Question by Frady: How to begin methadone treatment for opiate addiction?
My husband and I are seeking methadone treatment for our addiction to opiate pain killers. We have been taking opiates daily for almost 2 years. My husband and I start at 2 Lortab 10 mg and go from there. We take up to 10 pills per day. Not only do we take Lortabs, but we also get Percocets, Dilaudid, Morphine, Tylenol with Codeine, etc.
I started taking such pills 6 years ago as needed after I had been prescribed Lortabs for muscle tension migraines resulting from a car accident. I never took them regularly until 2 years ago. It is very important that my husband and I seek help for our addiction. We began with prescribed pills, then sought them illegally.
Not only are we destroying our bodies, but we are spending all of our money on these dumb pills!
I have the # for a local methadone clinic and will call tomorrow to start. We are nervous and I am just wondering how the program works. Any details would help us greatly. Thank you so much… you are helping us get clean

Best answer:

Answer by Chas
The first thing to do is go in and fill out the paperwork,
then I’m not sure if you have to have a urine test that day or you have to come back the next day. You MUST test dirty for opiates or you can’t get in the program. So don’t go in there thinking being clean is good, it isn’t for this one time only. The nurses will pretty well explain what you have to do next and determine what dose to start you at.

Then they will have you see a clinic doctor there. Then they will start dosing you. I’m not sure how much you start with from pills. For smoking heroin it’s 40mg. Then you pretty well control the dose from then on out if you are talking about a mainenance program.

For the 15 day detox it’s different after you see the doctor. They start you at 40mg and reduce the dose everyday for the next 14 days. If you are on a lot of pills a day it’s going to be hard not to get sick.

But I’ve been on the maintenance program for about 18 months and it’s not much fun at all. Your whole life revolves around dosing. At first you will have to go every day and dose. After you have tested clean for a few months you will start to earn take homes. But if you test dirty for anything but pot you lose the take homes and have to start again. It’s a crappy way to have to live. Vacations, trips, everything will have to revolve around dosing.

It took me almost a year to get off it at 90mg a day. In my opinoin it is a bad drug. It’s far more addictive than even heroin. If you really want to get clean use the maintenance program to get yourself off everything. Don’t let thm talk you into going higher and higher with the dose. They will try,,, it’s how they make their money.

I went down the road you and your husband are going. Mine got so bad I started smoking heroin because it was cheaper and easier to get. I had a chronic pain problem from a car accident. Abusing pain meds and then getting messed up with methadone changed my life,,,and not in a good way at all.

I learned my lesson by going through withdrawls a few times,,,and I’m not a kid. I would rather die than do it again. I still have to take a lot of pain medication every day for a cervical spine injury. But I never take more than directed no matter how bad I hurt because I know what that leads to. I never have to worry about running out or refills because I never take more. I know that the price you pay at the end isn’t worth the little bit of fun you have now.

Here are a few links I think you guys should look at. If there is anything I’ve left out just e-mail me. Good luck
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/methadone/index.html
http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=477&action=detail&aeproductid=Adam2004_1&aearticleid=001522

Answer by kphelps2012
First of all congratulations! You are taking the first step towards the rest of your life and from xperience let me say…Methadone saves lives! This is not the most supportive place to ask Methadone questions. Most of what you will get is negative feedback regarding Methadone clinics and that is not what you need right now. You need factual answers. Here are 2 sites where you will get a lot of support. Please go to…
http://www.readybb.com/nama_wespeakmetha…
http://findingnormal.webs.com/
There are experts, patients, advocates, etc at both sites to help. The first was the first support group I joined when I started and the second is my own website:) that I started because I wanted to give something back after having my life given back to me with Methadone.
I will try to give you an idea of what to expect though. Please remember that each state differs and although all clinics must go by federal regs. they can have stricter state regs or choose no state regs at all. Also ther is some variation depending on whether the clinic is regulated by CARF or JHACO.
It is in the Federal Guidelines and agreed upon between most MDs and Psychiatrists that are experienced in MAT that whether you have been shooting heroin for decades or are taking 10 Lortabs a day, that the initial dose for a patient entering an OTP is 30mgs. My clinic gave me 20mg to start. The rules also state no more than 40mg. for a first time visit. They usually advance 5mg. every other day until your withdrawal stops. This can be different for each patient mine was 85mg.
Why do you have to be there so long my first day? The reason for this is because you are a new patient. Many things will happen. You will be given a drug test. This happens before anything else. They expect to find opiates in your system. That is normal…you are seeking help for opiate addiction…LOL They do expect you to be in withdrawal though. Most clinics require 24hrs off of opiates before they will take you. They will observe you for signs of withdrawal. They will ask you if you have taken anything and if you have within the past 24hrs they may send you home. Some clinics require 48hrs. This is not so much an incompatility issue as it is a need to see how you react in withdrawal. Blood pressure readings, heart rate, etc. are considered in this. Specifically they use a scale called the COWS (Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale)If you want to peek at one go to…
http://www.naabt.org/documents/COWS_induction_flow_sheet.pdf
Therefore when you ask for an increase and say it is not working they have a baseline to go by. There are some drugs that will absolutely resrict you from admittance into most clinics. Benzodiazipines are one. Valium and Xanax, Clonipine, etc. These types of medications can be deadly when taken with methadone and are responsible for the majority of so called “Methadone related” deaths you hear about. You will be given a list of meds that are not compatible. You will also see a doctor, have blood drawn, see a nurse, and meet your counselor. It is a long day. If all goes well and you are a candidate you will be dosed and told when to come back the next day. Don’t expect a miracle the first day. In fact the first 2 weeks are allowed for adjustment. You are drug tested every week. Counseling every week. As well as going every day for your medicine. If you stick with it and follow the rules there is no way you will die from Methadone! As far as trading one drug for another here is the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) states in their Frequently Asked Questions Section regarding that very claim…
Is methadone treatment just switching one addiction for another?
No– You are switching a life risking behavior (addiction) for a daily inconvenience of needing to take a medication (physical dependence). Many of us must take medication for a disease. Addiction is a disease. Look at it like this…
“It is like this. We have diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease.
Addiction is a disease.
Some people can treat their diabetes without medication. Diet & exercise alone controls it.
Some addicts can treat their their addiction without medication. NA meetings, councelling, etc. alone controls it.
However, for many diabetics diet & exercise alone isn’t enough. They require medication.
For many addicts NA & councelling alone isn’t enough. They require medication.
Some diabetics can take medication for a short time & eventually control their disease with diet & exercise but this is a small percent.
Some addicts can take medication for a short time & eventually control their disease with NA & councelling, etc. but this is a small percent also. Telling someone with diabetes controlled with insulin to throw away their insulin and jog the next morning is equivalent to telling someone whose addiction is being effectively controlled by methadone to throw down their methadone & go to an NA meeting.
It not only won’t work but is so dangerous it could be fatal!
As far as what the other post said about it ruling your life. It depends on how you view it. For me it isure beats chasing pills all day. Granted I may have to make arrangements before going on vacation to get carries or go to a guest clinic but before I couldn’t afford to go on vacation or leave my contacts that long. LOL I see it as a blessing. I dose and leave to go live a normal life. It is awesome. God Bless!

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