Apr 18, 2013 | By Tim Stoddart
The Methadone Controversy
Synthetic Drug AddictionDisclaimer: This is a post from a fan. Sober Nation does not endorse nor oppose any one way in which somebody achieves recovery. There are many opinions on the use of methadone to recover from addiction. Here is one, leave yours in the comment section.
Methadone?…methaDON’T
I’m sorry but, if you’re on a methadone maintenance program you are not clean. Being clean means that you are not using any mood or mind altering drugs (yes, even pot). Now I’m not talking about a methadone (or suboxone/subutex) taper while detoxing in treatment. Generally, the proper use in that situation is for the drug to be taken for about a week in order to lessen the symptoms that accompany opioid (opiate) withdrawal. The purpose for this is to alleviate discomfort with the end goal of being completely drug-free, and not to be dependent on yet another drug. That being said the rest of this article is about the use of methadone and suboxone as a long term “solution” to the disease of addiction. As someone who has tried programs for both methadone and suboxone maintenance, I feel that I can weigh in on this subject.
Phew! Now that I got that off my chest, let’s clarify a few things first, before we get into the juicy stuff.
Addiction is the process whereby physical and/or psychological dependence develops to a drug – including opioids (wikipedia.com)
The terms opioid and opiate are basically interchangeable. If I want to be a complete nerd and differentiate the two, an opioid is a synthetic, or man-made, version of an opiate (dictionary.com).
Methadone is classified as an opioid schedule II controlled substance.
Now for some “facts:”
According to psychcentral.com, “taking medication for opioid addiction is not the same as substituting one addictive drug for another.” I beg to differ. That’s exactly what you’re doing when you take methadone instead of say, heroin or painkillers. Have you ever been able to stop methadone without experiencing side effects? Right. Webmd.com asserts that methadone is effective for treating addiction to opiates: “[when] taken once a day, methadone eases opiate withdrawal for 24 to 36 hours, decreasing the chance of relapse.” Have you ever recovered from active addiction in the span of 24 hours? Yeah, me neither.
Webmd.com states: “as a treatment for opiate addiction, methadone reduces the cravings and withdrawal symptoms caused by opiate use.” Do you know why that is? Because methadone is an opioid. The site also says that “methadone treatment may be needed for several years or longer.” Oh. My. God. Several years or longer?! I chose to quit methadone cold-turkey rather than to be hooked on it for any length of time. Besides spending the ridiculous amount of money it costs weekly, I did not want to be dependent on any substance. I didn’t want something to be in control of me, dictating when I got up, what my day would look like, the required daily naps at noon from the drowsiness it caused: basically living like some kind of zombie-slave.
Okay, so methadone isn’t the solution. What about Suboxone? I can go to a licensed physician and get a legitimate prescription for it.
Suboxone is a schedule III controlled substance that contains both a ‘partial opioid agonist’ and an ‘opioid antagonist’ (webmd.com).
In other words, suboxone has an opioid blocker but it also contains an “opioid agonist,” or a chemical substance capable of activating a brain receptor to induce a response. Let me clarify: the first drug in suboxone is, in fact, an opioid and does to the brain the same thing that any other opioid does. So, it is no different. It’s like “downgrading” from liquor to beer because beer contains a lower percentage of alcohol.
In other words, using this example: one is alcohol and the other is…alcohol. Psychcentral.com states that using suboxone, like methadone, “gives the person with opioid addiction a 24-hour reprieve” and that this 24-hour relief “gives the patient time to reconsider the wisdom of relapsing with a problem opioid.” Look carefully at this statement. It basically says that suboxone is, in fact, a substitute for a “problem opioid” such as heroin. The site asserts that suboxone is simply the lesser of two evils. And again, since when does a mere 24 hours cure an addict of their addiction? Never would be the correct answer.
But wait, I found this little gem buried within the webmd.com site: “People on methadone or Suboxone maintenance therapy are still opioid-dependent.” Aha! I love being right!
Author Profile –
Cheryl Steinberg aka Cheryl Maryland is a thirty-three year old loving and compassionate woman who hails from, you guessed it, the awesome state of Maryland (blue crabs!). She holds two Bachelor’s degrees: Sociology and Spanish and also can communicate in American Sign Language. Originally a social worker, Cheryl has, at times, traded in her do-good-er cape for a spatula, slinging yummy organic food at a local market. She even went as far as to try her hand as a chef in an Indian restaurant (her samosas are to die for). Currently, Cheryl plies her trade as an Addictions Specialist with Your First Step. She enjoys stuffing her face, doing yoga, and enhancing movie-goers’ experiences with her hilarious commentary. Next on her list: roller-derby!
Barb
11 years ago
Well said . Let me add that lots of people at methadone clinic “cook” it so they get high. I agree that short-term use to transition off something more dangerous is fine but long-term use is still addiction. Does anyone know of any studies that confirm or deny its value?
Andi N.
11 years ago
THANK YOU! Period.
just me
11 years ago
Thank you Mr Dworak and all the professionals that work in the NRT field. COSIDERATE- There is a good thought in the following incident from a late book: “a dear old friend of mine used to say with truist Christian charity, when he heard any one being loudly condemned for some fault: ‘Ah! well , yes,it seems very bad to me, because that’s not my way of sinning'”
Non-Do-Good-Er
8 years ago
I’m sure she puts forthe a great deal of effort to keep a secret her own “method of sinning”. This admitted “do-good-er” should take a long, hard look in the mirror and an honest self-inventory before shitting all over MMT despite its success. Whether or not you want to look at it as simply trading one addiction for another, one cannot deny the fact that dedicated patients undergoing MMT make a lot of progress, and that the chances of those patients avoiding illegal substances are much greater than were they to quit “cold turkey”, as she seems to be suggesting is the “right” way.
NameThomas Dworak
11 years ago
MessageCheryl,
Wow, interesting reading material. It is al based on a biased opinion, yours, to be sure..So Cheryl, lets start at the beginning. Let’s get your credentials down. Where were you a social worker? In a methadone clinic?
