METHADONE ISN"T THE DEVIL YOU SAY IT IS...
This Letter to the Editor Appeared in the Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)February 20, 2007, Tuesday
LETTER TO EDITOR Methadone isn't devil you say it is. I have read with great distress the articles this paper has written On methadone. I am a 51-year-old married woman who happens to be a heroin addict. I did the 12 steps; they didn't work for me. The bottom line is, I have been on methadone maintenance for some time now, and it has saved my life. I am on 175 grams a day, and if you saw me, you couldn't tell I am on a lifesaving medication.
Methadone has been the most successful treatment for heroin addicts. I have been clean from all illegal drugs for a long time, and if it weren't for methadone, I would be dead, in a nut house or in prison.
There is a group of women who want to ban methadone because their loved ones died from methadone and other drugs. Methadone doesn't kill people. It is people who take it with other drugs. I have been to over 20 funerals of friends who died of overdoses, and not one was a methadone death. The friends that I have who are on methadone for pain do not take more than 40 milligrams a day.
Methadone is my lifesaver. Please don't let a few zealots tell you it is the devil.
P.B-NCalif.
posted by RGNewman, MD @ 11:41 AM
38 comments
38 Comments:
I hope more articles about the good of Methadone will turn up. I agree Methadone is a live saver but when misuse with other drugs, it's not.
The point is that, if you want to quit being a drug addict, use Methadone as prescribed.
The keyword here is MISUSE!
I have been on methadone for 3 years now and it also saved my life. I have not relapsed once. Last August my girlfriend and I were 3 weeks away from getting married and she died from heart disease, others were very surprised I didnt use after that but it has made me stronger. Staying clean is how I show my love and respect for her. goody
What the media stories demonizing methadone neglect to mention is that the recent increase in deaths due to methadone are almost exclusively among people prescribed methadone for pain management and among those who have obtained methadone illicitly diverted from pain management patients. When the word methadone is mentioned the first thing most people think of is heroin addiction, and it is important to differentiate between the 40 years of proven safety and effectiveness of methadone as a treatment for opiate addiction and the relatively recent increase in precriptions of methadone for pain, and diversion and abuse of those prescriptions. It would be a shame if access to methadone treatment for addiction were made more diffcult due to uninformed over reaction to the increased use and abuse of methadone by pain management doctors and patients. The methadone clinic system continues to save hundreds of thousands of lives - safely and cost effectively. I have been on Methadone Maintenance Treatment - for 9 years - and it has saved my life. I am clean and sober, attend AA meetings regularly, work, pay taxes, raise a family, and I take methadone, precribed by a doctor and dispensed by a clinic - as a treatment for heroin additcion. I pay for my methadone treatment out of my own pocket, because while most insurance covers methadone prescribed for pain, it doesn't cover it when prescribed by a clinic for addiction. Still, it is a small price to pay to live today free of the shackles of active heroin addiction. Let's make sure we have ALL the facts before we start forming opinions about methadone.
Im sorry but i disagree. I've been on methadone dtf mixture and it has caused me nothing but trouble. When i say trouble i mean i tried to come off methadone but to no avail, I was on 120mg a day and started dropping 5mg every two weeks. At first everything went well, but when i got down to around 50mg i started getting very aggressive towards anyone, including family who were trying to help. I could'nt see that at the time because it was all about me, an me alone. But i continued to reduce my dose every 2 weeks until i got to 20mgs. Thats when i had a breakdown it was ugly. You see im a 32 year old male who was on heroin for 16 years and found that methadone was killing me slowly. i contracted hepatitis c g-nome 1a. Which if you know anything about it you'll know that the type i have has a 50/50 chance of clearing it. I ended up back up to 80mgs daily, and have been for the last 15 months, i also have been clean of heroin for 14 months. Everything i do revolves around methadone. I.e. going on holidays, not being able to have a drink at parties, and anything else you want to do.
