The Addiction Help .com

Treatments such as methadone or suboxene?

I took Subutex from my pain mangament doctor....it a miracle drug.they gave it in rehab to opaite user and herion users...I got hooked on Norco,Vicodon,Oxconton,percecet,methodon pills..i was up to a 50 norco a day #10. finaly told my doctor i was dieing he told to start the subutex as soon as the widraw kicked inn boy was i sick..its a sublingle pill i put 1 under my tonge i hour later i was fine i have been cleen for e years ..rehab is around 750 to 1000 a day

2007-02-22 16:39:39 by brokenhalo

Opiate Addiction: Understanding Replacement Therapy This special broadcast expains about the innovate new treatment called Suboxone or Subutex ...

Suboxone is a partial agonist at the mu-opioid receptor and an antagonist at the kappaopioid receptor. If used properly, Suboxone can be a life-saver for the hard-core heroin or opiate user. Along with a program of recovery that address the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of addiction, Sub is a tool that buys them time to sort out their personal lives, work their recoveries, and deal with what they are trying to avoid that drove them to numb themselves in the first place. Unfortunately, Suboxone is not subsidized as methadone is, and can be very cost prohibitive to many struggling with addiction.

2008-08-28 02:16:34 by messagemucci

My husband and I are seeking methadone treatment for our addiction to opiate pain killers. We have been taking opiates daily for almost 2 years. My husband and I start at 2 Lortab 10 mg and go from there. We take up to 10 pills per day. Not only do we take Lortabs, but we also get Percocets, Dilaudid, Morphine, Tylenol with Codeine, etc.
I started taking such pills 6 years ago as needed after I had been prescribed Lortabs for muscle tension migraines resulting from a car accident. I never took them regularly until 2 years ago. It is very important that my husband and I seek help for our addiction. We began with prescribed pills, then sought them illegally.
Not only are we destroying our bodies, but we are spending all of our money on these dumb pills!
I have the # for a local methadone clinic and will call tomorrow to start. We are nervous and I am just wondering how the program works. Any details would help us greatly. Thank you so much... you are helping us get clean