Other than a uselss source of the internet as citing references ( any credible school would give you an “F” on the paper for using the internet) what are your references.
So do you work with opiate addicts. Oh, sorry, you gave up being a social worker and now you are a chef in a restaurant.
Sounds like you can’t get it together Cheryl.
Cheryl, I work in a Methadone Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. It is tough tedious work. Taking someone who is addicted to heroin and promising them that if they listen and do what we both plan, their life will get better.
Methadone helps to take away the cravings for heroin. You probably did not know that Cheryl, the internet is not, I repeat, not a viable refernce source.
So Cheryl, what are your views on CBT? Or MMT? C’mon Cheryl, you got a bachelor’s degree. You should know this. Naw, probably not. You probably failed as a social worker, couldn’t handle the stress. You probably were terminated from a methadone clinic. Not like you thought it was going to be? Being an Addictions specialist is tough, gut wrenching work. Methadone is a tool that we use to help the client ease away from opiates.
When we ease them away from opiates, we help to correct the negative ways of thinking with positive cognitive behavior therapy. we help clean up the wreckage of the past of some very damaged clients.
Did you read about that on the internet? Of course you did Cheryl, in between cooking curry at an Indian restaurant. Make sure I have the name of the restaurant Cheryl, I want to avoid it at all costs. If your cooking is anything like your obvious poor social worker skills, coupled with your poor essay writing abilities, well, so goes the food.
Cheryl, when you bash, be prepared to defend your premise. You obviously don’t have a clue.
Thank God you are a cook-probably the only job you are qualified for. A social worker? You probably did more harm than good.
Happy cooking Cheryl.
Thomas Dworak MBA, M.S.E.d, CSAC, LPC.
just me
11 years ago
Thank you again Mr Dworak. I thank GOD for the methadone maintenance program! It has changed my life! I no longer have to live the miserable way of life that I lived being addicted to heroin. I am able to get my daughter out of foster care and give her the daddy that she deserves because of the wonderful counselors and medications I am given thru the MMP.
counselors and medications at the methadone maintenance program. Thanks
Amber
8 years ago
Thanks you so much for challenging this article. As someone who is studying social work in my senior bachelors degree, I was shocked to read how the stigmas of methadone still my exist in the field. I have a loose term for sobriety which is changed thoughts and behaviors, not abstinence from all mood altering drugs. Defining soberity in those words would place very few people inside this box because all mood altering drugs would include nicotine, caffeine, medication for mental health disorders, methadone, etc. Thank you for your opinions expressed about this article, Amber C
Jason
8 years ago
Thank you. At least someone here knows what they are talking about.
stefanie
8 years ago
THANK YOU!!!! People like this are the reason there is a stigma around the opiate replacement program. It’s great that she wants to share her opinion but before she hauls off and starts trying to make educated references she should make sure they are correct. Its unfortunate that addicts are faced with social workers like her. I turned my 18 year heroin addiction into three years clean because of the methadone program. And I am more than happy to brag about it. I was able to parent my children and have a life again because of it, Things such as CBT and MRT and MMT were things I was willing to learn because I was no longer shooting up in an alley somewhere. I was in a program learning about what I had done to myself and others and how to stop the cycle. Without methadone I wouldn’t have even considered these things. So again…Thank you for stepping up and shutting this ignorance down!!
NameRob
11 years ago
MessageThomas you sound angry/I have to side with the COOK/AS AN ADDICT ..on my resume of life/ sorry I don’t have all the letters after my name ,imjust an addict that has a clue..Thomas K. if your and addict you are welome to your oppinion/ if not then your just a drug pusher with a degree..Methadone is highly addictive/used at 35mg or more as a blocker..so you can’t get high off heroin/so most that i new in my rippin and runnin days went to the clinic ,got there methadone ,then went out and smoked CRACK, BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T GET HIGH off their drug of choice..Today I’m clean and sober 5 years one day at a time..Not like that fellow in California that claims to use to have been an ADDICT.A drug is a drug is a drug., my addict Daddy used to tell me that..Today I live in an Oxford House,and you interview at this house and you have a doctors note that says you take methadone or suboxone ,you won’t be excepted/ BECUASE YOUR STILL NOT CLEAN AND SOBER…Just a high school educated 56 year old addicts opinion.Please forgive my spelling/I haven’t been in school since 1974/ But I have been schooled by life/ Cheryl ,I have to agree with you..
Sheri
11 years ago
WOW-Why so angry Thomas? Isn’t everyone entitiled to their opinion.
cheryl steinberg
11 years ago
@Mr. Dworak,
I felt compelled to respond to your comment because I feel it necessary to correct a few things. You may have a lot of letters after your name but, clearly, your reading comprehension is quite low. I wrote that I am not against using methadone/suboxone for short-term withdrawal while in treatment . I entered treatment to get off of suboxone (among other substances) and I was not about to do it cold turkey, again (as mentioned in the article, I had kicked methadone cold turkey in the past). Furthermore, I don’t currently cook or chef, I work in the addictions field. Everything I put my mind to comes out perfect and awesome because I am an amazingly talented woman. I used to serve the homeless and low-income in a Healthcare for the Homeless clinic. I never worked for a methadone clinic because I don’t believe in slinging legalized dope to suffering addicts and being a pawn (a puppet, tool, dupe) of the government, helping them to make money off of people enslaved by drugs. I am a recovering addict who tried methadone maintenance to “fix” my heroin addiction only to become an avid coke and crack user (I was an IV user). You see, I was a strong believer in “Go Big or Go Home.” Yet, today I am clean and sober (from all substances) because I put in the necessary work to get to where I am in my recovery. I did an in-patient treatment, IOP, lived in a halfway house (even though I could have lived in my familiy’s home – see, I got clean exactly where I used to get high; in fact, I could see my former dope-dealer’s house from my window at the halfway house), and I work a 12-step program. I mention all this because I believe anyone can get clean without depending on government-dealt dope. Because I did it.
Bill W.
