Methadone Detox - Waiting To Take Suboxone
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Okay, so I've gone through a lot on this site and nothing is really helping me with my question. I started taking methadone almost two years ago. I got up to 70mgs and stabilized for awhile then my counselor and I decided with all the positive changes I've made that tapering down would be a good option for me. I have been tapering very slow since last May "2016". By January I got to 30mgs of methadone and once I got to 26mgs I asked to be taken back up to 30mgs. I stayed on 30mgs for another month and then realized I was moving to Florida very soon. Problem is I have the state insurance and Florida programs will not accept the insurance I currently have. So, my methadone dr put me on a rapid detox which was 2mg a day. My last does was 16mgs on Saturday April 8, 2017. I went to my PCP and was given klonopin to help ease the anxiety while I went through the withdrawal phase. I have 5 Suboxone strips (8mg) and I really don't know when the time starts for when I can take a sub to help ease my withdrawal.

I think the klonopin is throwing me off cause my anxiety isn't "as" bad as it should be and I'm not sweaty yet but I am clammy. I'm starting to shake a bit and throughout the day I'll have sneezing fits. Not to be too personal but the loose BM's have also begun but it isn't an every hour type of thing. My eyes are watering occasionally and I do yawn more than usual. I am so scared to put myself through awful p-wd's and again I don't know when the clock really began for me or what hour I'm actually on.

Saturday I took 16mg of methadone at the program I was going to. I dumped my Sunday dose because I was done with taking it.

I have only taken klonopin since my last dose of methadone and it's now Monday afternoon.

Any insight will be appreciated. I figured starting fresh in FL would be good for me. I'm just trying to make this as easy as possible for my family and myself before the move which is this Wednesday.

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38

I've been on 130 mg of methadone for a long time and I'm getting off of it to get on Suboxone. I'm down to 70 mg now and I'm wondering if I could take a 20 mg oxycontin for my pain just 1 time tomorrow? Will it hurt me?

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37

My question is about my ex-wife. She has been going to a methadone clinic now for about 10 years and is on high, strong doses of this stuff. She has Lupas and fibromyalsia and kidney failure. She has to now start kidney dialysis soon. My question is with all the methadone in her body, what will happen to her when she starts dialysis? Doesn't it filter your blood? Will she go into immediate withdrawal or get really sick? What will happen to her? Also her physiatrists has put her on several depression meds and 2 different benzo's. I really worry bout her, our son passed away last year. Please can someone offer a knoledgable answer?

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36

Gees Heather. You've gone this far I can't say what you should do but if I was in your shoes I'd start to take something when it's unbearable. Good luck.

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35

This Is purely my own experience, I am not a Doctor, I am a Certified EMT with lumbar spinal Stenosis, along with a myriad of other joint pain and ligament damage. I have been seeing a pain management specialist for 5 years and try to read as much as I can about my condition and the meds I'm prescribed.

With all of that said, you should be fine taking Suboxone. You've given it plenty of time since your last dose of methadone. It also sounds like you are in withdrawal mode so even the literature, which is usually hyper precautious says to wait a day since your last dose and withdrawal symptoms should be present.

Personally I've taken Suboxone 8 hours after my last dose of whatever opioid I was taking. Only one time have experienced a little nausea and headache. Also I had the 8 mg strips which I cut into thirds, taking a 1/3 every 8 hours. It says do not cut the strips butt for me a whole strip was the only other time I experienced nausea, really bad nausea, is when I took a full strip.

Good luck.

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34

I don't know why they give subutex first, you do not have to wait till full withdrawal. Suboxone is usually ready to take when stomach pains set in after Methadone.

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33

Suboxone is not the best answer to solving your problems be it addiction or pain. The undisclosed side effects and the inability to get off the drug qualifies it as one of the most dangerous drugs distributed today. Most of the adverse effects are almost impossible to find. MedsChat has them in their largest Suboxone blog.

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32

Azula: I hope you are not on Suboxone. I was on it for five years and have been off for 27 months. The brain and cns damage caused by Suboxone is basically undocumented. I can be found. Suboxone is not a program, it is a death sentence. There are very few people qualified and willing to discuss Suboxone.

