Methadone Drug Addiction .com

My child is in the NICU and is on .1 mg/kg of body weight. Her current dosage is .21 mg every 12 hours.
My daughter is withdrawling from my suboxone maintenance during pregnancy, not any illicit drugs.
Fortunately, I was able to "get clean" from opiates.
I was just wondering if anyone else has had their infant weaned off methadone, or know someone who has dealt with the situation? I want the best for my child, but I also want her home as soon as possibe. So, I am trying to get some sort of time frame.
The physicians and pharmacists are telling me one to two weeks, but I would like to hear a time frame from someone with experience.

Thank you in advance!

-Kaydon

I can't believe a doctor allowed you to take suboxone during pregnancy! They are supposed to switch you over to subutex because suboxone can cause birth defects. Anyway, that isn't the point. It will take about two weeks to completely get your baby off of methadone. I'm really glad you were able to get clean and do what's best for your baby. Congrats on the bundle of joy and the sobriety =)

2010-02-11 20:50:16 by Kaydon

The first video in a series about detoxing from Methadone and recovery from long term narcotic addiction.One man's experience getting off ...

methadone is already being used as part of pain management treatment. What other means of treatment is available. If someone is allergic to methadone what is substituted?

http://www.atwatchdog.org/

Good luck!

2006-07-25 14:05:08 by MARCIA L

My dad is on methadone and I am worried that he doesn't actually want to get off it as it is cheap and apparently "helping" him.


o.O

It is much safer for your Dad to stay on Methadone than to return to Heroin use. It helps to understand a little about how Methadone works for people like your Dad. One of the most commonly voiced concerns is that MMT is "just trading one addiction for another". Many feel that the only way to truly recover from addiction is to abstain from all mood-altering substances. At one time, this was thought by most to be true. However, science has discovered that with long-term opiate addiction (opiates meaning heroin, vicodin, morphine, oxycontin, etc), the brain's natural production of endorphins is shut down. Endorphins are the chemicals we all have that enable us to feel pleasure and happiness. We all have opiate receptors in our brains to which these chemicals attach. The word "endorphin" comes from "endogenous", meaning coming from within, and "morphine"--i.e., morphine from within. These chemicals are released when we eat delicious food, make love, enjoy a beautiful sunset, exercise (runner's high), or even when we are injured, as natural painkillers. Without this natural chemical, life can be very difficult and painful.