11 years ago
thomas dworak, i never heard of you but i know you heard of me. you put a bunch of letters after your name but you forget 3 main ones F,A, and G. people have come into my program because they were addicted to methadone. I lived through the disease as did Cheryl, you just went to community college and learned about it, so kick rocks barefoot. 5,000 people overdose on methadone a year, know how many over dose on AA/NA? NONE! i wrote a book you just write scripts bitch. Im more famous than santa, nobody can even spell your name. You dont want none of this Tom! I’m a BEAST and your a BITCH!! Im gonna wrap this up cause you aint worth my time, and i already won this battle. just remember whose been saving lives since 1939. THE NIGGA BILLY DUBS!!! PEACE BITCH!
Nick
8 years ago
Dude go to your NA meeting then and stop surfing the web looking for drug related shit. Maybe war stories, coffee and Bills crap book work for you, but for most NA is a failure. And yes that is a fact. I also know that more deaths are caused by taking a hardcore addict and placing them in rehab. They get sober, lower their tolerance, attend hours of NA to war story, and eventually get out and then OD soon after. Because they were told that getting clean was the best thing for them. When that is actually the worst route for a serious dope addict. The proven more effective way to keep a dope addict alive is maintenance. I’m not talking about people like you who did a great many “kiddy” pills, like 30mg oc and tabs. Yes y’all can probably survive by going to group coffee hour, where if you aren’t war story sharing, you are busy educating yourself or others about drugs and where to get them. But that shit don’t work for most addicts! Methadone has done wonders! Same with Subutex.
NameClint
11 years ago
Thomas FUCK YOU! You are the BIGGEST IDIOT EVER!!!
This article says taking methadone and suboxone is not being clean. That is a FACT! If you stay out of trouble on this maitence good, but you ARE NOT CLEAN AND SOBER!
Jay
7 years ago
You are clean as long.as you shower.
Lexi K.
11 years ago
I am a recovering heroin addict and thank GOD that I didn’t end up on Methadone maintenance program. Thomas tells us that being on methadone lessens the cravings for heroin – no shit, Sherlock. Being on heroin lessended my cravings for heroin, too. That has nothing to do with the article. Exchanging one opioid for another is like drinking whisky due to your destructive addiction to gin. What is even controversial about this statement? If you are “on” methadone, you are addicted to it. If you are addicted to it, you aren’t clean.
Saul
11 years ago
My name is Saul, I was able to beat opiate addiction and have 8 years clean now. If you or anyone needs help you can call me or text me anytime. (561)-706-6236
karina
11 years ago
I see the merits in your discussion
However done kept me alive until i found recovery.
jjSD
9 years ago
Well said. Every year I have friends die but they aren’t the ones going to the clinic faithfully…
karina
11 years ago
I see the merits in your discussion
However done kept me alive until i found recovery.
Tim
10 years ago
I would like to thank you for your opinions, but I feel as it is what is wrong with your program. I am glad you think I am not clean, more power to you. Unfortunately I have been tapering off methadone which gave me a chance at a new way of life. I went to some meetings and met people who took my inventory as you people are and it was very damaging to me. I understand you feel like I am not living to your standards of clean. What about anti-depressants, what about people taking epileptic medicine? Are they not clean too. That is why I choose to not take your opinion home and I will continue to work my program until I am totally off my medication. I tried to go to detox and they told me come back in 2 weeks. I couldn’t steal anymore though. I wish I had someone who could have helped me detox, but at last I had no one. I do not have health insurance. So I will continue to work my program as I want to work it, and continue to take suggestions from people. And when I finally get off this medication called methadone I will start MY clean time over because it is what I want to do. The people who keep taking other people’s inventory like you people are sick.
Adrienne
10 years ago
I don’t need an article or study to tell me if methadone “works” or not or is “good” or “bad”- why? Because it saved my life. I’ve been a methadone patient for 22 months, & I have not used heroin or taken an Oxy in…22 months. Opiate addiction is forever. It breaks the blood-brain barrier & literally alters your physiology, thus why maintenance programs are so important. Not to mention the fact that studies indicate that nearly 100% of opiate addicts require medication.
I don’t know one, single person that remained drug-free without a maintenance program.
Methadone, at the dose appropriate for the individual, does not get you high. Not even a little bit. I liken it to snake anivenin.
Antivenin is made from the venom itself. If someone who has not been biten by the snake receives it, it will attack the body & probably lead to death. However, for someone that has been biten & has the venom coursing through their body, antivenin stops it in its tracks & it can no longer progress.
If you give methadone to a non-opiate addict, yes, they will be three sheets to the wind…but it does not do that to an addict.
Another beneficial thing is that when on methadone, you can no longer get high. For a methadone patient, heroin & oxys has absolutely no effect. Yet another way it prevents relapse! Which is why methadone maintenance is so beneficial. Are you gonna use if it’s not gonna get you high? & that’s for as long as you’re on it.
To all medical, social, & legal personnel, if you test positive for methadone & nothing else, that’s considered a clean urine.
I was put on methadone when I found out I was pregnant (one of the most common uses for it), & my beautiful babies are perfect & healthy & I’ve not used in almost 2 years. Every single person at my clinic says that it saved their lives, & does so every day.
You can have your opinion but as someone who properly stayed on the methadone program & didn’t exit it prematurely (that “zombie-state” goes away), my life alone, the fact that I am able to see type this today, disproves you.