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31

If you are planning on taking subs after Methadone make sure you are good and sick and have waited a minimum of over 48 hours or you will experience what is known as precipitated withdrawal - the worst sickness you have ever felt. I was down to 5 mgs of Methadone and waited almost 50 hours and took half a 8 mg subuxone then waited and took more. Please be very careful.

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30

Sorry I never got to see your message. I'm sure by now you've either taken the sub or didn't. 100mgs of methadone is way too much. Slight wds aren't enough. Let me know what you did and how everything worked out.

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29

Nooo don't take a suboxone. You'll get really sick. You're still on too high of a dose of methadone hun. From my experience, the max amount you can be on is 30mgs then you have to go a few days without any methadone before taking a suboxone. If you taper slow it won't affect you as much as you might think. Then once you're at a low dose of methadone you still need to detox for a cpl days before taking a sub. It's very dangerous to take it too soon and there will be nothing to ease the pain from those withdrawals.

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28

Hi, I've been on methadone since march 7th. I'm up to 64 Mg's and just stopped going. I can't go to detoxing cuz of my son. My last dose was Monday. Can I safely take suboxone? Today my nose is dripping non stop, sweating hot and cold, can't eat or drink and really just lay in my bed.

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27

I took 100mg of methadone yesterday. I also take adderall, which pushes the methadone out of me. Would it be safe to take suboxone? It has been about 30 hours without methadone and I'm going through slight withdrawals.

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26

To be honest Sarah, I don't really know. A part of me wants to say if you're still withdrawing then you should be fine. BUT- the smart side of me says don't risk it. Taking methadone for 4 days is still enough to build a bit in your system and the half life varies. For an opioid- tolerant person the methadone half life is about 24hrs. For a opioid-naive person the half life of methadone is around 55 hours.

I am assuming you have some sort of tolerance to opioids though.

The problem is, not one person has the same chemistry so what might not be safe for you could be safe for me or the next person and vise versa.

Play it safe and wait at least 24 hours.

You'll regret it if you go into Precipitated withdrawal and- once that happens there is nothing you can do to ease the pain. You'd just have to ride it out.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.

Keep us posted and let us know how you're doing.

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25

I have been on a small dose of methadone for 4 days. Can I take suboxone today? I took about 15 to 16 mgs of methadone this morning, but I'm in withdrawal still.

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24

Each drug has a particular half-life that determines how long it remains in your bloodstream. Short-acting opioids, such as morphine, and most narcotic pain relievers, have shorter half-lives than longer-acting opioids like methadone, for example. Some prescription narcotic opioids are designed to have an extended-release format as well, which extends the amount of time it will remain in your body. Precipitated withdrawal can start if you take Suboxone before the other opioid drug leaves your body. The timeline may differ from person to person depending on several factors, including personal physiology and genetics. Generally speaking, you should wait to take Suboxone the following amounts of time after your last dose of these specific drugs:

Morphine: 8-12 hours
Oxycodone and hydrocodone: 12-24 hours
Oxymorphone: 24-30 hours
Methadone: 36 hours to a week

A general rule of thumb to avoid precipitated withdrawal is to wait until opioid withdrawal symptoms start, as this typically means the drug has mostly left your bloodstream.

I'm not a doctor though. You might want to call a pharmacy or call a methadone / suboxone clinic and ask them. It's all confidential so it's not like they can call your doctor and let him/her know. I've also heard from 30mgs of methadone you have to wait at least three days. It's better to be safe than sorry as there is nothing that can relieve you from PWD's.

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23

Been on suboxone 12mg for 4 yrs, lost my script on the 5th and took 30mg methadone for 6 days. Now that I got some more suboxone I'm wondering how long to wait to start subs again?

