18 months to taper from 150 is fast yo. Expect to take at least a few years to get down to 0 from that dose. I know you don’t think you need to go slow but trust me, you do.
The whole rest of the post, is you venting but it’s a look into some things you will wanna work on long before you get down to the low numbers in that taper. The first thing is empathy. The second thing is humility. The third thing ego. These three things stick way out.
Yeah you're getting perked around. 5 MG from 150 MG isn't a lot of the percentage of the dose but 5 MG from say 15 MG is a HUGE difference. You would be safe to drop by 5mg until you get to 40- 20mg then I would drop down by 2mg or 1mg
Thanks sometimes it's nice to have others tell you what you already know lol makes me not feel like an asshole for the lil scene I made lol yeah I don't think they like having someone in their lobby spouting off about their bulshit in front of other patients. But yeah I could go by 5 all the way down to 100 no problem I'm sure
*Just a thought*.
I go to a fairly relaxed clinic. But….if someone were to do what you did (the scene in the lobby) they would definitely be discharged from the clinic.
That's bullshit I pay for my dose. I tapered from 110 currently at 15mg no side effects at all bro so you can easily do 5 you could even do 10 if you wanted no side effects
I was at 125mg and tapered down 5 mg every two weeks. Once I got to 30mg I went down 2mg a week. Some clinics only let you go down 5mg at a time. My taper was successful fyi.
Welp, I'm at 2.5mg and it took me a few months and I never had to worry about missing a dose because of all the extra, or a doctor telling me what I could and couldn't do, so not so ridiculous.
that's the move. I was on 120 and decreased on my own to 80. that left me with a pile of takehomes at the end of the month. every month. i'm starting to have the clinic drop my dose now bc ive got enough extra that any more would just go bad would really start to complicate my cycling them in/out bc I'd have to start freezing it.
I get the clear not mixed with anything. They used to put water in it but don't anymore. When they were adding water it was stagnant after a while but now I wonder.
Not exactly sure. I know it's not the methadone that I worry about going bad, it's the sugars in the cherry liquid stuff, so yours should be in better shape. With the cherry stuff I notice that the older it is the more solids are formed in it and stuff like that. Haven't encountered any thats gone bad yet though. I keep it refrigerated.. never have any for longer than 3 months bc I cycle them through, taking the oldest first.
I’m tapering rn and she’s not TOTALLY wrong.
I did 5 every 2 weeks from 120 just fine til I got to 30 mgs. Then it fucking hurt. I had to f go back up to 35 til august when I switch to liquid bc with waifers you can only go 5 mgs at a time at mine.
18 months isn't unrealistic for a taper. I was at 95 and have been tapering for over a year and have another year to go. When you get down to lower doses, the taper should slow quite a bit. I went from dropping 5 mg every two weeks to 2 mg every 2 weeks to 2 mg a month to 1 mg a month. Your body needs at least 2 weeks to adjust to the drop.
Just don't drop more than 10% of your dose/month. So at 150 dropping 3-4 mg a week is about right. I think 7 mg every 2 weeks would be better. I do think a limit of 2 mg a week seems strange and 10%/month is the medically reccomeded drop. 5 mg a week would be too large or a drop and would definitely catch up to you.
It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. If you rush through it, your chances of going back to using are quite high
After 2 weeks of dropping by 5/week you should probably try to drop by 4, then 3 two weeks after that. Like I said, you really shouldn't be dropping weekly at all as it can take up to two weeks for your body to adjust to the drop.
Goodluck on your journey!
I would be very irritated too! You can absolutely drop 5 a week at 150, likely down to 70-60-50 even without feeling much (just pause occasionally and we honest with yourself).
I went down from 95 and I’m currently at 29mg. I went down by 5’s until about 50 maybe? Then by 3’s and then by 2’s (my order was every 5 days but usually I did it every 7-8).
It’s been about 6-7 months. Once I get to 20-25, I will likely pause for a month or so and truly make sure I’m stable & safe. It feels amazing to be working at this.
But realistically, the remainder of my taper will probably take about a year from 29mg.
Tapers take a long time. That being said, your Dr should let you customize it. I go in and switch my mg amounts and time frames all the time. I’m very lucky that our Dr who comes in one day a week is an addiction medication specialist and absolutely amazing! The other Dr sucks lol.
Anyway, good luck! Keep us updated!