Midget
9 years ago
I love your writing. You are Sooo correct. I was using a heavy amount if heroin. I started a few weeks ago at a methadone maintenance clinic and it is the best decision I’ve ever made. They start everyone at such a low holding dose initially that I ended up sick 13hrs after my first dose. They raised me 10mgs the second day. Now, I’ve been on that. It helped a little bit but I still need an induction. At my center, this can only be done weekly after a board review. My point in saying all this is that no, you do not get high. Not even a little bit. I, in fact, am half sick by the time I get to my clinic each day BUT it is MUCH better than being totally dope sick or going out doing dumb things to get dope. I am working my program the correct way under the supervision of trained counselors and a doctor. I’m happy. Living healthier. Looking for a job. For the first time in four years, I am PROUD OF MYSELF! So, if it takes a few weeks on Methadone or even a few months, SO BE IT.. IT’S SAVING MY LIFE and giving me HOPE AND DIRECTION. To some I might not be clean but to me, i am a hell of a lot cleaner than I was five weeks ago. This is all thanks to my deciding to go to this clinic and get help. If used properly, methadone is completely safe and can be short term. It’s all about how you apply it to your life, as with anything else. To those still struggling with addiction, I HIGHLY recommend a methadone program. Especially if you are like me and cannot take suboxone. Try methadone. It works. Use it the right way. Do it for yourself. You’ll immediately feel better. Good luck, everyone. Keep your head up. We’ll all ALWAYS be addicts, it’s just about finding the way to not give in.
Adrienne
10 years ago
I don’t need an article or study to tell me if methadone “works” or not or is “good” or “bad”- why? Because it saved my life. I’ve been a methadone patient for 22 months, & I have not used heroin or taken an Oxy in…22 months. Opiate addiction is forever. It breaks the blood-brain barrier & literally alters your physiology, thus why maintenance programs are so important. Not to mention the fact that studies indicate that nearly 100% of opiate addicts require medication.
I don’t know one, single person that remained drug-free without a maintenance program.
Methadone, at the dose appropriate for the individual, does not get you high. Not even a little bit. I liken it to snake anivenin.
Antivenin is made from the venom itself. If someone who has not been biten by the snake receives it, it will attack the body & probably lead to death. However, for someone that has been biten & has the venom coursing through their body, antivenin stops it in its tracks & it can no longer progress.
If you give methadone to a non-opiate addict, yes, they will be three sheets to the wind…but it does not do that to an addict.
Another beneficial thing is that when on methadone, you can no longer get high. For a methadone patient, heroin & oxys has absolutely no effect. Yet another way it prevents relapse! Which is why methadone maintenance is so beneficial. Are you gonna use if it’s not gonna get you high? & that’s for as long as you’re on it.
To all medical, social, & legal personnel, if you test positive for methadone & nothing else, that’s considered a clean urine.
I was put on methadone when I found out I was pregnant (one of the most common uses for it), & my beautiful babies are perfect & healthy & I’ve not used in almost 2 years. Every single person at my clinic says that it saved their lives, & does so every day.
You can have your opinion but as someone who properly stayed on the methadone program & didn’t exit it prematurely (that “zombie-state” goes away), my life alone, the fact that I am able to see type this today, disproves you.
Nikki
10 years ago
I am 100% and on a maintenance program 🙂 Saved my life aswell
Christina
10 years ago
Thankyou Adrienne..for saying everything exactly as I was needing to after reading all of this nonsense. Being on methadone maintenance now for 8 months has saved my life! I am clean and sober because of methadone. I have been tapering down as well these past few months, from 80 to 60 over a period of three months and this past week have gotten myself down to 30. I haven’t had ANY cravings or relapses since starting on methadone. I have tried EVERYTHING to stay clean. I’ve been in jail programs and NA and followed advice of those who have years of clean time, but I was able to get drugs at EVERY NA meeting and have learned that my own recovery plan is what is best for me and my loved ones because this is what is working!!! The methadone does not get you high unless you’re there on it to get high. Meaning if you are on a higher dose than what your body needs you’re using it to get high. I am in methadone maintenance for many reasons… I am a felon , which means I am not eligible for Medicaid insurance therefore I do not have health insurance. I do not want to EVER use again and go back to the life I was living, in and out of jail and am now on 5 years of probation meaning a mess up for me sends me to prison. I REFUSE to not be here for my daughter is my BIGGEST reason I chose methadone. She finally has me,her mother, back, and not as a zombie or in jail. She knows the difference between me now and ugly using mommy. I owe my life to my support group and Counselors who have guided me through the last 8 months there at what most call “the clinic”. To me, its my medication, Therefore I have doctors ! I dont agree with half of what most people say about methadone…why should I when I know from experience what it truly does for the addicts and their families. Methadones not meant for long term use is the ONLY thing I do agree with that I hear people say….it’s not healthy and is a lot harder to detox off of and usually ends in the addict returning to their drug of choice. I have met hundreds of men and woman who would pick methadone over EVER PICKING UP THEIR DRUG OF CHOICE EVER AGAIN. I am happy with MY program, my Counselors, my doctors, my LIFE NOW! I’m going to go lower on my milligrams after Christmas due to needing to not be sick over the Holidays. I want to start back up decreasing my dose but can’t do so when needing to work and having no help with paying my bills , taking care of my daughter and home, and be able to give her a Christmas. Detoxing safely is the only way and that is by doing so slooooooooowly . VERY SLOWLY!! And that takes time and being prepared. You are sick for weeks at a time when detoxing. If you have not used methadone maintenance you should not speak on the issue. Thanks
gwen
10 years ago
Adrienne, I love your comparison to the antivenom. I may also add that Methadone saved my life as well as that of my husband. Many addicts require anti-depressants/mood stabilizers since often the addiction was a form of “self medication.” Methadone is simply a medication for the treatment of the disease of addiction. When taken properly in conjunction with working your program, it is a successful medication that DOESN”T make you high. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion. But to say that ” I believe anyone can get clean without depending on government-dealt dope. Because I did it.” is condescending. Everyone is different & who are you to say that your recovery program is better than mine? And for the one calling the other writer a “FAG” and railing Hate, you should be ashamed that you go by the name Bill W. This thread should support & help addicts NOT insult and demean people. Beware of comparing yourself to others. Work your program & “just not, lest ye be judged.” I will clarify my statement that I am clean and sober of “illicit” drugs as I am still on methadone as a mood stabilizer. Stay well folks, may you find peace and your own sobriety.
