Methadone???

Question

I'm trying to recover from a pill addiction Due to circumstances, I can't go into rehab and have no medical insurance for methadone. I can purchase some, but I'm not sure how much to take. I'm scared I'm going to OD, or not use enough. I've been taking about 8 10mg lortabs 2 or 3 times a day for awhile now. How do I know how much methadone I need to take so I don't go through withdrawl? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS. Please don't say "go to the doctor" or "don't buy it off the streets". The person I can get it from is a trusted friend, and I can't go to the doctor or a clinic because of medical insurance issues. What I really need is personal experiences and dosaging information. Again, thank you for your help.

And if you've never been through withdrawl, then keep you opinions to yourself. Hell yeah I'm scared, and it's not possible to function while withdrawing. I've been there before, and it ain't fun. You try shaking,vomiting, feeling like your skin is too tight for your body, muscle aches and spasms, rapid heartbeat and insomnia. If it was easy to go through, there wouldn't be detox centers and methadone clinics.
And I don't plan on staying on methadone, i want to use it to gradually bring myself off of the drug.

For those who have given me serious answers and experience, thank you very much : )

Answer 1

I can tell you from experience. you can wean yourself off of the loritabs by cutting down on the daily amount you take. I do not suggest trading in loritabs for methadone.
I have done alot of drugs in my past. Alot of pills, and also the methadone.
I personally had to just kick it all cold turkey and it was hard but it is do able. it has been just over 8 years ago now, that I have been sober.
If you truly want to get off of the pills you can do it.
God bless

Answer 2

I have been on methadone for 1.5 years and I started at 75MG and im now at 41MG and no withdrawl at all i could have gone down faster but i dont want to, if you go down slow it works and their is no withdrawls NONE.. people get this confused because if you stop cold turkey it is worst then heroin and it is more addictive, but unlike heroin it has a long half life so you dont need to keep getting a fix and that is why it works the long half life. because of that it will be easyer to ween off more so then any opiate no opiate has a half life as long as methadone.

First off opiets are all the same Oxycontin heroin etc. If you can try to get in a rehab some are run by the state and are free your tax money pays, Do not buy from the street only because it will cost around $30.00 per 90MG and you can get busted, if you go to the clinic it takes a day or 2 to get admited and it will be $30.00 for a entire week without insurance. If rehab is something you just dont want to do then methadone maintance is not the end of the world, it will make your life much better then it is now and within some short time if you have clean urins then you will have take home bottles and just need to go once a week. It will be hard to ween off if you buy it on the street and not as much so if you do it over some time. If you cant ween off your pill habit you will not ween off the street methadone.

other people please.
Dont blame the drugs blame the war on drugs and dont blame the death by drug, blame the person who was dumb enough to take such a high dose.

Answer 3

Be very careful. Methadone is extremely long acting because of the way it is metabolized by the liver and you can overdose before you know it. I've been through withdrawals... prior to starting pain management, my doctor was out of town and I ran out of meds, the ER gave me an opiate antagonist, and I know the hell you're afraid of, but be EXTREMELY careful... if you feel you MUST use the Methadone, then titrate your dose slooooowly, as it takes a while to kick in and sticks around in your system for a long time... people overdose because they don't think it's working or has worn off when it just hasn't had time to kick in or it hasn't left the system yet. BUT there is a better, safer way to detox than trying to figure out a Methadone dose without a doctor. It's called the Thomas Recipe, and it staves off the withdrawals but is infinitely safer than Methadone:

For the Recipe, You'll need:

1. Valium (or another benzodiazepine such as Klonopin, Librium, Ativan or Xanax). Of these, Valium and Klonopin are best suited for tapering since they come in tablet form. Librium is also an excellent detox benzo, but comes in capsules, making it hard to taper the dose. Ativan or Xanax should only be used if you can't get one of the others.

2. Imodium (over the counter, any drug or grocery store).

3. L-Tyrosine (500 mg caps) from the health food store.

4. Strong wide-spectrum mineral supplement with at least 100% RDA of Zinc, Phosphorus, Copper and Magnesium.

5. Vitamin B6 caps.

6. Access to hot baths or a Jacuzzi (or hot showers if that's all that's available).

How to use the recipe:

Begin your detox with regular doses of Valium (or alternate benzo). Start with a dose high enough to produce sleep. Before you use any benzo, make sure you're aware of how often it can be safely taken. Different benzos have different dosing schedules. Taper your Valium dosage down after each day. The goal is to get through day 4, after which the worst WD symptoms will subside. You shouldn't need the Valium after day 4 or 5.