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22

Hey TI,

I've been where you are and I'm still struggling with the whole opiate battle. I tapered off of methadone and left my home state thinking that's what would help but then as soon as I got a new doctor I was prescribed oxycodone. At first I thought my dr was just trying to get me hooked since he also prescribed suboxone. So for awhile I was really angry and confused. After two months of taking oxycodone after tapering off of methadone I learned that even though I tapered off there was still a ton of methadone built up in my body. It has such a long half life which is why most of us will end up getting off that and going back on our drug of choice or, suboxone (after the appropriate time to detox from methadone to safely transition to suboxone). I've also been on subs a few years back and those whirled great for me. Much better than the methadone. Currently I'm 5 days off of oxycodone and 74hrs off of a low dose of Vicodin since I did take some Monday around noon. My doctor offered me suboxone again but I told him I'm just tired of how taking these medications lock me down to always depending on taking something to just feel "normal". So, he prescribed me clonidine and I got some Imodium to help as well. Had I known about clonidine years ago, I might not have went through the years of putting people though hell and myself physically and mentally.

It's great that you're trying the subs. But honestly sometimes what might work for others may not work the same for you. My best advice would be to slowly taper off the subs and talk to your doctor about the clonidine. It won't take all the withdrawal symptoms away but it makes it much more manageable. The only thing I'm not keen on with this medication is how thirsty it makes me. And, it does make you drowsy big time. So keep that in mind if you do decide to take this route. Only do this under your doctors supervision and do not try to do this while taking suboxone or any other medication without the approval from your doctor first.

Also, for the suboxone not working the same, if you do plan on continuing suboxone treatment you might want to consider talking to your doctor about your dose. You might need more than you're currently taking. I want to be positive and say it does get better. But I don't want to lie either and tell you that it will get better quickly. It's hard work. You have to change the people, places and things in your life and have good support. Even if you're in a program you need to surround yourself with positive people. Negative vibes can also affect how you feel. If you were on a high dose of methadone and you nodded you won't do that with subs which will also make your brain think it's not working. So, just keep that in mind. The goal is to be treated while you get yourself stable then once you're stable enough you start to taper off of the subs or methadone. If you don't, you're going to have a higher chance of relapse and I pray to God that you make it through this difficult time.

Remember, be honest with your doctor, research other options if you no longer want to take medication (after your stable). And change the people, places and things in you life. We all believe in you and are here for you if you need us.

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21

I've been on methadone for 4 years and just switched to Suboxone but it doesn't seem to be working for very long. Please help.

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20

Hey there! I do believe in you. And I believe there is life after opiates. I am living it now and it is really so much better. I do believe in the end the opioids make it worse, not better. As far as him switching you over to oxy (and I am not a doctor so take that in to account) I think that is exactly what you should do. Get off the 'done which is poison and pure evil, and has such a long painful withdrawal, and forget about subs as they do nothing for pain, get you hooked on bupe, and are virtually impossible to come off (I have a friend who went to rehab cuz he couldn't get below 2mg/day subs and he couldn't do it and has stayed there for 2 years). My personal advice is, first of all, give yourself a break. Don't be too hard on yourself! Switch to the 4 oxy, then as soon as all the 'done is out of your body, try going by this number of tabs per day: 4, 4, 3.5, 3.5, 3, 3, 2.5, 2.5, 2, 2, 1.5, 1.5, 1, 1, .5 and .5 then zeroes.... It's not easy but you can do it and there may be a little discomfort for a little bit but compared to taking these strong drugs forever (and having all the side effects, emotional stunting, diminished libido, constipation especially) you can be clean and lean. I also advocate for working out, going to gym and getting your body stronger. And of course, be happy. You're alive. And you'll be off ridiculous subs and methadone. You'll be much happier. You've got the power!

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19

Glad to hear it. As i said after my detox because of chronic pain i was put back on oxycodone again. I will be on a opiate pain killer for life along with periodic nerve block injections also as i have been for 25 yrs. There will come a time perhaps i will need to detox again to receive the full affect of the pain killers. Your Dr. is smart using the least amount of opiate to start you on again. Don't be so hard on yourself. The medications were invented to diminish pain not remove it. You may be on a regime of pain meds for life?
The US. Gov. had no right to step in and tell drs how to prescribe pain meds. Each person on prescription meds is in an individual class. Good luck in Fl.

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