MLE K8
10 years ago
i have been on and off methadone twice in 5 years. as much as i hate being on it, it has given me the chance to get my life back, as i couldn’t handle getting off heroin cold turkey. In the long run methadone was a longer lasting withdrawl, but by the time i was ready to get off, i had been clean and sober for a time, and so i was psychologically ready to get off. instead of arguing who’s qualified, and whether or not you’re technically clean on methadone, shouldn’t the fact that methadone helps some people lead a illegal drug-free life, helping them get their life back to where they might one day be ready to get off of methadone itself, the important thing. Recovery is different for everyone, when you’re a functioning addict, you work, have a family, methadone is a way of getting you out of that addictive cycle mindset in a matter of days. where i live, insurance and gov’t plans cover it, our clinics have counsellors you must meet with (weekly in the begining)and doctors to continually monitor your dose. Whether you detox yourself, or choose methadone, neither guarentee success, that is different for each addict and comes in their own time. I consider myself clean, on methadone, i no longer depend on breaking the law daily to feel “normal” and i can’t use methadone as an escape from my life, like i did with drugs
Sherry
10 years ago
I use Methadone for Chronic Pain. It is the only medication I can take that covers my pain and does not get me high….I have been in recovery since 1981 . I have had more years clean then not clean. I have always relapsed on all the mood altering drugs you can think of. Methadone does not alter my mood nor do I get high…it is people like you and the rude crude asswhole that has finally made me accept AA,NA, whatever A does not work for me…I can no longer deal with the unqualified statements I here in meetings and I am a LCSW, LMHC, CADACII……I have seen so many addicts die from the guilt, shame and opinions of people with years of clean time that makes them think they know everything… There is no anonymity , confidentiality, or compassion in those rooms anymore…People like you cause addicts to just feel like they might as well use or kill themselves and sadly a lot of them do…I will never be back to this page again…This reminds me why I left NA.
Alexis
10 years ago
Really, “Bill W.”? You are not a person in recovery. To be in recovery means that you do not lead an addicitve lifestyle. You surround yourself with positive, prosocial people in positive environments. You work whatever program works for you and you learn to accept that nobody is the same and has their own thoughts/feelings/opinions. Reading your post, you sound like an ignorant fool! Using the “N-word”? Really? Not indicative of someone in recovery. As for the Methadone controversy, who cares how someone gets/stays clean? Whatever works for one may not work for another and that is ok. One size doesn’t fit all. To judge someone and insinuate that they are not clean is your own stuff. Those comments can damage someone who is already in a fragile and vulverable state to continue to feel poorly about themselves. People need to think first. And as for “cooking Methadone to get high”, what does that mean? Most clinics I am aware of, provide liquid Methadone that people drink. They don’t cook it and inject it. Suboxone, maybe. Get the meds straight people. Lastly, “Bill W.” YOU are a disgrace to the gentleman who founded this SUPPORT group for ALL people suffering with the DISEASE of addiction.
missy
10 years ago
I hoped this article would be geared more toward people like me. I was badly addicted to painkillers for 6 years. I looked up rehabs, and found a local methadone clinic that requires weekly individual and group therapies as well as regular random drug testing. The dr. is constantly telling the counselors to ready their clients for tapering because that is the whole point. They get you to a therapeutic dose where you’re not experiencing withdrawals, then gradually taper you off. I started in Feb 2013 and my therapeutic dose ended up being 180mgs. 2 weeks after being at this dose, i decided i was ready to taper and be completely clean. I am now at 37mgs. I will be done in Feb 2014. By the end of it, i will have defeated opiates with zero withdrawals!! So i am extremely grateful for methadone, which helped me maintain a normal life and face my demons while i was getting clean. I consider myself clean because i only take what is prescribed at the dose its prescribed. I do not have the life of an addict. Addiction is taking a substance even after it interferes in your normal life. So im not in active addiction. To me, methadone has been a miracle drug. I hope this site posts an article about this view of methadone treatment instead of focusing on only those who are looking for another way to get high.
missy
10 years ago
Christina, glad you’re clean and i agreed with ALMOST everything you said. But not everyone needs to taper very slowly. I was at 180 3 monts ago. Now im at 37mgs. The only withdrawals ive experienced have been in the past few days at about 4am (3 hrs before i dose) i get chills and sweats. Im NOT sick at all though. No pain, no vomiting, just a little temperature change for a few hrs in the early morning, and i can handle that no problem. Try to remember that everyones different and especially with methadone, its got more to do with being psychologically ready (not making excuses, psyching yourself out, etc.) Than being physically ready. If you expect withdrawals in your taper, thats exactly what youll experience. If you focus on every mild pain or chill, its gonna be really hard to keep tapering. I wish you the best of luck!
maddie
10 years ago
i was completly and utterly against methadone ….i got clean numerous times but never stayed clean bcuz i was still in active addiction …i still had the mindset that i wanted to stick a needle in my arm and get that rush ….so finally i gave in to trying methadone bcuz everything else i tryed ddnt work……i didnt go really high up so the methadone got me “high” bcuz i was done i wanted to feel normal….it gave me time to get out of active addiction and learn a new way of life to get in “normal” routines….it got to the point that i would forget to go to the clinic!! thats when i knew i was ready and started detoxing …im now happily completly clean and need absolutly nothing IM FREE …..METHADONE SAVED MY LIFE & gave my children their real mom back…….now this is not without saying TONS of people abuse methadone the same as any other drug but for some its exactly what they needed ……like me
Rose Nava
10 years ago
I’ve been on MMP for 3yrs and went from 125mg all the way to 2mg and let me
tell you I haven’t been high off this methadone since 80mg.It’s a very slow process but very necessary to become drug free . It’s the hardest drug to get off of but the best thing about it is there is a safety net and if your withdraws are to much you can go up a few mg or just maintain for a few weeks.Unlike my drug of choice painkillers , I would have to increase my mg intake to not feel withdraws and with MMP I can listen to my body .ne tgoes me the con.fi
Rose Nava
10 years ago
I’ve been on MMP for 3yrs and went from 125mg all the way to 2mg and let me
tell you I haven’t been high off this methadone since 80mg.It’s a very slow process but very necessary to become drug free . It’s the hardest drug to get off of but the best thing about it is there is a safety net and if your withdraws are to much you can go up a few mg or just maintain for a few weeks.Unlike my drug of choice painkillers , I would have to increase my mg intake to not feel withdraws and with MMP I can listen to my body .ne tgoes me the con.fi
Larry b
10 years ago
Methadone should only be used long term for people that have no other choice. Yes I agree u are not clean as long as u are on methadone but with people like me with severe pain issue I have no other choice and my life is lot better. And yes they are a lot of people who go through the program just to get high and that’s the one who are walking around like zombies. If your dose is correct you can live a normal life and u shouldn’t get drowsy. I give props to the ones who have done it cold turkey but before you put everyone down on methadone know there story and why they are going that route.
