Re: Methadone taper questions

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the questions . My pain management Doc wanted to put

me on methadone when I started with him, said the oxy's weren't as

effective for my amputee nerve pain. I'd heard horror stories about

methadone withdrawal and decided to avoid it as long as I could. I

know it's effective, my husband took it when he was dying of cancer.

Morphine made him a little too loopy to function so Hospice switched

him. Did the job for pain control and kept quality of life high until

the end. We knew he'd never withdraw, so it was a perfect choice. So

far the oxy's are doing an effective job, although I'll start to build

a tolerance. I was on the same thing for about a year and a half after

my leg came off and they had to up the dose after a year. I suspect

that when my current dose is no longer effective, they'll want to

switch me to methadone. I'd been meaning to post the same kind of

questions and saved me the trouble.

Lou

[Guest guest]

Hi Ya Lou

Nice to " see " you again! I've missed you. I'm not much on talking on

the phone these days. Between the broken leg and mashed foot, and

trying to work and do physiotherapy, I'm not the most fun on the phone

these days. :-)

Withdrawing properly from methadone is not difficult. No more so than

from any other narcotic. It's done one day at a time - stepping down a

little bit each day.

The nice thing about withdrawing from it, is that it is not an extended

release drug, so you can cut out a little amount every few days. I

split the pill down to 8th's for the first week, then quarters, then

halves etc. It has never been a problem.

I'm really not happy with being put on an extended release tablet.

(Opana ER). It's supposed to work for 12 hours, but I'm finding it

starts petering at about 9 hours, so I have to take the break through

medication to last until it's properly time for the next Opana dose. It

all seems kind of pointless.

I ran into the same thing when I took extended release Avinza. It never

worked for the length of time it was supposed to work.

On another note - are you still taking Lyrica? I keep thinking about

your eyesight problems and worrying about you! :-)

Hugs from

Lyndi aka Lynne

Lou Conaway wrote:

> Thanks for the questions . My pain management Doc wanted to put

> me on methadone when I started with him, said the oxy's weren't as

> effective for my amputee nerve pain. I'd heard horror stories about

> methadone withdrawal and decided to avoid it as long as I could. I

> know it's effective, my husband took it when he was dying of cancer.

> Morphine made him a little too loopy to function so Hospice switched

> him. Did the job for pain control and kept quality of life high until

> the end. We knew he'd never withdraw, so it was a perfect choice. So

> far the oxy's are doing an effective job, although I'll start to build

> a tolerance. I was on the same thing for about a year and a half after

> my leg came off and they had to up the dose after a year. I suspect

> that when my current dose is no longer effective, they'll want to

> switch me to methadone. I'd been meaning to post the same kind of

> questions and saved me the trouble.

[Guest guest]

Lyndi! You were the one that finally got through to me and got me back to a pain

management clinic, and I can't tell you how much that's meant. You and others in

this group have been at it a good long time and are still willing to share your

knowledge and experience. I don't know why there's such a gap between the

information we often get from a primary care we should trust and the experience

of knowledgeable patients. Probably has something to do with drug companies with

deep pockets and an army of well paid reps.

My primary care was an idiot. I suspect he barely scraped by in med

school and I know he hasn't bothered to keep up. We have a shortage of primary

cares in my town and I took what I could get. As I heard from Lyndi, and then

again from every new MD I talked to, blurred vision from Lyrica should have been

a red flag. This guy told me it wasn't a problem. Side effects finally took over

my life, with blurred vision, loss of balance, and fatigue. When I finally

demanded a referral to pain management, my pc shook his finger in my face and

told me I was headed down a dangerous path. He did make the referral, then fired

me as a patient. My pain management doc is an anesthesiologist with

sub-specialties in chronic pain management and also addictions. He's been

knowledgeable and compassionate, knew what was causing my pain and ordered an

ultrasound to confirm it. He gave me a referral to a new primary care, one with

a family practice. Turns out that the surgeon who saved my life, that I respect

absolutely, trusts my new pc with his own daughter's care.

The clinic that I went to right after I lost my leg had me on time

release meds twice a day. This guy gave me the same thing in a

slightly smaller dosage 3 times a day and it made all the difference. The stuff

just doesn't last for 12 hours! I still need break through meds, but not nearly

as many as I needed with twice a day time release. Pain control is good with no

side effects. Lyrica is referred to in my house as The Drug From Hell.

I'd heard horror stories about methadone withdrawal, that it's stored

in bone and takes at least a year for withdrawal symptoms to finally

stop. I suspect now that the stories filtering back to me were from

people who had more ongoing problems than simple withdrawal. Thanks

again and keep the info coming!

Lou