You have to arrange and organise everything around methadone. Today was a landmark day for me because im starting a fas course on monday the 5th of march. My doctor an the team that is working with me arranged weekly take aways for me. I dont intend on being on a maintenence course for the rest of my life, Starting next month im going to try a different method than the one i did that made me lose the plot. Im going to try coming down 5mgs a month insted of every 2 weeks. With a bit of luck that will sort me out. I can understand people thinking that methadone is a good substitute for heroin but i an many others i know would rather be on medicinal heroin like what they do in holland. THey have noticed a drop in usage of methadone and less addicts staying on the medicinal heroin. The laws on drugs in Ireland are 100 old years or there abouts, the goverment should look into other treatments for addicts on the medical card. I garentee you that they would find cheaper safer ways of treatment. But you may as well be talking to the wall rather than trying to get the goverment to do anything.
Yours
K.Russell.
question hot flashes as side effect? Nobody seems to be able to confirm or deny? Help! Experience. txs
I find it interesting that people on methadone CHOOSE to believe that ALL deaths are caused by diversion and/or polydrugging/and/or MISUSE to quote the above poster. That is very convenient to think that way. It's another way to avoid another reality. . .That your methadone clinics are killing people as well. Killing people when they do just as they were told. But I see a lot of people's posts who are on methadone in avoidance. I am so sorry for the last post of the person for the HELL he has gone through with methadone. I do appreciate that he posted what he did and he is trying to get off the crap. I don't see any of these clinics giving anyone a plan to wean them off. That would mean no more $ in their pockets. I see them brainwashing all of you to think that you "need" it. I've seen people get clean from heroin after 6 months and never go back. I private doctor who truly had their best interest in mind. .
My son had a pain pill addiction. He believe the ad that the clinic would "help him" (a.k.a. trade one addiction for another one-much worse that he would never get off of.) He was on Zoloft, which he told the clinic. He was also somewhat overweight. He was started on 30 mg. and within 5 days was up to 60 mg. He mixed nothing with it. (I have the autopsy to prove it.) He was falling asleep throughout the day the entire time (should have been a sign something was wrong. . .) I found him - 12 hours after he passed away. The flashbacks are something that are debilitating. Almost as much as the poster described his life on methadone.
Seems like a methadone clinic would have remembered the drugs that caused a lethal interraction with methadone. Guess they were too busy driving to the bank with his money. . .
And I have proof of people that died at the hand of a doctor's prescription, in a hospital, from methadone and. . .Doesn't matter what. These DOCTORS don't even know what they are prescribing.
Yes, it can be helpful for pain and to get off of heroin. But I have only seen about 2 cases of it's success and/or people who don't get ruined/addicted to it. But I doubt they are telling you this when they are shoving it down your throats at the clinic or writing you the script for the pain. It's cheap, so insurance has no problem paying for it. How much is your LIFE worth??
I also disagree that methadone diversion is mostly from the pain paitents. I've beem around methadone clinics and also know those that get carries and they sell it. Can't say that all paitents on methadone are behaving and not selling thier methadone.
I feel that only those that have to come a long ways should have carries and those that have shown they are keeping a job or going to school.
If methadone paitents are not working due to reasons they can't work then they should go daily for their methadone.
I think there needs to be other treatments available for addicts such as herion treatment like the Swiss have done. Also these clinics should treat methadone in order that the paitent be tappered off of it within a few years time. I hear this for life stuff on methadone so much it's sickening , I feel that is just some sort of brain wash to keep people thinking they need it for life. I feel methadone is nothing more than a profit making scam to tell the truth of it all
I was in no way under any impression that this group of wemon wanted methadone ban yet only would like to see methadone made saffer for the taking.
This group of women is trying to make the clinics safer so no one else dies like their loved ones did. It's just that these people on methadone seem to panic when they think someone is going to take away their drugs. .Seems like they wouldn't be scared if they are taking it safely. But I would certainly be afraid of the tapering off. Seems as though the docs don't tell anyone about that.
Hot flashes as a side effect? HELL YEA!!!! A definite withdrawl symptom for me.
