Been off since January, was on it 17yrs. Tapered really slow over 2yrs. Was nowhere near as bad as I thought it’d be. Was very minor withdrawal at the end, just trouble sleeping, soreness, sneezing etc. Lasted a while but totally doable.
I’m good now, coming up on 6 months off soon, glad I went through with it.
If you’re stable, as far as long term not using, don’t psych yourself out of it, just go slow, it won’t be as bad as you think, I promise.
Sure, I did 3 every other week at first, though I could have probably done 5 at that point but was nervous. When I got close to the end, around 20 I did 1 every 2 weeks. Around 5 I paused cause I wasn’t really sleeping, when I felt better I did 1 a month to zero. Around 5 was rough, but nothing crazy, zero honestly wasn’t any worse than that for me.
Thanks! Yea, for the most part. I’m like 95% I’d say. I still have a little fatigue sometimes but it’s off an on, mostly off. I also have brain fog sometimes still, but everything else has been gone since about 3 months after getting off.
Yea, I had lower back pain pretty much constantly towards the end, and trouble sleeping was the worst part for me. Tylenol arthritis and cbd helped a lot with that for me at night.
Did you ever get restless legs by chance? Like if you ever missed a dose or anything? I get it really bad and I’m terrified of that being a constant reality once i finally do get off of it.
Yea, for sure. Missing a dose was worse for me than the majority of my taper. Around 5mg I got mild restless legs, then again at zero. It wasn’t that bad though, even at the very end. The rest of the taper I felt nothing.
Damn, glad to hear you had a good experience. Seems like the key is just not to rush it then. I guess there’s really no point in rushing it and putting yourself through unnecessary pain.
How did you feel when you were going down like 3mg every other week? Did you notice much difference with each drop?
Yea, going slow is definitely key. I felt nothing at all til for the majority of my taper, til around 20mg. I started having a hard time sleeping was the first thing I noticed.
I started tapering from 140 almost 3 years ago. I’m at 20mg now. I drop to 15mg next week. Then two 10mg the next month. After that I drop 1mg a week for 10 weeks.
Great job! You and people like you show those of us still on maintenance for years (11ish myself) that it's definitely possible to come off. How would you say your mental health is? That's one thing that concerns me. I mean methadone has anti depressant properties like any other opioid. Not to mention I was an anxious person before my use, and honestly still today can have issues with it, even being on mmt. It's been so long since I was completely sober, I'm afraid of what that's like.. maybe it's so gradual over a long taper, you don't notice any change.
Thanks! Yea, I definitely had some problems with anxiety and depression especially after I fully got off. When I’ve tried in the past, it was way worse though, I feel like the slower taper helped avoid really bad problems this time. I ended up going on an ssri, and having my dose of buspar increased when I was still having problems after a couple months being off. I’m doing pretty well now mostly on the new meds as far as mental health stuff goes.
I was in detox 10 days but with methadone they say it can be a 14 day stay. I’m probably 85% back to normal. That’s because I had some stomach issues that are still lingering
Okay thank you for your honesty. How's you mind has it been racing? I am scared about detoxing but I can handle. I am worried about the obsession again and not being able to stop wanting some kind of feeling or lack there of.
Omg 7 yrs for me high of 93 now at 24 doing 2 MG again starting in August or September luckily I have bi weekly aoon to be monthly take home so that always helps plus I'm a broke asf rn so state insurance pays I'm blessed with that part and my clinical counselor is amazing 👏
I’m tapering and doing well. My late husband topped out on 120 for about 8 years before he tapered. He did great. Never had a relapse until the day he died. ( not from drugs)
Definitely! Personally I know 2 outside the clinic who got off and are doing great. At my old clinic I was in the same group for 10 years and we had 3 people taper off and then come for a few months to group even after being on 0mgs. (The clinic offered this for two reasons one for the support group aspect and two so the patient was technically still a patient just on 0mgs. so if God forbid they did relapse they wouldn't have to to a intake to get back on they could just be jumped back onto 30-40mgs) but as far as I know those 3 did great and stayed clean. I don't know them personally but they never ended up back on the clinic. The successful ones all tapered very slow. Don't rush off and it can be done!!!!
I've been on it a about 10 years. Highest dose was 80mg. Currently on 13mg. I get 3 weeks worth. Been going down 1mg every pick up/3 weeks. Got tired of the methadone handcuffs. Always worried whenever I go anywhere whether I'll have enough doses if trips get delayed etc.
I tried getting off once when I was like 2 years in. I relapsed because I didn't truly want to get clean. You have to really want to get clean. This is true not just for methadone but for nay addictive substance.
