Methadone is a medication used to treat chronic pain and symptoms ofopioid withdrawal.
If you’re concerned about methadone withdrawal, it can be helpful to know what to expect.
Read on to learn more about withdrawal signs and symptoms, as well as their timeline.
What is the most important information I should know about methadone withdrawal?
What Is Methadone?
Physicians prescribe methadone for two reasons.
One is to treat stubborn cases of severe chronic pain.
It can also be used as medication-assisted treatment (MAT) foropioid addiction.
When used correctly, methadone allows people to quit heroin and prescription painkillers without going into withdrawal.
At a maintenance dose, it prevents withdrawal symptoms without causing a high or leading to sedation.
People often take this drug for at least 12 months, with some individuals taking it for years.
It is important to note that methadone is a synthetic opioid that works likeother common opioids.
This means that it is addictive and, because its an opioid, stopping methadone causes opioid withdrawal.
Methadone is effective for most people,preventing innumerable overdose deaths each year.
Its primary drawback is the prolonged withdrawal syndrome it can cause.
Overview of Methadone Withdrawal
Everyones experience getting off methadone is different.
Some people find methadone withdrawal less intense than they expected.
Others think its worse than withdrawing from a short-acting opioid like heroin.
If you haveopioid use disorder, you probably know what to expect from opioid withdrawal.
Some physicians recommend continuing methadone therapy indefinitely.
If you are thinking about discontinuing this drug, talk with your healthcare provider about the pros and cons.
Quitting methadone can be a long and frustrating process, even for people without an opioid dependence.
Your symptoms may start mild and become more severe over the course of a few days.
Once they reach peak severity, your symptoms will begin to resolve.
Others think it will be easy and find that it requires a greater commitment than they thought.
Common methadone withdrawal symptoms include:
Methadone withdrawal symptoms vary from mild to moderate.
Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome
Post-acute or protracted withdrawal can begin in the weeks following your detox.
These symptoms are most common in people who have been misusing opioids over a long period of time.
Opioids affect the way your brain works, flooding it with neurotransmitters.
After you detox, your brain is operating with depletedstores of neurotransmitters.
It can take up to six months for your brain to return to normal.
They can be highly frustrating for both people in recovery and their loved ones.
It helps to remember that these symptoms are temporary and should resolve within the year.
Instead, talk to your prescribing physician about tapering.
Tapering methadone means gradually taking smaller doses over several weeks or months.
Although tapering is considered the best way of detoxing from methadone, it can still be challenging.
You may still experience withdrawal symptoms each time your dose is cut.
After that, reductions should slow to 5mg per week.
So, dose reductions can occur once a week, once every two weeks, or less often.
Sometimes one dose reduction is harder than the others and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms occur.
If you are experiencing insomnia or disordered sleeping, your physician may prescribe something to help you sleep.
However, they may recommend such medications depending on your particular needs.
Most notably, pregnant women.
Opioid withdrawal can cause pregnancy complications, including fetal stress and even fetal death.
Methadone is proven safe and effective for use during pregnancy.It does not cause birth defects or pregnancy complications.
Pregnancy affects how your body metabolizes methadone, so your dose may need adjusting as your pregnancy advances.
Although the laws about opioid abuse during pregnancy do differ among the states, methadone is safe and legal.
You should not run into any problems when you seek treatment.
You should also talk to your care providers about your plans after giving birth.
Breastfeeding is generally considered safe during methadone treatment.
If you want to stop taking methadone, your physician will talk to you about an appropriate tapering timeline.
They may advise waiting until your body feels back to normal.
Relapse is common among opioid users.
After you detox from methadone, your opioid tolerance will be much lower than it used to be.
If you relapse with heroin or prescription painkillers, you will be at risk of a life-threatening overdose.
Detoxing from methadone is a great step, but it doesnt mean that youve beaten your addiction.
Proper treatment takes a multifaceted approach that combines medication management with psychotherapy and social support.
A combination oftalk therapyand medication management is often more effective at treating opioid use disorders than medication alone.
The primary goal of long-term treatment is toprevent relapse.
Relapse rates among people with opioid use disorders are very high.
Research shows that roughly three in four people who complete opioid detoxification relapse within two to three years.
These numbers arent pretty, but dont let them scare or discourage you.
Relapse is a part of the recovery process.
Knowing the odds will help you understand the value of ongoing treatment.
Naltrexone
Naltrexone is whats known as an opioid antagonist (similar to the naloxone in Suboxone).
Knowing that using an opioid wont get you high should discourage you from impulsively relapsing.
Naltrexone is available with a prescription and can be taken as a daily pill or a monthly injection.
This can take as long as 14 days.
Reversing an Opioid Overdose
Narcan (naloxone) is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
Therapy
When it comes to therapy, you have a variety of options.
Mostmethadone clinicsoffer some sort of counseling, so thats a good place to start.
Social Support
Finally,social supportis a key aspect of relapse prevention.
Many people find support at local 12-step meetings, such as Narcotics Anonymous.
it’s possible for you to find a meeting near you with theirsearchable directory.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
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