I am a 31 year old woman who was born with a heart defect - I have had 10 heart surgeries and thank God for Methadone! Many years back when the pain got so bad I couldn't even get out of bed! The dr.s put me on methadone and I was able to enjoy my good days! I also have major anxiety attacks so I have been taking zoloft for almost just as long! In fact at least 10 years for both. My doses are low and well managed. I am facing further surgery and honestly after your chests been ripped open so many times theres lots of pain!!!
I am sorry for those who've lost loved ones to methadone and their poor medical management - but please don't take away my quality of life!
Is too!
After seven years on a stable unchanging dosage of methadone for long-term pain management I was forced to withdraw from methadone. I cannot overstate what a nightmare that has been. I started reducing my dose five months ago. One month ago I went cold turkey on the remaining dose. I have never felt worse in my life. Suffering not only the withdrawl symptoms for months, I also had to deal with the return of the pain for which it was originally prescribed.
So my advice is do not go down that road unless you are absolutely certain there is no way your supply can ever be interupted. Trust no one here. Doctors die. Attitudes change, laws certainly are changing. I was assured time and time again I would never be forced to face methadone withdrawl but here I am with a addiction it takes months to recover from and no help or sympathy. My doctors either don't believe me or deem I deserve this ordeal. Seems like it will never end.
Methadone is not the devil. The hellish reality is that as a general rule, government, doctors and the public at large damn the medication and those who need it. There'ssimply no excuse for a medicaiton that can be an invaluable means of treating pain (and addiciton, for that matter) should not be readily available to those who need it, for as long as the need persists. That's basically what our Institute has been advocating for years.
I have been up to 600mg. a day to 1/32 of a pill wich isnt possible with hydrocodone.also fentynal chomping on two patches sometimes along w/a few 30 mg. roxies. I came off all with the help of colodine.I still have to be on a little methadone.to those of you out there that think ,
"you made it so far ,why would you start again"? NEGATIVE MEDIA MAKING ME THINK IM A BAD PERSON.I,m trying to control pain and stay sain
Methadone if taken as prescribed work! But I'm not in agreement that one has to maintain on this medication forever. I used heroin for twenty five years, and decided 18 years ago to stop the nonsense. After detoxfication, I resumed a normal and productive life. The problem with opiate users are always the FEAR OF WITHDRAWAL. I WAS AFRAID AT FIRST AND SURRENDERED. This only works for people with courage and the sincere desire to stop. Heroin addiction cost tax payers billions of dollars, and Methadone is not the answer. It makes treatment provider filthy rich, and addicts are still using. Drugs have been here for centuries, and mostly abused in the 20th & 21st century. AMERICA wake up. Using is not cool, give yourself a break. Remember dreams have no expiration date. Respectfully, Jose C.-NYC
Methadone (when used correctly) saves lives! It saved mine. It is given to pregnant women because it is safer for their fetus' than than opiates. If they trust it in a fetus then I feel safe in taking it. LOL It is when the drug is mixed with other drugs like xanax that it becomes deadly.
I am a 40 year old opiate addict that has been addicted for over 15 years. I have been able to stay clean periodically(maximum of 180 days) with NA support and sheer willpower. My addiction began after a back injury sustained playing baseball in college and was amplified after a major knee surgery a couple of years later. My doctor prescribed hydrocodone but abruptly stopped after only minor improvement in back pain via physical therapy. While prescribed 30 mg daily of hydrocodone, back discomfort remained but was bearable. My quality of life was good. I could play golf, coach my son's T-ball team and I excelled at work. After discontinuing my hydrocodone for back pain my doctor prescribed Vioxx which did not help and was later pulled from the market. I began to self medicate when my doctor refused to treat with opiates out of addiction concern. Surprisingly, the pills were readily available on the street but expensive- $1 per milligram. I worked hard and earned close to six figures so in the beginning I could easily afford $30 dollars a day to treat my back pain. That was the beginning of the end. Soon I was taking Oxycontin, Percocet, morphine, and my delers always had copious amounts to accomadate me. I was spending close to $1,200 per month when I first detoxed myself and started attending NA. The doctor then prescibed Xanax for anxiety as my life began to fall apart. I attended NA religiously and had support from my family. I got a sponsor and began working the 12 steps. I stopped the Xanax and was clean- but still in pain- for six months. Everyone in NA had relapsed multiple times but I was determined to save my marriage and career. I met my next dealer in NA-he was court ordered to attend. after my relapse I was clean again for 90 days when I discovered my aunts hydrocodone bottle setting on the table it was full and I helped myself to about twenty from the bottle. At this point I had lost my job, my marriage was on thin ice and I was miserable with guilt and tired of hearing people say "your too smart to be an addict, you can stop if you REALLY want to". After getting another good job, I decided I could manage my disease (so much for the first step) and my use tapered to about 30 mg a day. I soon escalated back to over 300 mg per day and was in debt over $30,000 dollars.