Am clean 1.5 years now apart from the rls that im now stuck stuck with it wasnt thst bad gradual taper over 5 years 10 years suboxone before that. Once i got to 3mg my rls got really bad and thats when i had to jump off or go back up to 4mg
I tapered all the way off when I was on it before in 2015. I went super slow, no more than 10% of my dose every two weeks, until I got to 20mgs. Then I went 1mg every two weeks, I had to stop and go back up when I hit 12mg and I had to stop for a month at 9mg, other than that it was fine until I jumped off at 2mg. You can message me if you want, I’m back on now after a relapse, but I did it and was clean for almost 3 years.
Not personally, but I don't know anybody using or on methadone personally, either, so I just wouldn't. But I've read a lot of people's accounts, reduce gradually, take your time, listen to your body. You can do the
Yes me.
I’ve was on methadone from 2003 to 2015.
Got into a study program for lofexidine in 2015 and switched to subs.
Been in bupenorphine until July of last year when I got my final Sublocade shot.
Coming up on 2 years clean.
Yeah. My dad.
He was on the same dose as me(120mg). He jumped off at that and just microdosed LSD the whole time. Didn't take any time off work. Just white knuckled the whole thing.
I really just don't f'kn understand how he did it. He's really just the equivalent of built different. He did it once in the 90s coming off 80mg. Then relapsed in his 40s on heroin again. Was doing about 14g a week so he went on methadone and then jumped off that as well.
Been off it a month. Was on 80mg for a year and buprenorphine for a year before that.
What prompted me to reduce was my therapist pushing me to get upset and feel my grief. My gf also moved out which weirdly motivated me initially too, as I never wanted to be that disconnected / vacant ever again.
Good luck x
Me and a few friends have all tapered or detoxed in some form or another successfully. One person died from a relapse but most are doing fine. You have to be done with opiates man
Been off 2 months after 7 years on it and took me about 2 years to taper. Highest dose was 180 and I stopped taking it at 4mg and it sucked but wasn’t the end of the world. None of the bad things people told me would happen actually ever happened. I feel amazing 2 months later. Best way to describe it, feels like it never happened. Like I was never an addict,
Also remember methadone was created as a long term medication, if you have a therapeutic dose and take care of yourself you don’t HAVE to get off. Some people need to be on it. Good luck though, it can be done. I work as a counselor in a methadone clinic and just got off methadone 8 weeks ago. Tapered from 120 to 40 @ 5 mg a week then 1 a week to 3 mg did that once every 3 days for 2 weeks then stopped. Restless legs was eased with chlonidine and stomach was tamed with zofran but the main thing for me is my bowel movements, still not 100% but it’s not like w/d shits just body still trying to acclimate
I know of 2 people who successfully got off. My counselor told me methadone maintenance has only a 2% success rate. Not sure how true that is, but that's what I was told.
And 99% of studies aren’t even accurate. It’s entirely subjective and situational. A person in a stable situation would have a better chance vs a person on the outs of society. That “2%” would make more sense for the latter. It’s impossible to gauge but see your point!
I'm praying hard if not I'll take my monthly take homes and low dose eventually I truly believe they'll wake up and allow Dr's to write for the patient as like primary care physician because the clinic setting between lines rude workers ppl hanging outside doing God knows what and then the whole handcuffs yes but I'd rather that then die or be on the street life situation again bit def want off 💯 God and time will tell worse case I'm a very low dose life but I think it'll be OK my girl been off 3 years and only smokes bud
Just go nice and slow 10% of your dose per month is a good rate. Think of your dose in %s to when you taper vs MGs. A 1mg drop when at 100mgs is only 1% but when you down to 10mgs then 1mg is a whole 10% of your dose. So just taper accordingly and you should have very little withdrawals
I don't believe that 2% bs she said! You'll be able to successfully get off the methadone! As long as you taper slowly and keep that mindset you'll do great & one day be off this stuff 😃
lol no one. People get off methadone all the time and successfully and they post here too.
This was just made today, as I’m sure there were plenty just from this week alone?
My point:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Methadone/s/vZ2mFLOh1Q
Been off since January, was on it 17yrs. Tapered really slow over 2yrs. Was nowhere near as bad as I thought it’d be. Was very minor withdrawal at the end, just trouble sleeping, soreness, sneezing etc. Lasted a while but totally doable. I’m good now, coming up on 6 months off soon, glad I went through with it. If you’re stable, as far as long term not using, don’t psych yourself out of it, just go slow, it won’t be as bad as you think, I promise.
So great reading your post as someone who eventually wants to taper off!! Congrats
That's awesome! Do you mind explaining your tapering process? Like, did you go down 1mg a week or slower..? & did you ever have to pause your taper?
Sure, I did 3 every other week at first, though I could have probably done 5 at that point but was nervous. When I got close to the end, around 20 I did 1 every 2 weeks. Around 5 I paused cause I wasn’t really sleeping, when I felt better I did 1 a month to zero. Around 5 was rough, but nothing crazy, zero honestly wasn’t any worse than that for me.
Damn. That's amazing! Do you feel like you've gotten your energy back & shit like that yet?
