It’s time to clear up the confusion about tapering methadone. Listening to all the different advice on this topic can make your head spin, and even worse, leave you still feeling uncertain of how best to do it! In an effort to bring clarity to this matter, I’ve compiled a crystal clear, easy to follow methadone tapering success guide.
I’m going to set the record straight and shed much-needed light on a topic that is, quite frankly, not common knowledge. Here are the best tips for getting off methadone, pitfalls to avoid and ways to minimize symptoms.
Why you should Listen to me
You should listen to me for many reasons, but mainly due to the following:
- I was addicted to heroin and pills and successfully quit.
- I used methadone to finally end my addiction.
- I went on to become a Substance Abuse Counselor at an Opiate Treatment Program where 90% of the patients were on methadone.
- I helped many of these patients get off by devising strategic methadone tapering schedules.
- I can teach you what the people who got off successfully did, and how you can duplicate their results by modeling them.
What NOT to do
Before moving on to tapering methadone success tips, I feel that it’s essential to first review what not to do. After working with so many patients on methadone, I noticed patterns in the ones that failed at tapering. I also observed patterns in the ones who succeeded.
Here are some of the commonalities in patients who did not succeed while tapering methadone:
- Their main motivation was “I just gotta get off this stuff”.
- They were still using illicit opiates, or only clean for a few months before starting their taper.
- Most still had easy access to their dealers if needed.
- Few of them were working some kind of recovery program.
- The majority tried to taper methadone too fast. Whether the reasons were financial, having to come to a clinic so much, side-effects, family pressure etc.
- Almost none had changed the way they thought. They still linked pleasure to using opiates (TIP – you need to link PAIN to using opiates).
- Most were unemployed, not enrolled in school.
Note: Unfortunately, for most of these patients their time in methadone treatment was merely a vacation from heroin. To be successful getting off methadone, there are certain guidelines that should be met.
Success Leaves Clues
Modeling is the process of adopting the language, beliefs, strategies, and behaviors of another person in order to achieve the results they have gotten, which we too desire. For example, let me tell you a story about a girl named Marla.
She had been trying to lose weight for years, and despite multiple diets, was still unhappy with her health and body image. One Saturday while shopping at the mall, she saw a new diet book that looked promising. The book was written by a woman who had been overweight and lost 50 pounds in six months. Marla decided to give it a shot, thinking to herself, “what have I got to lose?”
The book contained the exact diet plan the author used. It also contained her strategies, rituals, beliefs and behaviors regarding health and weight loss. Marla copied everything the author did. She ate the meals recommended, and she started to think and behave like the author did in regards to dieting. At the end of six months, Marla lost 46 pounds and totally changed her life! This is the essence of modeling. Do what someone else has done to get the results they have achieved.
I suggest you harness the power of modeling by studying people who tapered methadone successfully without returning to active opiate addiction.
Here are some commonalities of the patients that I witnessed tapering methadone and staying clean throughout the process:
- Most had never gone above 100 mg of methadone medication.
- They were usually in Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) for 1-6 years.
- Most had jobs they were happy with or were in school.
- Almost all of them had been clean for over one year.
- Most of them had a strong support system – e.g. family support, 12-step support, friend support.
- All of them linked pain to using illicit opiates. In my opinion the single most important factor.
- Almost all of them tapered slow. They never rushed it and accepted that they would be in treatment for a long time.
- They maintained regular attendance and for the most part made it to scheduled counseling sessions, which is a vital part of the process.
- They had hobbies, interests, and structure in their life and didn’t get bored easily. Boredom often causes a relapse.
How Long should I be Tapering Methadone for?
The length of the methadone tapering schedule should take into consideration many criteria, the main two being:
- The amount of methadone you are currently taking, and how long you’ve been on that dose.
- How long you’ve been on methadone for.
Slow tapers have been shown to be more successful than rapid tapers.
According to the presenting doctors at a conference call put on by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the following methadone tapering guideline was used as an example:
- Decrease by increments of 10% of your daily dose every 1-2 weeks until you reach 1/3 of the original dose. At that point begin tapering methadone at half the previous rate.
Note: This is generally a good method to use, however, many other methadone tapering schedules will also provide good results.
According to the book Methadone Maintenance: A Counselor’s Guide to Treatment, the following criteria should also be followed:
- Don’t go faster than 5 mg per week.
- A reduction in the rate of methadone tapering should be considered when reaching 20 mg.
- Tapering should be stopped or reversed if you experience significant withdrawal symptoms.
Note: I’m also of the author’s opinion in these regards. I would always tell my patients that a general rule is “the lower you go, the slower you go”. For instance, if you start tapering methadone from 65 mg at a rate of 4 mg per week, it would probably be wise to slow the taper at around 30-40 mg.
*Most of my patients generally didn’t complain of intolerable symptoms until they reached this point, which I called the “threshold”. After reaching their threshold, I would recommend stopping their methadone tapering schedule completely until they stabilized. This would often take less than two weeks, although some never got used to the lower dose.
My Advice on Tapering Methadone
- Always listen to your body.
- Don’t rush it.
- Don’t obsess about it.
- I often saw the best results when patients decreased every 10-14 days, as this gives the body longer to adjust to the decreases.
- Go slower towards the end of the taper.
- Don’t start tapering methadone before you’re ready. I often saw patients pressured by loved ones to get off methadone due to stigma associated with it.
- Make a plan, but be flexible enough to adjust it as needed.
- Work closely with the doctor, and your counselor (if you attend a methadone clinic).
Example of a Long-Term Methadone Tapering Schedule
- A man in MMT decides he’s ready to start tapering methadone. He has been in treatment for two years, and at his present dose of 80 mg for six months. He’s been clean for one year. He drops 5 mg every 10 days until reaching 50 mg, at which point he slows to 3 mg every 14 days.
- He continues this protocol until he reaches 32 mg, at which point he starts having difficulty sleeping. The lack of energy interferes with his work so he decides to stop the taper completely until he stabilizes. After 10 days he stabilizes and begins tapering methadone 2 mg every 14 days until he reaches 10 mg, at which point he slows the taper to 1 mg per month.
- I know this may seem like a long time to some people, but the people that I saw get off and stay off methadone tended to use a protocol similar to this one. In reality, there are usually more breaks in the taper for them to stabilize before starting again.
Example of a Short-Term Methadone Tapering Schedule
- A woman in a methadone detox program has been in treatment for three months, medicating at 35 mg daily. She has been clean throughout treatment. She decides she wants to start tapering methadone. After talking to her counselor and meeting with the doctor, she starts going down 3 mg per week which takes her to the six-month mark.
- This completes her 180-day methadone detox program. I will add that only rarely did I see someone have this kind of rapid success, though it did happen.
Common Physical Consequences of Tapering Methadone
The most common symptoms are perspiration, achy muscles, insomnia, lack of appetite, restlessness, cravings, and fatigue. Many of my patients used Vitadone, a supplement specifically for people on methadone, to reduce these symptoms. Many of them said it helped with the sweating and fatigue.
Common Psychological Consequences of Tapering Methadone
Feelings of grief, loss, fear, low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety are among the most common psychological symptoms of tapering methadone. I noticed that many patients would doubt their ability to come completely off methadone, and as a result, became completely paralyzed towards making any progress.
Best ways to Reduce these Symptoms
- Start taking an Opiate Withdrawal Supplement when you get down to between 10 mg and 30 mg (whenever the symptoms become unpleasant).
- If you can afford it, I also highly recommend taking this awesome supplement, because the benefits are just too good to pass up.
- Exercise regularly to stimulate the production of endorphins, the brain’s natural painkillers.
- Qigong, an ancient Chinese form of exercise, is one of the least known but most effective ways to reduce symptoms from tapering methadone.
- Focus on eating organic, unprocessed whole foods and consume enough water – Divide your weight in pounds by two and that’s how many ounces to drink on average.
- Talk to a counselor, therapist or coach.
- Attend support groups on a regular basis.
- Have a support network of sober friends.
- Write your feelings in a journal.
- Take medications prescribed by your doctor to help while tapering off of methadone.
- Meditation, acupuncture, tai chi, yoga, and herbology can be extremely effective for methadone tapering.
The Power of Identity
I believe the main reason that success rates are higher after being in MMT for two years or longer is due to the power of identity. I witnessed first-hand how people radically changed their lives from taking therapeutic doses of methadone and staying clean over time, which often led to a change of identity.
After a long time in treatment, when they started tapering methadone they were so far removed from their old drug-using lives that the thought of illicit drug use was out of the question. These were no longer people who you would ever think were addicted to drugs in the past. In fact, if you saw them in public, you wouldn’t have any idea they were taking methadone.
If you’re thinking of getting off methadone or have already started tapering methadone, I hope you’ll use some of these principles and come back to this article for reference as needed. If someone you love is tapering methadone, I encourage you to give them all the support in the world, as this is likely one of the most difficult obstacles they will ever be faced with. Click here now to view my best home detox program.
If you have any questions on tapering methadone, please don’t hesitate to leave it in the comment box below.
Due to Degenerative Disc disease & hacked up lumbar surgery I’ve been in pain management for over 10 years using Methadone as a pain reliever with 9 of those years at 40 mg daily ( 20 mg morning & 20 mg evening plus 10mg of Oxycodone 3 times a day for breakthrough ) As our country continues to battle this heroin epidemic the FDA is cracking down on all opioid prescriptions & doctors now have to score ( yes score , & every medication is scored as morphine ????? ) & reduce most patients. My Methadone was dropped 10mg daily then after two months of that 10 more, so with 10 mg twice a day plus the Oxycodone, I decided it was time I quit taking Methadone. So I reduced from 20mg daily to 10mg for two weeks then broke my 10mg pill in 1/2 to 5mg for two weeks to 0. Now I know without my Oxycodone to help I probably couldn’t have done it like that , but I just wanted to quit. Now with saying that I’m on day 5 and still have affects from it, that hollow feeling inside, snappy , sweats & those damn restless legs when trying to sleep ( what’ up with that ??!!! ) But I’m sticking to it. I feel for but applaud everyone who is going thru it. I say to myself when it’s bad, AND THIS TO SHALL PASS 👍
Is it easier to get to 0 than come off of 2.5. Because I stopped at 2.5 and I still felt horrible and I want to go back and get to 0. I think I did it too fast or I didn’t get adjusted to the dose.
I tried both. I was so anxious to just be done after tapering for so long. I stopped at 3 and was miserable for four days before I decided to start taking my dose again. I went all the way down to 0 this time and it was WAY better and far easier to deal with. Good luck!
Hello,
Could you please help with my situation? I am on 120mg, have my take homes, been on the clinic for 4 years this go-around. I have never been more ready to come off of it. I have gained 45 pounds, and this has devastated me and my relationship. I have been clean from relapses for 2 years and just graduated with my social work degree and got an amazing job which I love. I am 35 years old and have no children, by I desperately want to try to have them, but NOT on methadone. Needless to reaffirm, but I am ready to come off. I want to do it fast. As fast as possible, expecting to experience *some* discomfort, but be still able to go to work. I have a weeks worth of sick days that I could use, if it gets very bad, but I obviously want to avoid as many symptoms as possible. I understand many people will say slow taper, but I am willing to experience some discomfort to come off of this as quickly as possible.
Here is the scenario that I am thinking, *hoping*, will work for me:
Decrease my dose 10mg every week. (I have my takehomes, and have been wanting to taper for a while, so 6 out of 7 days I take 100mg. The day I dose in, I have to take 120 of course).
Once I get down to 70mg, quit taking methadone and begin a Kratom dosing schedule as well as the supplements Matt suggests.
Stabilize on kratom for 3 weeks.
Begin Kratom taper as Matt suggests.
Begin the next chapter of my life!
Thank you for your help in advance! I literally was scared, depressed and hopeless until I found this site 2 days ago. I am so sick of being constipated, even though I drink 80 oz water a day, take fiber, drink detox digestion teas, sick of being sweaty, even though I take 3 Vitadone tablets a day, sick of being overweight, even though I workout vigorously 3 days a week and get 150 min. of additional moderate exercise the rest of the week, sick of being sedated and all around gross feeling! Never been more ready!
Thanks again and blessings to you all.
p.s. This is the second time I am posting as it did not appear the first time. The same thing happened to me yesterday on the blog post about Methadone Weight Gain and Opioid Induced Endocrinopathy. I thought maybe posts had to be approved by a moderator, but when I saw another post I made on the Kratom blog post appear, I had the foresight to copy my comment today before I posted it, just in case it happened again! Just thought you might want to know, Matt. Cheers
This might be the worst idea I’ve ever heard.
I agree!
I agree! I don’t think switching to Kratom when you are only down to 70 mg is a very good idea. I would just continue the methadone taper and I wouldn’t taper at home unless the clinic doctor has approved it. It could be dangerous and on the 7th day you go from taking 100 mg for 6 days straight then go up to 120 mg when you have to go into the clinic it will be noticeable stronger which would trigger the feelings of being high and if your trying to taper you especially don’t want to confuse your body and trigger old feelings and the euphoria of an opiate high. I know once you stay at a dose for about 2 weeks you don’t feel euphoria or high from it.