Heidi
10 years ago
Thank u Gwen and Missy. You two said it best. When you take a medication as prescribed by a doctor and use no illegal drugs then you are SOBER. Educate yourself Cheryl.
Ian
10 years ago
You’re post is extrenely biased and lacks a overall understanding of the purpose of Mmt at best and at worst it’s spoken like someone with no proffessional knowledge at all. I’m taking 45mgs of methadone a day. Yes, I understand I’m taking a opiate. Yes, I understand I still need a medicatiom to live my life normally. Technically, that’s the main defination of addiction – needing a substance daily to live. Does this mean diabetics who take insulin and alcholics who take antabuse are addicted
to their meds too? By your logic, yep.
In the last 4 months I’ve been taking methadone I haven’t been high off it once and it’s prevented me from doing heroin or any other kind of opiate illgeally. I found it funny how you mentioned you were on mmt aswell but quit after a short amount of time. Did you go use your
drug of choice immediately after you started going into withdrawals? I don’t think you’re exactly the strong minded used to be addict your painting yourself out to be.
I understand theres many people who abuse methadone aswell but that doesn’t make it different from any other drug out there. The fact is methadone has helped so many people get a grip on life again and is continueing to everyday. These people enter into mmt from being a full blown addict at rock bottom and turn themselves into somthing productive. If methadone is one of the reasons for that then in my book it’s a treatment for addiction – whether you think its just another way to get high or not. Peace
Ian
10 years ago
You’re post is extrenely biased and lacks a overall understanding of the purpose of Mmt at best and at worst it’s spoken like someone with no proffessional knowledge at all. I’m taking 45mgs of methadone a day. Yes, I understand I’m taking a opiate. Yes, I understand I still need a medicatiom to live my life normally. Technically, that’s the main defination of addiction – needing a substance daily to live. Does this mean diabetics who take insulin and alcholics who take antabuse are addicted
to their meds too? By your logic, yep.
In the last 4 months I’ve been taking methadone I haven’t been high off it once and it’s prevented me from doing heroin or any other kind of opiate illgeally. I found it funny how you mentioned you were on mmt aswell but quit after a short amount of time. Did you go use your
drug of choice immediately after you started going into withdrawals? I don’t think you’re exactly the strong minded used to be addict your painting yourself out to be.
I understand theres many people who abuse methadone aswell but that doesn’t make it different from any other drug out there. The fact is methadone has helped so many people get a grip on life again and is continueing to everyday. These people enter into mmt from being a full blown addict at rock bottom and turn themselves into somthing productive. If methadone is one of the reasons for that then in my book it’s a treatment for addiction – whether you think its just another way to get high or not. Peace
Anthony
10 years ago
Methadone was going to “cure” me from my opiate/heroin problems. It was the lesser of the evils, but still something that kept me in the disease of addiction. It took me until I was 50 years old and had lost everything (except, technically, my life) to get clean. 18 months later, and I am staying clean one day at a time through the 12 step process of recovery. This is my opinion, nad my story. Good luck and God bless to all.
kell
10 years ago
Sometimes we as human do not think about families, friend, pets whatever, but things like this is why this issue will get worse. Feel like a competition on who is more addict than other..
Paul L
10 years ago
I am a recovered addict. For a long time I’ve made the argument that the use of suboxone or methadone was in all practical purposes “using”. That if your altering your mood your practicing active drug use and all the behaviors that go along with it.
Today, I hold a different point of view. Yes it’s true, I had to be open minded enough to do it. The “data”, the hard facts with all the corresponding charts and graphs, clearly and explicitly show that cold turkey really doesn’t work over the “long run” for an opiate addict. What works consistently, is the utilization of methadone or suboxone for up to 12 month. You are 70%, yes 70, more successful in kicking your opiate habit if you utilize either treatment in your early recovery. Those facts come from the usually maligned corner of the insurance industry. But they have been picked up and studied by the likes of organizations like Hazelden. Hazelden, often considered the mia culpa, premier 12 step treatment center, addiction counseling center for graduate studies, and publisher, had to do the same thing. They looked at the hard science and began to incorporate methadone in their treatment plans. Because it helps people get better, and stay better, for longer.
Paul L
10 years ago
I am a recovered addict. For a long time I’ve made the argument that the use of suboxone or methadone was in all practical purposes “using”. That if your altering your mood your practicing active drug use and all the behaviors that go along with it.
Today, I hold a different point of view. Yes it’s true, I had to be open minded enough to do it. The “data”, the hard facts with all the corresponding charts and graphs, clearly and explicitly show that cold turkey really doesn’t work over the “long run” for an opiate addict. What works consistently, is the utilization of methadone or suboxone for up to 12 month. You are 70%, yes 70, more successful in kicking your opiate habit if you utilize either treatment in your early recovery. Those facts come from the usually maligned corner of the insurance industry. But they have been picked up and studied by the likes of organizations like Hazelden. Hazelden, often considered the mia culpa, premier 12 step treatment center, addiction counseling center for graduate studies, and publisher, had to do the same thing. They looked at the hard science and began to incorporate methadone in their treatment plans. Because it helps people get better, and stay better, for longer.