Right before I lost this job and my wife filed for divorce I heard about this miracle called Subutex. I dialed the number and the doctor promptly explained he had a three week waiting list and the monthly cost would be around $800.
Now the doctor is almost giddy when he writes the script for Zoloft and then ASKED if I would prefer Klonopin or Xanax. When he suggest I take 5mg of Xanax per day or 6mg of Klonopin, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
About 10 years too late I found out Nashville- a 200 mile round trip for me- has a methadone clinic. I have been attending for a little over a week and my daily dosage is at 60 mg. I am not taking the Xanax because they bsically said I would die if I mixed it with the methadone. The clinic is very professional and for the first time in years I do not crave the pain meds and the methadone helps my back pain better than anything I have taken, which is almost everything.
Sorry for writing so much but my history with addiction has cost me everything but my life and my relationship with my two sons. Methadone may be as bad as some say or as good as some say. I just know it has been a miracle for me thus far. If I have to use it for many years- so be it, because I am now ready to begin again. And there is much to do.
Methadone is harder to stop than Heroin. My husband took Methadone for pain and now is having more SEVERE & LONGER LASTING withdrawal than people I know coming off of Heroin.
I been on methaone for pain 180 mill grams a day it helps me be more able to be normel but yet some doctors ack like it is the worst thing in the world why can't doctors agree with or listen to you patient he or she knows how much they hurt motrin does not work pain chornic pain is a bad thing to live with how can you get real HELP id rather be a addict then live in pain
I have to agree with the gentleman who found his Methadone in Nashville, and I really feel for you man, and your story makes me realize how lucky I am, after two failed back operations I was living in pain, doctors got me hooked on Hydrocodone, they got me hooked then took me off, and I was on the same exact path you were when I discovered Methadone on the street, I found I could control my pain for a fraction of the cost ($8-15 for a 40 milligram "wafer" of which would last me 2 days) of 30 dollar oxicotines and the 2 and 3 dollar liver killing Lorcets with their tons of Tylenol, I could actually get by on 10mg's of methadoe a day in a pinch, I was spending a lot less on street methadone than the opiates, but still spending too much, and the supply was never for sure, I hated that aspect of it, you just never knew when you would not have a source, so about 2 years ago I went to a doctor I knew personally and sat down and told him the truth about what I was doing, and he promptly pulled out a pain management contract for me to sign, did a pee test (smoking pot will kill your chances for a legit script, if you are were I was two years ago and smoke pot, you will never get legal meds) and then wrote me a script for 120 10mg methadone's, and I have been fine ever since, I took it as prescibed and it took about 1 month to get used to 40mg a day, I was finding myself a tad woozy at first, but I soon was fine on the 40mg and the pain was taken care of as I had never had it taken care of before, really fantastic, I take 20mg in the AM and 20mg in the PM, I see my doctor every 3 months for a checkup to make sure all is well, and I just go by and pick up my scripts. My blood pressure was on the verge of needing meds when I 1st went in, since then it has dropped to normal, I think the lack of stress from hunting street meds and worrying about getting busted lower it, plus the LOW COST. I paid $25.10 for 120 pills before I got my current health coverage, and now I pay 10 bucks.
