Experiences - Methadone worse than heroin physically

[beena]

From day one of SWIMs methadone treatment she noticed how it got into her joints, much more so than heroin. SWIM was obviously started on a fairly low dose as is the norm in treatment. She was put on 25mls. The very next day I think SWIM noticed the effects when she got out of bed - her bones creaked. The next day it got worse and the day after that. It got to the point that when SWIM woke up in the morning she was so stiff she could hardly move. She would hobble out of bed with her body all hunched over and twisted like an old ladies and the first few words out of her mouth every morning were 'ouch, ouch, ouch!' ... And yet SWIM had never had these problems from heroin despite hearing how it got into your joints and bones. It was definately the methadone too because when she stopped using it the pain and this morning routine stopped too.
SWIM was told by her drug-worker that although she was provided with a daily dose of methadone, it should really last 48 hours. In other words if SWIM missed a dose for any reason she shouldn't suffer any withdrawal or ill effect for 48 hours. Sorry, but this is plainly bull ...
SWIM took her methadone religiously, every single day. She was expected to carry on using heroin to begin with - the clinic told her that but SWIM was determined not to and only used morphine tablets to deal with the physical withdrawal instead until they got her dosage right.
Unfortunately SWIM was a crack addict as well as a heroin one and she relapsed with crack. She always used heroin to come down from crack so every time she bought crack she had to buy heroin. The dose of methadone she was on was high enough to block the euphoric effects of heroin but SWIM still bought it out of habit.
The drug clinic where SWIM had to go to get her methadone was a good 45 minute walk. This was fine when SWIM wasn't using but once she relapsed it became a struggle. On the days that SWIM knew she was getting heroin she made a point of not getting her methadone either so she didn't 'double dose'. She figured this was fine because it wouldn't be more then 48 hours before she redosed and anyway she was having heroin which was an opiate and the whole reason she was taking methadone in the first place.
SWIM quickly realised that she had to treat the two as separate addictions. If SWIM took crack and heroin one day and skipped her methadone dose the next day she would be in sheer agony trying to walk to the clinic. 45 minutes would seem like 3 hours. She would be sweating all over, her skin shivery and clammy and her bones creaked when she walked, making every footstep an effort. She brought this up with her keyworker who insisted that it shouldn't be a problem. SWIM was made to feel like she was a weirdo for experiencing this.
But then she spoke to another methadone user at the same clinic. This person was a hardcore heroin addict who'e been addicted most of his adult life and was in his 40's. He confirmed what SWIM was experiencing. He said that he thought methadone was worse than heroin and if he missed a daily dose of methadone he was in agony. If he went a day without heroin though he was ok.
SWIM experienced the same. She can easily go a day without heroin and be relatively ok. A day without methadone though and she felt awful.
SWIM is so glad that she's off methadone. It wasn't a solution for her: it was just another addiction.

[Lisa J]

SWIM needs to take her methadone twice a day and she is not alone in this, perhaps SWIY has the same problem, though in SWIM'S case her fast metabolism means she has to re-dose with gear every 8 hours too, 4 hours for preference

[Junkhead23]

Methadone doesn't get into your joints or bones(this is a complete myth) also that it will rot your teeth is also a myth

[jon-q]

Swimmers should remember that withdrawl symptoms will affect people in many different ways,What symptoms may be felt by swi-me may not be felt by swi-you,this can also be the case when choosing which opiate/opiod to detox with,again what works for one may not work for another-but make no mistake withdrawls from long term use of "ANY" opiate or opiod can cause muscle pains these will of course vary from person to person.

Methadone HCL will not rot ones teeth-however the very high sugar content that is present in "Some" Methadone preperations will lead to tooth decay in the same way that anything containing a high sugar content will (High energy drinks and sweets e.t.c)

Methadones half life can vary on a massive scale anything from a few hours to a few days,This is why some people can take methadone once a day and others prefer to take it twice a day-When Methadone is used as a pain relieving drug some doctors may even recomend small triple doses be taken in one day rather than one larger dose,again this varies from person to person.

On a personal note swim finds the withdrawl effects from Methadone to be slightly less than that of Heroin but will last a lot longer.
Latters.....Q

[beena]

Originally Posted by Junkhead23

Methadone doesn't get into your joints or bones(this is a complete myth) also that it will rot your teeth is also a myth

Well SWIM's heard people say heroin gets into your joints and bones and others say methadone get into your joints and bones and others still say both do but SWIM never experienced it with heroin unless she was into her second or third day of withdrawing from it but the very next day after she had started methadone treatment and woken up from a good nights sleep in a very comfortable bed she practically creaked getting her. Its not the bones so much but her joints were very stiff and it wasn't until she had been moving about for a good ten minutes that it eased. It happened every day that she was on heroin and stopped almost as soon as she stopped using it.

Also regarding the rotting teeth thing: heroin can't rot your teeth but it does make some people crave sugar. SWIM has never had a sweet tooth but she started craving sweets and sweet sugary products like they were going out of fashion. She would wake up and have a cream cake for breakfast. Some days she had no main meals: just sweets. SWIM always remembered to brush her teeth though and took good care of them and her teeth never rotted. She doesn't even have any fillings. The reason some heroin addicts get rotten teeth is because they're craving sugary products and not taking care of themselves. Heroin can make you start to 'not care'. And also if you're caught up in a cycle of repeated drug use you might just forget sometimes too.
As for methadone, SWIM was told by her drug key-worker who prescribed her methadone to make sure she brushed her teeth as soon as she got home from the clinic having had her methadone. It too can make you crave sweets but more importantly if you are taking methadone in a solution (rather than concentrate) then the solution has a really high sugar content. Fact. It won't in itself rot your teeth but if you don't brush them regularly it will. Just look at how many heroin users have bad teeth if you want proof!

[Junkhead23]

Do SWIY not get sugar free methadone??? In the old days it was packed with sugar but now (Physeptone) is sugar free

[beena]

SWIM used to go to a drop-in clinic where she would get the concentrated form of methadone - the blue stuff - which is totally sugar-free, but at the weekends she would go to the chemist with a prescription. The bottled up green liquid methadone that she got from the chemist was methadone and a sugary-solution. The sugar content was very high.