During detox, hit the hot bath or Jacuzzi as often as you need to for muscle aches. Don't underestimate the effectiveness of hot soaks. Spend the entire time, if necessary, in a hot bath. This simple method will alleviate what is for many the worst opiate WD symptom.

Use the Imodium aggressively to stop the runs. Take as much as you need, as often as you need it. Don't take it, however, if you don't need it.

At the end of the fourth day, you should be waking up from the Valium and experiencing the beginnings of the opiate WD malaise. Upon rising (empty stomach), take the L-Tyrosine. Try 2000 mgs, and scale up or down, depending on how you feel. You can take up to 4,000 mgs. Take the L-Tyrosine with B6 to help absorption. Wait about one hour before eating breakfast. The L-Tyrosine will give you a surge of physical and mental energy that will help counteract the malaise. You may continue to take it each morning for as long as it helps. If you find it gives you the "coffee jitters," consider lowering the dosage or discontinuing it altogether. Occasionally, L-Tyrosine can cause the runs. Unlike the runs from opiate WD, however, this effect of L-Tyrosine is mild and normally does not return after the first hour. Lowering the dosage may help.

With breakfast, take the mineral supplement.

As soon as you can force yourself to, get some mild exercise such as walking, cycling, swimming, etc. This will be hard at first, but will make you feel considerably better.

Please consider this as an alternative, it is way too easy to OD on Methadone. I believe it has a place in detox therapy, but only under a doctor's supervision.

Answer 4

Kanni,

You're really playing with fire here. Methadone is used to bring people down from heroin addiction, and it is, in itself, addicting. You could substitute one problem for another.

Secondly, your friend is apparently not a medical professional, but yet is giving you methadone. You do not know what kind of reaction you can get from it. Dosage requires a determination of gender, height, weight, discernment of any medical conditions such as high blood pressure, food and other drug interactions, etc.

If these factors are not taken into consideration, you could give yourself a lethal dose.

If you're attempting to remove yourself from pain killers, then you need to be under professional care. Talk with your doctor and see if they can work out some kind of payment plan with you. If that is not an option, you can certainly go to any Social Service office and seek information on free medical clinics. To do otherwise is putting your life in jeopardy. Don't play around, do the right thing.

I am a medical first responder. Please heed my warnings.

Answer 5

You are asking people to give you medical advice.

This is dangerous for you and any person giving you the advise on what dosage to take. What if they're wrong? They're in deep trouble and you might be dead.

If you are serious about detox you must get medical advice....end of.

Quote from someone else asking a question on here follows. Please read and think about what I said above.

"Methadone put me in ICU for 2 weeks and why do you think you need it?
I've been on it for 12 years. After a surgery went bad my doctor overdosed me accidentally on methadone.I was on a external pacemaker for 72 hors. It feels like your getting punched in the heart"

Answer 6

That is a pretty heavy dose and to use it therapeutically you take it once daily it is to get off of drugs not to get off on drugs, most heroin users I have known start around 100-125 mg once daily then it is gradually decreased but the rate of success with methadone is not very good it is like saying I smoke Marlboro's and want to quit so I'm switching to Marlboro lights.Chances are the pills you are hooked on are weaker than the methadone.

Answer 7

It is possible for you to stop your pill addiction without methadone. Try cutting back little by little, and you may need to have some other activity or distraction to help you. You do not want to get on methadone, which is for previous heroin addicts or people who are in such severe actual pain that normal pain medications do not cut it. You will not get off of methadone if you start it. Have a friend or family member help you stop your pill addiction.

Answer 8

Please listen to me. My best friend died from accidentally overdosing on methadone. It takes a long time for your body to metabolise it. So, sometimes, you think it has worn off....and is out of your system....and it isn't. So, if you take more....you will accidentally overdose.

There is a reason this is a "controlled" substance. Everyday people like me, you, and your friend.....don't know how to dose or take this medicine. Plus there is a long list of other drugs that you cannot mix it with or you will die! You can't even drink grapefruit juice if you take it. Honest!

Don't do this without medical supervision. I mean it. My friend is DEAD.

Don't let that happen to you.

This is serious business! You cannot do this alone. You don't want to hear this, I know. But, like it or not....you cannot safely take this without a doctor.

Is saving money worth dying for?

Answer 9

Great just go from one addiction to another. Lortab does not take more than 3 days to come off of and I would not recommend Methadone as a substitute because then your addiction becomes worse not better.

Answer 10

Remember Anna Nichole Smith ? If you have the money for your lortabs, you have enough money for one doctor's appointment to get you slowly off the loratabs.