Methadone Withdrawal: Methadone Detox Facts

Question: Methadone withdrawal -- scared with no one else to get answers from?

(Posted by: Anna_a on 2008-10-21 14:25:01)

My dr put me on methadone for pain management about 2 years ago. I started out at 5 mg (total a day) and he eventually got me up to 40 mg (total a day). I had major hip surgery hence the methadone. So eventually, about 10 months ago we started to taper my methadone and things weren't a 'walk in the park' but for the most part things were going smoothly and he was easy to communicate with if I had any problems. All of a sudden my dr is gone; (this past april) I had called the clinic for a refill and was told my dr was no longer practicing at the clinic. I was anxious but to work that day on establishing a new internal medicine dr in the same clinic. The office made me an appt for 30 days later (may) and a day before the appt canceled it. So I tried to reschedule and they decided to schedule me with a different dr this time, which was fine with me. Same thing happened again, the appt was canceled last minute. And... get this... this happened a third time in June. So this whole time my medicine wasn't being tapered... I was at a constant 4 ml. I had to go to the hospital's Patient Advocacy office to finally get an appt that wouldn't be canceled last minute. So now I'm with a dr that has sped up my taper to an incredibly uncomfortable speed. More than twice the speed of the plan w/ my previous dr whom left his practice. So... my question: The day I picked up the my current prescription I told the receptionist that I need to talk to her, my dr, as soon as possible because I was so anxious and fearful about the current taper my dr wanted me at. So now it's 2 weeks later, she called me once and I wasn't at my phone so I'm waiting for another call. (I tried for a 2nd time today) And at this point I just want to see if I can handle the withdrawal myself. I feel like she invalidates how I tell her I'm feeling. When I tell her about my withdrawal symptoms, I feel like she doesn't believe me. So last Fri (17th Oct) I went from 4 ml a day (I had been on 4 ml a day for about 17 days.) That day I realized that she probably wasn't going to call me back in any timely manner; I felt like I was backed up into a corner. So the next day, Saturday the 18th I went to 2 ml a day, Sunday I went to 1 ml a day (half AM, half PM) and I've been on that dose since Sunday... so 2 and a half days. But tonights 'the big night'... tonight is my last dose and it will be exactly .4- .5 ml. What I;m trying desperately to figure out is how bad my withdrawals will be or if they will be bad at all. The last time I went through withdrawals was a long time ago and I was at 10 mg, so I know for a fact that the withdrawals won't be nearly as bad as they were then. But I know this won't be a walk in the park by any means, I just want to be prepared and have some sense of control over what I'm going to be feeling like for the next 2 weeks or however long they last. What's even worse is my mom is leaving in 2 days for a Napa Valley vacation and will be gone for 2 weeks so I'm going to be all by myself and I can honestly say I'm scared shi*less. Does anyone out there know what I'm going to be going through, symptoms- wise, in the next week or 2 weeks?? Any help, information, suggestions, or piece of mind is greatly appreciated... I have absolutely no one else to talk to about this. Thanks! For those of you that don't believe Methadone is prescribed for pain management: Methadone is prescribed for heroine withdrawal AND pain management. It depends on what state you live in. I was diagnosed with Left Hip Dysplastic And Torn Labrum With Impingement Syndrome and received a Left Osteoplasty Femoral Neck, Repair And Trim Acetabular Labrum, Synovectomy, Iliopsoas Tendon Lengthening. All of this was from being a runner while being underweight. It took me 6 years to get a diagnosis, I was originally going to cal poly in CA and finally moved to Oregon to be with my mom. She found me a dr and the dr got me a diagnosis in 3 months. He was an awesome dr and got me scheduled for surgery right away. My surgery was in Dec. of '06. Two weeks after my surgery my dr wanted to switch me from short- term pain meds (vicodin) to 'long- term' pain meds (Methadone) because it stays in your system for 12 hrs instead of 6. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never agreed to go on Methadone

Posted by: jackie on 2008-10-21, 14:47:28

I read your whole passage. I find it hard to believe that they would give you methadone for pain management. My nephew was addicted to heroin and they put him on methadone and now he is having one hell of a time getting off that. He is addicted to the methadone. I took my father for pain management and they gave him an epidural shot in the spot of the pain and that maintained him until he recovered. He is now 94 years old. You dont say what State you live in. Hopefully you will be successful in weaning yourself of the methadone. I dont think it will be as bad as when you were weaning from the higher dose. Good Luck. I wish you the very best.

Posted by: qtpie20121 on 2008-10-22, 00:11:40

First of all, the person who said she found it hard to believe that methadone was being prescribed for pain is unfortunately among the majority of misinformed when it comes to methadone. Most people have no idea what it is or what its for other than what they have heard and you probably know that is usually nonsense. LOL Anyway, it sounds as if you have surely been given the run around and have fell through the cracks with your medical care. This too is an all too often occurance these days. There is a wonderful forum for people who want to know about detoxing from Methadone I think you need to visit. It is ran by a lady named Carol who also takes Methadone for pain and the answers come from people who have been through good as well as bad detoxes. I could list the symptoms of withdrawal but you can find out so much more over there. methadonesupport.org/ forum.html Good Luck.