I just hope this doctor lives longer than I do.
Good luck to all, and if you're buying opiates on the streets, get legal Methadone, it will change your life for the better!
OH PLEAZZZZZEEE all you junkies out there! I am a dope fiend of many years and the last and worst thing you should ever do is take methadone if you ever want to be clean. I am a woman and all you pussy boys need to bite the bullet and KICK THE HERON (and if you don't know it's HERON and not Heroin, then go back downtown white boys) Methadone will keep you in it's prison forever and you'll turn into one of those crooked walkin, cane carrying zombies. We can spot you a mile away DOPE FIEND , DON'T KID YOURSELF! Get on your knees and pray to what God hears your voice.
Find your path and find someone or something to love. I (a mere woman)kicked Methadone 3 times and stayed clean a decade each time. SO WHAT! You slipped, DON'T CLING TO METHADONE! IT IS A LIFE LONG STINKING GRUNTING SUCKLING HUNGRY ANIMAL ON YOUR BACK THAT WILL EAT YOU UNTIL THE MEAT IS GONE. NONE OF US, NOT ONE, IS SO WEAK WE CANNOT KICK THIS SHIT. god bless you and give you strength. THERE IS DIVINE INTERVENTION... FROM HALFBREED GIRL
Although I would love to listen to a comment from someone who calls themselves "halfbreed girl", I think that I will wait to see what the real deal is. I am currently a student in med school, about to get my MD. As you can imagine, the amount of biology/chemistry, and most importantly... biochemistry that I've had to take is unbelievable. Although I will admit that I have not been on methadone long enough to have a valid opinion about how it's helped me, I do know one thing for sure. EVERYONE... and I mean, EVERYONEEEEE is COMPLETELY different. What stops an addiction for one person can kill another. The truth is... yes, methadone is an extremely addictive, very easily abused substance. The ONLY reason why it is used in opioid dependence maintenance is because it has a mean (average) half life (meaning, the log function describing the time it takes for one half of the dose you take to be metabolized by your body) is between 24 and 36 hours for most people. Obviously, making it so you don't have to dose NEARLY as frequently. I do understand that the downfall of this characteristic of methadone is much longer withdrawal symptoms, which does suck a lot. But, like was said in a few earlier posts, if you take the methadone AS PRESCRIBED, you should eventually be titrated to a serum level low enough to have very slight withdrawal, if none at all. I think I read in an earlier post that there should be programs that have a stop date goal in mind right from the start. I just started a methadone program today after failing to quit an Oxycontin addiction (due to a hit and run accident, me being the hit, and the car being the run) with a private doctor prescribing me Suboxone for 7 months. The program is a 180 day detox. I started at 20 mgs, which is definitely not enough, but will be titrated up to about 60 mgs by the end of next week. The plan is to stay on 60 mgs for a month, then try to go to 50 mgs for a month, then slowly start removing a certain amount of mgs per week until I get to a low enough dose that I can eventually dose every other day, then every two days, then... well, you get the picture. I totally agree with Noor azman othman gbe... whom said that the keyword is MISUSE. If you use methadone correctly, and for as little time as possible, it CAN DEFINITELY be a life saver. Like I said, I do admit that my information is not from personal experience with methadone, but I have some very good friends whom told me it saved their life after they decided to actually follow up with what the doctor had ordered. To sum it up, I think the point of my post is to simply say everyone's different, and methadone may be perfect or horrible for you, depending on the type of person you are. Sorry for the long comment... I kinda got carried away. I just don't like people saying things are fact when it's just their opinion based on experience.
-K.C.
Sorry Halfbreed but HERON is a Bird, and it is beyond me why your halfbreed homies call it that.