Hey guys! Wow, looking back and reading that post, I was desperate to come off. I am happy to say that I have been Methadone free since March 12th. I had so much methadone backed up from pulling it out of my bottles, Dec. 13, 2018 was my last day to dose and get my weeks. But yall were right! I tried to switch to Kratom at 70mg, and I didnt last more than one day! So I did a little more research, tapered down a bit more and “comfortably” swapped to Kratom at around 15-20mg. Anyway, just wanted to post an update. I am back here looking for natural insomnia remedies, as that has been the most debilitating PAWS symptom. love & light
Just a quick question .. I’ve been on methadone for 5 years .. have done awesome! My thing was prescribed pills never did herion thank god ! But I’ve been tapering for years ! Went from 90 mg now down to 3 mg .. my question is will I have bad withdrawals if I stop at 2 mg? I’ve been going down only 1 mg every 14 days for years and I don’t think it will hurt to stop at 2 mg. But I work now and don’t want to effect my job ! But I’m paying $220 for this dose the same as I was paying for the 90 mg
I am in the same situation. I’ve been on a blind taper for years and I knew I was low. Only a drop in the bottle. I just went on vacation and guest dosed and they put the dose on the bottle…. I’m at 2 mg. I knew I’ll eventually go in to get my dose at my home clinic and they’ll say ‘bye’ ( they don’t actually kick you out. My clinic offers aftercare counseling services for up to a year). But I guess I’m sort of freaking out because for years I never knew what my dose was and now I know. I know it’s in my head but it just feels really weird. And the $280 a month for a drop really hurts.lol
Hi Matt! Thank you for this great information. My husband and I are both in the MMT program and it has been a real lifesaver for us. We were both addicts for about ten years, and when we met we had both been trying to stay clean unsuccessfully. Together we spent a year in Las Vegas doing heroin and making bad decisions. We finally decided that our lives were going nowhere and that we needed to get clean once and for all. We came home to his family and started a suboxone program after trying to go cold turkey. However, suboxone did not work very well for either of us. We were still having serious problems with depression and major drug cravings. We ended up doing a lot of other drugs (not opiates) during that time. Then we discovered methadone. Within the first week of using it we both felt drastically better. Now we have been doing MMT for about 4.5 years and are considering starting to taper. Neither of us are concerned about relapse, as we both feel that we have “turned that corner” and our minds are no longer in the addict state. Our biggest concern with tapering is the potential for major depression to come back. We both started using opiates as a way to deal with crippling depression in the past, and we experienced it with suboxone too. However, since being on methadone neither of us has had any kind of major depressive episode. It certainly seems like methadone is the cause of that. So the main reason I am scared to taper is the fear of depression returning as it is a huge hindrance to my life and something I do not ever want to experience at that level again. Is there a way to help deal with potential depression during/after taper? Is returning depression a common issue with folks who taper off methadone? Do you have any information or suggestions about this for us?
Chronic pain patient hashimoto’s and fibromyalgia was given 60mg of methadone tapered all the way to 10mg and my body is freaking out. My dr wants me to go from 10mg to 2.5 mg within 30 days. Why is this affecting my body so bad? I’ve been on methadone for 12 years. Why is it effecting me so bad at the end? When I’ve been successfully tapering off. And now my body is freaking out on me.
Hi Matt.
Thank you for this information. I believe it will help me a lot.
I am looking to come off of Methadone. I have been on it a little less than a year but almost a year so about 10 or 11 months. I have quit opiates before with no Methadone and just went thru the withdrawl symptoms for about a week and then didnt use since and I would of done it this time being on opiates instead of going on methadone however I was pregnant and was told that if I went into Withdraw then there would of been a chance I would go into early labor. I got back on pills during my 6th month of pregnancy because I was prescribed percs for hip pain ( I couldn’t walk). However I went on Methadone and my dose now is 115mg. I have not used anything at all since being on Methadone. I want to get off for many reasons and 1 of them being financial, I cant afford $100 a week at all real honestly I cant even afford it for the time it will take to tamper but I have to cause I have to do it the right way like you said but I am terrified of going thru withdraw. I am a single mother and have absolutely no help with my daughter and I can not be in a position where i cant be to sick to care for my daughter. What would you suggest? I understand it will take time but ideally in your experience coming off of that dose 115mg, typically how long would it take to be completely off of it and have minimal withdrawal symptoms? I mean I totally understand I will feel uncomfortable at some point but I will be strong and get medicine and push thru. Please give me some professional advice or your professional opinion on how it should be done.
Not sure what state u live in but they have grants out now
My son is in a methadone treatment program, but he’s still using drugs every few months. Sometimes heroin, sometimes meth. I believe he uses the methadone to hide his heroin use because his pupils are always tiny on methadone so I have to rely on other symptoms to tell. He of course always lies about it until he’s absolutely busted. He’s an adult so of course the counselors at the clinic won’t talk to me and he says he’s been honest with them when he’s relapsed and they just make him come in more frequently. He’s never really worked a program, he continues to get contacted by people that he’s used with in the past. Everything tells me he’s not really wanting to be sober in a serious way. I want him to just get off the methadone because it’s not really stopping him from using and he’s using it as an excuse for why he has tiny pupils. He has been maintaining a job, but isn’t working a recovery program and recently he’s been taking money from his fiancee (oh yeah, he’s supposed to be getting married in 5 months.) It seems like we’re just headed down the same relapse road he’s always on. (Can it be a relapse if you’ve only been sober for a few months at a time or is it just continued using mentality with short periods of not using drugs?) Any suggestions? He’s 29 and been using drugs of one kind or other since mid teens. He’s been through treatment 5-6 times already.
Most people would call it a “slip” but some, such as those in 12-Step Program, would call it a relapse. Regardless of the terminology, if your son is using heroin or meth every few months even on top of methadone he appears to be having a hard time staying clean. That is very common in methadone programs. Many patients go there because they don’t want to get off opioids, and don’t want to go through withdrawal, yet they often don’t want to stop getting high, which is why many methadone patients still use drugs in the program.
There are also patients that use methadone alone and stay clean from all other drugs. It really depends on each patient’s goals, skills, and support system.
One thing I know for a fact is that it’s almost impossible for a person to help someone get clean. From my experience, the addict either needs to have high levels of motivation or high levels of leverage.
A leverage example would be a judge in court telling the person they have to stay off drugs and test clean or they will go to jail for a year. Or a CPS worker and family court judge saying you have to stay clean to get back custody of a child you lost custody of.
Thus, unless a person is highly and internally motivated to stay clean and create a better life, it typically won’t happen, and that’s when leverage is the only thing that can work, but even leverage doesn’t stop severe addicts from using drugs still many times.
I’m sure it’s really hard for you to watch your son continue to make poor decisions and not make as much progress as you’d like to see. People tend to use drugs to mask pain, whether it’s physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or a combination. I wonder what type of pain or trauma or emotional issues your son is trying to numb or self-medicate with drugs?
I have been on methadone for about 4 to 5 years I got my monthlies ar lease 3 years ago and at this point I take 4 to 5 bottles of 80 mg a month when I’m supposed to be taking 80 mg every day… I am recently tapering off right now and I’m on my 4th day going on 5.. How long do withdrawals last in my situation?
I would find out what he wants in life and what’s making these decisions. And then help him find his way, he has to want it himself or it’s no point
I have been clean from heavy heroin use for a lil over 2 years now. I was a very high functioning using addict. My family and friends never knew or found out about my street drug use. My husband was a heroin user before I was. He went to prison for 3 yrs about 3.5 yrs ago & I quit using shortly after that, I then started methadone for my 2nd time then 5 weeks later got arrested for something so stupid. I chose the 1 yr drug court program to avoid having a record. It was the best choice I have ever made. I was given an amazing counselor and she helped me change my life. I started to WANT TO NOT WANT THE DRUG anymore. Yes, read that again: I wanted to not want it anymore. I think that is what saved my life. I quit using heroin right about the time our city started swarming with Fent laced heroin overdoses. Ppl were/are dying everyday in record numbers. I got stronger and went up in my dose of methadone, leveled off at around 120mg. It was too much, I went down to 100 then eventually to 60mg then 40. I stayed clean, kept going to counseling and finished drug court. I began my 1st taper then about 1.5 yrs after getting clean, I went down too fast. I was going at about 1mg a week, I got to 15 mg and suddenly went into withdrawal in what felt like overnight. They put me right back up to 40mg almost immediately. I stayed there for another year. I wasn’t prepared before & went too fast. I had began 18 months of dental work at a college that does low cost dental work. All of my 20 cavities developed while on the heroin then methadone for nearly 2 years. I wanted off even more as I was gaining weight rapidly, 100 lbs in total over the 2.5-3 yrs on it. I had changed and so had my husband, We were really only ever together as using addicts, I had fallen out of love with my husband while he was gone. I decided I just wanted to be single and alone. I will remain alone until I have addressed all the needs I have fir my own health & well being. I weigh 297 now and have other health problems too that require me to lose this weight & have multiple future surgeries on my back. I began my new Taper at 40mg about 10 weeks ago, the fastest I will go down is 1 mg every 2 weeks and I can pause or take as much time between mg’s as I like. I intend to continue at this pace until I get to about 25mg or so. I will then slow it down to about 1mg every 3 weeks then probably 1 mg. Every 4 weeks once I get in the teens. I would rather go really slow then risk falling into withdrawal like I did before.
I am determined to be successful at this taper as methadone causes me a lot of terrible side effects, facial flushing, loss of eyebrows & eyelashes, excess sweating, joint pain, worsened lumbar arthritis pain, tooth decay, weight gain, low energy, no sex drive, some moody depression, extreme swelling in my hands, and a few others too..
I wouldn’t change what I’ve done to get clean tho, I would probably have overdosed and died by now had I kept using.
The best advice I can give is find a good counselor you can actually really connect with, if the methadone counselor doesn’t click fir you change counselors or go to outside counseling through your insurance or at the Y if you don’t have insurance. One if the best counselors I have ever had when my dad died in 1999 was from the YWCA, utilize that help, you don’t know everything and you sometimes benefit just from verbalizing your own thoughts & feelings to someone that gets it.
When you do decide to taper, go SLOW. Slow, patient and relaxed wins the end game. Rushing won’t get you anywhere but back at the beginning.
Best wishes on living clean & healthy..
Hi Larkin,
Thanks for writing such a detailed and helpful post. Those side effects you’re speaking of are symptoms of something called Opioid-Induced Endocrinopathy. It’s the most common disorder from methadone yet almost none of the people that work at methadone clinics even know about it.
Here is a great article on it: http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2093682
I had male patients that said getting their primary care doctor to prescribe testosterone helped this a lot, and in the article above, this is what the researchers recommended for males.
And what you said about having a good counselor is awesome. That really is a key component. Wishing you the best, Larkin. Take care.
Thank you for taking the time to write this article. I am a 32 yr old, i was prescribed opiots and when i decided i didnt want to take it anymore my dr transfered me over to a methadone tapper. After moving to a new dr, she feels the methode my previous dr took on detoxing me off my medication given that i wasnt abusing my meds, it was i who wanted to stop taking them, and because i was only prescribed for around a yr and half, so he made a bad judgment on taking me off my medication this way. But alas i am here. And i was placed into this clinic who kept taking me up to 180mg of methadone daily. The clinic dr is rarely in as the dr is the only one for multuple clinics so shes only is available a few times a month at best. Ive been on ohase 6 (13 bottles of take home at a time) for yrs. I started the clinic in october 2010. Not knowing much about methadone and bc i never dropped dirty i glided by and was never detoxed exocept when i personally made an appt to see the dr (which took a month and half) bc i was on too high of a dose at 180mg for a female of 99lbs. I detoxed to 82mg going 1mg every 2wks until i needed surgery where they held me and ive been here at 82mg ever since. My councler and the dr (mind you in the 7 yrs ive been going there ive had about 8 different drs and 6 different counclers come and go) say ive been on it too long and i will probably be on this for life. I feel discouraged and terrified at the same time. The point of me being here was bc i was tired of being prescribed opiots and though i know i have chronic pain, its something i wanted to find other ways of resolving. Now here i am yrs later on another form of narcotic, being told bc i waited so long to detox fully this is where i stay. Im terrified of how bad the withdrawl will be. Ive never experienced withdrawl before. I am concidered an “easy patient” at the clinic bc ive never dropped dirty i always come to all.call back with my appropriate meds. I never had an addiction like most who go there and so i just glided by and was never taken seriously when i asked to detox except for the 1 time when i detoxed 100mg and they held me sayimg i had to hpld due to surgery i was having at the time. You seem like a good councler who truely cares about his patients and getting clean and staying clean, which unfortunatly ive never had. Do you think its possible for me to detox after all these yrs? And if so, how bad do you think the withdrawls will be? Back when i detoxed the first 100mg i went very soley and i didnt have 1 stmptom of withdrawl. Thanks for your help!
I’m so so sorry they ever put you on it at all. I smell the grounds for a malpractice suit in there somewhere but for now getting you to a taper is the best thing you can do. Your current dose is way higher than you need to maintain and ward off general withdrawal anyway. I’m close to 300 lbs and on 35mg a day. I maintained at 40 for iver a year. The trick is tapering very slowly. I would suggest a very slow taper, maybe 2 mg every 2 weeks to start and see how you feel when you’ve gotten to 70mg. If you’re feeling ok and no real withdrawal symptoms keep that pace going for a while. When you get down to 40 mg slow it up even more, go to 1 mg every 2 wks like me. Then at 25 mg go to 1mg every 3 weeks and once your at about 18mg go to 1 mg alternating every 3 weeks then 4 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks like that. I know it seems really slow and neand being on it for another year or so but hey you’ll be working towards a goal in the right direction instead of just maintaining indefinitely. Anyone that tells you you’ll probably be on it for life shouldn’t be practicing medicine. I would ask for guidance from your pcp and an outside counselor for help too. They absolutely NEVER should have put you on nethadone to taper pills.. My clinic won’t even take pill abusers, they only take heroine and fent abusers, opioid street drugs.. I am so sorry they landed you in this position. These clinics are businesses for profit, the longer they keep you on it the longer they get paid.. Our clinic here in MD has pretty tough rules to prevent that sort of thing happening here. You may want to even see about getting transferred to a different methadone clinic if you have that option in your area. Best wishes!! You can absolutely do a successful long taper and don’t let anyone tell you any different. When they do tell you things that insinuate that get them to give you that medical recommendation in writing. Tell them you just want to have all the info when making the best decision for yourself with your pcp.