Joe squatriglia
10 years ago
This will always be a debate. I am currently in the methadone maintain program for almost 2 years now. A addict of painkillers due to several back fusions I was Dr shopping not before long. Since the methadone life has changed dramatically for the better. All the grimy shit and feeling good 1 day and sick another is gone. Yes it may be considered a band aid but for me it controls the pain level and has removed the craziness from my life and has put my family back together. People will have diff opinions on recovery and ways to do it. As far as cost I would spend a lot more then $100 a week on pills. Do what you are suppose to do get your take home privliges and you not trapped. To each their own and what works for me may not work for all. As long as we are living a decent life not the grimy way we were then who are we to knock what works for others. This is only my opinion and may you continue to work whatever program works for you.
amy
10 years ago
Well hello everyone let me tell you i am a addict and a Mother,Daughter,Sister etc and i’m sober have my kids and work, getting married to my kids dad that i have been with for 15 years,clean and sober for 3 going on 4 years and i have to contribute it to methadone the 12 steps and a strong support system, yes methadone is opiate and if u do it right this is the thing and everyone is so judge mental is that there are all levels of sobriety so to say that you are any better is wrong, i have had two healthy babies on metaodone one even being 10lbs and 1oz full term there 3, and 14 months so just because you had a bad experience doesn’t mean that other people aren’t. There are many people who are on methadone who have pain and use it for pain management and don’t want to be relapsing trying to self medicate so they see a doctor and are on stabalization and maintence.Please before you write another article write it on not on opinion but the truth and statics and research..THANK YOU>>>i will always be addict but i’m a recovering and proud of it!!!!! There are many children that disagree with you…..
Richie a
10 years ago
Having spent more than half my life from 17 to presant 38 on methadone am currently on 60ml
Daily sickly and sweet teeth rotting daily but am not jacking 3 to 5 times a day and at last there maybe a May off this god awfull stuff but am here now av got no letters after my name and spent most my teens and 20’s in prison to feed a habit along side methadone I was given smack at 17 buy a so called friend while in young offenders for being in the back of a car that didn’t belong to the driver that night shaped my life am only 8 month and 3 days clear of heroin and am proud that am being reduction starts Friday day bye day I hope to win back the rest of my life baby steps but I will run and using methadone or hitting heroin al stay were I am on the road to drug free thanks Richie uk
Richie a
10 years ago
Having spent more than half my life from 17 to presant 38 on methadone am currently on 60ml
Daily sickly and sweet teeth rotting daily but am not jacking 3 to 5 times a day and at last there maybe a May off this god awfull stuff but am here now av got no letters after my name and spent most my teens and 20’s in prison to feed a habit along side methadone I was given smack at 17 buy a so called friend while in young offenders for being in the back of a car that didn’t belong to the driver that night shaped my life am only 8 month and 3 days clear of heroin and am proud that am being reduction starts Friday day bye day I hope to win back the rest of my life baby steps but I will run and using methadone or hitting heroin al stay were I am on the road to drug free thanks Richie uk
BryanLifeIsGood
10 years ago
Most of you are sooo wrong including the writer of the article. One reason you see so many addicts with negative results with methadone is because the people who use it long term correctly don’t let you know they’re on it. Like me, I tired NA and it wasn’t for me. I worked the steps went to meetings everyday but after years I was miserable not to mention all the liars and people who only came to clique up and ignore the new comers. It wasn’t for me, but I took it serious, I even had the NA symbol tattooed on my arm. After relapsing the last time, my family said “this isn’t working, you are on a constant rollercoaster. We want you to try Methadone or Suboxone”. I refused because I didn’t want to live my life high anymore, I wanted to be successful. After an ultimatum I agreed to go to orientation and listen to them. The one comment that got my attention was “After being on a stable dose you can’t be prosecuted for driving because there is so much evidence to show you aren’t intoxicated”. I decided to give it a try and taper off after 6 months. It had changed my life. I don’t even get a little buzz from my dose, but I feel content. I don’t have to meditate every 30 minuted to keep my mind from racing like I did after a year clean in NA. I started back at school and am one the dean’s list with a 4.0 (All myclasses have been during the time of day that the amount of methadone is the highest in my body). It’s even worked better than my bi-polar meds in keeping me stable. One of my friends who I found out had been on MMT at another clinic just graduated from the university as well. I am active in my loves of fishing and surfing again, and I’m actually happy for possible the first time in my life. I take every chance I get to write papers on methadone agonist treatment and have received A’s on them all (I will admit the only B I’ve made is in English Comp one and that’s with effort so don’t judge this writing too much). The point is this is the right approach for some people and it literally saves lives and make people good contributing members pf society if you work the program like it’s meant to be. I have many friends who could be alive if it wasn’t for the stigma of the program, so why don’t you all back off and speak of what you know, cause most of you don’t know anything about this except your preconceived ideas.
tasha
10 years ago
Wow! Some very interesting ideas! First to the person who says they are tapering off methodone and will experience no withdrawals boy are you in for a rude awakening. Idk what u were on before but even tapering down you will pay the piper as we all have who put these substances in our bodies. Definitely better to do it now than later. I was on it 10 yrs and by the grace of God found a place to detox me. Its been 68 days and I am so thankful to be free from those handcuffs but I still have the ache n my legs. MMT is such a load of crap. I bought into it completely and have been there done that. Clinics DO NOT WANT U TO LEAVE u are their cash cow. It is a business. Never believe anything more. After 10 yrs I was ask 1 time by a Dr if ready to lower dose and get off methadone, needless to say he was not the Doc very long. Cihnseling is total bullshit. My “counselor” never ever mentioned to ne about leaving. EVER!! Its my fault I stayed so long but you buy into the I’m clean and its prescribed bullshit To the person saying people aren’t getting high, SERIOSLY, don’t kid yourself. People shoot up methodone all the time and there’s always a crowd hanging out just doen the street to sale methodone to those at the clinic to get high. Not to mention the people who drink or take what not to high and even if u don’t take anything extra. Try quitting and see how u feel since your not an addict anymore. I also wanted to say if I can quit anyone can. Best thing I ever did and not being chained to a place is fabulous. Honestly, until one quits they can’t see the forest for the trees I sure couldn’t and wasted so nuch time and money. Sure a wk or two on subutex or methodone would help to get clean maybe, but not a day more and due to greed not gonna happen. Look up methadone clinics for sale. Its a very lucrative business and unfortunately one who doesn’t give a shit about the person. Never doubt that, just don’t pay your bill and find out.
