Methadone Drug Addiction .com

I am prescribed methadone for pain management and pain control. I'm not sure how they know or if they do but I just got an email from http://MethadoneForum.com saying to join and that it is a safe online methadone discussion community, but when I went there it looks like nobody is there. Do they hide the threads and posts because it's related to methadone or am I just the first person to get the email and want to ask questions about methadone as well as post some of the effects.

Should I try it out?

Getting answers anywhere on the internet is just like getting answers from people you know. Sometimes it is right, and sometimes it is wrong. As for this particular website, I do not really know, but I belong to several forums, and have found that answers are wide and varied. Some are true, and some are false. It is hard to tell what you are getting.

I would suggest any answers you get from an internet source should be verified somewhere else. Your Dr can help you out some with this.

I know it would be nice to be able to talk to people with the same problems you have, but be careful what you accept as fact or fiction.

2008-11-23 22:38:35 by 2fly1

www.mylifemethadone.com

I am on methadone pills for pain management and http://MethadoneForum.com sent me an email and said they were a safe online discussion group but when I went there it appears to be only me in the forum.

I yake methadone for pain control but have side effects. Because of the side effects I would like to talk to someone besides my doctor which says their normal.

Are posts and threads hidden on the forum or would I be the first patient to visit the site.

Safety for myself & privacy are important since I have a high paying job that I wouldn't want to lose.

I took Methadone for pain too and came off of it after only 4 days because of all of the side effects. Plus, after some research, I discovered that this drug is very hard to come off when you are ready and I decided that it was not for me. Even though I was only on it for 4 days, and was immediately switched over to OxyContin for my Pain Management, I still had some pretty nasty withdrawals for about 5 days. My feet, legs, hands, arms, and stomach swelled up to 3 to 4 times their normal size. I could not get my shoes on for a week! I could not get my wedding ring on either and almost had to cut it off because of the severity of the swelling. I had severe insomnia and anxiety. I think I slept about 4 hours the entire time that I was on the medication. When I called my doctor about the insomnia and anxiety, he said these were normal side effects and that I just needed to let my body adjust to the medicine. I started it over the weekend, so when the swelling started, I called the pharmacist who said that swelling can also be a typical side effect and should diminish in a few days. Well, it did not, I scheduled an emergency appointment with my PM doctor, and once he saw the severity of my swelling, he immediately took me off the Methadone. He said that was not normal and was a severe allergic reaction.

I have found that Methadone is some pretty nasty stuff. I think that it has a purpose for patients who will never come off pain meds, but I will be able to come off of them after I have the surgery I need on my neck (hopefully). If you are unhappy with the Methadone, then you need to convey this to your doctor. Do some research online and present it to him along with an argument for trying something else. I found that when I went in with an alternative and well researched plan, my doctor responded better to me than when I just called and told him I didn't like the medication.

As far as the web site, I went on to the link you provided and it looks like the administrator just started the forum a couple of days ago, so there may not be any members yet to post anything. Or, if there are members, they just have not posted anything to the forum boards to date. I use a forum that looks like this one and they can be run by anyone, so the possibility that there are no members yet is highly likely. Good luck with the Methadone. I know it can be useful to some people, it was just completely awful for me!

2008-11-24 06:17:43 by 2fly1

I have fibromyalgia, DDD, spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis. I am 43 years old. I started having terrible pain about 15 yrs ago after a bad fall and have had 3 more bad falls since. My pain became chronic about 5 yrs ago. I am on ambiem, cymbalta, tramadol (8/50 mg tabs per day) and Soma. I have never been involved in any internet blog/forum. The pain clinic prescribed me w/methadone about 2 yrs ago with vicodin for breakthrough. About a yr ago I was up to 80 mg/day. The last 6 months I have had NO ambition or energy. 2 weeks ago, I stopped taking the methadone on my own. I know that is risky but I could not stand life as a zombie. I tappered down to 20 mg/day and the last week to 10 mg/day. Then I stopped totally 2 weeks ago. The 1st week was not too bad but I was weak & achey. This past week has been awful. Terrible stomach problems (I started on milk thistle to clean my colin), and pain behind belief Just about 4 hours ago, I gave in and took 10 mg. I feel normal with no pain.

Pain management is not an exact science.

Just like all medicine, it is a "practice", and it is always in flux as the patient's condition changes.

The way you have titrated your dose of pain medication down is a good example of someone doing their best to regain a normal life, only using the pain meds when actually needed.