So sorry .. I’ve been the easy patient too and my counselor has even said she hates to lose me smh !! But I’ve been on it for 5 years started tapering from 90 mg a few years ago .. only 1 mg every 14 days .. I’m down to 3 mg now ! U can do it don’t let let them tell u other wise
i am worry get off i been on it 29 year. im sick what off.
Hi Matt- Excellent information. I could use some advice:
My 25 y/o son is coming home from the hospital after messing up has hands and arms from needles. He has enrolled in a substance abuse program which provides Methadone (started 3 days ago). He needs to go clinic daily for his Methadone (40 mg).
I need help with a plan to keep him away from the people he was hanging with and keeping him away from other triggers. I want to play military drill instructor and take away his car to help facilitate this. My wife disagrees.
Can you offer anything?
Thank you.
It’s very hard to help a person that doesn’t want help. So I’m hoping your son is highly motivated to stay away from those bad influences. Kids naturally want to rebel against parents anyways, and opioid dependence is a difficult obstacle.
That being said, methadone should enable him to feel good and not want to use opiates anymore. Taking away his car is certainly a way that can prevent him from going to hang out with the wrong people if he cannot get places by walking.
You are smart to want to help him avoid those triggers. The main thing that takes addicts back to using is STRESS. If they can eliminate stress in their lives, and develop healthy and adaptive coping skills for stress they have a huge advantage.
Just make sure you have compassion for your son, treat him like a sick person rather than a bad person, and help him alleviate stress. Maybe take him bowling or out to the movies? That kind of regular fun stuff with family members and friends that don’t abuse drugs is some of the best therapy.
I would IMPLORE anyone who is dealing with opiate withdraw to look into Kratom. I’ve been a member here for years now and I’ve finally found solace in the Kratom plant. I was on 120mg of methadone daily and I’m now down to 30mg and tapering completely off of methadone in 3 months with the help and guidance of my physician. I never thought I’d be 100% off of opiates until a few months ago and I feel like I’m “back.” And lots of help from this community too. Reading stories and hearing from you all have helped me tremendously. Much love
Kratom is a great herbal remedy for withdrawal. I hope it remains legal. Here is an article I wrote on it:
https://opiateaddictionsupport.com/how-to-use-kratom-for-opiate-withdrawal/
Quick update: last post I was on 30mg of methadone, now I’m on 20mg! Thanks to determination, being in the right state of mind, and having Kratom to help alleviate 90% of withdraws! 💜
Wonderful news Tbone! Thanks for sharing my friend! 🙂
Another update!
I stopped taking Kratom (just used it I think more as a mental crutch) but getting off this last bit of methadone is HARD! Again, I truly believe a TON has to do with your mentality not only going INTO your journey off opiates, but being able to be strong enough to GET OUT of this Methadone life!
I am now on 12mg of Methadone daily, with next month going to 10mg and so on.
This has been tough. Full disclosure I tried to get my doctor to have me stay at the same dose for another month – but he wont let me give-up on myself.
The deal is constant lowering every single month. I had a cry in his office telling him how hard beeit’s been, and in return, he gave me a “pep-talk” and told me how proud he was of my success this far.
You HAVE to be strong-willed. There is no pill, vitamin, nothing that is stronger and will make you succeed. Yes, I fell weak for a moment, but I wont give up. And neither should ANY of you. Prove to yourself that YOU are stronger than the drug! BECAUSE YOU ARE!
Much love, TBone
Hi sir I am same age and in same place my father bought me a new car give me money etc and to be honest it’s harder like that I say if I had money I’d do good but I always end up using I don’t know wha is 100 percent right but everyone is different you can be a little hard but always make sure you tell him everything how much you love home and how much it hurts you your a great parent
Hi. Im was on 90mg a day for about a year and a half and i am currently tapering at 1mg per week which i feel is a little too slow ( i think i am gonna bump it up to 2mg per week and see how that goes.) I read that you suggested not to taper more thab 5mg per week but the article also suggests that you decrease by 10% of your dose every 1-2 weeks. In my case that eould be 9mg. so it would be 4.5mg a week which is pretty close to your limit of 5mg. If i was lets say on 120mg then 10% would be 12. So 6mg a week which is over 5mg but it follows that 10% rule. Im just curious which piece of advice is the formula to follow?
Hi Pablo,
The article is for informational use and every person’s situation is unique. There are many different ways you can taper off methadone or even transition to other opioids and then detox from them instead. This article had a few different techniques to use, and you can use them to come up with a protocol that you think will work for you.
And once you try the methods, if they are not getting you the results you want, you can change up your approach. You basically just keep trying methods until you find one that works well for you, then stick with it.
Thank you for clarifying matt. I also wanna say i appreciate not only the article but the fact that you actually reply (very quickly). There is so much nonsense on the web about methadone in general but tapering in particular. Is there a specific method that seems to work the best in your opinion?
It’s my absolute pleasure Pablo. I love to help. And there are many specific methods that work well. One complaint I’ve heard a few times from my website is that there are too many options and some people get confused as to what they should do. Others enjoy the variety and ability to find something they believe will be a perfect fit for them. I would just browse though this website and look through the different “Categories” to find articles that relate to your situation. There is a wealth of free info here to assist you at reaching your goal.
Key word there “STICK WITH IT.” Man….Is that hard…I keep trying with methadone pills. But once I take a few days off and I’ve stock piled a few extra BOOM I take em and “get high” for the day. And back to square one.. So frustrating….So next week I get my monthly Dones and I’m gunna give 60 of my 10mg tabs to someone so I won’t be tempted. It’s the ONLY way for me. I might actually throw them away. I’m powerless against opiates if they are in front of me sometimes..
That’s a great method to use. Have someone else ration out your dose. That’s how I got off opiates the last and final time. Had my mom give me 4 methadone tablets each morning for 7 days, then got off and I was able to ration my Valium fine for 3 weeks as I wasn’t addicted to that, but only using it for opioid withdrawal symptoms.
I used to be the exact same way…..until my husband bought a combination safe (a small gun safe for your car $30) he rationed them to me everyday for 2 years until 1 day he didn’t need to anymore…..he said he could see a change and trusted me. (That is an awesome feeling) I believe if you start to just take them as prescribed for a long period of time (stabilize) then think about tapering. Good luck and God Bless
I’ve been doing the SAME THING FOR YEARS!! I take 6 pills instead of 8 for 3 days, then BOOM! I take 14 and get high WOOHOO… Yea it sucks. The loop of that goes on and on for YEARS unless….. Unless you do what I just did..
I get monthly Dones in 10mg pills.. Since I know I can take 6 a day instead of 8, I got my monthly, and “gave” them away (for a few bucks I admit) to a friend and now I can’t stockpile anymore. You HAVE to take that step for yourself..
You know that feeling of “Damnit, WHY did I get high today/yesterday when I just took less for 4 days straight? I’m such an idiot!” That feeling goes away and is instead filled with “I am SO PROUD of myself that I went down 20mg this month for REAL!”
If you can do it- JUST DO IT. Mind over matter on this one. You got this.
I so wish that I could find somewhere that would use that approach of prescribing a different opiate, shorter acting, to get off methadone. Not that I’m in a huge rush to get off, I know any approach will take awhile but I metabolize it faster than normal so no matter what dose I’ve been at mornings have always been rough. But my blood levels have always been just low enough to not qualify for split dosing, the Dr’s at my clinic all said if it were up to them they’d approve it based off my symptoms but state and Feds require you to hit a certain ration, so fucked up. I’ve been clean for a couple years and slowly tapering my dose and I admit I’d love to be off ASAP but am okay with it taking awhile to be successful, just wish I could split dose or be switched to another opiate so I wouldn’t be useless until I get my dose in the morning.
That method works really way. I used it to get off Suboxone many years ago. Here is an article on exactly what I did, which may help you glean insight into what you could do to duplicate my awesome results:
Why Getting Off Suboxone Was Easy For Me>>
Hi. I have been on methadone for 8 months and sober for seven. My life turned around quickly. Back to work new house, car and first grandchild! Needless to say methadone saved every aspect of my life. But of course with my past comes consequence. I have been fighting legal issues with the unfortunate outcome of going to jail in November. I max’d out at 140mg. When i found out in august that jail was possible i didnt want to withdrawal in jail. So in order to be off in time ive had to come down 10mg weekly. I held off at 50mg for about 3 weeks till i knew for sure jail was happening. Then started back again. I blind dose so i dont know what day it happens cause i psych myself out. But i feel it for a few days every week. When i hit 10mg this week and stay for a week the 7th day its over. 10mg isnt much but im afraid. What happens at 0? Will withdrawal be bad? My main problem is pain. I was in a bad accident in 2015. The methadone was my pain control as well. Feeling the real pain for the first time is excrutiating and effecting work and life. My fear is that while in jail i will suffer but when i get out…will i be able to deal with it forever. Im told i can get back on methadone but why? Why put myself through opiate addiction again, even controlled? Over counter barely touches. Vivitrol for cravings is great but it doesnt fix the pain that once again is going to disrupt my life ive built over last 8 months!
Hi Angela,
I’m sorry to hear about this situation, and I’d like to help. I’m going to provide links to a few articles which will really help you figure this all out:
16 Epic Natural Painkillers To Use Instead Of Opiates>>
How To Get Off Methadone Without Withdrawal>>
How To Stop Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome From Opiates>>
Please let me know if you have any questions after reading these articles. There are a superabundance of natural remedies that can help you feel much better while coming off methadone, and that can reduce your pain levels.
Unfortunately what’s not talked about is while going through withdrawls emails especially and experience spontaneous orgasm which keep happening constantly and are not pleasant. I’ve been on methadone for 15 years but only sober for 11. But what I remember from going through with drawl when I was younger was sitting in a room and masturbating for hours and hours and hours with no relief. And extreme anxiety, pain ,vomiting ,diarrhoea ,not being able to sleep goosebumps So bad that it felt like your hair hurt plus extreme agitation and aggression. But that was cold turkey not tapering… so my question is with taper is there anywY to avoid the constant sexual arousal and anxiety? Because honestly ice cubes up the vagina doesn’t work very well 🙁
Sorry I had a typo using the voice converter, I meant to say in femails especially not emails lol
I have been in a methadone program for a little over two years. My PCP was giving me 120 pills of the 10 mg Vicodin per month for fibromyalgia and carpal tunnel pain and of course I became addicted. I have had a few surgeries and other things where I’ve been prescribed Vicodin for pain and they didn’t really help due to tolerance and being on the methadone so I don’t know if I really should be tapering, but since I didn’t feel that Vicodin high its branded in my brain that they won’t be fun anymore anyways. I originally started on 60 mgs and currently on a taper since I am ready to be done. I am on 31 mgs and I’ve been dropping down 2mgs per week and last week I had to hold because I am having withdrawl symptoms. The worst part is the ANXIETY!! I can’t stand it..I have been on and off of benzos for nearly 12 years and the doctor at the methadone clinic had me taper off of them since they are so dangerous to mix with methadone and I ended up having a seizure while driving my car. So getting on benzos again is out of the question. I’m already on gabapentin and it doesn’t do shit for my anxiety..I’m super FUCKING stuck..any ideas anyone? And please don’t recommend natural vitamins, supplements, or exercise because I do all that already…..Sincerely Anxiety Girl!!
Yeah the anxiety is my biggest hurdle to getting off of methadone, I’ve been on it for 15 years but only off of drugs for 11 years. I need to taper ( I’m about to lose coverage and with 4 kids I can no longer afford it, plus where I’m moving the snow in the winter is crazy and going once a week to pick up my carries might be an issue) I’m so scared about the anxiety cuz even if I’m pretty late for a dose my anxiety is through the roof.
After smoking opiates (oxy codene to heroin) for a few years, I got pregnant and was instructed to go on methadone at 5 mos pregnant. They started me on 50 mm and raised me to 60. My baby was born addicted to methadone and weined off with morphone. She is fine at 2mos now. So now at 6 mos on methadone, I would love to start tapering off. My counselor suggested that I stay on methadone longer before I start tapering off. I was told that 6 months on methadone may not make me ready to live drug free after so many years of drug use. How do I know when I’m ready aside from wanting to be drug free.
Hey Salena, so I’ve been on methadone (unfortunately) for about 5 years? I felt the EXACT Same way as u and wanted to taper off after about 10 months. I truly thought I was ready. But for me personally, I had no idea half my brain was saying “get off it now and live ur life!” And the other half was saying “just try it and you’ll find out your not ready.” I needed to let these little demons of wanting to get high again out of my body. And sure enough a few months later I felt like I wanted to get high! And if it weren’t for being on methadone, I don’t know what would’ve happened. And when you start to taper, those bad thoughts creep in your mind FAST. And HARD.
However I do feel that after a year or 2 (or 3 lol) most people should be tapered in every way. Now that I’ve been on methadone for 5 years I know I’m ready. I know I’ll have those thoughts pop in my head again, but now I feel like they aren’t as strong as they once were when I first started methadone.
Idk, I’m rambling and I know everyone is different. But I’d give it a little time to let any bad thoughts start to get weaker and weaker. When that happens- JUMP ON THAT CLEAN WAGON GIRL! And I hope to follow u! ✌❤
Thank you . . this week I dosed down to 55 from 60. I’m not feeling withdrawals but I am very tired most of the time. I have joined a gym and go as often as I can. I don’t want to be on methadone anymore. I too am so scared of the temptation sneaking back into my brain.