First of all congratulations! You are taking the first step towards the rest of your life and from xperience let me say...Methadone saves lives! This is not the most supportive place to ask Methadone questions. Most of what you will get is negative feedback regarding Methadone clinics and that is not what you need right now. You need factual answers. Here are 2 sites where you will get a lot of support. Please go to...
http://www.readybb.com/nama_wespeakmetha...
http://findingnormal.webs.com/
There are experts, patients, advocates, etc at both sites to help. The first was the first support group I joined when I started and the second is my own website:) that I started because I wanted to give something back after having my life given back to me with Methadone.
I will try to give you an idea of what to expect though. Please remember that each state differs and although all clinics must go by federal regs. they can have stricter state regs or choose no state regs at all. Also ther is some variation depending on whether the clinic is regulated by CARF or JHACO.
It is in the Federal Guidelines and agreed upon between most MDs and Psychiatrists that are experienced in MAT that whether you have been shooting heroin for decades or are taking 10 Lortabs a day, that the initial dose for a patient entering an OTP is 30mgs. My clinic gave me 20mg to start. The rules also state no more than 40mg. for a first time visit. They usually advance 5mg. every other day until your withdrawal stops. This can be different for each patient mine was 85mg.
Why do you have to be there so long my first day? The reason for this is because you are a new patient. Many things will happen. You will be given a drug test. This happens before anything else. They expect to find opiates in your system. That is normal...you are seeking help for opiate addiction...LOL They do expect you to be in withdrawal though. Most clinics require 24hrs off of opiates before they will take you. They will observe you for signs of withdrawal. They will ask you if you have taken anything and if you have within the past 24hrs they may send you home. Some clinics require 48hrs. This is not so much an incompatility issue as it is a need to see how you react in withdrawal. Blood pressure readings, heart rate, etc. are considered in this. Specifically they use a scale called the COWS (Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale)If you want to peek at one go to...
http://www.naabt.org/documents/COWS_induction_flow_sheet.pdf
Therefore when you ask for an increase and say it is not working they have a baseline to go by. There are some drugs that will absolutely resrict you from admittance into most clinics. Benzodiazipines are one. Valium and Xanax, Clonipine, etc. These types of medications can be deadly when taken with methadone and are responsible for the majority of so called "Methadone related" deaths you hear about. You will be given a list of meds that are not compatible. You will also see a doctor, have blood drawn, see a nurse, and meet your counselor. It is a long day. If all goes well and you are a candidate you will be dosed and told when to come back the next day. Don't expect a miracle the first day. In fact the first 2 weeks are allowed for adjustment. You are drug tested every week. Counseling every week. As well as going every day for your medicine. If you stick with it and follow the rules there is no way you will die from Methadone! As far as trading one drug for another here is the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) states in their Frequently Asked Questions Section regarding that very claim...
Is methadone treatment just switching one addiction for another?
No– You are switching a life risking behavior (addiction) for a daily inconvenience of needing to take a medication (physical dependence). Many of us must take medication for a disease. Addiction is a disease. Look at it like this...
"It is like this. We have diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease.
Addiction is a disease.
Some people can treat their diabetes without medication. Diet & exercise alone controls it.
Some addicts can treat their their addiction without medication. NA meetings, councelling, etc. alone controls it.
However, for many diabetics diet & exercise alone isn't enough. They require medication.
For many addicts NA & councelling alone isn't enough. They require medication.
Some diabetics can take medication for a short time & eventually control their disease with diet & exercise but this is a small percent.
Some addicts can take medication for a short time & eventually control their disease with NA & councelling, etc. but this is a small percent also. Telling someone with diabetes controlled with insulin to throw away their insulin and jog the next morning is equivalent to telling someone whose addiction is being effectively controlled by methadone to throw down their methadone & go to an NA meeting.
It not only won't work but is so dangerous it could be fatal!
As far as what the other post said about it ruling your life. It depends on how you view it. For me it isure beats chasing pills all day. Granted I may have to make arrangements before going on vacation to get carries or go to a guest clinic but before I couldn't afford to go on vacation or leave my contacts that long. LOL I see it as a blessing. I dose and leave to go live a normal life. It is awesome. God Bless!

2008-06-22 14:55:45 by Frady

Price: $49.95

I don't know how long term you are thinking, but I have been on suboxone for 9 weeks (not extremely long) and whenever I take it, it seems to "boost" my mood. My depression is not bad, but my mania is occasionaly there.

Did you know this? "A clinical trial conducted at Harvard Medical School in the mid-1990s demonstrated that a majority of unipolar non-psychotic patients with major depression refractory to conventional thymoleptic antidepressants could be successfully treated with buprenorphine. However, psychological distress is currently not an approved indication for the use of any opioid, and legally it falls in a "grey zone" that is technically legal but a doctor could still face charges regardless (but not for off-label scripting in itself, simply being singled out by the DEA, who prosecute doctors often for using controlled substances for approved uses ("too much")."

-Which is too bad b/c no anti-depressant I have ever tried, which is many, worked as well as suboxone for treating it. (Though, I am prescribed suboxone for drug addiction).

2007-08-10 06:45:12 by pheggie101

Wouldn't people get addicted to methadone too? I know people started out believing that heroin is some kind of treatment for morphine addiction. What if methadone is the same way? I'm just really curious.

Methadone has already been proven to be safe and effective which is why it is used for addiction treatment. For so long as methadone is properly prescribed, it won't be sedating nor intoxicating. Its effects will not get in the way of normal activities. Its taken orally and prevents withdrawal symptoms for as long as 24 to 36 hours. Aside from that, when methadone is taken, it relieves the individual's heroin craving, the biggest cause for relapse. It is also medically safe, so even if people use it for ten years straight, it's okay. With the help of counseling and therapy, methadone will be able to bring people back their productivity and sober lives.

2007-07-23 00:58:24 by cintia i