Ive been taking methadone for 7 years, I was up to 160mg a day, thats a 40mg tablet 4 times a day, with 20mg of Hydrocodone twice a day in between dosages for break through pain. The doctors still prescribe that same amount for my pain management, but about a year ago I decided that I didnt like the way taking so much made me feel and I dropped my dosage down to 20mg Methadone twice a day, and 20mg hydrocodone twice a day without any tappering, and I have had no problems with doing that. My point is, yes methadone is very physically addictive, but with all addictions, there is a large psychological part, meaning your only going to stop taking the drug/medication if you truly want to. Even if you tell yourself you want to, if subconsciously you still need that high than the withdrawals will be much worse and chances are you wont be able to stop. I was addicted to meth as a teen, and I smoked for 12 years, both of which I quit cold turkey without any more than a couple days of being grouchy, because I made a conscious and subconsious decision to stop which over powered the withdrawals. The mind is a powerful thing, if you constantly think your sick it can make you sick, if your constantly affraid of having a heart attack it can make you have a heart attack; but it can also effect your body positively. If you truly belive that you can stop something easily, than you can stop something easily, its all just a matter of subconsious will power.
Now to cover the topic of methadone related deaths. From what I know, the majority of them have been from drug interactions. Anna Nicole Smiths son died of a mixture of Methadone and an anti-depressant; just like all opiates, methadone causes restrictions in your ability to breath because it interferes with your nervous system. So when you add in something else that affects the nervous system, like an anti-depressent, or anti-psychotic it can have a lethal effect. Also, people who are taking the drug to get high have a tendancy to take to much, where as people taking it for pain management will only take what is necassary to dull the physical pain. From what my pain doctor says, 1 40mg tablet of methadone taken by someone who hasnt built up a tolerance to that specific drug, is enough to send the person into respratory arrest, and then cardiac arrest. A lot of drug users think, "well since I've taken this much of this pain killer, I should be able to take this much of methadone." This is completley wrong, if the body has a tolerance to lets say percocet, they still will have zero tolerance against methadone. This is where I believe deaths related to methadone by itself comes from.
Now, to answer the person who asked about hot flashes with methadone. I get them as well, usually as soon as my second dose for the day kicks in, for some reason not after the first. Ive done some research, and I believe it happens because the drug interferes with the brains reception of electrical signals from the nerves, which could also have an effect on the chemicals in the brain, causing the hot flashes. Im not 100% sure though, I've asked my pain doctor and he said its a side effect of the drug, but he is not sure the exact reason. hope that helps you a little bit.
ive been on 4 different maintance prograammes ,i believe if i wasnt on it again id do anything to get gear but this time im sick of it and gonna get off thee 110 mls im on now and finish up with it because no one dies of metadone without misuse or adding other respiratory effecting drugs like heroin or loads of valium or sleeepers anyone that says its bad hasnt lived my life because i know where id be if i wasnt on this course and i wouldnt be typing this,anyone that has never been on a methadone course and doesnt know what it feels like to wake up sick,they should thank god we are on these courses or it would have been there house robbed or them getting a jab in the face and there bag snactched to feed the habit,thats ma 2 cents
Iknow the people who have lost love ones due to Methadone are hurting. And looking for an answer. Needing one or something to blame. And it is easier to blame the drug than the love one. THe reality is, the client had a choice. To get on methadone maintanincey, you have to PROVE you have been addicted twice and tried twice to quit. That said, the client was not as nieve and their loved one wants to believe. They knew what they were doing... It is like the NRA and guns....Should guns be illigal and regulated, of course, and should drivers be registered? BUT SHOULD WE STOP USING GUNS AND CARS and how far should we take this. If I used insulin and I am not a diabetic, should insulin be unavailable to others? Should food be regulated because some people are fat and thus die of heart desease? I am sorry you lost your loved one, but spend your energy understanding your feelings, maybe your inability to accept, maybe the guilt you have that hasn't been understood, because it isn't your fault either. The reponsibility is that of the person who took the methadone. Good Luck, get some therary, hospice, or even a therapist. But leave medicine dispensing to the Docs at the clinic. They know what the doses are, per haps your love one over stated his addiction for the purpose to get HIGH.
