Methadone Drug Addiction .com

I had shingles in 2003 and it caused nerve damage (phn). I take about four or five 5mg doses of methadone a week to control the intense pain in the trigeminal nerve in my face. I am afraid of becoming addicted to this drug. Loritab does me no good at all. Has anyone had this experience. I have a physician that will prescribe methadone but I would really like to get away from it and him. My family physician can write lesser painkillers but I absolutely don't know which way to go. Are pain management doctors usually effective?

the key to pain meds, like methadone, is that if you have pain, and use the medication for that purpose, you do not become addicted. Addiction occurs when you don't need the med for pain and you only use it to get high, then you become dependant on the stuff. If the methadone works for you, then be grateful, because many meds will not work on neuralgia like yours.

2007-03-21 10:50:17 by Richard S

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My sister was taking Methadone while pregnant and after she had her son, he was put on Methadone because they started seeing withdrawal symptoms. She is now taking him to a different Pediatrician and she has never dealt with a baby on Methadone before. She lowered his dose a couple of times and has now completely taken him off of it but now has him on phenobarbital. He cries all time and doesn't sleep at night AT ALL!!! My question is this - is there an alternative medication besides phenobarbital and methadone that he could be taking to help him with the withdrawal symptoms? I have read a little bit about buprenorphine but it seems like it is only for adults. Just serious answers please, I am trying to help my nephew!
I understand where you are all coming from, but here is the entire situation. My sister doesn't have a car, has to take a bus or get a ride to appointments, is on Medicaid so is limited to doctors/pediatricians, and is on Methadone herself! She likes this pediatrician because she is really "trying" to learn. I myself would have taken him to someone who already had experience in it. I also tried to get her to go to Chicago to a methadone treatment place and I would pay but no luck!

Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is considered the gold standard for the treatment of opiate addiction in pregnant women and has never been shown to cause birth defects so the previous post is wrong. I agree that it would be best for your sister to switch doctors but you can't force her to and you should be commended for trying to help her the best you know how. Telling you what you already know does the baby no good. From what I have read it appears you sister may have been using "street methadone" maybe in an attempt to prevent problems which would arise from an already present addiction to Heroin or pain pills. You don't have to answer that but if it is the case she did the best thing aside from entering an MMT clinic. Anyway, hopefully her doctors eagerness to learn about this will mean an openness to try research and willingness to listen to other professionals. You never said how old the child was but if he is still in withdrawal and has been discharged from the hospital that means he is no more than a week or so old or they discharged him way too soon with very little instruction to your sister. Unfortunately, this often happens when we are "labeled' by so called medical professionals. In he hospital as well as at the new doctor they should have done a test called the Neonatal Abstinence Scoring System (NAS),
This tells nurses when to start giving the baby medication as well as the severity of the withdrawal.You can print off a copy of this chart for her to take to the doctor at...
http://www.rch.org.au/nets/handbook/medi a/NASS_1.pdf
If the baby scores 8 or greater for 3 assessments in a row, or 12 or greater for 2 assessments in a row then medication is needed to help lessen the withdrawal symptoms.
Once a baby is weaned from methadone it should be the end of the withdrawal not the beginning of a new med but this may be due to her inexperience. Just an FYI: Suboxone is not used in NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome). Actually, the drug of choice is a combo of Diluted tincture of opium (DTO) and phenobarbital. DTO is sort of Diet Morphine...LOL They find infants have more stomach problems with the Phenobarbital alone and they have problems eating/gaining weight. Some doctors use methadone and some will use regular morphine in very small "baby" doses to wean but the combo is most common.
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: has a research paper with guidelines for which meds to use as a first line drug and so on complete with a guideline for the amount to be given, etc. I would suggest printing this also and have her take it to the doctor. It is at...
Neonatal Drug Withdrawal
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi /content/full/pediatrics;101/6/1079
Finally, please contact Sharon Dembinski. She is a nurse practitioner who specializes in Mothers and Infants on Methadone. She runs a program in Rhode Island @ Kent Hospital called MOM (Mothers On Methadone). Her e mail is Sharon@MethadoneSupport.org and she has a website/forum where you can go ask questionsat...
http://www.methadonesupport.org/Pregnanc y.html
Since you need this info ASAP I would send her an e mail though for fastest response. If there is anything else I can do please let me know. I can be reached at my e mail here or my website http://www.findingnormal.webs.com
God Bless and good Luck.

2009-02-10 17:20:11 by dena_girl26

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I was just wondering since I've heard that methadone is also addictive. What are the other alternatives?

The other medications used for treating heroin addiction are naloxone (used for cases of overdose), naltrexone, and buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is fairly new, but is proving to be an appealing alternative to methadone, since a single injection can be effective for up to 6 weeks. It isn't just medication alone that is used to treat heroin addicts, though. There must also be therapy or counseling, or even rehabilitation.

2007-05-31 01:20:08 by colleen_li

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It's a fact that once a cat has had Whiskas for a while, it loses any interest in ingesting anything else. Ask any cat owner. It doesn't matter what else you put down, the cat won't touch it.

Whiskas for druggies. Waddaya think?
They could make a "Cold Turkey" flavour.
@ oldtimekid2: Yeah, well. That's not a very good answer. You don't know what you're talking about, for one thing. You, clearly, haven't observed the phenomenon. It goes way beyond simple preference. There is definitely a drug element.

I don't think that would really work... the flavor may be preferred by cats like if someone tries a chocolate chip cookie that they love and they just don't want any other kind of cookie. It's a preference issue, not a drug issue. Not a very funny joke, either.

2010-07-27 20:06:17 by Black Mack

I just read somewhere that it only takes one injection of buprenorphine and that's enough to last for 6 weeks. The article also stated that buprenorphine is an appealing alternative to methadone. My sister is about to undergo drug treatment, and I just wanted to know if there are any drug treatment programs in Auburn Hills that make use of this drug.

I'm not familiar with the drug treatment programs in Auburn Hills. A good way to know would be to ask your doctor or healthcare provider. You could also look through the phone directory to know the contact numbers of the drug treatment centers in your area so you can inquire about the methods they implement and the drugs they use.

2007-06-01 02:50:32 by arriana dn