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What Are The Side Effects Of Methadone Over Dose?
Question: what are my health risks of being at a high dose of methadone I do it with a split dose 150 & 150 12 hours apart; I,ve been at this for 4 years now .Can this hurt me in anyway if I stay at these levels for more years to come .
Brief Answer:
that is by far the highest dose I've ever seen
Detailed Answer:
and methadone has a low margin of safety between the dose that begins to work on pain or removing cravings and the dose that causes overdose and death. Among PAIN treatment doctors it has the highest risk of death as a percentage of those given it for pain. For methadone maintenence for narcotic addiction, actually deaths are incredibly rare. I have seen a near fatal reaction to half of the dose you are describing however. AND>>>>> most importantly, that person had been on that increased dose for under 3 days.... if your dose hasn't changed in a very very long time it is not likely that it will kill you UNLESS YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE DIFFERENTLY:
getting older will gradually decrease the maximal safe dose of narcotics.
I had one patient who stopped breathing on less than a tenth the dose you are on BUT, he had just taken a cup of very powerful alcohol not realizing that it was over 100 proof.... the combination of alcohol OR sedatives OR other medications and that dose of narcotics is frequently deadly. Even muscle relaxants would be quite a concern due to how high the methadone dose is.
It is currently recommended that anyone at risk of overdose have a NALOXONE PEN handy at all times.
AND..... there is very little risk of it harming liver, lung, kidneys, or heart long or short term. It is only the very significant risk of narcotic overdose that is the problem.
that is by far the highest dose I've ever seen
Detailed Answer:
and methadone has a low margin of safety between the dose that begins to work on pain or removing cravings and the dose that causes overdose and death. Among PAIN treatment doctors it has the highest risk of death as a percentage of those given it for pain. For methadone maintenence for narcotic addiction, actually deaths are incredibly rare. I have seen a near fatal reaction to half of the dose you are describing however. AND>>>>> most importantly, that person had been on that increased dose for under 3 days.... if your dose hasn't changed in a very very long time it is not likely that it will kill you UNLESS YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE DIFFERENTLY:
getting older will gradually decrease the maximal safe dose of narcotics.
I had one patient who stopped breathing on less than a tenth the dose you are on BUT, he had just taken a cup of very powerful alcohol not realizing that it was over 100 proof.... the combination of alcohol OR sedatives OR other medications and that dose of narcotics is frequently deadly. Even muscle relaxants would be quite a concern due to how high the methadone dose is.
It is currently recommended that anyone at risk of overdose have a NALOXONE PEN handy at all times.
AND..... there is very little risk of it harming liver, lung, kidneys, or heart long or short term. It is only the very significant risk of narcotic overdose that is the problem.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
thank you for your answer I forgot to tell you also that I,m a rapid metabolizer 9 1/2 hours my body metabolizes over half in a 24 hour period .
Brief Answer:
oh ! ha ha !
Detailed Answer:
ok.... in this case the metabolism rate changes the amount that accumulates. While your dose is high... it isn't far beyond what I've seen before. (average is 80-100 mg a day... your effective dose is likely about half of what you take, making your accumulated level hi-ish... but only by 30-50% not double or triple).
You are very welcome!
some other tips on overcoming addiction:
All input into the brain is first filtered through the deep brain structures involved with addiction (and also reflexes, learned automatic behaviors, passions, emotions, fear, focusing on moving or threats, etc).
Fear/anger/negative feelings make this part of the brain more active and more actively choke off any conscious change.
Group effects change these patterns through mechanisms that have not been studied BUT, the more the surroundings change, the more likely is the success with addiction.
oh ! ha ha !
Detailed Answer:
ok.... in this case the metabolism rate changes the amount that accumulates. While your dose is high... it isn't far beyond what I've seen before. (average is 80-100 mg a day... your effective dose is likely about half of what you take, making your accumulated level hi-ish... but only by 30-50% not double or triple).
You are very welcome!
some other tips on overcoming addiction:
All input into the brain is first filtered through the deep brain structures involved with addiction (and also reflexes, learned automatic behaviors, passions, emotions, fear, focusing on moving or threats, etc).
Fear/anger/negative feelings make this part of the brain more active and more actively choke off any conscious change.
Group effects change these patterns through mechanisms that have not been studied BUT, the more the surroundings change, the more likely is the success with addiction.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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