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If you are on heroin for three months how much methadone do you need to not go through withdrawal?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Methadone will not cure your heroin addiction. It will only keep you from going through withdrawal if you continue taking it. Once you stop taking the methadone, you will start going into withdrawal.
Methadone, as well as Suboxone, are opiate antagonists. They feed your physical dependence on opiates, and they block an opiate high, so even if you relapse and start using heroin again, you won't get high on it. Heroin, Suboxone, methadone, opium, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, codeine, etc...these are all opiate drugs (made from the opium poppy). Methadone (as well as Suboxone) is just an opiate that won't get you high. It helps you quit getting high, but it does not cure or get rid of your physical dependence on opiates.
When you are ready to stop taking Suboxone, you wean yourself off of it very slowly, usually over a period of several months. I would assume the same is true of methadone, but I have never taken methadone, so I don't know too much about it.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoI used one to two grams a day to stay well injected. I am on 120mg a day. I live a normal life again. I have been clean for 3 months.
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Is there any advice about methadone maintenance?
If at all possible, try suboxone or kratom instead. Methadone is even harder to quit than heroin, with withdrawal effects that can last months or years. You may be on it your whole life, and there may be times when you can't get it for whatever reason -- in which case you will suffer greatly.
Can a person really quit heroin?
Depending on how high your dose of methadone is. If your on a low dose, yes you can. If your on a high dose than you would need to do more heroin but the high only lasts a few minutes, therefore being a waste of money. IMO
What if you stop taking methadone?
You will go into opiate withdrawals for 1-4 months. The reason it is so long is because of the half life methadone has. It is a horrible drug I suggest a one week suboxone taper then it will be about 8 days of Suck but manageable. A big factor in withdrawal from methadone is the amount of time you have been on it. If you have been on it for several days or weeks the withdrawal should not be much worse than a heroin withdrawal. If you are on the methadone for several years, than you are in for a real challenge! Difficulty with sleeping is one long term symptom of withdrawal from methadone after a long time on it. After the initial withdrawals begin to wear off, often difficulty with sleeping is a big problem. The next big factor is the dose you were on. If you are on methadone for maintenance treatment, today the methadone programs often allow very high doses of meth. Sometimes in excess of 200mg. To get off a dose like this, especially if you were on it for a dose, a very slow detox, and taper, especially when reaching less than 10 mg is optimum. When dropping off to nothing, sometime clonidine, a blood pressure med, is given. It seems to help with withdrawal. If you weren't on meth for a long time, maybe several weeks, a couple of months, a detox from the dosage you were on is suggested. Actually, if you were not on methadone for a long time, and the dose you were on was not too high, the withdrawals seen with heroin will occur; restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, craving for methadone, chills, fever, no appetite, sneezing. These are the most common. It may take a couple of days more than heroin for the withdrawals to pass, 7days, maybe 10 for the symptoms to fully subside. I have heard, that the flu like symptoms with methadone is actually a bit less than a heroin withdrawal. The bottom line is it can be done! I have done it myself after being on it for years. It is difficult, but It is possible to obtain abstinence, even prolonged. I am not a big fan of methadone, there are other treatment modalities using heroin to treat that addiction, but that is another story!
Does every baby on methadone go through withdrawal?
yes, they can be born addicted. every mother and every pregnancy is different. i know of a baby born to a mother that was already using methadone when she became pregnant. the mom had been on methadone for 4 yrs at the time of pregnancy, passing urine screens and following clinic rules. the dose during the pregnancy was 60mg/daily. the first day, the infant showed no withdrawal symptoms. the second day, however, the baby's pediatrician started giving the child methadone. it was a very small dose(0.5 mg twice a day). within 2 months, the baby was off the methadone. the doctor tapered him off it 0.1 mg at a time. thankfully, the child suffered no permanent disabilities and is now thriving.
What are the best treatment options for a heroin addict?
There is no cure heroin addiction you have to go cold turkey without heroin for 7-10 days which is arguably the most hardest thing anyone will do in there life or you can take methadone which acts on the dopamine receptors which gives the feeling of pleasure like heroin but after your not addicted to heroin anymore the chances are you will be addicted to methadone which trying to stop that addiction takes months of pain and agony, so just don't do it hope this helped
How long will 30 mg of methadone block opiates for?