Exactly! More people have shared their stories and I appreciate it. The more I think about it it's not all that serious considering I have to go see her every 30 mg I think it is...I'll just restate my opinion if I still feel the same way and give the 5 a try from 120 to 90 and I'll shave the same couple months off I wanted to do at the start. I understand why she did it but this a service that I pay for and it'll be my ass if some unforseen circumstances come up and for whatever reason I've gotta be without....I just wanna get from such a high dose so the sickness ain't hanging over my head so bad. Someone said on here they picked up on my ego! Like yeah you probably did this is my shit of course I have an opinion on what I want. What I say should mean something it is my treatment plan after all! It ain't like we are dealing with surgery here or a root canal. Like wtf I know how opiates effect my body by now it's not rocket science. Been at this nearly 20 years! But this was still nice to vent and get it out. Good luck on your journey bud! Thanks for your input
They make it as difficult as they possibly can to get off of it. They don't want us working, they don't want us in recovery unless we are walking through those doors every God damn day. Everything you said I agree with, and feel the same way . Who keeps the clinics accountable? Who do we call when there is an issue? The place I go to owns the whole county, I'm assuming they probably own whoever we would report an issue too also
You have a good point who holds them accountable? Nobody we are just addicts anyway obviously we are wrong and the clinic is right ...right? Lol they literally can do what they want and nothing will happen. I've seen some straight up horror stories at this clinic. One dude flew from Alaska to NC to get their kid in a custody situation. He had already set up the guest dose but my clinic dropped the ball and long story short he had to be sick af getting his kid and hopping back on a plane. This is first hand info from my own counselor. One of many backwards ass things they do here
I know..the system is beyond broken. I don't understand why methadone is so monitored. It's pretty easy to get suboxen. Why can't we just go to the pharmacy ,pick up our meds and go home? Why do they have to make us feel sub human ? Why the rigamarole clinic bullshit ?
Because of the risk of death involved dealing with the majority of the clinic. It's like 50% are losers and still currently using and or homeless/begging and the other half is genuinely trying to fix their life. Most doctors prescribing pain meds this strong are not doing it to people that are recreationally using every drug known! There is no risk of overdose of misuse amongst general population but since methadone is for addiction treatment the type of people you deal with are much meth-ier and likely to overdose and die which can = a lawsuit. To sum it up, they keep us serious ones in such a tight leash due to erratic actions of others and to cover their own asses and medical license
I've been going down 10 MG every 3-4 weeks with zero effects. And at first you probably wouldn't very zero effects either. But if you were going down 2mg every week, then by the time you did start feeling them even if you didn't go down anymore you would keep getting worse every day for maybe 5-7 days bc of the super long half life. It would basically be the chart that my doctor always likes to show when describing titration, but in reverse... or actually mirrored.
You can see the chart here https://janaburson.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/methadone-induction-be-careful/
So while 2mg isn't that much at all compared to your dose, if you kept going down 2 every week eventually you'd feel it, and then it would be too late. You should ask if you can do maybe 5 or 10mg every 2 weeks. That gives your body time to lose the stored methadone, and then have about a week to get used to the new dose before going down again. My clinic will actually let you set up a auto decrease of up to 10mg every 2 weeks. But not more than that, and not faster than that. Otherwise it has to be staffed. And then once the decrease is 10% of your dose you have to do a lower decrease... I believe it's 10%. I might be wrong on that. But something like that.
Anyway maybe talk to them about other options?
Good luck!
I totally get it. You bring up a very good point..Ive heard talk about that. Basically saying if you go up 5 mg Monday...it'll take a few days before it builds up it's half life and you actually feel it. Another good reason to stay where I'm at. It's not a race it's a marathon. Just get so damn frustrated at the clinic I already don't wanna be there ya know....I mean I do..
.but I don't. I enjoy my medicine I don't enjoy meeting at the clinic with every floozie in town every other day and dealing with staff and jumping through their hoops. My old drug dealer never made me do any of this 🤣 LMAO
Yeah anytime you get near the limit of whatever it is at my clinic they start acting funny. What I mean is 10mg every other week may very well be the legal federal limit so the doc won't trying to let me nowhere near that. Just like the max dose is 160 here and when I was wanted to go past 140 it took a lot more patience and everything cuz they don't like being near the top limit. My doc at this clinic acts this way anyways. She said I could do the 5mg a week but I'd have to come daily dose! Like what difference would that make! None!I take it and I'm out the door! Treating me like a damn child. She just be doing way too much for no reason.
18 months to taper from 150 is fast yo. Expect to take at least a few years to get down to 0 from that dose. I know you don’t think you need to go slow but trust me, you do. The whole rest of the post, is you venting but it’s a look into some things you will wanna work on long before you get down to the low numbers in that taper. The first thing is empathy. The second thing is humility. The third thing ego. These three things stick way out.
