time and time again. I finally realized that it was'nt a question of willpower. Drug addicts in general don't lack willpower, if anything they have an overabundance of it. The answer eluded me for years. The answer was so simple it was hard........nowhat I'm trying to get at here? I just wanted to feel good. It is a natural human inclination to want to feel good even if you already feel good it could always be better.We, as human beings, all strive to try and feel good and are "addicted" to something, to use the term loosely we just do it in different ways is all. Some people try to feel good with a hobby, a carreer, a new relationship, with food, with sex, the list is endless in what people will do to try and feel good. For me, it just happened to be sticking a needle in my arm everyday and the more the better.

You see, what I'm trying to get at is for you to honestly examine the question of what brought you to methadone in the first place. I spent years before I could finally face the inescapable fact that I had done permanent damage to the way I experience pleasure. To the way I live and enjoy life. I'm not trying to imply that your situation is the same as mine, it very well may not be. I'me just trying to get you to sit down and get gut wrenchingly honest with yourself and really think about it. It has taken me many wasted years of my life to finally come to the conclusion that I needed help, pharmacuetical help, being a aprt of it. I would like to think that I can live and enjoy life without it but my brain chemistry, my body says different no matter how hard I try to "think" myself out of it.
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D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptySat Jan 16, 2010 2:04 am

prodoneboston
You asked the question "Is it safe to switch to Suboxone"
For patients taking methadone, the methadone dose should be tapered to 30 mg or less per day for a minimum of 1 week before initiating buprenorphine induction treatment. Patients should not receive buprenorphine until at least 24 hours after the last dose of methadone.
In all honesty it would be better for you if you could hold out for 72 hours before starting Suboxone after your last dose of Methadone.
No one can tell you what the best course of action is for you.
But I have to tell you this. There is nothing wrong with taking a medication to help you manage your addiction. Some people are able to go cold turkey and that is fine for them. But for others there is Methadone and Suboxone.
We have another forum for patients that are currently taking or thinking about starting Suboxone. You are more than welcome to check it out. The link to that forum is:http://suboxone.activebb.net/forum.htm
We also have a Suboxone Assisted Treatment website: www.suboxoneassistedtreatment.org
We are here to support whatever decision that you make. Remember that.
Dee
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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
prodoneboston




Male
Number of posts : 9
Location : Massachusetts
Registration date : 2009-12-22

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptySat Jan 16, 2010 8:28 pm

well the last two days ive done what everyone has told me not to and skipped my dose. Yesterday, I woke up about 6 hours after missing my dose pretty damn sick. my pupils were huge, insides aching, nose running, ect... t the same time I felt like I could manage this. I still have a positive frame of mind and a decent appetitte. I was under the impression I wouldnt be sick for a few days after stopping seeing the methadone stays in your system longer than other opiates. Today has been pretty much the same symptom wise. It sucks but i feel like I understand what is going on inside me. Im expecting this to get worse, but maybe it wont. I'm not alone. I have family friends ect.. and a little klonopin and suboxone the im not taking for at least a couple more days. i'm sick but is this just the calm before the storm/
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D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptySat Jan 16, 2010 10:26 pm

As long as you still have a decent appetite be sure to keep eating, and drinking plenty of fluids to keep your body hydrated. I understand that you feel pretty crappy, taking hot baths may help you relax and try to keep yourself busy.
If you need anything let us know. We are here and will do what we can to help.
Keep us posted on how you are doing.
Dee
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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
Den

Den


Male
Number of posts : 68
Age : 49
Location : Украина
Job/hobbies : нет
Registration date : 2011-02-05

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptyWed Apr 18, 2012 5:41 pm

Hi all! Help!! There are specific links to information about what may show EFV test taking cannabis in the urine?Man receives treatment against AIDS and drug substitution therapy and urine tests show marijuana!If there are specific references to such material please feel free to share!The fact that people did not smoke marijuana while taking therapy against AIDS and the test showed marijuana in the urine!our doctors in Ukraine prove that this happens and for this I beg you tell me where to find such information and give links to it!
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http://<a href="http://www.twitter.com/KordenRuf"&a
D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptyWed Apr 18, 2012 8:47 pm

Hi Den,
Sustiva (Efavirenz) can cause someone to test positive for marijuana as a result of testing for elicit drug use. If you are asked to submit urine for a drug test, you may want to tell the person collecting the sample that you take Sustiva. This way, the laboratory conducting the test will know to use a more sensitive test to prevent false-positive result.
The link for this information is:
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hiv_and_aids/sustiva1.html#art

Look towards the bottom of the page. I know the website will give you a link to their more updated site but stay on this site and looks towards the bottom. I hope this helps.

See also:
http://www.positivelyaware.com/2012/12_02/print/drugs/atripla.shtml



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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
Den

Den


Male
Number of posts : 68
Age : 49
Location : Украина
Job/hobbies : нет
Registration date : 2011-02-05

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptySat Apr 21, 2012 2:26 pm

Hi all! Thank you! This is the information I was looking for!
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http://<a href="http://www.twitter.com/KordenRuf"&a
D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

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PostSubject: Re: Quick Question   Quick Question EmptySat Apr 21, 2012 2:40 pm

you are always most welcome!
Dee
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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
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