I’ve read so many stories where people say that these methadone clinics would love to see us remain under their treatment for the money. I don’t know what to believe anymore.
7 months on methadone is not a long time but my fear is that the longer I stay on it, the more addicted I’ll be and the harder it will be to get off.
In my mind while on methadone, I genuinely believe that I will never return to drug use again. I have surprised myself and family by how much I love and enjoy being a mom. My child has become my life and the thought of losing her by returning to drugs makes me sick to my stomach and frightens me so much.
Thanks again for your advice. It makes sense. Haste does make waste.
When and if I begin to feel discomfort as my dose goes lower, I will not be stubborn and will increase a bit if necessary. It scares me to bitter end to even imagine getting cravings as the methodone is decreased.
6 months is not nearly enough time to start a taper….
Heres my experience. Hopefully it will help people avoid my mistakes and mimic my successes at the methadone clinic.
For me, like most, it was pills to heroin, and i went to the methadone clinic after about 7 years of the pills and dope use.
Months 1-3 at clinic. This is by far the most vulnerable time for you at the clinic and at this time you are experiencing your dope cravings at their worst. Whats even more messed up is that the clinic will let you keep going up up up on your dose just by telling them you are uncomfortable when they do their morning checkup on how you are feeling before dosing you. I went all the way up to 110 milligrams (started at 30mg). How do they expect someone who is coming off the street fresh from using to make smart decisions and not go up on their dose unless absolutely necessary. Their brains are completely programmed that more is better at this point in their addiction. This is the most flawed part of the clinic and if they would just cap doses at lower ranges i think it would help people a lot. I digress….
Months 3-12
Cravings are still there frequently. Just focus on getting through each individual craving, rather than thinking “I’ll never get through all these cravings!” Your brain makes you think that the cravings wont go away but everyday you get through, the cravings truly do get less and less. Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and before you know it you’ve been at the clinic for a year
Year 1-2
By now your cravings have gone down to a very manageable level and have started to become an afterthought. The real problem here is that the methadone will have vicious side effects. I went from 170 lbs to 210 lbs. I was bloated, I craved junk food and sweets to the point where i almost had no control over it. And the worst side effect by far was the sweating. Randomly throughout the day my entire head would heat up like an oven and pour sweat. I looked like Shaq at the free throw line. Try explaining that when you are out to eat, at any social event, etc. And when you do any form of exercise, even walking for a small distance, sweat everywhere
It got so bad that I stopped hanging out with friends and going out. Completely. I was a recluse. The methadone also wreaked havoc on my immune system. I was getting sick at least once every other month. Vomiting and sweating like crazy. I was written up at work because of missing so many days. This was now my life. Still better than using dope everyday though, by far!
Year 2-3
After 2 years my cravings for dope were completely gone. And I mean completely. I didnt ever think or want to use at this point. The weeks flew by and I was still a bloated, sweaty mess just existing in life. Maintaining, but with no path to excel. I felt like my lifestyle was somehow justified because I wasnt using heroin and i had been clean for awhile at this point. I never felt good. I always just felt okay or shitty. One day around the 3 year point I was laying in bed, sick to my stomach. My girlfriend (now ex) walked in and I’ll never forget the way she looked at me. It wasnt pity, it was pure disgust and shame all wrapped up into one. The man she once fell for didnt even have the strength to get up out of bed. She was so fed up with how I was living and how I was okay with it that she left. (A decision im glad she made because I was dragging her into mediocrity with me.)
Year 3 to Now (almost 4 years at clinic)
I cant really pinpoint when it happened but one day shortly after my 3 year point at the clinic I knew in my head that I was ready to give a taper a try. I started going down 2mg each week. If I kept this rate I knew it would take 55 weeks or 1 year 3 weeks. I was so fed up with my mediocre existance that I used all the depression and negative thoughts as fuel. I channeled my feelings into the gym and started working out. It was just one change but it was a complete springboard to my current success. I was on a mission and something clicked in my brain that wouldnt allow me to fail. When I got all the way down to 50ish mgs it was like the fog was lifting and the world was starting to become a bit more colorful in a sense. The feelings of fatigue had turned into excitedness. I was so motivated because I could finally see how much more this world had to offer. The life of isolation I had created was now like a taboo thought to me. I wanted one thing and that was to reach 0 mgs and start the life that I always wanted
Today: I have tapered all the way down to 12 mgs so far (from 110mg). I have 6 weeks left at the methadone clinic and then I can finally remove this ball and chain. I feel like a completely different person now. I have lost 35 lbs, and am looking fit as hell, if I may. I found a new job that is very physically demanding and is helping me stay fit and energized. My testosterone is through the roof now (methadone must start to surpress it at higher levels). I feel like a teenager again. Nothing will stop me from getting through these 6 weeks and the feeling of hope that I have had for the last few months is a better high than any I have ever experienced.
The methadone clinic is the definition of a double-edged sword. If you dont absolutely need to go up on your dose, please dont. Going up 5 milligrams takes 1 day. Going down 5 mgs takes 2.5 WEEKS! (At 2mg/wk).
A lot of the people there will tell you that you wont be able to do something, simply because THEY couldn’t. Prove them all wrong. Be a beacon of light for them. You never know when an action you take will completely change someone elses life. I am hopefull that more people will find the strength to get fully clean and stop accepting a life of maintenance, but instead strive for excellence! Its in us all!
I will follow up, in 6 weeks when I reach 0 mgs. See you at the top, its beautiful up here.
So!! I’m curious.. how were the days to weeks after tapering all the way down ? I’ve done It the right way and I’m on day three no done. RLS and feeling disconnected but not too bad. Anything I can take to help ?
I myself was addicted to perks for five years and after they had no effect on my pain I stepped up to oxycontin. 20mg – 40mg 80 ng day. Then my doctor who originally advised me to be careful withe the drug. [ my mother when I was young would tell me to be careful crossing the street]. Seems trivial. I’m not genius, but I am reasonably intelligent and can’t understand why I didn’t realize that I was taking synthetic heroine. My doctor said that he would not be prescribing me the oxycodone tin I agreed it was time to stop. After four hrs it felt like my skin was peeling off I couldn’t eat I couldn’t sleep. Not to mention the pleasant diaharia that accompanied the already horrible withdrawal. You can’t lay still your legs are twitching. ( that’s where they came up with the term kicking the habit. My skin looked like a freshly defeathered chicken. Goosebumps. Hot / cold flashed and constant depression of my financial a Nd everything I lost. And the agony of my joints. I started buying them of the street just to feel normal I went into a detox where not once was I advised on methadone. Why? It still puzzles me to this day. I lasted 24 hrs and b lined it to my dealer I went to detox a second time and started reading about methadone as a harm reduction therapy. And a way to to taper off. As it eliminates the withdrawal. But no referal. I finally called camh, a wonderful organization. I spoke to the coulcelor and ended up on the floor sobbing telling her I will be dead if I can’t get off this garbage of big pharmacy. Her answer. Let’s try methadone.
Within one week my life took a turn for the better. I was financially bankrupt because of this hillbilly heroin but I started living again. Socializing. Playing my guitar. And my wife, thank God took me back. Everything was going good. I wanted to be rid of this addiction as methadone us more addictive than the magic pills. I was at 120 mg, so I started to drop 5 mg a week, wich is ok at a high dose. But as you reach 40-35 mgs it’s a high percentage to drop. And I had to increase my dose back up to 90mg. Then one if the wisest doctors I’ve ever known said to me. “ok Rob you’ve just wasted six months. I’m going to tell you how to do it right. Firstly you didn’t become addicted overnight, and it’s not going to go away as fast as you want it to. He said 1 mg a week for 90 weeks. Almost two years. Wow that’s a long time. But you know, I decided I would try. Actually we dropped 2 mf week for the first 20 weeks and then then 1 mg a week after that. When I got down to 7 mg a day I tried taking it ever second day with no withdrawl. And at 5 mg. I went on a trip to Tobago. I waded out to a sand bar and dumped the remaining glass doses int that beautiful blue ocean. In hi d sight I hope o didn’t make addicts of any idea the fish. And that is ha how it is done slowly even if it takes a year or two.. And that is also how methadone e saved my life.
The only criticism I have is for that lame ass detox that didn’t even have the concideratiion to educate me on the only treatment that has successfully weaned addicts off this shit. I mean if I knew about it I could have resisted the 7 days of abstonance, (prob spelled it wrong) needed before a referal is given. Wake up you are supposed to be professional frontline addiction workers if I hadn’t stumbled on to the info myself. God only knows ows where I be. I praise camh for their tireless and professional and conduct and the respect they showed me as a humann being and not a peace of trash
Your story is was at very encouraging !! I have been in MMT for over 6yrs. I was at 135mg…now I am at 32mg. I have learned not to listen to people at the clinic !! Most are very negative. I only go every 2 wks , so I have recently been tapering 1mg every 2wks. I also get sick alot. Thank you for your story and good luck !!
Hello! I have some questions. I have been taking methadone for almost 3yrs. (10mg ) oral at night. I got to a pain clinic due to me living in pain daily. I also am on perocets 2xdaily. Recently the methadone has not been helping, so my doctor took me off of it. Told me to cit my dosage in half for 4-5 days amd I should be fine. Well that wasn’t the case. My body has been having terrible with draws. I’m not for sure as to what to do to make this an easier process. Scared that now body will be come addicted to the other meds due to me having to take them more now, to be able to feel some what ok. If there is anything that can be helpful to me so my body don’t be come dependent of the pther pills please help. The doctor did switch me to morphine (15mg) at night but they do not help with my pain so I’m no longer going to take them , I’m not going to put something into my body if its not helping. Hope to hear back! Thanks!! Stephanie!!
Hi – Due to 3 major back surgeries gone wrong, and can’t stand very long, the Dr.’s have had me on oxy and methadone for over 10 years now. I’ve got down to 20mg methadone and 30mg oxycodone but am stuck here. The symptoms are bad enough to not want to go through them and deal with all of life’s problems at the same time, but am troddging on. Your attention is always on how you feel and it’s fricken draining trying not to yell at people all the time. Your jacked up from what I’ve researched, the body secreates too much testosterone and cortisol. I’ve never done heroin but am feel bad for people dealing with withdrawals all the time. For me they literally screwed up my back surgeries. To keep for paying for the 2nd surgery, the back surgeon literally left town for Florida with my Cats-scans. Anyway this plateau is fine for now but getting below it depresses the hell out of me. Tried everything including Macapuriens, B-Vitamins, passion flower, Kratom, which by the way just maintains the receptors level of where your at, and doesn’t let you go lower. It just substitutes for methadone, and doesn’t let you wean down further. Tried gabapentin, which takes the symptoms away totally, but loses it’s impact over time. Will probably use it I go cold turkey. I want to keep weaning so as not to disrupt my schedule anymore than already doing, but the body isn’t stabilizing it seems. This is a pretty tiring problem, if not a bad problem. Dr.’s and big pharma should stand behind this drug and help you get off them, but they don’t seem to care much as to how your doing.
Hi, I’ve been on methadone for 5 months now. started at 20 and am currently at 45. I want to come off it now bc i don’t like the side effects from it. I’ve put on 25 lbs and have always been slim and had a fast metabolism. I have a doctor appointment and am going to get him to start tapering me. Ive been reading about a vitamin called vitadone. Its suppose to help for sweating, constipation and energy levels. I am in PEI, Canada and am wondering if this works and where it can be purchased besides online. Hope to hear from you. I thought methadone would be the answer but I had been on pain killers for 5 years then stopped for 4 without methadone. i did a valium taper but last year i slowly got hooked back on pills and figured i needed methadone. I found out that being on methadone and being completely sober are totally different. I felt one million times better being on nothing at all. Also i remember the withdrawl symptoms and wondering what you would recommend. that is the hardest part is not giving in! I hope to do it this time and put all this behind me.
Heather,
I too used a product like vitadone, it was called nutridone. It is a supplement designed specifically for methadone users to help the side effects of sweating, constipation, lack of energy and sugar cravings. However, I was on suboxone, not methadone. But my side effects (especially the terrible sweating) were so annoying that I was desperate and this was suggested from a methadone patient. Thankfully, it worked for me too! In the US there are methadone clinics that offer vitadone or nutridone to their patients, and some vitamin stores carry it. I don’t know where the products are available in Canada. You could try calling the maker of vitadone @ (205) 991-3316 or nutridone @ 877-443-5774
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
I find that Vitadone does work. Takes away the side effects from Methadone.
Good morning Matt
I am a counselor at a methadone clinic is California and have used a augmented version of your tapering(1-2 mgs every 14 days and depending on there dose and amount of time in treatment 1-2 mgs every 21 days in the end it is all about listening to there bodies and letting them stabilize and drift off slowly pain free. ) with a few patients and have had some good success. As you well know in the end it does have mostly to do with what they actually desire as well as being prepared mentally themselves to be free from all illicit substances . i stumbled upon this by accident and was amazed at how true this was. Unlike all of the biased stuff you can find on line about methadone
Thank you
Joey Noble CADCII
Sacramento Ca
I’m in quite an easy and difficult situation. I was a VERY heavy pain killer user (36 tabs of 30mg immediate release oxy and 2 tabs of oxycontin daily) prescribed by a Dr for years. After getting tired of it I saught help for my addiction and have been on methadone 80mg daily for about 4 years now.
I am VERY ready to be done with all of this and put it all behind me. I am a medical student now and graduate in 12 months. I’m VERY excited about my career and my future and would never ever go back to the dreadful oxy life.