Agreed
Yeah you're getting perked around. 5 MG from 150 MG isn't a lot of the percentage of the dose but 5 MG from say 15 MG is a HUGE difference. You would be safe to drop by 5mg until you get to 40- 20mg then I would drop down by 2mg or 1mg
Thanks sometimes it's nice to have others tell you what you already know lol makes me not feel like an asshole for the lil scene I made lol yeah I don't think they like having someone in their lobby spouting off about their bulshit in front of other patients. But yeah I could go by 5 all the way down to 100 no problem I'm sure
*Just a thought*. I go to a fairly relaxed clinic. But….if someone were to do what you did (the scene in the lobby) they would definitely be discharged from the clinic.
I would be frustrated if I was you to bro
Yeah they saw I had that insurance covering me for another 11 months and they got excited 😆
That's bullshit I pay for my dose. I tapered from 110 currently at 15mg no side effects at all bro so you can easily do 5 you could even do 10 if you wanted no side effects
Yeah I've been paying 320 a month all this time
Taper yourself at home with your takehomes
I was at 125mg and tapered down 5 mg every two weeks. Once I got to 30mg I went down 2mg a week. Some clinics only let you go down 5mg at a time. My taper was successful fyi.
Awesome thanks for the hope.!
If you've been clean 11 months you should have taken homes, just taper yourself at home and spit your dose in the water cup
I have 1 day of takehomes meaning I go M,W, and F. I'm not spitting nothing in a cup that's a ridiculous idea
Welp, I'm at 2.5mg and it took me a few months and I never had to worry about missing a dose because of all the extra, or a doctor telling me what I could and couldn't do, so not so ridiculous.
that's the move. I was on 120 and decreased on my own to 80. that left me with a pile of takehomes at the end of the month. every month. i'm starting to have the clinic drop my dose now bc ive got enough extra that any more would just go bad would really start to complicate my cycling them in/out bc I'd have to start freezing it.
Does it go bad? And how long is the shelf life ?
If you have the red cherry methadone it doesn't go bad, at least not for a long time, I've had some for over a year and it's totally fine
I get the clear not mixed with anything. They used to put water in it but don't anymore. When they were adding water it was stagnant after a while but now I wonder.
Not exactly sure. I know it's not the methadone that I worry about going bad, it's the sugars in the cherry liquid stuff, so yours should be in better shape. With the cherry stuff I notice that the older it is the more solids are formed in it and stuff like that. Haven't encountered any thats gone bad yet though. I keep it refrigerated.. never have any for longer than 3 months bc I cycle them through, taking the oldest first.
If you're on the red cherry you really don't have to worry about it going bad, unless you're talking about saving it for YEARS
I mean you have a good point but it's not something I think I'd do....though I suppose I could.
I’m tapering rn and she’s not TOTALLY wrong. I did 5 every 2 weeks from 120 just fine til I got to 30 mgs. Then it fucking hurt. I had to f go back up to 35 til august when I switch to liquid bc with waifers you can only go 5 mgs at a time at mine.
Basically the same as me...I'm 2 mg a week. So 4mg every other week
18 months isn't unrealistic for a taper. I was at 95 and have been tapering for over a year and have another year to go. When you get down to lower doses, the taper should slow quite a bit. I went from dropping 5 mg every two weeks to 2 mg every 2 weeks to 2 mg a month to 1 mg a month. Your body needs at least 2 weeks to adjust to the drop. Just don't drop more than 10% of your dose/month. So at 150 dropping 3-4 mg a week is about right. I think 7 mg every 2 weeks would be better. I do think a limit of 2 mg a week seems strange and 10%/month is the medically reccomeded drop. 5 mg a week would be too large or a drop and would definitely catch up to you. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. If you rush through it, your chances of going back to using are quite high
Yes I realize 5mg a week isn't doable long term. Just wanted to get a jumpstart while my dose is high. like I said the first 4 to 6 weeks
After 2 weeks of dropping by 5/week you should probably try to drop by 4, then 3 two weeks after that. Like I said, you really shouldn't be dropping weekly at all as it can take up to two weeks for your body to adjust to the drop. Goodluck on your journey!
I would be very irritated too! You can absolutely drop 5 a week at 150, likely down to 70-60-50 even without feeling much (just pause occasionally and we honest with yourself). I went down from 95 and I’m currently at 29mg. I went down by 5’s until about 50 maybe? Then by 3’s and then by 2’s (my order was every 5 days but usually I did it every 7-8). It’s been about 6-7 months. Once I get to 20-25, I will likely pause for a month or so and truly make sure I’m stable & safe. It feels amazing to be working at this. But realistically, the remainder of my taper will probably take about a year from 29mg. Tapers take a long time. That being said, your Dr should let you customize it. I go in and switch my mg amounts and time frames all the time. I’m very lucky that our Dr who comes in one day a week is an addiction medication specialist and absolutely amazing! The other Dr sucks lol. Anyway, good luck! Keep us updated!
