Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Methadone is the worst thing any one can use to come off Heroin, my husband was a heroin and methadone addict for 21 years. I have known him on methadone, he came off all drugs in the beginning of the year and is clean now for 8 months and he is a complete different person! When ever he was on methadone before he is just a selfish person and he thinks just like an addict wanting his hit of methadone each day, just following the same habbit, just another addiction, the only thing is that it's legal, what a waste of life, quality of life, you can do it without that crap, just invite Christ into your life, because I'll tell you without him the Devil(heroin, methadone, subutex........) will get you down.

[quote:fcc0978a0c=\"bossieflowers\"]Methadone is the worst thing any one can use to come off Heroin, my husband was a heroin and methadone addict for 21 years. I have known him on methadone, he came off all drugs in the beginning of the year and is clean now for 8 months and he is a complete different person! When ever he was on methadone before he is just a selfish person and he thinks just like an addict wanting his hit of methadone each day, just following the same habbit, just another addiction, the only thing is that it's legal, what a waste of life, quality of life, you can do it without that crap, just invite Christ into your life, because I'll tell you without him the Devil(heroin, methadone, subutex........) will get you down.[/quote:fcc0978a0c]

I respect you have your view although I will have to give you the benefit of the doubt that this post is 2 years old and you may have learned or researched something about methadone and opiate substitute maintenance and its benefits to heroin addicts. There is a clear evidence base that methadone maintenance actually helps the addict to lead a more stable lifestyle than that of heroin addicts lifestyle. I am sure your husband would disagree with you that it is a lot less hassle than running around like a headless chicken chasing money and dealers and causing everyone havoc in-between. MMT has helped thousands of heroin addicts and once regulated on a therapeutic level. There is no safer fix to the problem of drug abuse. It is by far the lesser of two evils and you can read up on the evidence base on the NICE guidelines by Professor John Strang et-al(Kings College of Physicians) John (Care provision DTUK)

I agree with you taken a bit of time to get really stuck into and to be able to handle telling other addicts to stay away as politely as possible ause i was like them once. Some dont listen and i think want you to stay using as it enables them. Trouble i now have is ive just passed driving test but informed DLA that was on methadone now worried they wont give me my full licence. Been honest cause ment to be true to yourself but feel i will be penalized for this. Any idea what will happpen

i dont know u but i am happy to read that post

I HAVE BEEN ON METHADONE FOR ABOUT 8YRS NOW AND HAVE BEEN OF OPIATES FOR OVER A YEAR.I HAVE NOW BEEN TOLD BY MY GP THAT I WILL MOST PROBABALLY B ON IT FOR REST OF MY LIFE,SO I COME OF OPIATES JUST TO B MADE A METHADONE ADDICT,AND IT IS HARDER TO COME OF METH THAN HERION SO WHY PUT US ON IT WITHOUT MORE INFO ABOUT IT BEFORE YOU PUT US ON IT.I THINK REHAB RATHER THAN METHADONE IS A BETTER OPTION

i dont like reality either m8 thats why im a weedman myself but would like to have this methadone tag taken away im 50 yrs old and want of the methadone it is doin my head in m8

 

Hi guys, just found this site,

Been on methadone for 20 years now, but have decided to try to come off, I've been on 70mg a day for the last 6/7 years, before that it was 100mg a day, I found cutting that down not a great problem, I'm now going it alown..that is without any medical help, cold turky its been 3 days since my last dose & things are getting pretty grim, all the usual withdrauall symptoms, anyone have any good advice for me,?

Sorry about my spelling, bit dyslexic & spell checker is not working

With all the different treatments for people who are addicted to opioids ( including Heroin) and who have the desire to break that addiction, Methadone treatment is by far the best one available.It's a real privilege for anyone to be in a Methadone treatment program.Yes, Methadone is extremely addictive and yes, there can even be a certain euphoria that is experienced....depending on the dose amount.But as anybody in treatment can tell you, this treatment is for real addicts.It's not a program for non-addicts.And people need to remember that Methadone treatment is a government sanctioned program that includes many independently owned clinics set up all over the country.These clinics have a Director, a Doctor, Nurses and Counselors (treatment includes mandatory ongoing counseling with a very informed counselor), random U.A. or other means of testing, annual physicals, TB testing, diversion etc. But the best thing of all is that Methadone treatment offers the addict a real hope of finally being able to live their life without substance abuse and all that goes along with it.And the reason for this hope is something that is known as "titration".For the uninformed, this is the method used where the addict slowly and comfortably over the course of time, generally quite a long time, eventually becomes clean and is able to live their life that way.I don't want to get into what titration is at this point except to say that it really does work...without the pain and a lot of BS that a person has to put up with in a lot of other types of treatments.

With the Heroin and the opium epidemic that we are experiencing these days in the United States and with all the people dying from overdose, etc. the addict needs to be aware that there is a program around that really works.And even if they've tried it before and failed.That's OK.Try it again and this time I'm sure it will work for you.

 A Few Q&As....

Q: Are all clinics the same?

A: From what I've heard, some are better than others.I don't want to name names but the one where I go (I'm level 5....I pick up once a week) is supposedly one of the really good ones.

Q: Is spirituality part of the program like NA?

A: No, it isn't.But personally, I believe if a person builds on a spiritual foundation that their chances of remaining clean after they titrate are a lot better.(I'm a Christian myself.And my counselor happens to be one also.)

Q: Will they kick you out of a program if you slip?

A: Depending where you go, and because the staff at a clinic knows that they're dealing with real addicts there's generally quite a bit of leniency.So a person might temporarily lose some privileges but their main concern is your health.A good clinic will work with you...I don't know too much about the ones that aren't so good.But a person needs to keep in mind that there are plenty of clinics around to choose from.

Last Word: I'm extremely grateful to God that I'm in Methadone treatment.I know it's a privilege and a blessing that not too many people will ever get to experience and I don't take that for granted. 

It's great to hear that you've found success in your methadone treatment! Methadone can be a highly effective way to manage opioid addiction, and having support from the staff at the clinic and your family can make all the difference. It's important to remember that everyone's experience with medication and addiction recovery is unique, and what works for one person may not work for another. However, it's good to hear positive stories like yours and it may provide hope for others who are seeking help for their addiction. Keep up the good work!