Starting methadone...

[Robbo]

Hi guys, my mate sam is after a bit of advice...

Sam has had a heroin habit before, went to clinic n went on to subutex, sam was on subutex for 2 and a half years, got on fine with them, detoxed off them after sam lost her 2 weekly script, and had unfortunatly missed her last 4 urine samples, so did a detox with clonidine...

Anyhoo, sam has got a habit again, been to the clinic and she was meant to be starting on subutex on tues, unfortunatly the 4 nearest chemists wont do supervised subutex so it would cos sam nearly £20 a week to go and get supervised at a chemist where they do it..

Sams drug worker rang her up yesterday and told her this, so sam was offered methadone when sam said she couldnt afford £20 a week to do this, for next 3 months, sams on , off boyfriend has been helping her pay for her habit and sam is in alot of debt , and also has 2 children and it was just not really an option to go the clinic that would do it, so anyway, sam decided to get the methadone script, and this is starting on tues at the chemist that is 5 mins down the road from her....

Sam is now wondering if she was too hasty in saying yes to going on methadone, sam doesnt have any experience of it, and she is startin to get nervous, so basically sam is wanting to hear your experiences off it.

What are the good points ( not alot judging by what I have been reading up on lol ).. will it really make sams teeth fall out , can it make you gain weight ? I dont think that person knew what they were on about ...
Will sam be gauching all day when they have sams dose right ? How will sam know if sams dose is right ?
Alot of people have said it is really bad for you health wise, basically alot off people have said alot of shit n sam just wants 2 know what is truth n what aint..

I think sam is either starting on 30 or 50 mg, sam will find out for def tommorow when she picks up her script as it was too late on the fri after all the confusion with chemists for it to get sent directly there..

Sam has been using about half a gram a day, smoking, shes been doing it on n off for years since her subutex script finished ( bout 3 yrs ago ) and has had a full on habit for about 8 months now..

Sam is just really nervous, and is really wanting to be starting on sub again but aint alot she can do about that so I guess now she just needs abit of convincing that she is gonna be ok ????

Help

Robbo added 5 Minutes and 10 Seconds later...

Forgot too add, sam aint really into the scene if you know what she means, she doesnt go round with any other users, hasnt done since she was on subbys, sam also has her kids to look after, n just wants to feel normal with maybe just a bit of a nice feelin whilst on the done , is that poss ? Sam is also wanting to either go back to work or college, How do people get on with using methadone when working etc, can u lead a 'normal' ( whatever normal is haha) life on it ??

Thanks ....

Robbo added 20 Minutes and 13 Seconds later...

Sorry keep thinkin off things to add,

Forgot to say sam is in the uk, and she will be picking up from chemist everyday for 3 months, and then prob down to 3 days I guess ? and then weekly or 2 weekly i guess ?

Can you use heroin whilst on methadone? sam knows that it is apparently very easy to overdose but hse was wonderinf if her dosage isnt right to start off with then can she top up for the first week or so to stop her feelin like crap ??

Can she use in the morning before she goes n gets her first lot? Obviosly not alot but just so she feels ok to get down the road to get it..

Sam is feelin pretty pissed off cos she could of really done with havin all this out with her key worker but cos of the chemist situation she really aint got a clue!!!

[youdontknow]

n just wants to feel normal with maybe just a bit of a nice feelin

In swims experience with methadone that is exactly how it will make swiy feel. Swim has been on methadone for about 2 months now.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good answer, what i wanted to hear ..

[Robbo]

Thanks, thats good for sam to know, sam doesnt like feelin totally straight, obviously she likes the feelin of gear ( h ) and is gonna miss it, but she doesnt wanna be totally wrecked as needs to be able to get on with life as normal as possible but a 'little' buzz would be nice for her hehe...

[electrolingus]

If SWIY just needs a quick cheep detox, then a low dose of methadone (40-60mg) titrated evenly for 10-14 days should do the trick. If SWIY still wants to 'chip' on occasion and eventually ends up getting a habit again, quick detox from opiates using methadone will become less and less effective. Suboxone/Subutex is better suited for this. The question SWIM has is what is SWIY trying to accomplish? Detox or maintenance? If you're detoxing, why would you want to use occasional heroin while doing so? If maintained however on a low dose of methadone, then yes, it is possible to feel the effects of sporadic heroin use. Not so much with higher doses. Methadone does not cause your teeth to fall out. Proper nutrition is however important while on methadone. When used correctly, methadone is not the evil some people make it out to be. It does work and it is possible to stop when one is truly ready.

[Gappa]

It can cause weight gain/bodyfat accumulation. The craving for sweets is almost unbearable. It's a mothafucka to quit! That was the worst time of SWIMs life. 1 whole month under hot water feeling totally shit and still didn't feel like swimself til I started working out at the gym again. You really need to know what you are getting swiself in2 b4 you do it....
SWI I really wish someone had told me this shit b4 swiI did it.. Don't mean to scare you and it may seem "good" at 1st, but after a while it will start to show it's nasty "side effects" by then it's too late.

[ex-junkie]

swim wants to warn swiy, that using heroin on top of methadone will create a larger habit, and once on methadone the gear doesnt tend to work like it used to.

its a fucked position to be in, when swiy still wants to get high, but needs maintenance in order to remain stable from day to day. using heroin on top of methadone usually results in needing to increase the dose periodically.

50MG or less of methadone isnt hard to get off of, using temgesic (burprenorphine) in swims experience. swiy will have a harder time getting off of methadone if they are on upwards of 100MG.

keep all of that in mind, and think about whether or not swiy wants to continue using heroin, because this decision ultimately affects any treatment plan. on methadone it becomes costly to get "high", and if swim uses heroin too often, their methadone wont hold them as well.

swim also put on weight when she went on methadone, however she lost it all in about 10-14 days when she detoxed.

:/

[Gappa]

ex-j has a good point. m-Done has a very high affinity for the opioid receptors in the brain, meaning swiy would have a very hard time trying to get off using H or any other opiate for that matter. For example.. When swim was on M-done he would blow thru 20 oxy 80s and even then barely have a nod. Swim didn't take his meth for 2 weeks and still couldn't get off. It can be done but the amount needed is just ridiculous. Swim is sooo glad he is clean now... Swim gave it all up, even nicotine, several months ago. 9 months on m-done and was pure hell to come off of. Coming off H is easier in swim's opinion simply because the wd's don't last nearly as long, granted they are more intense at first but 1 month of feeling shit is just too much.