CJ
9 years ago
I have no problem being opiate dependent for the rest of my life. My goals in kicking heroin were not total sobriety or abstinence from opiates, but rather safety, security, stability, and sustainability in my lifestyle (pardon the alliteration.) I choose to live my life on opiates (or at this point, on one opiate) because I am a happier person that way. I find more meaning in living, I am more optimistic, I am kinder to my fellow man and my moods are more even, that is, when you remove the illegal lifestyle variable that accompanies heroin use.
Heroin became so quickly problematic for me as a result of a lack of oversight to my use which meant I couldn’t control my intake, along with an unpredictable route of administration (IV), an impossibly steep price, and all too frequent debilitating withdrawal illness..Thus, methadone came into my life. My anti-depressant, my anti-anxiety med, my anti-junkie lifestyle pill. I am now opiated daily, and therefore content and emotionally even. The beauty of the mood-stabilizing effect is that it is not dulling (especially compared to true neuroleptics, for example Seroquel, a drug I was once prescribed by the handfuls and was very numbed out on) but it is still powerfully effective.
It is my opiate security blanket. There’s no rush, no wild heroin bliss, but there’s the very comforting knowledge that you’re being supported by a potent opiate while your maladapted brain chemistry is subtly tweaked back to normal by exogenous feel good chemicals. Now that I’ve stabilized on a dose the sedation is gone and I am entirely functional, too. Not a soul at my workplace is aware that I am on MMT. There’s no reason to share that info. I’m fucking happy, my law breaking days are behind me, and I’m looking forward to the future, prepared to continue my maintenance as long as necessary.
mikey carsonson
9 years ago
I have to say, when it comes to this subject, everyone truly is different. I personally have been at the clinic now for 2 years and will be off by the end of my third year there. May seem long but that was my goal. A REALISTIC ONE.That was time I needed for me to mature and mentally grow also. A 3 year, as painless as possible, detox. And it’s worked. Im continually going down on my mg dose and after finding the dose that made me feel okay, I continue this taper each week until im at ZEROand done. I HAVE MY LIFE BACK AND FAMILY BACK DUE TO METHADONE. IM NO LONGER A THIEF. I NO LONGER COMMIT DRUG CRIMES OR FEEL LIKE A DRUGGIE SHOOTING UP AND SNEAKING AROUND. IM ME AGAIN. NOT SEDATED, NOT HIGH. I FEEL 100 PERCENT NORMAL. NO HIGH. TO EACH THEIR OWN. Thanks to those who believe that some out there DO and WILL change because they dont want to be stuck in that hellish lifestyle forever
robby
9 years ago
What bothers me more than anything are the people who criticize about methadone and suboxone, and aren’t even addicts. They have no idea what kind of pain and suffering addicts go thru everyday of there lives just to get high. The stealing, betrayal, lying to the people they love the most just to get high. when I first heard about a methadone clinic I was skeptical, but if you are there for the right reasons there is.nothing wrong with it, if you want to live a sober life. All these articles dog these medications about how there bad for your brain and body. Well hell what in today’s world isn’t bad for the human. Honesty, fast food, alochol, tobacco, you can name a million things. So before you go and talk bad about these things, look at how many lives these medications have saved. Because I can guarantee you if your there for the.right reasons a clinic or sub doctor probably saved your life.
Lisa
9 years ago
Wow! I absolutely love the advice given by these…medical providers?? Methadone and Suboxone, although not the choice.. and it is a choice people…for everyone, has saved countless lives!! Read medical facts before deciding on whether these programs are for you. But please don’t make your choice based on other people’s opinions. Because they are just that! And many opinions are offered through ignorance. Statistics prove that these medications work for many people when used properly. And it’s a personal decision and our personal lives need only be shared with whom we choose and nobody else! Good luck on your strive for sobriety!
Kevin
9 years ago
Ummm… this author is sadly mistaken in her definition of “clean”. We need to consider emotional sobriety –> which includes the need to stop judging others’ behaviors and focus upon our own,
I’ve been clean & sober (and not with methadone or buprenorphine) for over ten years. I’ve been an addictions counselor for three years. At one time, I agreed that methadone treatment or Suboxone/Subutex (buprenorphine) treatment meant that an individual wasn’t “clean”. The truth is that methadone and buprenorphine are MEDICINES, not illicit drugs. They are not self-prescribed. The Betty Ford Center’s definition of :”recovery” states that a person is clean/sober when they are free from all NON-PRESCRIBED drugs. (Alcohol is a drug … gotta keep that in mind…)
Does the author think that a person in recovery suffering from painful cancer shouldn’t take his/her PRESCRIBED pain medications? What about using antidepressants and mood stabilizers to treat psychiatric disorders? Throw those out the window?
What needs to be thrown out the window is this: JUDGMENT.
jennaferhavenor
9 years ago
I love reading others input.cause I see myself March will be a year on methadone iv started tampering off milligram a week so done by march. I can say I have my life back im off all the meds I was on I have my family’s support plus my husbands which is important to me. I would of been dead my brother passed away 4 years ago to opiates I was following right behind him.I went from saying id never shot up to loving it..methadone has saved my life..im hoping I can make it off it completely but im stronger now then before so have faith..
Gail Chmielewski
9 years ago
Totally agree with the author of this article. I have worked in the treatment field for 23 years and have 25 years of sobriety. What the author explains is accurate, I see it first hand all day everyday in my personal and professional life.
paul
9 years ago
Although I concur with elements of the opinion expressed, the referecences to the active length of time of effect of methadone and subutex are misleading. The length of time ie 24-36 hours for methadone refers to the time the drug lasts in the system from one dose not as a gauge for the time taken to recover from opiate addication using the opioid.
John Dittmann