I would like to quit methadone by myself without telling my doctor just to see how well I tolerate this and to not be on “his schedule” rather I’ll be on mine, doing it at my pace. I get monthly supplies of my methadone as my addiction came with having 16 procedures to my back. So I feel like this is very doable. I’ve been waiting for the “right time” when i knew I was strong enough to tackle this on my own, and it’s about time!
So being on 80mg a day for years now I’m planning on starting at 70 (1less 10mg pill a day) which will not be a big deal as I had gotten down to 60mg just to see if I could do it about a year ago.
So 70mg for 2 weeks, then 60 for 2 weeks. After that, I’m thinking about splitting that in half to 65mg for 2 weeks, 60mg 2 weeks. Until hopefully 40mg. It is at 40mg where i am on just enough to not go into horrible withdraw so I’m very timid about getting to 40mg.
At that point, I’m going to have to slow down as much as possible and as you stated, I’m going to have to stay on 40mg for a few months at least I think. I know that’s my threshold. But then continue my taper til I’m DONE!!
That’s the plan anyway! I would like to know what you think as I don’t really have a sounding board to bounce this idea off of but I think it should do the trick! I am looking VERY forward to being off for GOOD and leaving this mess in the past!
I look forward to your replies! Thanks for reading!
TBone
Tbone,
Since you know that 40mgs is your threshold you know that at this dose it may take time to stabilize. Months may not be necessary tho.Many of the withdrawal symptoms occur because of the lack of the neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins. Preparing now for this can help reduce these symptoms. Eating healthy(a high protein diet) and getting plenty of exercise is what I recommend above anything. I found that the supplement DL-phenylalanine (dlpa) helped the process of tapering tremendously. You may want to consider the withdrawal aid supplement formula, Calm Support closer to the end of your taper and for a little while after detox. Meditation is another great thing to add. This helps increase dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. “Mindfulness” meditation is used in rehab facilities around the world and has a great impact on both recovery from addiction as well as combating withdrawal. Good luck in your future endeavors. Keep us updated.
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
HI Mary Price – This is a great reply. I’m Jerry, with the comment a couple above T-bone, and just wanted to add a couple of things that are really bothersome to me. I’m 64, and like T-bone, I’ve had 3 major lower back surgeries and have been on oxycodone and Methadone for 12 years. I’ve been pretty stable at 60 mg methadone, and 75mg for this period and started tapering about 2 months ago. For the last 3 weeks I’ve got down to 20mg Methadone and 30mg Oxycodone a day, but find the last 3 hrs waiting for the 12th hr to come up for dosage to be very hard with a lot of anxiety. My pain has been very bad all these last 12 years as they put in a bone dowel (6″ x 1/2″) from the last vertebrea to the sacrum which along with the 4 level fusion ( all hardware taken out in the last surgery in the late 90’s) and the bone dowel has caused my lower back to curve (scoliosis) and also to twist causing a huge muscle on the left side to grow, and the body not understanding all this to try and compensate. Hard to explain but the gist is that there’s been a lot of anxiety to deal with this and the Dr. had me on clonozopam for a few years of which I didn’t like to much and got off of them, but have enough left to use in in 1/4 pills to help with the anxiety of this threshold. The threshold is the problem right now and can’t go back up and can’t seem to go down, so I thought these clonozopams is very small doses might help. I remember reading Matt having valium which helped him. I’m a vegan and have been meditating strictly for 10 years and can vouch for what you said about it’s help. Also I’m going to try more quinoa for the extra protein. It’s just the 2 to 3 hrs leading up to the 12 hr dosage of 10mg Methadone and 15 mg oxycodone, making 20mg M. and 30mg O a day, that is very hard. I thought after 3 weeks the threshold would get easier but it’s not. Thanks
Try taking the Full days dose of Methdone at the same time. In your case 20mg. My experience is that this works much better than taking 2-3 Times a day as Methdone works well for at least 24 hours. Just my experience so Only a suggestion. Good luck!
Hello matt. I’ve been tapering off methadone for a quite a few months now. I’m down to 3mg and I feel great. Basically I just want to know what to expect after my last day. Am I going to go through withdrawls too where I can’t even sleep. I’m excited and scared at the same time. I can barely find any success stories explaining how people felt and what helped them. Most are horror stories. Just wondering if you could give me anything top look forward to.
Brittani,
I’m sure you’ve heard this before but….everyone is different. Just remember that it key to have a Dr to prescribe any necessary comfort med for symptoms that are too bothersome.
You got this! Congratulations!
~
MARY
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
A lot of PCP don’t know what to prescribe for patients tapering off methadone..I should know I’m at 4 mgs and went to my PCP and she had no clue so I went and picked a DO Doctor who specialized in internal medicines and she has no clue also…So now I find myself on the Internet in hopes for good information…I know not all Dr’s know about what to give for someone tapering off methadone to help….So can you tell me a Doctor who would be more knowledgeable that can prescribe Meds to help?
Dawn,
A phsychiatrist may be your best option, especially one that specializes in addiction treatment.
I’ll give you a list of prescription medications that have helped many fight opiate withdrawal. Some of the symptoms that each help, may not apply to you. Research these meds so that you’ll know the risks (some create dependency) and you don’t want to take one that conflict with another. You’ll be more informed and be more knowledgeable during conversation with your dr. Here is a list of meds and what they’ve helped others with:
1. Clonidine- probably the most common works for many symptoms * the NIH (NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH) says adding the herb Passion flower to Clonidine makes it more effective
2. Gabapentin (neurontin)- many symptoms- dependency can happen. -OR-
3. Lyrica (pregabalin)- many symptoms
*Controlled substance
4. Benzo- anxiety
*Controlled substance
5. Dopamine agonist drugs often prescribed for Parkinson disease patients Mirapex, Requip- help with rls, energy (along with one of these, many find adding wellbutrin helps with energy and moods)
6. Sleeping aid
7. Lomotil – this is a diarrhea medication that is a schedule V controlled substance (chemically related to the narcotic analgesic meperidine) that some Dr’s will put patients on at the end of the taper of buprenorphine (suboxone) or methadone. Seems to work well if taken only when/if symptoms are severe.
When you see your Dr you may want to discuss whether he/she will write medication as you taper (so you can have them on hand) or if he/she will see you without an appointment to get help for symptoms as they occur. If you’re upfront with the Dr maybe he/she will trust your judgment and see your determination to quit methadone. Be aware that dependence to some of these meds can occur. It’s best to use them cautiously.
One thing that I think is missing in treating opiate addiction by today’s standards is Overall health. Whether it’s methadone, suboxone or any other opioid, our bodies and especially our brains have been drastically affected! Think about it….do you eat/drink healthy? Probably not; most of us don’t. Getting your body healthier and eating the right foods (also, vitamins and supplements are helpful) will also help heal the problems opiates caused in our brain chemistry. Three of the chemicals effected by opioids are endorphins, dopamine & serotonin.
Endorphins are “feel good” chemicals our bodies release under extreme pain or pleasure. They are like the body’s own opiates. When opiates are used, natural endorphins stop occurring. It’s time to get your body to start producing its own endorphins. Vigorous exercise and enjoying exciting activities can help. Try: music, meditation, laughter, sunlight, sex, acupuncture, massage, bicycling, swimming, etc, to raise natural endorphins.
Dopamine bursts from taking an opioid is 2-10x more than the natural amount of dopamine produced by natural rewards. Once a person stops opioids, the lack of dopamine causes the most painful withdrawal symptoms. These physical symptoms can include: rls & fatigue. Symptoms of low dopamine can also be lack of motivation, “flat” moods, mood swings & depression. There are dopamine producing amino acids that can help (dlpa, l-tyrosine, l-dopa). There are foods that aid dopamine production : legumes, nuts & seeds, avacados, bananas, green leafy vegetables, beets, dark chocolate, hot Chile peppers, turmeric
Serotonin affects your sleep, body temperature, sense of well-being. Being deficient in serotonin causes anxiety, depression, insomnia. The supplements 5htp or St Johns wort can help produce serotonin.
This is probably more information than you were looking for, lol. I just wanted you to know of the things that has helped others.
~Mary
OAS RECOVERY SPECIALIST
*DISCLAIMER – before taking any medications/supplements, changing your diet or adding an exercise routine, discuss these with your dr
Hey Matt – Being a retired Superintendent on large commercial sites most of my life, I took a chance and had a major lower back surgery where they fused me at 4 levels and put in a cadaver bone dowel from the last vert to the tailbone, because the disc’s were pretty much at aroung 0 to 25%. Anyway they did it wrong, reoperated 5 mo. later and then again 6 years later and I was worse than when I started, which disabled me and caused me to retire. Just to be able to stand longer than 30 min. at a time, I’ve been on a dose of 60 mg Methadone ( 6 ea ), and 75 mg of Oxycodone ( 6 ea ). So because they’ve always been together, is the taper slower? I went down to 20 mg, Methadone and 30 mg Oxycodone in a about 2 weeks, (probably to fast), and hit that threshold where your pretty much out of commission trying just to cope with the stress, trying not to chew out all your friends and family. It puts your nerves on end and your aware of the uneasiness all the time. Dr.’s should tell their patients what they’re getting into, as I didn’t need the Methadone and could have gotten along with just the Oxycodone. Anyway is my withdrawal more intense with the oxy added to the methadone or is there no difference. They we out of Bali red, so I got some red Maheng Da as they were out of Bali, and also some White Borneo, 4 oz ea., and also 4 oz of Passion Flower. Is the morning Tonic Totally necessary? I will do it if you say yes, as like everybody else, you want to make this withdrawal as easy as possible. Thanks, and thanks for all the effort you’ve put into helping people. Not to many folks in this day of greed help for free anymore. Don’t forget that.
My husband started taking methadone 4ml two weeks ago . We tapered off .Now , he’s at 1 ml aday in the morning for 2days. He wake up getting body Aches for these two days before he drinks that 1 ml methadone.He takes Wellbutrin too. What shoud we do now?
This was an excellent article. I have been in methadone treatment for almost 4 years. I am down to 5 milligrams I taper 1 milligram every 10 to 14 days depending how I feel. Before methadone I tried detox rehab long-term rehab na /aa and outpatient. My struggle was person places and things. My entire family are addicts. So my brother and I started the methadone program. ButBut I am so thankful for all the other avenues I took before even though they were failures because they gave me knowledge about our disease I would have never known. I was now armed with the education I just needed a stepping stone to get me where I wanted to be. And that’s important YOU have to want it for yourself bc success will not come if you’re invested for your “child or mom and dad or significant other” we are nothing to any of them if not in it for US. A few of my pitfalls have been mentioned in the article I substituted one drug for another after being a heroin addict for 5 years and after conquering that with the help of methadone I experimented with benzos. I also thought that I could sell some of my methadone when I started to receive my take-home privileges. All that did was mess with my dose and made me suffer. But I think one of my biggest struggles was learning how not to celebrate with drugs. I stopped setting a stop goal for myself I want to be done by summer, bc i passed about 5 end date goals I set and I realized that doing it right is better than doing it fast. I still was associating pleasure with opiates. But one thing this article does not mention and I feel is very important to comment about is a lot of us self-medicated with opiates not knowing that we had a behavioral health disorder. So during the process I sought help for that also and realized I was a dual diagnosis (bi-polarl) That was over 2 years ago and now that I am on the proper medication my mind could get as healthy as my body. Speaking of bodies we really destroyed ours when we used drugs so seeking out a primary care physician for a check-up I feel is also important. A lot of times we’ve done damage to are thyroids or we have an iron deficiency or a vitamin deficiency that can be corrected and make us feel a lot better. I found myself always wanting to blame the tapering or the methadone when my body or my mind didn’t feel right. But I can tell you each and every time my bipolar medicine needed adjusted or I had something wrong medically. Because if you work the program and take her methadone as you should nice and slow you should experience very minimal withdrawals. And I do believe in mind over matter so sometimes when I get watery eyes and I start yawning which happens rarely and thats the worst it’s ever got. I will talk myself through it and stop tapering for 3 weeks or so, some people meditate some people redirect their thoughts for some people get busy doing something else. But I can tell you in the end it will all be worth it. Life in itself is our reward. or some people get busy doing something else. But I can tell you in the end it will all be worth it. Life in itself is a reward.
Hello to all of you! Congratulations on the successes and the wonderful information. I’m writing today for some advice. My husband just started Methadone treatment 3 days ago to kick a 5 year pain pill addiction. We went in to the clinic hoping for Suboxone but they had reached their patient capacity so methadone was it. He was taking around 130-160 milligrams of Percocet or OxyContin depending on what was available. We both have major back issues which started us on the path we are on. He got dropped from pain management so he started taking my meds which is Percocet 7.5.. After sharing I am out in less than a week and we buy them off the streets. We are broke, I clean houses for a living and if it weren’t for sharing I could maintain fine on my monthly amount. He can’t find a doctor and we can’t afford it so he made his decision which I’m over the moon supportive of but also worried. You can’t have an addict live with pills in the house. I’m confident that if he had a script he would not be quitting and I’m not sure if thats important to mention or not. I’m very confused and have a whirlwind of emotions so please forgive my flitting subjects.. Anyways the methadone, he is 30mg a day and this is day 3.. He feels great, today is the best he’s felt in years and he also said he felt normal. Side note: He is now pushing me to start methadone. He is determined (or his line of thinking is) he will start to taper in a few days and be done altogether in a month tops. I have every reason to assume that this is not feasible based off all of my research. I do not want to come across as not being supportive so while I previously begged him to find a Suboxone clinic and pleaded my case against methadone I can’t do that now. I have to support his current decision and feel like if I say anything it will be construed as negative. I personally do not want to trade one drug addiction for another, it scares me that I struggle with the coping of withdrawal as it is and don’t want to trade up to a drug that stays longer in the system and is harder to come off of. I guess I’m not sure what my real question here is, I’m scared and reaching out for help. Can a person successfully quit pain pills with methadone and do it in a month? He has a high profile job so missing work is not an option, I should have started with that. Also, assuming he is on this for the long haul, will he reach a point where they send the medication home with him or is the daily grind of going to the clinic his new life? Thank you for hearing me out, I appreciate it.