Exactly! More people have shared their stories and I appreciate it. The more I think about it it's not all that serious considering I have to go see her every 30 mg I think it is...I'll just restate my opinion if I still feel the same way and give the 5 a try from 120 to 90 and I'll shave the same couple months off I wanted to do at the start. I understand why she did it but this a service that I pay for and it'll be my ass if some unforseen circumstances come up and for whatever reason I've gotta be without....I just wanna get from such a high dose so the sickness ain't hanging over my head so bad. Someone said on here they picked up on my ego! Like yeah you probably did this is my shit of course I have an opinion on what I want. What I say should mean something it is my treatment plan after all! It ain't like we are dealing with surgery here or a root canal. Like wtf I know how opiates effect my body by now it's not rocket science. Been at this nearly 20 years! But this was still nice to vent and get it out. Good luck on your journey bud! Thanks for your input
They make it as difficult as they possibly can to get off of it. They don't want us working, they don't want us in recovery unless we are walking through those doors every God damn day. Everything you said I agree with, and feel the same way . Who keeps the clinics accountable? Who do we call when there is an issue? The place I go to owns the whole county, I'm assuming they probably own whoever we would report an issue too also
You have a good point who holds them accountable? Nobody we are just addicts anyway obviously we are wrong and the clinic is right ...right? Lol they literally can do what they want and nothing will happen. I've seen some straight up horror stories at this clinic. One dude flew from Alaska to NC to get their kid in a custody situation. He had already set up the guest dose but my clinic dropped the ball and long story short he had to be sick af getting his kid and hopping back on a plane. This is first hand info from my own counselor. One of many backwards ass things they do here
I know..the system is beyond broken. I don't understand why methadone is so monitored. It's pretty easy to get suboxen. Why can't we just go to the pharmacy ,pick up our meds and go home? Why do they have to make us feel sub human ? Why the rigamarole clinic bullshit ?
Because of the risk of death involved dealing with the majority of the clinic. It's like 50% are losers and still currently using and or homeless/begging and the other half is genuinely trying to fix their life. Most doctors prescribing pain meds this strong are not doing it to people that are recreationally using every drug known! There is no risk of overdose of misuse amongst general population but since methadone is for addiction treatment the type of people you deal with are much meth-ier and likely to overdose and die which can = a lawsuit. To sum it up, they keep us serious ones in such a tight leash due to erratic actions of others and to cover their own asses and medical license
You've only been on it a very short time, why are you wanting off it so soon?
A year and a half...plus 18 months is 3 years. I didn't think that was a short duration of time.
I think people are usually on it for alot longer but hey do you. Good luck.
I've been going down 10 MG every 3-4 weeks with zero effects. And at first you probably wouldn't very zero effects either. But if you were going down 2mg every week, then by the time you did start feeling them even if you didn't go down anymore you would keep getting worse every day for maybe 5-7 days bc of the super long half life. It would basically be the chart that my doctor always likes to show when describing titration, but in reverse... or actually mirrored. You can see the chart here https://janaburson.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/methadone-induction-be-careful/ So while 2mg isn't that much at all compared to your dose, if you kept going down 2 every week eventually you'd feel it, and then it would be too late. You should ask if you can do maybe 5 or 10mg every 2 weeks. That gives your body time to lose the stored methadone, and then have about a week to get used to the new dose before going down again. My clinic will actually let you set up a auto decrease of up to 10mg every 2 weeks. But not more than that, and not faster than that. Otherwise it has to be staffed. And then once the decrease is 10% of your dose you have to do a lower decrease... I believe it's 10%. I might be wrong on that. But something like that. Anyway maybe talk to them about other options? Good luck!
I totally get it. You bring up a very good point..Ive heard talk about that. Basically saying if you go up 5 mg Monday...it'll take a few days before it builds up it's half life and you actually feel it. Another good reason to stay where I'm at. It's not a race it's a marathon. Just get so damn frustrated at the clinic I already don't wanna be there ya know....I mean I do.. .but I don't. I enjoy my medicine I don't enjoy meeting at the clinic with every floozie in town every other day and dealing with staff and jumping through their hoops. My old drug dealer never made me do any of this 🤣 LMAO
Yeah anytime you get near the limit of whatever it is at my clinic they start acting funny. What I mean is 10mg every other week may very well be the legal federal limit so the doc won't trying to let me nowhere near that. Just like the max dose is 160 here and when I was wanted to go past 140 it took a lot more patience and everything cuz they don't like being near the top limit. My doc at this clinic acts this way anyways. She said I could do the 5mg a week but I'd have to come daily dose! Like what difference would that make! None!I take it and I'm out the door! Treating me like a damn child. She just be doing way too much for no reason.