Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with GoogleGet your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
How To Overcome Dependance On Methadone?
Hi, thank you, my 22 year old son is desperate to get off of Methadone, he was on 170mg for aprox. 2 years. He came off of 10 mg. then 2 mg every other day right down to 50mg. He has lost 90 lbs. He has been so sick. He didn t want to stop coming off but the Dr. stopped him at 50 for a couple weeks or so. My son is so determined to get off of it that he asked to come off more, the Dr. at that point said she d like to see him go up and come off of some of the prescribed clonazepam. He felt totally unable to do that at this point. Anyway she very reluctantly had him come down 3mg one week and 2 the next for two weeks which brought him down to 40mg. When he went back into see her she strongly suggested that he come down some more, he didn t think he should but she felt very assured that he could. Well he s down to 37 as of a few days back and is so sick that he feels like he s dieing and going crazy, he s got a huge amount of emotions running all the time, he is laying in a bed at my house and I don t know what to do to help me. The Dr. assured me that if he had any problems at all that the pharmacy new how to get her, no problem. She is the only Methadone Dr. where we live and the pharmacy was unable to reach her. What am I able to do to help my Son? He can hardly talk, he s dizzy, feels like fainting all the time, is very malnourished, financially I do the best I can to help, but am a cancer patient, have lost my home, going bankrupt and the list goes on. Please I pray that you have suggestions for me to help him. This all started from a hit and run car accident, my Son was given dilaudid as well as hydromorphone to control the pain. Wow, the pills would work for a period of time and then he would need to be increased. Within a year he was on heroin and then put on methadone. He s just a baby still. Abuse is in his past, and this withdrawal is making all that repeat itself over and over and over. He will not go to hospital as he is seen as a junky, though he comes from a well known family. What can I do? Please help me. Thank you Patsy Wow! How sad, I have no options, no credit cards, nothing. The trustee has it all! What a debilitating amount of sincerity I have put into this crisis situation we are in, to want money with no prior warning. Where is what you give is what you get. Where is the heart in something that feels so desperate. Lost..................
Mon, 12 Dec 2016
Several points.
Number one is the drug withdrawal from a long acting narcotic takes longerBUT is temporary. So, a taper from 50 to 37 over 1 month and the withdrawal will have symptoms starting to be less after a week certainly and maybe sooner. There will be some signs for at least an additional week.
Furthermore, there are symptoms from withdrawal and then there are symptoms from not having narcotics which are different. If you have back pain and take 1 mg of methadone, the pain is less. The methadone 1 mg wears off and the pain comes back. This isn't withdrawal. Some people get the opposite effect of narcotics (from the greek word for sleep) than 90% of people do.... they get lots of energy from them. So, if someone gets energy from 1 mg methadone and lower pain from 1 mg methadone, the 1 mg wears off and they have pain and less energy on the one hand it isn't withdrawal but on the other hand, the pain and the lack of the narcotic 'high and big wonderful energy feeling' is gone and is never coming back without more narcotics (bad).
So, some of the effects that were "fun" are not coming back (ever) without abusing drugs. This is in pretty much everyone who abuses stimulants (cocaine or methamphetamine). They are also pretty much guaranteed to kill you--by middle age, the heart can't take stimulants. It's basically a similar choice with stimulant effects of narcotics but with less of a definite time bomb.
But with drug withdrawal medicines can damp down the symptoms such as clonidine or anti-nausea medicines.
Number one is the drug withdrawal from a long acting narcotic takes longerBUT is temporary. So, a taper from 50 to 37 over 1 month and the withdrawal will have symptoms starting to be less after a week certainly and maybe sooner. There will be some signs for at least an additional week.
Furthermore, there are symptoms from withdrawal and then there are symptoms from not having narcotics which are different. If you have back pain and take 1 mg of methadone, the pain is less. The methadone 1 mg wears off and the pain comes back. This isn't withdrawal. Some people get the opposite effect of narcotics (from the greek word for sleep) than 90% of people do.... they get lots of energy from them. So, if someone gets energy from 1 mg methadone and lower pain from 1 mg methadone, the 1 mg wears off and they have pain and less energy on the one hand it isn't withdrawal but on the other hand, the pain and the lack of the narcotic 'high and big wonderful energy feeling' is gone and is never coming back without more narcotics (bad).
So, some of the effects that were "fun" are not coming back (ever) without abusing drugs. This is in pretty much everyone who abuses stimulants (cocaine or methamphetamine). They are also pretty much guaranteed to kill you--by middle age, the heart can't take stimulants. It's basically a similar choice with stimulant effects of narcotics but with less of a definite time bomb.
But with drug withdrawal medicines can damp down the symptoms such as clonidine or anti-nausea medicines.
I find this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer.
For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service
[Sample answer]
Related questions you may be interested in
Recent questions on Drug rehabilitation
Loading Online Doctors....