I became addicted to pain pills (300+ MG of Morphine per Day for back issues) from the Va Medical center at about age 28, I’m now 34 years old, I am 11 days off of methadone which I had been on 30 MG for almost 2 years. I’m a college student and obviously a Veteran. I started my taper from 30 MG and within 4 weeks I got to 15 MG. I was okay but I did listen to my body, I did not taper anymore for about two months while I could get use to my new dose. Then in six weeks, I tapered from 15 mg to 0 by tapering about 2.5 Mg per week depending on how I felt. By week six it was the day before spring break i was down to 2.5 MG where I stayed on that dose for 4 days, then I took the jump. I requested to get on methadone from the morphine tabs because I could not dose myself well ( sometimes I ran out and went into withdrawals, then I had to buy pills off the street until my next prescription, I knew I had an issue after that. Methadone was easy to dose myself. I was not on a MMT, I was just given methadone for pain. My point is – I was scared to go through withdrawals from all the crap I read on the .net, if you taper the correct way, listen to your body, eat well or try and don’t just lay around hoping to get better, after the second day get your butt up and move around, get busy because it helps.
I really didn’t have help with this since I was not in a Methadone MT. I wish I had found this webpage before I stopped my dose but I basically did just what this article tells us how to find success by getting off this drug.
I did it, you can too. Taper, be busy, eat the right stuff, and don’t rush.
The first 24 hours was the worst for me. Good Luck everyone, really you can do this.
Hi Matt came across your blog today I have read loads and yours makes sense to me I hope you do more .
I have been on and off methadone for nearly 20yrs i’am currently tapering 1mg a week and am at 17mls
I too have had many failures but think mabey u need to make the mistakes to learn from them i’ have totally changed my life moved away from all my so called friends engaging wi a psychologist n it’s all helping but here’s the thing i’am so emotional laughing or crying n lashing out at my partner
I’m asking a question I know the awnser to ” should I stop at 17mls for a few weeks till I get used to the dose? ” and I know the awnseres yes lol
Suppose a sometimes get frustrated at how slow it’s going tho am sure wen the turtle vs the hare the turtle won!!
Some great advice matt? Wot supplaments do you think will hepl
Letting everyone know that rapid detox IS possible 🙂 I went down from 65 to where I am now (5 mg’s) at 5 a week!! 🙂
Awesome Antaya! Well done! 🙂
Hi Matt I started methadone when I was 7 months pregnant!…Before methadone my addiction was pain pills for 6 years anything I could get my hands on! …At 7 months pregnant I knew I was putting my son in danger taking pain pills. I went to my doctor because I needed help to stop and they put me on methadone…I got up too 90 mg by the time I had my son.
He was born healthy no complications he did have mild withdrawals but no medications were given and I brought him home in 4 days! My son is 2 1/2 years old now and I have been tappering. I am on 20 mg now! ..I am having some withdrawals but nothing I can’t handle! I’ve have been tappering down 2 mg a week..but now I will he tappering to 1 mg a week…I have my good and bad days, but I have 5 children and I am not throwing in the towel I am almost done and I am set to get to 0!! Thank you for listening.. 😉
Hi matt im really worry im gonna start tapering methadone im on 30 miligrams i went to see my regular doctor and he prescribed clonidine im also thinking in taking calm support im gonna be tapering 5 miligrams every two weeks or should i taper every week also do i start taking calm suport right away thank you so much im so worried
Hello everyone I just want to let you know getting off methadone is very possible I did it personally I was addicted to a very high dose of OxyContin 5 years ago. I got on methadone up to 100 mg and was completely clean for about one year off all drugs including coke and anything except weed still smoked that came of tapering slowly like 5 mg every week until down to like 40 then 2 mg every week until like 20 then 1 mg a week I did it successfully and have been off all drugs for 5 years 2 of them in the clinic 3 off methadone and everything completely the real trick is to change ur thinking to I can’t do drugs no matter what if u really want it its very possible and I felt completely fine
Great to hear that John….question. In tapering off of Methadone, how much of the or should I say how intense were the withdrawal symptoms? I’ve been on it for 5 months….got up to 5ml liquid a day….started tapering 2 weeks ago, I’m at 2.5ml now & I don’t know how slow to go.
Great job John!!!
I have been in MMT for herion addiction for 8 years. I successfully tapered off methadone once, but within a year found myself back in the program. I totally agree with your advice of taking it slow and listening to your body. I have a few other health problems, which are difficult to understand because of the effect methadone has both mentally and physically. I agree with the advice on keeping busy, working, staying active and being all-around healthy, but I found in my case, taking time off work was necessary. Trying to taper while working a physically demanding job only made me sick; physically unable to continue. My doctor is not supportive of tapering and wholly believes that once in the program, you should find a dose that’s comfortable and stay on it FOREVER! While this may be the right choice for some, it has never been that way for me. Yes, MMT helped me get clean, stable and gave me time to distance myself from the drug lifestyle. BUT the longer I am clean, the more I feel the effects. FEAR of withdrawl, FEAR of physical pain, FEAR of FAILURE can be great deterrents of moving forward. When you’ve spent more than half your life on one drug or another, it’s easy to doubt your own ability. It’s easy to listen to nay-sayers. It’s much more comfortable to go on, (unhappy though you may be), it feels safer than risking it all and failing. Is it? Maybe. But maybe not. I failed, over and over again. But I’m stronger and healthier today than I was before those failures. I know that I am now in a position to succeed. It was important for me, to live life on methadone and learn how to cope with stress, the daily stress and the BIG stuff. It was important for me to better myself as a person ie) graduating high school, working, and getting myself to a place where I am ready to put my health first. It was important for me to fail the first time, I wasn’t ready, I did it too fast, all I cared about was getting off of it but I hadn’t figured out how to deal with life without a drug. Getting off this shit isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible.
I was taking 20mg a day for 3 months , I was prescribed methodone to treat my pain associated with RA. I began tapering and have gotten down to 2mg a day , I have 9 more days of 2mg before I am completely out . will the withdrawal be tolerable ?
There is no way to know how a certain individual will handle the withdrawal, however, if it is uncomfortable there are many remedies to help. Check out the following article:
Methadone Withdrawal 101: Learn How To Beat Withdrawal
How do I use vitamin c to taper a 70mg methadone habit of 15 years, also struggling to get off high strength research chemical benzos, flubromazolam in particular, daily use for 3 months. Please any help or advice would be gratefully received. I cant tell anyone close to me as the consequences are too severe. Thanks
Hi DeeDee, that’s a good question. I haven’t read any studies about this, only studies that are short-term for acute withdrawal of short-acting opiates. In theory is sounds good, and it might be worth it to ask your methadone prescriber what they think.
Hi Matt,
I wanted to update comments I submitted in June-ish 2015, but I can’t find the original so I will do it here.
After 10 years of being on Methadone 30-35mg per day for post-MVA chronic pain, having gained 73 pounds and lost my job, I decided it was time to try life without opioids. Things had come to a head when I had an emergency dental procedure and no one was willing to prescribe adequate pain control. I increased my methadone on my own for that agonizing week but realized it did nothing to ease the extra pain. If it was such a crappy analgesic, why was I inflicting it on my body and subjecting myself to the judgmental paranoia of the health care system? Seriously – I was an RN for 23 years, even working with an anaesthetist who ran a Pain Clinic out of his Day Surgery Center, so I know what assumptions about, and biases toward, chronic pain patients are made by those who profess to be knowledgeable about pain, let alone those by those who do not have that extra training. The minute the pain specialist signed that first prescription for opiates for me I was treated differently by my personal physician and people who had known me for a decade or more.
At any rate, it was finally time to let the methadone go. Thanks to this site I was persuaded that I could do it, that there was a recipe – in fact, many – for success. I got down to 10mg per day with no problem, mostly because I usually forgot to take one dose per day, and partly by cutting the doses I did take down a bit. Then I started the taper in earnest, decreasing by 0.5mg per week. I took your advice about the Amino acids, DLPA, and Curcumin. I wasn’t able to manage the morning tonic but I did make healthy smoothies. I gave Kratom a go and it did help with moderately severe pain episodes at first, but caused migraines subsequently, no matter the dosage. i had Ativan when I needed it but got great results with an herbal tincture that included valerian and Passion flower. For the cramping and diarrhea, Immodium worked well. I was surprised at how smoothly the taper went, actually. I was expecting much, much worse.
My last dose was July 21, 2015. The most surprising thing of all was the realization that the paralyzing anxiety I had been experiencing for the past ten years has decreased by 90%. I was no stranger to anxiety and depression before I started the methodone, so when it got worse and worse to the point of not being able to leave my house I assumed it was my fault, that I was weak and useless and had no moral character. That I had ‘let myself go’. I became unreliable and dropped out of life. Two weeks after my last dose of methadone the anxiety began to lift and it is now back to my pre-opioid days, which is quite manageable – in fact, it is a picnic compared to what I’ve lived with this past decade!
Many things contributed to my being ready to go on without opioids: learning Reiki, for one; finding an amazing psychologist who introduced me to things like EFT (tapping), for another; but I can honestly say that your website with its frankness, detail, approachability, encouragement, and thorough research gave me guidelines and concrete steps to take and the knowledge that this was doable. More importantly for me it showed me that much of the things I had been struggling with were actually side effects of methadone and not personal failure. Thank you, thank you!
Wow Barbara!!!!!!!!! I can’t thank you enough for sharing this detailed personal experience and triumph you had. When I hear about people getting off methadone I get goosebumps. It is seriously one of the most impressive feats of courage and dedication there is. I’m so happy to hear the supplements, Reiki, and other strategies have helped. You are an inspirational success story! And furthermore, the fact that your anxiety has decreased so much is truly remarkable. Enjoy your new life Barbara. Take care. 🙂
I forgot to add that I used Calm Support too. To everyone wondering if they can do it: if I can, you can too. I am not disciplined, don’t eat super healthily or exercise regularly, and the thought of uncontrolled pain scared the hell out of me. Matt’s blog is full of helpful options that you can explore. And btw, the way I feel now, dealing with opiate-induced endocrinopathy (thanks for that info too, Matt) scares me much more than pain. Another surprise of freedom from opiates is that my pain tolerance is much higher! Who knew?
Hello, my name is Mike. Due to a few surgeries I was prescribed Vicodin for a couple of years & got addicted. I quit using them ….last September I was dealing with pain in my knee & reached out to the individual that used to get me the pills. This time he offered Methadone…I started using it periodically & by December I was using 50 mil daily. I woke up one day a couple of weeks ago & told myself ENOUGH, I want my life back. I thought it would be like stopping the pills, a few days of physical issues then within a week or so back to normal. After 2 days of not taking it I knew this was something different. I know I sound naive, more like STUPID. After some research & reading countless accounts of the withdrawal nightmares I was scared to death. I have a very good career, wife of 34 years that loves me. I know I’ve only been taiking it for about 5 months total….I received them illegally….I can’t lose my job, I’m apprehensive about talking to my Dr….been seeing him for 14 years & I don’t think he’d come along side of me & offer medical support in light of the manner n which I got them. How do I taper properly, what do I do???? I’m worried. I’ve started taking vitamin B6 & eating more greens….can someone please respond???
Joseph please read the following articles that I believe will offer you great value relating to your questions:
Methadone Withdrawal 101: Learn How To Beat Withdrawal
Opioid Tapering
Wow! I did not expect a response, thank you so much Matt! I do have a question or two. I was taking Liquid Methadone at 5 Mil daily, I’ve cut that down to 3 Mil (which started this past Sunday) I’m going to see how my body reacts to reducing to 2 Mil daily at the end of one week. That said, I’ve been eating more healthy, a lot of water and started on B-6 daily….would you recommend “Calm Support” during the tapering process….I’ve not felt any withdrawal effects as of yet. Would a 3 in 1 Vitamin of Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc be helpful? Any info would help….I did print out the Tapering info you linked me to….
I am tappering at an even slower rate than you mention. I am at 75 and my max dose was 120. I have been going down 2mg a month and haven’t noticed much of anything. When I get down to 40 I’ll probably take breaks from tapperig when I feel bad. Once I get to the verry bottem I think it would be best though to start taking 1mg every other day then once a week then hopefully you could stop. I feel the best way to tapper is to leave it the same way you went in. We didn’t all start using every day it started as once a month then once a week then three times a week then every other day then every day. So its stupid that the establishment wants you to go from every day to none at all. Especially given how long the half-life is…methadone stays in your body for well over a week! There has got to be a scientific method to tappering that involves little to no withdrawal symptoms. I hope there’s a doctor who will work with my plan but if not I’ll have to do it alone. At least I have support down to that last part.
