article- negative effects of methadone??

[old hippie 56]

Been reading about various pain maintenance procedures and swim came across a article about methadone from www.harmd.org.

Methadone #2 Killer Drug in U.S.
Methadone is now the #2 Killer Drug in the U.S. This is a legal drug that has been thought to be safe for the past 40 years. Only recently when its use became approved for pain management patients has the cardio toxic risks emerged. Previously methadone has been used exclusively for replacement therapy for heroin patients and death was thought to be an effect of the accumulation of many years of drug abuse. With the surge in pain medication misuse and abuse more patients are being referred to methadone clinics and physicians treating pain who believe the myth that methadone is safer or non addictive because of it’s use with weaning addicts from heroin. Methadone is more addictive then any other pain medication including heroin and because of it’s extremely long half life, cardio toxic risks, numerous fatal drug interactions, dosages based on tolerance, and small margin of error. Up until Nov 2006 the government and pharmaceutical companies have been suppressing the numerous health and fatality risks related to methadone.

There are between 800,000 & 900,000 (some stats give diff numbers) heroin addicts in the U.S and 1,881 people died from heroin in the U.S. in 2004.

There are 200,000 people on methadone for drug treatment and I don't have the number of people on it for pain but even if we double the 200,000 and assume it's 400,000 total people on methadone there were 3,849 deaths in 2004

It looks like the "gold standard" is killing more then the drug its supposed to save people from!!!!

Every day 10.9 people die from Methadone (according to 2004 stats, not
including car accident deaths caused by drivers under the influence of Methadone)


We (the families of methadone victims) are requesting new laws surrounding who can prescribe Methadone, clinic rules and regulations as well as stiffer penalties for those caught selling their take home doses. The whole methadone maintenance system needs an overhauling. We cannot continue to allow a legal medication to be killing more people then the illegal drugs. Our government cannot be allowed to use tax dollars to fund their legal drug dealing operations.

We are asking government agencies to enact stricter guidelines in prescribing methadone for any reason. It must be mandatory that all doctors be certified and trained in the pharmacology of methadone; inpatient stays must be required during induction to methadone; all staff be extensively trained in monitoring methadone patients for symptoms of toxicity. Clinic patients should be tested weekly for legal and illegal drugs that are taken with methadone to get “ high” or experience “euphoria” such as benzodiazepines, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana etc… and face severe consequences or mandatory detoxification from the methadone program after 3 dirty urines. Selling of take home doses must result in termination from methadone program permanently throughout the U.S. When presenting inebriated at clinic, clinic should also document such activity as well as prevent client from driving. Take home doses for all patients receiving methadone should be eliminated thus preventing the risk of diversion or precautions such as pill safe should be implemented. http://www.thepillsafe.com/

Current statistics show that nearly 4000 people a year die from methadone. These deaths are mostly happening to pain management and detoxification patients’ wit hi n the first 10 days of taking initial dose. Most of these deaths are related to methadone prescribed with other medications that react as additives with the methadone. Diversion of methadone is a serious problem because it lands this most deadly drug on streets. Statistics also state that methadone is contributing to more deaths nationwide then heroin and only second to cocaine deaths.

The potential of abuse, diversion, and overdose to new patients being prescribed methadone is overwhelming. The unique properties of methadone, it's long half life, and it's negative interaction with numerous drugs make it an optimal choice as a last result treatment for chronic pain and addiction.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely

Melissa Z.
www.HARMD.org
_________________
www.HARMD.org

Source: Shreveport Times

Reputation Comments on this post:

thanks for the tread, it is soo true

[JDreaming]

I'm a little worried that this website seems to exist only for the purpose of establishing that methadone is a "killer drug". I'd like to know what their exact evidence is that "Methadone is the #2 killer drug" is a fact. I also wish they'd name what the #1 killer drug is, according to them.

[dirkduck]

How is Methadone cardio-toxic? Aside from possible side effects of an overdose, I was under the impression that opioids were pretty much non-toxic...

[allyourbase]

methadone isnt a morphinan, dihydromorphinan, or derivative. it is simply an opiate agonist.

[Zaprenz]

Well SWIM would be interested in the science if any of the above was based on fact.

Still with alcohol and nicotine being 2 drugs that account for more deaths - can't see how methadone can be second.

Although I guess they may be talking about acute deaths from prescribed drugs, not prolonged exposure (nicotine) or intentional (paracetamol/acetaminphen) or death from intoxicated driving (alcohol)

[tenbob]

SWIM has used methadone for a while now on a reduction script and has found it to be a very useful way of, a) reducing his level of dependecy with a view to eliminating it completely and b) keeping away from street drugs which are wxpensive and vary greatly in quality.
By using methadone SWIM is ensured of a clinicaly mesured dose of a known substance. It is my understanding that methadone is only dangerous when the wrong dose is taken or if it is mixed with alcahol. People who die tend to be those who lack experience of it and are unaware of it's potency. Where I come from the doctor starts the patient on quite a low dose, one that would not cause an overdose in somone who didn't have any tolerance and then the dosage is inrcreased until the patient is comfortable. It is from here that they stabalise and start to slowly reduce.
As most deaths occur as a result of methadone getting on to the street illeagaly there may be some argument to allow users only to take it under supervision so as to reduce any possible suply to the steet. However SWIM is a responsible user of his meds and would pesonally be greatly inconvenienced by such a control.
The problem lies with the dosage not the drug its self.

[Dole654]

I'm pretty sure the idea of methadone's 'cardiotoxicity' comes from the fact that, when used repeatedly, its respiratory depressant effects seem to build up. I think I read that methadone's resp. dep. lasts longer than its effective pain management. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Dickon]

Methadone is cardiotoxic, at least potentially. "Its most severe side effect is the development of life-threatening Torsade de pointes ventricular tachycardia in the setting of a prolonged QT-interval." [Methadone-induced Torsade de pointes tachycardias: Christian Sticherlinga, Beat A. Schaera, Peter Ammannb, Micha Maederb, Stefan Osswalda]

I refer the reader to the above paper for further details: one quote though "....(the aforementioned)....is not an uncommon event"

No. I think there's something else than needs to be quoted:

The most common setting for the development
of TdP-VT is the addition of other QT-prolonging
agents, the presence of severe electrolyte dysbalances,
or the concomitant use of cocaine in patients
who are on chronic methadone maintenance therapy.

Just a heads-up to all those healthy living crack-smoking methadone addicts out there! SWIM never had any problem with the stuff, and thinks it's an incredibly useful drug, and that the above article (on the thread, not the paper) might mostly be scare-stories. However SWisM thinks that all knowledge on both sides should be fairly and accurately disseminated.

[H4U2C]

Originally Posted by allyourbase

methadone isnt a morphinan, dihydromorphinan, or derivative. it is simply an opiate agonist.

Methadone is actually a "synthetic opiod" The only others similiar are- Dexropropoxyene{Darvon}, Fentanyl and Pethidine{Meperidine}