Methadone Drug Addiction .com

My boyfriend just got out of rehab from Oxycontin and other pain killer abuse. and i have a feeling heroin as well. I have been hearing things that he has relapsed, and i almost believe it. He says he will be going to the doctors everyday for the next three years to get Methadone everyday to stop the cravings. Is this the right thing? is he lying?

(note: i don;t take the time to edit for mistakes)

Doctors are unfortunately by kaw not allowed to prescribe any opiate to treate addiction. Why this i find to be evil, many doctors including myself still prescribe opiates for this reason. Usually though a doctor will simply ween you down by reducing your dose over a period of time. This i sknown as dose tapering.

Most doctors will not prescibe Methadone as it has relatively poor profile for pain management, and more appropriate for opiate maintenance. It is a mixed agonist/atangonist making it ideal for this purpose.

Now you can be prescribed suboxone from a licensed doctor specifically for opiate addiction. Methaodne on the other hand is most often seen at methadone clinics which you can find everywhere.

Tell your boyfriend to seek out a doctor who prescribes suboxone/subutex. If you go to suboxone.com it will show you the doctors in your area you can seek out. It is a wonder drug for many addicts.

With suboxone the doctor gets to right you a script and you don;pt have to go to a clinic every day like you do with methadone. But the advantage of the clinic is you can't not take your daily dose more than a couple days without getting kicked off the program. With subuxone you can stop taking it without the Dr's knowledge.

Suboxone is my preference as, at the right dose, it will decrease one;s desire for opiates, and completely blocks all other opiates. Methadone will get rid of opiate desire, but it still has more of an opiate high. ( I know from personal expierence). Also methadone dose not block other opiates as well as Subs.

Anyways I hope this can help you.

-Dr Jake. (didn't check for errors)

P.S. Also the previous poster is completely ignorant on this subject, and acts as a typical uninformed friend of your most likely would. If you loves this man, you might be the one to save his life by seeking treatment. That is a bond that will bind you both for life, and he will forever be grateful for what you have done for him. Once on these drugs, you truly do not get high off them, except for the first couple days. And usually they aren't even strong enough to make one feel completely well. The previous poster clearly does not understand addiction, or the horrible torture that is opiate withdrawal. Help your boyfriend, I sense you might be the only one who cares.

2009-10-12 17:46:18 by Chelsea

Anna Nicole Smith Kapoor methadone doctor

Ok, so im doing this case study regarding a minor who escaped a detention center and was brought to a hospital following an automobile accident. He claimed to be suffering from drug withdrawals. He needed blood but refused. The doctor prescribed 40mg of methadone. He was found dead the next morning. Would the doctor be liable for taking the patients word for it?

The Harrison Drug Act of 1914 made it illegal for a general practitioner or physician to prescribe methadone for opiate addiction, The only physicians who can prescribe it for that purpose are those running a state certified methadone maintenance clinic.
It is legal, however, for a physician to prescribe methadone for chronic pain management. B/c methadone is a time released medication it only needs once daily dosing, and it does not create a tolerance that requires increases in doses for this reason it works well in those with chronic illness, terminal disease,or chemo.
Unfortunately, while MMT clinics prescribing for opiate addiction must follow strict regulations, regular physicians prescribing for pain do ot and thus, we have a myriad of mishaps in which it is improperly prescribed, and leads to medical issues. While methadone itself is a relatively safe drug when taken as prescribed, it's propensity for being time released makes it dangerous in the hands of those who are unaware. Many will assume b/c they feel no buzz they need to take more, or combine it with other meds or alcohol, and this is extremely dangerous (methadone, contrary to popular belief, does NOT impair motor or Cognitive function when taken in therapeutic doses).
The saddest part is, it's not the physicians and the pain management patients who suffer for this kind of malpractice and negligence it's those who have found sobriety with MMT who suffer. We make good scapegoats.
MMT clinics have a number of failsafe's in place to prevent anything like this: clients entering treatment are always started at a dose of 20 to 30mg, TOPS, regardless of their size, or drug use. From there, they are given incredibly small increases (1-5mg) every 1-2 weeks, IF NEEDED until the patient is stabilized. Stabilization is determined first by the patient~ an absence of acute opiate withdrawal symptoms~ and secondly, by a blood test called a peak and trough, which measures the methadone's serum levels in the system, and determines if the dose is adequate, too high, or too low.
In addition, MMT clinics require patients come in 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and be dosed by an RN; only after a lengthy period of total compliance will they begin to earn take homes and even then, those are given in 1-2 day increments. Some states allow more, but those are given only after years of total compliance.
Total compliance includes: frequent, random, supervised drug testing; annual physicals and blood work, monthly counseling and group therapy. In addition, clinic do not allow clients to drink alcohol, or use other meds that can interact with the methadone. ANY med, prescribed or OTC, must first be approved by the physician, or the client will be considered "dirty" and possibly removed from the program.
Methadone is THE most successful opiate abuse treatment. There are however, many other meds that ca be used to treat withdrawal symptoms; and any hospital ER would be far more likely to prescribe those meds before methadone. In fact, most hospitals cannot administer methadone, even for admitted patients, for a period of more than 3 doses, and only then, with a long line of bureaucratic red tape that is supported by an MMT clinic physician's signature.
Odds are, the story you've heard is just that a story. Part of the fundamental propaganda that has made it's way into the MMT mainstream in an attempt to stop it's use for opiate therapy. Fortunately, those who are responsible thus far have demonstrated a modicum of intelligence and taken the time to study the pharmacological ramifications of MMT.
If however, this is a true story, then it's a sad, sorry, rare thing that should be brought to light. The bulk of the deaths you hear about that are related to methadone are 100% the result of uneducated physicians prescribing it; NOT MMT clinics. Drug abusers misuse the drug and that's why it's vital we protect it for those who are seeking sobriety through it.
Of course, to the public, a recovering heroin addict makes a far better culprit than a a physician when you want to point the finger but MMT clients with methadone take homes are hardly likely to sell theirs since it would mean severe withdrawal. Methadone blocks the receptors opiates bind to, so using heroin will not keep them well if they sell their methadone. Its generally those receiving it for pain management from physicians (NOT MMT Clinics) who are the ones selling it on the black market.
Most opiate addicts in recovery with MMT fully support these strict regulations, and strongly believe they should be initiated for ALL prescribing uses of methadone~ because without them, we know we may be the ones who lose.
So, to answer your original question: a physician prescribing it for withdrawal would indeed be negligible, and complicit in not only medically negligent manslaughter, but in violating his rights as a physician. The hospital he worked for would also be liable, as they have several channels that such prescribing must go through, all of which would be well aware that such prescribing is illegal.
A few good resources:

http://www.methadone.org/
(NAMA- National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery, THE biggest resource and advocates for MMT and Methadone).

http://www.methadonetoday.org/
(Methadone today is a monthly newsletter and advocacy based organizations well versed in the legalities and the pharmacological implications of methadone)

http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles /drucker01.htm
(A brief dissertation on the origin of opiate based addiction treatment)

http://www.naabt.org/laws.cfm
(The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment~ while this a site dedicated predominately to the use of suboxone, a newer alternative to MMT, it does have some worth in this particular article, which discusses the Harrison Drug Act I referred to)

.

2010-11-01 22:12:27 by David

is it legal for a doctor to prescribe both methadone and xanax for pain to the same person at the same time?

Of course it is legal. Methadone and Xanax (alprazolam) are not even in the same class of drugs, methadone is a synthetic phenylheptylamine opioid analgesic and alprazolam is a benzodiazepine (or more concisely a triazolobenzodiazepine) class anxiolytic, anti-panic, sedative/hypnotic.

Doctors can prescribe as they see fit. It is actually very common for opioids and benzodiazepines to be used together and people with chronic pain may take a drug like methadone routinely and they may also be prescribed another opioid like oxycodone or morphine for break threw pain.

Although Xanax should not be used and it not indicated for pain. Xanax is used to treat acute anxiety states, for the management of anxiety disorders, for panic disorder with or without anxiety, and for anxiety associated with depression.

Some benzodiazepines like Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), and Klonopin, Rivotril (clonazepam) are effective as muscle relaxants (particularly diazepam), and clonazepam is particularly effective for treating neuropathic pain.

2010-06-08 16:20:57 by tommy

i am 6 years on methadone and recently lost my Doctor, my G.P only gives me oral Solution and it is not really what i want, if anyone knows any doctor who can prescribe me methadone amps please let me know. thanks

The standard of care now is oral methadone.
No one will give you injectable, it's too easy to sell.
Sorry! We live in an age of addiction, and doctors are liable if they assist one in getting their drug of choice.

2010-10-20 04:38:28 by ville k

I have a son who is in a methadone program. He cannot travel and spend time away from home because he has to go to the clinic every day to pick up his methadone. How do I go about finding a physician in my area who will prescribe methadone for him so that he can travel or even come home to live ( the nearest clinic to my home is an hours drive away )

If you live in the US, this is strictly illegal. You will not find a doctor who will do this in this country. A doctor can prescribe methadone for pain management, or prescribe opiates for a short-term medical detox, but this doesn't really help you.

If your son is compliant with his methadone program, he'll start getting take-home doses as quickly as a few months. This will allow him to travel: he just needs to avoid skipping days and pass his drug screens. The exact rules vary by state, but the number of days you can take home build up and generally after a year or two of good behavior you only have to go once a month.

There is, in most places, something called "hardship" dosing. You can sometimes set up a program where you go once a week to the clinic and get a take-home supply. Then you have to coordinate with a nearby program that does monitoring and provides the necessary addiction treatment.

If your son just wants to take a trip and he's been in the program for a while, there's also something called "exception" dosing. This will let the clinic give him a one-time set of doses to take with him during the trip. The rules on this vary by state, but it's usually for patients who have been there long enough for take-home doses but haven't been compliant enough to get them.

There is another drug called buprenorphine that a doctor can prescribe for opiate dependency on an outpatient basis. If your son wants to come live with you, he could find a doctor in your town and set up a treatment. This is usually pretty expensive compared to methadone, and switching from methadone requires you to go about three days into detox from methadone or it will make you very sick. Some buprenorphine doctors refuse to take methadone patients for this reason.

Also, it's really important that you treat the addiction in addition to the chemical dependency on opiates. An outpatient buprenorphine program typically doesn't include any addiction treatment, just a chemical dependency treatment. This puts a higher burden on your son to get treatment himself.

If you want to try buprenorphine, check out http://buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/bwns_loc ator/ and talk to some of the local doctors. You could also call your local clinic about hardship dosing.

Good luck to your son. Methadone treatment can help you switch off the dangerous and highly disruptive short-acting opiates, but dealing with the addiction and mental health issues that led him there takes a lot of work. For this reason, people generally stay on methadone for years before they are ready to stop. The chemical dependency is the easy part of this situation.

2009-07-14 10:28:21 by Laura