If it wasn't for methadone, I'd likely be either dead or in jail-so go tell my family how awful it is...In fact, one of the things rarely mentioned is how many lives methadone saves by decreasing (greatly) the opportunity for overdose. You see, a heroin addict who periodically tries to get clean(most do, by choice or not) and ends up relapsing is likely to OD when first resuming the habit (and an OD very possibly leads to death(or brain damage etc,)). Any former opiate addict is permanently hyper-sensitive to the stuff, far more than a non-user. However, by being on a therapeutic dose of methadone, that scenario is avoided, as it is very difficult to OD (from heroin) while on a maintenance dose (at least 60mg) of methadone. Why? Most of us aren't rich enough to afford the quantity of dope needed. I've shot $200 of good dope(within maybe 2 hours) while being on 100mg and I was lucid (er...well...somewhat lucid). When people OD on methadone it's due to mixing non-opiate drugs or to some other condition(heart).
People who criticize methadone always have a particular axe to grind and/or their own agenda. It's still, after all these years, considered the gold-standard for treating opiate addiction by world health bodies like the UN and the WHO.
I am also on methadone treatment and have been on it for a year now. It has saved my life as I use it according to what the doctor directs me to do. Along with the drug I attend therapy group sessions weekly down from daily for the first six to seven months on the program. I am monitored all the time, urinalysis, take home checks and clinic checks. It is a disciplined program that keeps me clean and I now enjoy my life and entertain challenge.
sorry for double posting but I also wanted to say that I had a very severe case of wd's also I had four seizures trying to quit cold turkey my mom saw it and brought me to a hospital they couldn't do anything so she against her belief had to bring to get drugs so I wouldn't have seizures and after 5 years of hell and suffering we went through methadone has saved us she's no longer the stressed tired out mom she's happy and we have a great relationship now so it also saved my family and about 13 of my addicted friends one girl I know was on the verge of dying she went on methadone and now she looks so good and healthy and 100 times more beautiful now that she's not doing dope I want to also add someone who has a painkiller addiction should not try methadone it's better for them to try suboxone or subutex because there meant for prescription pill treatment and methadone is more effective in treating heroin just because heroin withdrawals can be the most intense so it may be to strong of a opiate for someone who was using say oxy's or perks because there not as strong as heroin oxy's I'm aware can be very close to heroin I've done both I know that heroin is alot stronger pain pills unless your shooting 5 80's a day aren't as strong so the bupe which is a partial opiate is more appropriate just wanted to say that thanks
You people are full of shit, Metadone is a life savor. Doctors had me on 80 mg of Oxycontin 5 times daily plus 3 4 mg of Duladid for breakthough pain plus my 6mg of Zanax for anxeity. Then I found a Doctor who had to buy law start me at 30 mg a day of Methadone, I have been in pain managment since 99. it is now 2012 you cannot tell I am on anything I guess because all the other Doctors had me on the hardcore opiates. Methadone does nothing to your liver, but the minute you mention Methadone people asumme you are or were a herion addict. If i am on Methadone for the rest of my life then that is fine, my pain level has gone from a 10 to about a 4, I can live with that. the bad effect is it depleates your Testosturome they have Meds for that but it is so exsrensive no one can possibly afford it.