However, this is usually a process with its ups and downs.

It is normal for you to have some good days and then a turn back to bad days.

This is especially true with Fibromyalgia, as you are constantly susceptible to flareups that can cause all of your systems to scream out in pain.

I would suggest two things:

Make sure your physician is aware that you are adjusting your medications.

The more they understand about what you need and what you can tolerate, the better they will be able to advise, encourage and support you as you take an active role in your healthcare.

Second, realize that as you lower your medications, you are actually INCREASING the percentage of total meds discontinued.

For instance, when you were on 80mg and cut down to 60mg, you have lowered your medication by 25%.

However, when you lowered the dose from 20mg to 10mg, you lowered the dosage by 50%.

When the dose is lower, it is very hard for the body to adjust to changes, even when it seems that the total dose amount is small.

Talk to your doctor and/or your pharmacist about how you might decrease in smaller incriments.

They can do this by either giving you smaller pills or through the use of a pill cutter, or both.

That way you can move from 20mg to 15mg, 15 mg to 12.5 mg, 12.5mg to 10 mg, 10mg to 8 mg, 8mg to 6 mg, 6mg to 5 mg, 5 mg to 3.75 mg, 3.75mg to 3 mg, 3 mg to 2.5 mg, 2.5mg to 2 mg, 2 mg to 1.5 mg, 1.5 mg to 1 mg, 1 mg to 1/2 mg, and finally discontinue until the med is needed again.

The other advantage to this method is that, should a flareup occur as you are decreasing the dose, you won't have to jump from no med to a 10 mg or 20 mg dose, which has the potential of returning you to that "zombie" state.

I'm glad that you are getting the meds you need, and also pleased that you are an active participant in your pain management.

One other thing: most Rheumatologists agree that good sleep is the number one treatment for Fibromyalgia, followed closely by specialized massage therapy (some massage therapists can actually cause a flareup due to ignorance of the needs of a FMS client).

So, if your current meds are not allowing you to sleep, make sure your physician addresses this problem as soon as possible.

Good health to you!

2007-10-30 04:38:44 by Gracie Maelou

Hey! i was just curious... if i took like 2 10mg methadone pills, how long would it take for it to show up if i peed in a urine test?

**PS please keep in mind this is a factual question/answer site. NOT a blog, NOT a forum, and NOT a place to voice your opinions on methadone, or anything else, for that matter. All answers of this type will me flagged for abuse and then ignored. Thank you.

It'd show up instantly, and take about 2-3 weeks to get out of your system

2009-07-06 04:01:51 by Kasey

I read all the forums on the subject but have an appointment to talk with my doctor about it next week, which will be the three week mark (if I indeed am pregnant). I heard that going through withdrawals hurts the baby more than if you just stayed on it. But some days when the pain is not so bad I skip a day or two in a row. Will this cause the baby to go into withdrawal even if I feel no withdrawing symptoms.?
Thanks Saint, although I was looking for answerers that have been through this or know someone who has, you're right. But it is too early to know if I am pregnant which is why I want to nip things in the bud if you know what I mean. I want to catch everything early so I can start eating better, quit my all my medication, etc. Thank you for your opinion though, I appreciate it.

My sister was on a fairly large dose of methadone (and she was taking two Class X drugs--can't remember which ones, but they were definitely a no-no during pregnancy) AND she was drinking very heavily. She didn't realize she was pregnant until she was 11 weeks (she's overweight and has always had very irregular periods) and when she found out, she FREAKED OUT. The first trimester is crucial for the development of the baby, and that's why they say to take your vitamins, stop smoking (forgot to add she was a 2 pack a day smoker then, too), no drinking, drugs, etc. because that's when the baby's nervous system, organs, bones, etc. are forming. To make a long story short, she quit the two dangerous prescriptions, cut her smoking in half, stopped drinking completely, and her doctor gradually weaned her down to a very low dose of methadone by the time her daughter was born. My little niece is **PERFECT**. Since my sister was still taking a low dose of it, her baby didn't go through withdrawls, and my sister breastfed her for the first 8 months (methadone is passed through breastmilk). She's an incredibly smart, sweet, beautiful little girl! I do know that my sister went in for every test imaginable (genetic testing, tons of lab work, numerous ultrasounds, etc.) because of the medications/drinking.

DO NOT stop taking your methadone. My sister's doctors (she saw several perinatologists) said that withdrawl isn't good for either her or the baby.

2010-10-01 05:37:16 by darrell and emilie