I am on methadone and have been for years. I am also taking college courses, one being Psych Substance Abuse and Addiction. The answer is until the methadone is out of your system. It may take days, weeks, or months. For me, it would take months, but if you took methadone but you're not used to taking it, probably a few days or so. Methadone does block the effects of heroin, which is why a lot of people use the methadone maintenance treatment programs. If I were to try to use heroin tomorrow, it would just be a waste of time and money because I wouldn't even feel it, and I would hella pissed, which is the purpose of it blocking the heroin. The withdrawal from methadone can take weeks or months, and it's more intense than heroin.
Can you take methodone after the expiration date?
I have been taking methadone for 2 months, and it takes about 36-72 to leave my system. I once tried taking suboxone 12 hours after taking 60mg methadone and it sent me into "precipitated withdrawal." It was honestly the worst hell I've ever been through in my life. I wish I would have had a gun; I would have killed myself. The withdrawal was insane and the worst of my life. I would say quitting methadone is 10x harder than quitting oxycontin. The withdrawal is unreal. Talk to a doctor before stopping your methadone use or else you're in for the bad, bad pain.
Do you have any withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking Methadone?
Oh wow! THat is an easy answer, absolutely yes! The severity of the withdrawals symptoms depends on how long you have been taking the methadone. If you have just taken it once, (which is highly dangerous, deadly even) then you should not have any withdrawals that you notice from the methadone. However, if you had been using heroin and then used methadone for one time, you will still have another day or two, depending again on how long you have been taking the other opiate such as heroin, of withdrawals. Now, if you have been on methadone for an extended period of time, say two weeks to a month, you will have withdrawals that are a bit stronger than heroin. However, if you have been taking methadone, either prescribed or otherwise, for longer than 2-3 months, you can guarantee that you are going to go through some horrid withdrawals. If you know what its like to come off of heroin or the strong pain pills, this withdrawal is about ten times that. It is way longer and way more intense. Let me give you my example, I was on methadone while I was pregnant, about 6 months, and then I got off of it about 2 months after he was born, so a total of 8 months, approximately. I even detoxed in 30 days from 65 mgs. I did not feel like myself again for at least 6 months after, and at first I could not eat or sleep, I lay there staring at the ceiling, but I couldn't stay still because it felt like my nerves were being tickled at all times. THat was the torturous part about it, the nerves. I puked and had diarrhea for the first couple weeks, and about a month into it the worst of it lessened. However, the nerves part of it and depression, so many things held me down. It was really bad, and I hated every second of it. I am on methadone maintenance again, and I am so scared of the time I will get off it. It has been a blessing for me this time, though, because I haven't used in 2 years and I started working toward my degree a little over a year ago and I'm still going strong. I have a muich better relationship with my kids and my family now, and Im looking for a job now that I know I can hold one. Methadone Maintenance can be a blessing for the right people.
Is methadone stronger than heroin?
In ways... It last way longer and is far more easy too overdose on caus ppl think its safe and really all methadone is a strong painkiller.. If you dont have an opiate toleance dont mess with it... It can easily kill in small doses if some one is just looking to catch a buzz
How long does it take to recover after you stop taking methadone?
Acute methadone withdrawal can last for up to two weeks, depending on the degree of addiction. Methadone metabolism produces long-lived metabolites that are also narcotic and create withdrawal symptoms. The best method involves SHORT TERM Suboxone therapy, preferably inpatient, with other medical support. Post acute withdrawal can last for several months, and ideally involves other kinds of care, principally emotional support, nutrition, exercise and medical evaluation for symptoms that may have been covered up by the addiction. Recovery is a different issue entirely; it involves getting our emotional, physical and social life back to something like normal and, depending on how hard we are willing to work at it, can take from a few months to a couple of years -- to never.
What is the difference between methadone and suboxone for drug addiction?
That all depends on the individual. some people get a rx for suboxone and use it for detox . and than some people are in a lot of pain and than end upp back to square one because they are on methadone for pain get physically dependant and suboxone does help with pain but does not help for chronic pain but if your r gives you suboxone and he knows that you where abusing the meds he may start you on three times a day for suboxone and you could be on it for a year. Peolpe who abused by needles are mostlikey looking for a high and should stay on methadone to prevent spreading diseases and because it helps to block other opiates from being injected by cluping up and not allow you to inject it.
Does methadone help with withdraw symptoms from opiates?
Yes methadone will greatly reduce withdrawal symptoms. However methadone is an opiate. So going off of it will also cause withdrawal symptoms. The advantage of methadone is that it is long lasting, lacks the same initial rush of heroin. This makes addictions more manageable. It also reduces the risk of overdose.