Johnny I know everyone is different but I got on methadone after 3 years of daily heavy iv heroin use, I went up to 120mg aswell when I realized that I was now trapped and would have to start going down if I was to be successful at becoming completely sober and non dependant on opioid substances. That being said I started jumping 8mg every 2 weeks and I can honestly say that I have no felt a single wd symptom until I got down to 25mg at which point my doctor at the clinic would not allow me to taper that fast and I have been going 3mg now every 10 days. The reason for my reply is to let you know daily methadone intake adds up in your system and a daily intake of 120mg is really equivalent to about 300mg in your system at any given time. Your body does not need that much opioid medication and you will not feel a significant drop and even at 100mg in your system which is really like 35mg a day your brain is still getting more than enough to completely fill all your opioid receptors. So to sum it all up you can drop from a high dose much faster and only slow down once you really feel the change otherwise speed it UP and don’t get stuck in methadonia cause it’s really easy to be on methadone and if you think getting off after a year is hard, ask someone who’s got off after 10 years the wd are exponentially worse
Hi Mike,
My name is Josh, I hope you read this and have a chance to reply due to the fact that I don’t have very long before entering a rehab facility. I would love to take my time with tapering but one reason I’m at the methadone clinic is because I will be doing 1 year of probation soon. I want to be clean and this is the last year I have being on my parents insurance to go, get sober, and gain the tools to stay sober. Anyways I’m 25 have been at MMT in Washington now for 3 Months n some change at 75 mg. I have court coming up and a meeting with Probation is required so I want to look good and not piss hot. Even though I know that everything is legal because it is Rxd by a licensed Dr. But I also take Clonazepam, and have started taking Vyvanse to try and find something other than depression and anxiety meds. Therefor I Fail 3 out of 5 on a 5 panel drug test. Not cool. Like I said all my scripts are legal and prescribed by professional’s but I have a feeling that any Probation officer would not be alright with that and honestly I don’t feel great about myself either…. Sorry for the extremely long intro BTW, I’ve begun my taper after reading your article and am down to 70 mg. I’ve been at 75 mg for 3 months so I am just starting. Every rehab center wants me to come right away into a detox facility where they’ll wean me off my 70 mg dose for 7-10 days using other drugs to ease the w/d, Then wham-o I’m cured w/ there magic wand and I’m off to rehab…. Honestly I’m STUNNED because its like they have no idea what methadone is or how the detox/taper really should be handled. I did come off methadone in 2014 where I was at 125mg for 18 months. I did everything You explained not to do. I wanted out n came down 10 mg a day then 5mg a day when I hit 30. Worst time of my life. I was sick for months. after my final dose I had a fever of 103 for a week n a half, didn’t sleep for 3 months, learned how to puke n poop at the same time, ached, blacked out, lost 20 Lb’s, I thought my Penis was never going to work right again…. Within that span of 4 miserable months which really felt more like 7 months with the lack of sleep I never used. That didn’t last long obviously… Now that you know my history and my experience with methadone detox, what would you suggest for me? Keeping in mind Probation and having to get that transferred back home to FL where ill be in treatment. My dose and time in MMT. Detox centers Willing to get me off in 7-10 days, or at 30 mg where I can enter a treatment facility with a detox center and continue to wean or switch to Suboxone and begin therapy or work my way into group.
Tapering is a mission on its own, but I also have court and probation to take care of, including finding the right facility in FL. Literally feel caved in, on the plus side I’m not thinking about drugs or craving so that’s good.
Your Article has changed my aspect of methadone Tapering and your opinion and advice would mean a lot to my family and myself. One question is for certain though when you say Tapering 10% of your current dose each week, should you do that a mg each day or all at once?
JTW
Hi Mike,
First & foremost ; let me say how informational this blog is. You have made me feel so much better just in reading the information provided & even reading the replies to all the previous comments.
I have been on Methadone for 2 years. The highest I ever went was 80mgs. I am currently tapering at 1mg a week & as of today at 65mgs. Now, so far I have not felt any WD symptoms which I expected since I’m still at such a high dose. Do you think I could speed it up a little bit without feeling anything?
My worst fear is getting down to 30mgs or below & being terribly sick. I have a 1 year old son that I have to care for & obviously wouldn’t be able to with serious WD symptoms. I plan to continue my slow taper but thought maybe I could do 2mgs a week and then once I get down to 30mgs or my “threshold”…take it back down to 1mg a week. I’m just so scared of WD. I had terrible palpitations when I went through WD before that kept me awake for 10 days straight. ?
What can I take when I start to feel crappy? Something that will truly work…
Thank you for your help Mike. You have no idea how helpful your blog truly is.
Vicki –
I’m 62 & scared to death.Was clean for 42 days(treatment center).Came home and PAWS was horrible.I’ve been taking 15-20 mg.of methadone for app.7 weeks.I live alone w my 2 dogs and CANNOT go back to rehab.How and more importantly CAN I taper off methadone.please help me.I’m lost,alone & petrified ? Thanks,Laura
I was taking 170 mg a day for 18 months. Before that I was taking roughly 80 mg a day for a year. I tapered 5mg every 3 days until I got down to 5 mg which took some time. Once I got to 5 mg I quit going to the clinic because I figured I’d be fine… I was wrong!! 2 days later the withdrawal began. First it was just some anxiety and a lack of motivation but then by day three and four I was in trouble!! I could not sleep mostly due to that I couldn’t keep from moving my legs and arms, i had severe diarrhea, cramps,vomiting, cold sweats, accompanied with hot flashes. I was determined to tough it out though which I did. It’s now been five weeks and most of the severe sickness if not all is gone but I still have some insomnia, mild restless leg and my anxiety and lack of motivation is still pretty severe. How much longer is this going to last?
I encourage you to read the following article that should answer your question:
Methadone Withdrawal Timeline
Im at 14 mg. Pretty followed all your advice. However, my schedule is so hectic that I’m suffering from extreme fatigue and waking up several times a night. Plus I’m irritable. The biggest problem I’m facing is we moved recently had to switch clinics and they want to treat me like a newcomer instead of someone who already has a FULL LIFE AND SCHEDULE. The stress of maintaining their ridiculous requirements plus my time outside is driving me to be completely exhausted.
Sarah I’m sorry to hear about this predicament you’re in. At the clinic I counseled at, if someone had take-homes from another clinic we would transfer them over and never treat them like a newcomer. And by the way, good for you for tapering down to 14 mg!!! I encourage you to read the following article which relates to treating fatigue from lowering opioid dosage:
https://opiateaddictionsupport.com/how-to-get-energy-back-after-quitting-opiates-opiate-withdrawal-regain/
I wish you the best of luck Sarah. Take care, and if there is anything I can do to help let me know.
I was on 140mg or so about 5 yrs ago and tapered down till i was completly off in 3 months with very little side effects from what i remember about it, was on methadone with my then bf, now hb, for a year or so. Now im actually a nurse, went back to school, and my hb is a IT engineer, he had his degree from before. Would never in a million yrs go back to that lifestyle. I see it now as we just wanted to have fun and “feel good”, lazy, not a way i would ever EVer want to spend my whole life. 30 Yrs old now and still tackling the world head on, determined to make the most of my life. Coming off of it is nothing honestly, you have to want to though. Now im known as one of the best nurses where i work, with strong work ethics and supermom to our 3 kids we had over the past 7 yrs together. I workout at the gym everyday i dont work, lifting weights, and pride myself in my appearence and my ability to conquer anything. When i see pts with addiction ecsp to opiates i feel sorry for them, i have a soft place in my heart for them as there complaining about their wicked 9/10 pain with a semi smile on their face, i dont question just give them their meds they convinced the MD they needed as they have to want to come off them theirself, theres nothing i can say or do, even though i see it as a pathetic way to live honestly. Theres so much life to live, why would you waste it like that? i know its not easy but take pride in yourself and your life and accomplishments, you only have one life. The embarressment that i have to live with lifelong from that is something i wish i didnt have, and i wonder what i could have done had i not wasted those yrs as i have always been a go getter with a high iq (although i stink at spelling). Anyone can get off that stuff, its really not difficult to taper off, and no you will not die, lol. You do have to get used to a “normal” life again and that includes daily aches and not having your senses muffeled. Set goals for yourself, and dont let anyone tell you that you cant do something, not even the MD at the clinic you go to. If i left it to them i would have drawn that taper out unneccesarrily for a year.
I think you have 100% correct. I really hopes I can conquer it the way you have. I desperately want to be exactly the way you have become, because that is who I was before I started this crap.
Congratulations to you!! I do believe it has to be something you really, really want! You shouldn’t be embarrassed about your past though because it helped make you who you are and helped you have compassion for others in that boat and after all isn’t that what being a nurse is?? Kudos to you!
I would be cautious recommending a supplement containing St. John’s Wart to people with SUD. The rate of individuals taking antidepressants may be higher than normal. And it comes across like you’re selling something…which you are.
Amy, there is a disclaimer I put at the top of every article, on the footer navigation, and on every single comment I talk about supplements. I believe that is being cautious and “by the law,” but thanks for the word of caution anyways. Furthermore, I also put an affiliate disclosure link at the top of every single article as well, because I’m totally transparent about this. You make is sound like I’m doing something wrong. If you don’t resonate with how I run my website, you’re certainly free to find information elsewhere.
I did blind detox at 2mg until around 25mg, then went to 1mg/wk. I took my last dose three days ago. I have some discomfort, but what can I truly expect in these next days/weeks? After the last dose, when is the peak discomfort?
Everyone is different in how there body handles the acute withdrawal and post acute withdrawal. It all depends on how long you were on methadone for, what your highest dose was, your age and overall health and unique biochemistry, as well as other criteria. Typically, since methadone has such a long half-life, the peak withdrawal symptoms don’t start until several days after the last dose. Congrats on your successful taper, and since you went all the way down to 1 mg I hope you have a very short and mild withdrawal. Take care.
Hello, I’ve been on methadone for 12 years, the most i’ve taken in a day was 40, for the last 3 months, i’ve tapered slowly down to 1mg. the tapering had some unpleasantries but lasted just a day or 2. I am currently taking 1 1/2 ml a day and want to go as slow as i can. my question.: once i get down to zero, which i plan to be at in 1 month., should i experience any severe withdrawals? I just want to enjoy my life and start feeling emotions again and seeing things more clearly. I’ve been in a fog for too long to continue this. thx
Great question Sara. There is no way for me to know what you’ll experience. However, tapering slow typically reduces symptoms. In my experience, many people who tapered off slowly didn’t get severe withdrawals, but some of them did feel tired and didn’t get as much sleep. I think most people get those symptoms, but it is nothing like getting sick. Really happy to hear about your amazing progress Sara. You’ve done incredible!
In November of 2014, I started lowering (tapering) my dose I was also at 120 and from there I went to 90 and every month since I have gone down 10mg. I. am now at .5. I know I can do this and I have tons of family support but will this hurt me. Like once I stop completely.
Im on 120mg and im so scared i just tapered 10 today. every time i taper the withdrawls are terrible. I can’t even get out of bed in the morning. I feel like I’m going to be on this crap forever. any advice please..btw I have been in MMT for 3 months.
Hi Natalie,
Please read the following article that may assist you:
DLPA: A Miracle Supplement For Opiate Addiction Recovery
im on 20mg methadone liquid form for 3 years..i slowly taper about 2 month..i made it to 5mg now..i’ve been on 5mg a day for 6 day..i feel no withdrawal?if i stop methadone at 5mg will have withdrawal?
I have no idea how you will feel when you get off completely. Everyone is different. But since you stayed on a very low dose, tapered slow, and don’t feel withdrawal at 5 mg this sounds like a very good sign to me.
Tomorrow is my last 5mg dose, to which I have dropped by 5mg the last four Wednesdays. I have not noticed any withdrawal symptoms at all… I had been at 50mg about a year ago and got my dose cut in half for benzo use. I didn’t notice any withdrawal from that either… my only answer to this riddle is that I exercise daily, and do work full time in a hot machine shop. Yesterday for instance I put in 12miles on my legs…I’m also trying to drop 10% body fat at the same time I’m tapering….all I’ve come up with is the exercise and staying busy keeps my mind focused my body has become my new obsession if you will…a six pack set of abs at 43yrs old is my focus now…..it helps tremendously. ….
Bernie N.
I will be on 30 mg on Tues and taper 4 mg per week. I taking clonodine and hydroxozine usually just at bed time. So far so good. I have some leg pain, but also work a physical job. I can still eat and sleep well. I am nervous/ scared especially hearing horror stories. But no more only positive feedback, energy, people, and emotions if I can help it. I am looking forward to an even better life off methadone, since the almost first year clean has been AMAZING. Good job, family, man, and lifestyle. Any wanting to do it taper like suggested and always set yourself up for success!!! Good luck to all!
My clinics financial detox is a 20% reduction per day which would have me off in 4 days. My dose is 73mg. I tell my boyfriend I need more time so I don’t start using illicit drugs again. He wants to kick me out bc I’m still on it. I’m trying to explain to him that yes I want off methadone but I want it to be successful where I don’t go back and use. I am in NA and have a sponsor along with chirch. My boyfriend is in recovery but he feels methadone is just another drug. I want him to understand but he wont. Any advice?
I’ve found that most people in recovery feel like being on methadone is not being sober. There is usually no convincing them otherwise. Beliefs and convictions are strong. I’m sorry you’re in that situation. Coming off methadone that fast is hard on the body. I pray that something works out for you so you can continue getting the medicine so you can taper off slowly.
I lost a job and was forced due to financial problem from lost job to go from 80mg to 0mg at a pace on average of a little of 2mg a day, so it ended up being exactly 14mg a week, and it was horrible. But possible. I chose to go along with this schedule believing a quicker taper would facilitate more severe withdrawal but also a shorter time frame of withdrawal. After going through with it, i wouldnt recommend it to anyone. THE SLOWER the BETTER. It was by far the hardest thing ive done in my life.
