Methadone Help: Methadone Symptoms & Side Effects

Question: I been on oxycountin for pain does antbody no how good methadone helps pain?

(Posted by: mcclurelamar on 2008-12-01 04:40:18)

My insurance is not going to cover my ocycountin next year not even the generic I been on oxycountin for 15 years for I had 4 surgerys on my wrist and for tri nerljia and for mirgrains that last days at a time my insurance said they cover morphine and methadone cut I not able to take morphine I have a reaction to it wanted to ask if anybody else has tried methadone for pain hoe effivtiive it is I dont wont to get high just something to controll my pain I no alot of doctors frown on you being on it they treat you like a drug addicit need some advise seems to me that your insurance should not be sble to tell your doctor what how to treat you but in my case they are and I cant get help paying for my oxycountin because I do have insurance unless someone knows how I can get help even though I have insurance thanks for any help or advise i going to dr on the 20 dont no ehat I should do thanks

Posted by: DynoDiKk on 2008-12-01, 05:27:37

Methadone is indisputably the best pain-killer on the planet however there are very many things to consider before you start using this drug for pain management. Without getting in depth here I will tell you this. The first initial dosaging of Methadone is the most critical and it dosages in mg's must be brought up extremely slow and your response to this drug must be monitored for about three weeks to one month. The drug has a 24 hour half-life which means if you take 10mg's, 5mg's the next day is still going to be in you. SO to maintain on that 10, the following day you only need 5. But here is the trick and the difficulty with taking Methadone for pain. It's pain analgesia threshold is only 8 hours and it's maximum effectiveness for pain control begins at anywhere from 60 mg's a day to 120 a day. If you never took it in your life 60mg's of this stuff taken at once can kill you! (Lower doses can kill you) But your tolerant to Oxy's, (Not candy by no means) Some people claim 10mg's can, I DO NOT BELIEVE IT. And do your research. You did not mention the dosage of Oxycontin you were on, but the correct way to take this drug is take 5mg's once for three days, than increase it to 10 for three days and see how you are feeling. Watch for fatique and than as it be have your doctor tell you of course what to do. TELL YOUR DOCTOR EVERYTHING! DO not ever take 20 (I would say less but your taking OxyContins) of this to start! DO not mix this drug with a Benzodiazepiene or anything. There are doc's in pain scenario's that I have heard of administering this drug three times a day. In my opinion this is wrong, I feel it should be two times a day and two times a day is enough. It is going to constantly build in you like this and being on a steady dose on this schedule is impossible. You almost have to keep a journal and write down everything you are taking until you are completely familiar with this medication. DO it and consider the half life. It is simple math and although it is extremely dangerous if taken in large amounts to a newbie, it is not that damn hard too figure out. You must develop a working knowledge of this drug and how it reacts to your body. And remember this, once you are on it, consider it to be for the long haul. This stuff is strong and being it fills pain receptors constantly your body is going to change and become ultra dependant on narcotics. Nutrition and exercise is imperative. Once you are tolerant to it, still never increase your dose 10'mg's at once. The most crucial thing with Methadone is this. Mg per Mg and I am only talking up to 10mg. Because Methadone is weird and to explain in simple terms it does not increase in dosage like regular opiates. It in understandable terms multiplies as the speed in a car accident. A 30 mile an hour crash is not 3 times stronger than hitting a pole at 10mph; it is like 7 times more thus in smaller doses Methadone appears to be weak, it is very similiar to Morphine and a 10mg Percocet hits higher and hits the nervous system with a stronger punch. Hence a Oxycodone person will not feel this drug relieving your pain and you take more. It takes over a hour to kick in and it peaks very slowly and you can accumulate a deadly and lethal dose that can kill you one day just because you think it is not working and take more. DO NOT EVER DO THIS WITH THIS DRUG! Again, Mg's must be brought up gradual. If I think of anything else I will edit this. Oh; DO not ever believe the lie that Methadone does not need to be increased. It does. It is imperative you remain on constant doses for 6 months to a year or more and remember, stay on the lowest possible working dose at all times, if you deviate from this one day and your sunk! This is the most crucial thing with this drug.

Posted by: Andy on 2008-12-01, 04:55:42

Methadone blocks the effects of opiate narcotics in the brain. Its only use is to reduce withdrawal symptoms associated with stopping opiate type drugs such as morphine, heroin and oxycontin. It will not stop the pain. Prolonged use of the opiate analgesics is not recommended and your doctor should have tried to find something else to relieve the pain years ago. If there is nothing that can relieve the pain, then you might be a candidate for surgery. Good luck.

Posted by: rxtech03 on 2008-12-01, 04:59:55

None of the insurances are covering the oxycontin and they took the generic off the market. Methodone is a very good drug at controling pain and it does not make you feel high. The pharmacy I work at give out about 12,000 a month! Hope you find something that works. Most patients I have talked to said it did not make them tired, I was taking 10mg and fell asleep standing, sitting, in the car--I begged my Dr. to give me something else, he had me cut to 5mg and I still fell asleep at work or where ever I was. I had to take my husband, son, and brother in to Dr. and they told him I was going to kill someone or myself because I kept falling asleep. Have you ever heard of Kadian? That's what I take, and I love it. Kills the pain and is slow release, so I don't feel high or sleepy. Might check on that.

Posted by: eddy k on 2008-12-01, 05:57:38

IVE HAVE MS AND BEEN ON JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING PAIN MED WISE AND MY ADVISE TO YOU IS METHADONE IS PROBABLY THE BEST PAIN RELIEVER OUT OF ANT OPIODS OR PAIN MEDS .THE ONLY PROBLEM IS ITS SYNTHETIC HEROIN AND IS HARDER TO KICK THAN HEROIN.I WAS ON METHADONE FOR 4 YEARS AND IT WORKS GREAT!!YOU CANT REALLY TAKE ANYTHING ELSE WITH IT BECAUSE IT DOESNT ALLOW YOU TO USE YOUR PAIN RECEPTORS AND GET BENEFITS FROM ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH DRUG FOR PAIN!IT ALSO TOOK 9 MONTHS OF HELL 4 ME TOO WEEN MYSELF OF OF IT.VERY HARD TO GET OFF OF.ITS VERY CHEAP TO BUY AND PAY FOR IF YOUR AN INSURANCE COMPANY SOO I WOULD SUGGEST TRYING IT BUT BE AWARE OF ALL THAT FOLLOWS WHEN YOU WANT TO GET OFF ITGOOD LUCK