All of these people that are bashing methadone DON'T HAVE A CLEAR OPINION, they've never even been addicted to opiates. They have sons, or wives, or family members that have died. I gaurentee those people that died were abusing, I GAURENTEE IT. Abuse can be not knowing too. Forks can kill people too, but should we ban them? No, because anyone with common sense can know that they can be dangerous and don't go around stabbing people. Same thing with drugs, of course they're fucking dangerous, they play with your brain. But you have to understand the game, you can't look at it from this bias jesus freak view. C'mon now. Methadone saved my life, I am a Professional MMA fighter, I train martial arts fulltime 5 days a week and teach children brazilian jiu jitsu and muay thai. The people that bash methadone are so gritty and bitter about their deaths that they have to blame it on something, when majority of the time it is THEIR FAULT, which is why they are so aggressive and radical in their beliefs against methadone, they need to scapegoat their guilt. Pathetic Transparent Ignorant Gult-tripped Parents. I'm so sick of people who've never even used a drug, let alone been addicted to the most permantley mind altering substance known to man(opiates). So ignorant, it's so obvious considering how blind people are nowadays. I've also come to terms with finding out that majority of the fucked up people on methadone are also on some sort of Benzo, which in turn is so much worse than any opiate, THE WITHDRAWEL CAN KILL you, all these people posting about seizures, and how people have died. IT WAS THE BENZO, THE XANAX, THE KLONOPIN, THE VALIUM. Don't blame the methadone for something it cannot do physically. In fact don't blame anyone but the dumbass that was uneducated and jumped into the deep end of a swimming pool with no limbs.
All I know is that I have a granddaughter who was self medicating herself with drugs and eventually heroin. We had her in rehabs and twelve step programs and tried suboxen. Methadone, while not a perfect life as you are chained to your clinic and looking at withdrawing ,, it has saved her life for that I am so willing to pay the price of taking her every day andthe cost associated. I wish that there were less obstacles for others to get on methadone and off heroin
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Thats bc people still use it like addicts even.within..clinics, doctors have no way of knowing what somebody tolerance level is, they can only go by what a patient tells them, most patients have no references what normal is so they reach it does which makes them feel f***** up and tell the doctor this makes them normal. I take a minimal 20 milligrams, it's barely noticeable I'm just not sick I also drink wheatgrass, I'm vegan now, I'm super healthy, going to die from 20 milligrams of methadone, there are variations on this topic do you consider that before saying universally that methadone kills people, its fiction.net kills the addictive behavior tells the client to lie about their dose needs they're not really reflecting on themselves, the doctor has no way of reading the inside of their brain so he prescribes it and that kills them, exorbitant amounts. you only need 30 milligramS at most, they should put a limit on the dosages cause people just keep going up when I said I wanted to go down they wree shocked. be honest with yourself and don't blame it on something else again
stupid auto text, I meant I'm not going to die from 20 milligrams, and its addiction that kills not methadone, because even with in clinics, addicts take it addictively , and fool th e ignorant doctor, because that's what Addicts are good at, if you take a dose with your motive not being to feel messed up and really be honest with yourself, you're really need a very minimal amount.
I Think What Those That Are Against METHADONE Mean To Say Is... "Methadone Did Not Work For Me" .. That is what they should have said. Because after 11 years .. I can say this 53 year old man has a life saver. Methadone alone is NOT a magic drug. It only allows the addict to stop craving and improve their way of life. The addict MUST get counseling and realize WHY the addiction is doing what it does and how to change their way of life. The addict MUST Learn.. research , study and put to use what they have learned. Addiction wants us DEAD. why would you not want to learn about something that wants to kill you and learn how to stop it?
Methadone is not for everyone. Methadone does work if YOU WORK A PROGRAM OF RECOVERY WITH IT ! Do not say methadone does not work . It has been since 1964! Methadone may not work for you. That you can say and not be called a liar !
methadone is horrible.. I've just helped by friend come off it . it was horrible and the withdrawal lasted 2 months. Here in the uk he was discouraged from dropping his dose which is scandalous. the NHS just seem to park people on it with little or no support. He was being treated for painkiller abuse. It's ironic don't be addicted to heroin have our legal stuff. I also have friend who's been on it for 18years and the doctors have told her it killing her. But hey guys keep believing the drug companies buy their poisons. putting people on methadone is not a solution!!!
Methadone is saving my life period. after multiple spine surgery I became addicted to Norco taking as many as 35 in one day of 3 25 / 10after exhausting any money I can get my hands on I ended up at the clinic thanks to a good friend and am on a daily Lodos and see my counselor every week I feelso much betterand have no cravings 4 other drugsI'm still in a lot of painbut getting a handle on the withdrawal symptoms just my help me be able to tolerate spine condition
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