When we flood our systems with exogenous (outside) opiates, our bodies recognize that we have plenty on board and cease to manufacture our own natural endorphins. This results in the patient feeling extremely ill when withdrawing from opiates. They experience depression, irritability, exhaustion, anger, sleeplessness, hopelessness, etc. This happens to all opiate mis-users when they cease taking opiates and is to be expected. Some patients, especially those with short-term addiction histories, will be able, after a few weeks or months of abstinence, to get their natural endorphins back into good working order again, and will begin gradually to improve. However, for many, the damage done is permanent. This has been demonstrated in many scientific studies involving CT scans of the addicted brain. For these patients, no amount of abstinence, group therapy, meetings, will power, or good intentions will undo the fact that their brains simply will no longer produce endorphins in sufficient quantity to enable them to live a normal, happy life. This is, in fact, very similar to the way in which diabetics require supplemental insulin because their pancreas no longer manufactures insulin. In addition, there are some patients who have never had a normally functioning endorphin system, who have struggled since birth with crippling depression, and who became addicts in an effort to relieve their constant emotional and mental misery. For them, too, abstinent recovery works poorly or not at all. This is where MMT comes in.
Methadone is a synthetic (man made) opioid drug, used to treat pain and addiction. It has some unusual properties that make it well suited to addiction treatment. It is a long acting drug, remaining active in the tissues for up to 72 hours after ingestion. It does not cause the high or euphoria caused by other, short acting opiates because it is taken up gradually by the brain, not suddenly and sharply. In fact, many overdoses involving this drug are due to people seeking the high they have come to expect with other opiates and not getting it, so they take more and more. A stable methadone patient who is not mixing the medication with other drugs--particularly benzodiazepines, which can sometimes be a very dangerous mixture-- and who are on a medically appropriate dose will not be "high" or sedated. These patients are able to work, operate a vehicle, care for children, and do anything else a normal person can do. Their minds are not "clouded". Some of these rumors may come from observing patients who are misusing other drugs, or are taking more than prescribed.
Methadone, properly administered and taken, balances the chemicals in the brain so that the patient feels normal. Unfortunately, standard antidepressants generally do not work well for those with dysfunctional endorphin systems because they target serotonin, not endorphins.
Methadone is also unique in that it does not attach to all the opiate receptors in the brain, leaving some open to encourage production of natural endorphins if possible. This may contribute to the healing of the addicted brain. Methadone is commonly referred to as "replacement" or "substitution" therapy, and most think that this means it is replacing the heroin, etc that the patient was abusing, when in fact, it is replacing the natural endorphins no longer being manufactured by the patient's brain, in the same way synthetic insulin substitutes for that not being made by the diabetic's own organs. Methadone treatment enables the patient to return to a normal, productive, law-abiding life in a great many cases, and even when the patient continues misusing other drugs, etc, it may lower their chances of contracting a disease by reducing their drug use, and enables them to see a medical professional for assistance and referrals on a daily basis.
However, for many (not all) MMT patients, long-term therapy--even life long--may be needed to maintain recovery. Addiction is a chronic, incurable disease. We do not tell diabetics, blood pressure patients, and epileptics to discontinue their medications because we know that if they do, the active disease will return. Why, then, do we encourage recovering, thriving MMT patients to do so, when the relapse rates for those discontinuing MMT is greater than 90%? Methadone is the most effective modality of treatment for opiate addiction available today--far more effective than traditional rehabs and 12 step groups alone. By no means is it the treatment of choice for every opiate addict--however, if abstinence based methods have failed many times over, there is little point in continuing to try the same thing expecting different results "this time".
Most experts recommend that a patient remain in MMT a MINIMUM of 3 years after they cease illicit drug use. At that time, if, and only if, the PATIENT themselves wishes to begin a taper program, one can be attempted. Tapering must be done on a slow and gradual basis--no more than 10% of the dose every 2 weeks to a month. If the person begins experiencing severe cravings or withdrawals, they should stop and return to an adequate dose until symptoms subside. If the person relapses, this should not be seen as failure or weakness, but only as evidence that he or she may require ongoing therapy to control their symptoms. Family support is ESSENTIAL to the patient's successful recovery on MMT, and continued questions of "When are you going to get off that stuff? It's just a crutch!", etc undermine treatment efforts and sabotage recovery, leaving the patient confused, sad and frustrated instead of feeling proud and happy at the improvements in their lives. Addiction is a deadly disease and there are few effective treatments for it so please support your loved one's recovery efforts and praise them when you see improvements. There is nothing positive to be gained by forcing them off treatment before they are ready. I know this a long explanantion but it is meant to help you understand your Dads disease.
If you would like more information about MMT, please seek out reputable sources such as SAMHSA, the American Assoc. for the Treatment of Opioid Disorders (AATOD), the White House Office of Drug Policy , etc.

2008-07-17 04:56:05 by sixnylonstrings♪♪

the methadone was prescribed for me three years ago but the constipation from it is unbearable i want to stop taking it i am on a dose of 30 to 40 mgm day as needed i mostly take 30 mgm unless pain is too bad. i do not want to go to md and request stop use because they will send me to a rehab and to a detox first i just want to stop on my own without all the bruhaaha i am an older woman retired and just want to live without the bowel problems i can take the pain but not this constipation. please help me i have no where else to go

You have to slowly reduce your dose. If you are on 40 mg.'s you take 40 for 2 days, 35 for 2 days, 30 for 2 days and on down until you get down to 5 milligrams. The thing is you will need something else for pain, non-narcotic otherwise it will not work.
The other choice is switching over to Subutex or Buprenorphine. I am taking a college class on this right now and constipation is a large problem for those on maintenance doses of any narcotic.

Good luck. Mylanta Supreme works well to help with constipation even though it is a heartburn remedy. 2 tablespoons at bedtime.

2006-06-27 11:11:23 by vanessa

pain, and want to stop taking it now since I have been getting relief from cordizone shots. Please give me advice..if I ever missed a dose I would vomit...Thank You

Talk to your prescribing Physician. You must be weaned off slowly to prevent withdrawal symptoms. No one here can tell you how to do it, not even the bona fide health care professionals.

2009-01-31 16:17:49 by Stan The Man