I had been clean for 8 months when taper started, had been on metahadone for 10 months after a bad relapse of IV heroin use. my last dose was exactly 11 days ago. So i guess i wasnt a good candidate for success. But i got through it clean so far! If anyone reads this, try to communicate your desire for a slow taper as possible.
The restless legs are gone, as well as the pain and panic attacks. The insomnia is only around about every other day now, instead of every minute. I feel happy, its weird feeling emotions again, especially good ones, but i dont feel like i can go out and do what i want, the fatigue is overbearing and never goes away, and i get a headache everyday, as well as diarrhea everytime i eat. other than that, its a walk in the park compared to the living hell that the past three weeks were.
Just wondering if anyone know when the fatigue goes away… And i am also writing this so that if anyone else gets stuck in my position they understand its possible, and not to give up. i felt hopeless for a while but after doing this i feel like im strong enough to go through anything life hands me, sober.
Tips: Hot baths, clean sheets, clean clothes, internet connection (or at least a way to play music, watch movies etc, this is a good method of redirection when you dont want to leave bed), TUMS, vitamin C, tylenol, water, force yourself to go outside at least once a day, yoga, meditation, melatonin(not in the first few days of being after 0mg), REALLY WANT IT, determination, bread, toilet paper, listerine, social interaction on occasion, dont be a hermit. thats what helped me, hope it helps someone.
Adam,
Thank you so much for sharing your story about tapering methadone. I know it will help a lot of readers. Also, the tips you provided are amazing.
As for the fatigue, I just wrote an article last week that you and other readers might benefit from:
How To Get Your Energy Back After Quitting Opiates
Good luck on your journey Adam, and again, thanks so much for the thoughtful and helpful comment.
Hi! My name is Sam. My husband has been on methadone for 5 years after a 5-6 yr oxy addiction. He tapered his doses gradually from 90mg and is now down to 3mg. However, he’s been at 3 mg for 2+ yrs now. He has sleep apnea and in his prescribed treatment for that, the doctor has urged himto detox completely from methadone bc it complicates the apnea. However, he says he’s not ready and gets very defensive every time its beought up. I am struggling to be supportive bc of the effects its having on his health as well as the financial burden it is to our family. I’ve told him I won’t push him and will wait until he’s ready, but its been two years since then! Help…any advice? He attends a clinic for methadone maintenance, but will not include me in doc visits or to talk to his counselor 🙁
Hi Sam,
I understand the situation you are in must be difficult for you. If your husband does not let you talk to his counselor or doctor, could he be hiding something? Do you think perhaps he is on a higher dosage than 3 mg? Getting off methadone after 5 years is not easy, so I want you to realize how hard it is for your husband to make this final step.
If you want to help ensure your husbands success I believe the following steps could help:
1) Give him a ton of emotional support, he really needs it.
2) Don’t rush him or complain that he must get off, as this will just impede his progress.
3) Have him take The Finch Formula to help him taper off the last 3 mg of methadone with minimal symptoms.
This formula of medications and natural supplements can help him transition of methadone with ease. If you need any further assistance I’m happy to help you Sam.
Disclaimer: I am a Strategic Intervention Coach, not a doctor, so I can’t give professional advice regarding aspects of the body, only the mind. What I write is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
Thank you so much for this article. I am a woman who has been in a methadone treatment for 2 months and am starting a 3mlg a week taper. You have no Idea how good this article made me feel. I have been so scared aboit the slow taper process and like you mentioned have said many times I just want off. I npw realize it will be a slow process to get my life back. Wow just wow . I have been so worried and full of anxiety thinking I wasnt doing the right thing till I just read this article….but I do know I have been clean since Feb 2 2015 from a 5 year opiate addiction…and that lets me know I made the right decisions also. Again thank you.
Hi Yvonne,
I’m so glad you benefited from the information in this article. Congratulations on your clean date, and welcome to a life free of addiction! Again, I’m very happy this article helped you to feel great about the the process you are going through. If you ever need any questions answered, I’m here to help.
That’s very similar to what I’m going thru was a heroin addict for 5 yrs but remained “successful” woth a career until the last 6 months of use. It’s hard because I am not like the people in my groups and at the clinic who come from poverty, mental illness, uneducated, below middle class life style and as much as I understand we all got to the same place it’s hard to connect and take advice from councilors seriously who treat me because sine the beginning of my journey to sobriety I went against what was recommended and ended up being right as I argued incessantly with the counselors that I was going to take my own route. I’m a very stubborn determined woman and never idolized heroin and was fully aware of each and every negative change that took place. In detox I was told I wouldn’t succeed if i didn’t do their in a patient program and I’ve been clean for 4-5 months without a single regret. Group meetings are pointless when discussions are always geared towards relapse due to lifestyle when i never have been friends with my dealers or even have any numbers or people to contact to score. I started detoxing myself immediately even in detox refusing doses to have my starting dose when exitING the detox center be 35mg. Since then I’ve been detoxing 2 mg a day against all advice of counselors who expect me to fail. Maybe the fact I’m expected to fail has partly to due to people expecting me to fail and my need to prove them wrong. I have no desire to go back becuz it ruined my life and I was living in my car for a few months with no job and no friends from living in a beautiful apartment in the city overlooking the water with a good job and many friends. I constantly doubt if maybe they are right and it’s the addiction talking saying I’m fine and maybe my heads all screwed up but I’ve been right so far. I just hope I don’t regret my decisions in the future
I just read you comment and I sincerely hope you are still doing well! You sound like you have an extremely strong mindset and I believe that is the most important piece. Best of luck and even if you have had a relapse… It’s NOT over! You can do this if you want it. I’ve been on methadone for 14 years now due to chronic pain and I’m over it! I decided to detox myself and went from 60mg/day to now I’m on my 6 the day of only 10. I’ve taken it slow since February and this last step down from 20mg to 10mg has been the absolute worst! But my mind is set on the goal and I NOT fail! I’m so encouraged by all your stories and it makes me feel so happy hear of you all trying to get your life back to a healthy place! Much love to you all and keep kicking ass!
Hope you are well now. I am doing it to down to 10 starting today I’ve been going down 2.5 mg per week since I was on 20 and I feel good your stories encouraging any more suggestions would be helpful I’m walking every day and trying to eat better
Just wanted to say that you are a life saver!I am do glad I came across this article I have been on meth for 3months now at 75mg but I don’t want to go higher because I have already gained as lot of weight so thanks for the list of supplements because I am going to lose this weight and get off methadone but I am going to do it sloooooowly.
Hey Lorrie. I am glad you came across this article too! Good for you for not going up any higher. Tapering methadone is really hard if you have to start at a high dosage. Many of my patients above 100 mg never made much progress.
Lorrie, if your mindset is strong and determined to get off methadone no matter what, no obstacle can get in your way! Taper sloooooowly, take the supplements, eat healthy, exercise and stay away from people who use opiates! I wish you good luck on your journey.
Attention: I am a Strategic Intervention Coach, not a doctor, so I can’t give professional advice regarding aspects of the body, only the mind. What I write is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
Hi! I am dying to get off of methadone and was encouraged having read most of what you wrote however now I am very discouraged and worried I am a hopeless case as my dose is 125mg. Am I ever going to succeed?! Thanks!
Hi Heather,
Don’t get discouraged! All that means is that you will have to take a little longer to taper off than someone who never went above 80 or 90 mg. If fact, there are awesome strategies you can use to come off Methadone that can help you taper off much quicker, and with MUCH less symptoms.
I recently helped someone in a similar position to you will the following article:
How to Get Off Methadone Without Withdrawal
I hope you will read it and see some really effective natural methods for tapering off Methadone. Have a great day Heather, and thanks so much for reading my website and leaving a comment. If you need any further assistance I’m very happy to help. I know you will succeed!
Attention: I am a Strategic Intervention Coach, not a doctor, so I can’t give professional advice regarding aspects of the body, only the mind. What I write is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
I was on methadone for 2 years the clinic I went to was full of drama I have my own home and a brand new vehicle people were jealous kept calling the clinic on me. I was on 78 mil and did the quick taper going down 20 mil a week (not by choice) I did all the thing “live strong” recommended natural vitamins. I’ve never gotten sick my last dose was xmas. Now I have the runny nose, vomiting and diarrhea (so) have you ever heard of this happening?
Hi, I’m from the UK and I’ve been on methadone for over 6yrs now and I’m down to 30mg and about to start reducing to come off entirely,I was just wandering if u could give me some advice of what supplements I can take to help with withdrawal that would b available in the UK.
Many thanx
Mike
Hi Mike. Congratulations for getting down to 30 mg. My absolute favorite supplement for tapering methadone is Calm Support. It has the perfect blend of nutrients that make tapering off Methadone much easier. There are specific supplements in this product that combat fatigue, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, sweating, depression, gastrointestinal upset, no appetite, and hot and cold flashes. It’s only available online, however.
For a complete list of over 30 remedies for tapering off Methadone, please check out my 2014 Opiate Withdrawal Remedies Review. Absolutely every recommendation in that article will be good for tapering off Methadone. I like Calm Support the best because it’s a great blend, it’s all natural and organic, the price is right, and there is a 30-day no questions asked money-back guarantee.
If you take Calm Support, or any of the other supplements I recommend in that article, be sure to exercise a few times per week and eat a clean, healthy diet. This combination really makes tapering off Methadone much more bearable. Also, I encourage you to read another article I wrote, How to Get Off Methadone Without Withdrawal.
Best of luck to you. If you have any more questions, please post them and I can assist you further.
Attention: I am a Strategic Intervention Coach, not a doctor, so I can’t give professional advice regarding aspects of the body, only the mind. What I write is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
I love this…its proof I’m doing thd right thing. 11 yrs no heroin. I was on 110mg now on 35mg. Its taken a long time however i wouldn’t go back to using for anything. I stop tapering when i need to. Only had cravings a few months ago was on a mission to get off methadone however i held off and was able to reduce to 35mg yesterday. This is the most informative site regarding methadone reduction. Knowing others have done it adds to my strength.
Looking to do addiction courses i currently represent my community through the Community Partnership Program run by DASSA. I also got a position on the Consumer Advisory Council which sits under the DASSA executive council so we have a say in treatment,policy and procedures and amongst other things r all trying to break the stereo types of addicts full stop.
This really is amazing. Well done and thank you Matt Finch and others for thier input and courage to tell thier story.
Hi Matt
I found this site by complete chance and im so glad i did. Ive been on methadone for a long time off and on. Ive a used heroin off and on too which started after the methadone issue. Ive been prescribed methadone for chronic pain since 2005. I have been prescribed 180 mg all the way down to 20 mg. Currently im prescribed 40 mg daily. I take the pills though. Do u feel thereis a difference between the pills and the liquid? I went to clinic in my 8th month of pregnacy as advised by my doctor i was on 20 mg at that point. The clinic dosed me at 60mg right off. I dont knkw why cuz i feel they did more harm than good cuz i was fine with 20. Now im stuck at 40mg and have noticed i have awful symptoms such as runny nose irritability weight gain insomnia sweating. Is this because my dose isnt high enough? Ive been contemplating using Elimdrol to get off of this roller coaster for good as i dont like the hassle its causing me in life anymore. Im always worried about running out of pills or something that has to do with going into withdrawl. Have u known Elimdrol to have helped with detoxing off methadone? I notced u mentioned it in ur article but wasnt sure if u have known it being used with succesa for the entire detoxing of methadone. Please any information at this point would be much appreciated. Thanks for all the information u shared on this site. I look forward to receiving your newsletter.
Shelby
California
Hi Shelby! Sorry so late in my responding. My blog has been up for only 4.5 months, and all I’ve ever had was spam comments, so I actually stopped checking them. Then I checked today after a month of not looking into it, and realized that there were several comments from real readers all of a sudden! First of all, let me explain my experience with methadone pills versus liquid. In my own experience, I only took methadone pills. I used 4 10mg tablets daily for a week then stopped cold-turkey, though I had a ton of valium to help, and I had already tapered my heroin. However, when I was a counselor at a methadone clinic, we used liquid methadone. Out of all the many patients I had who had also taken methadone tablets, 100% of them stated the tablets were much stronger. Essentially, this shouldn’t be the case, since the mg is the same. But I believe what they told me. Second, good for you for managing to lower your dose from 180mg! That’s incredible! As far as tapering methadone goes, this article is a very brief outline on how to do it. Tapering methadone is not impossible if you supply your body with the right supplements. I’ve recently posted a new article 2014 Opiate Withdrawal Remedies Review. All of these remedies can really help you while you’re tapering methadone. As far as the newsletter goes…..I am shopping for a new email provider before I have another email sign up sheet. If you have any more questions please ask away! Thanks Shelby!
Attention: I am a Strategic Intervention Coach, not a doctor, so I can’t give professional advice regarding aspects of the body, only the mind. What I write is for informational use only. It’s not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, trying any new supplements, medications, exercise or opiate tapering programs.
Calm Support is $59, all-organic, and has L-trypthophan for serotonin, mucuna pruriens for dopamine, GABA and various herbs for GABA, and if someone bought all the stuff you were recommending individually it would come to the same price or more expensive. Also, the main neurotransmitter deficiency coming off methadone is endorhins, yet here you are talking about serotonin. You didn’t mention DLPA which increases endorphins or exercise, or dark chocolate. Mucuna pruriens is much better at producing dopamine (and more natural) than taking L tyrosine. Plus, I had tons of methadone patients at the treatment center tell me how well Vitadone worked for them to get rid of the sweats, low energy, and sugar cravings. I’ve spent years researching supplements and have studied from the best. The fact that you said nothing of the endorphin deficiency, but said serotonin which methadone doesn’t even effect, shows you don’t know as much as you think you do.