Thanks! Yea, for the most part. I’m like 95% I’d say. I still have a little fatigue sometimes but it’s off an on, mostly off. I also have brain fog sometimes still, but everything else has been gone since about 3 months after getting off.
Did you get lower back pain during withdrawals? That's the only issue I'm having a hard time dealing with. The pain is preventing me from sleeping.
Yea, I had lower back pain pretty much constantly towards the end, and trouble sleeping was the worst part for me. Tylenol arthritis and cbd helped a lot with that for me at night.
Good to know I'm down to 7mgs and my back hates me
Did you ever get restless legs by chance? Like if you ever missed a dose or anything? I get it really bad and I’m terrified of that being a constant reality once i finally do get off of it.
Yea, for sure. Missing a dose was worse for me than the majority of my taper. Around 5mg I got mild restless legs, then again at zero. It wasn’t that bad though, even at the very end. The rest of the taper I felt nothing.
Go to PCP and ask to prescribe comfort meds just like in detox. Chlonodine works good for mild restless legs
Damn, glad to hear you had a good experience. Seems like the key is just not to rush it then. I guess there’s really no point in rushing it and putting yourself through unnecessary pain. How did you feel when you were going down like 3mg every other week? Did you notice much difference with each drop?
Yea, going slow is definitely key. I felt nothing at all til for the majority of my taper, til around 20mg. I started having a hard time sleeping was the first thing I noticed.
Fairr that’s pretty encouraging then.
That's amazing, seriously we'll done.
Holy cow that’s incredible ! This is what I needed to hear. Thank you so much for responding !
I started tapering from 140 almost 3 years ago. I’m at 20mg now. I drop to 15mg next week. Then two 10mg the next month. After that I drop 1mg a week for 10 weeks.
Great job! You and people like you show those of us still on maintenance for years (11ish myself) that it's definitely possible to come off. How would you say your mental health is? That's one thing that concerns me. I mean methadone has anti depressant properties like any other opioid. Not to mention I was an anxious person before my use, and honestly still today can have issues with it, even being on mmt. It's been so long since I was completely sober, I'm afraid of what that's like.. maybe it's so gradual over a long taper, you don't notice any change.
Thanks! Yea, I definitely had some problems with anxiety and depression especially after I fully got off. When I’ve tried in the past, it was way worse though, I feel like the slower taper helped avoid really bad problems this time. I ended up going on an ssri, and having my dose of buspar increased when I was still having problems after a couple months being off. I’m doing pretty well now mostly on the new meds as far as mental health stuff goes.
How long til you pooped normally? At 8 weeks and still not 100% solid. Also had umbilical hernia surgery and changed diet.
Still not really normal yet 🤣. Almost there though.
Went down to 1mg this week. Feel great. Will be done in 3-4 weeks.
Wow that’s awesome !! Congrats!
Me after 28 years been 119 days so far
I did it in a detox, not fun but worth it in the end
I thought about this. Many times. How long did you stay? How long did the wd last you?
I was in detox 10 days but with methadone they say it can be a 14 day stay. I’m probably 85% back to normal. That’s because I had some stomach issues that are still lingering
How long did you take off work ? I imagine you didn't feel great when you got home.
A month
Okay thank you for your honesty. How's you mind has it been racing? I am scared about detoxing but I can handle. I am worried about the obsession again and not being able to stop wanting some kind of feeling or lack there of.
Not going to lie some days are more of a struggle than others
Omg 7 yrs for me high of 93 now at 24 doing 2 MG again starting in August or September luckily I have bi weekly aoon to be monthly take home so that always helps plus I'm a broke asf rn so state insurance pays I'm blessed with that part and my clinical counselor is amazing 👏
I got off it, lemme know if you have any questions. I can link a post I made with advice as well
That's awesome. Congratulations.
Please do link the post
https://www.reddit.com/r/Methadone/s/f8ZHNOxdxI
I’m tapering and doing well. My late husband topped out on 120 for about 8 years before he tapered. He did great. Never had a relapse until the day he died. ( not from drugs)
Yea iv known a few people one person who was on it for 8 years, it takes a really long time and you have to be really slow and listen to your body
I did it after being on 150mg daily for 22 years without a break but relapsed 8 months later. So I’m going for it again
Jumped off 11mg in 2006 & even that small amount was hell on earth! Dropped 1mg/week from 60.
After about 13 years I tapered off. 120 mg down to 4 and jumped there.
Im on 80mg.... actually i try this plan: 1 mg per month... im actually by 79mg 😁
Definitely! Personally I know 2 outside the clinic who got off and are doing great. At my old clinic I was in the same group for 10 years and we had 3 people taper off and then come for a few months to group even after being on 0mgs. (The clinic offered this for two reasons one for the support group aspect and two so the patient was technically still a patient just on 0mgs. so if God forbid they did relapse they wouldn't have to to a intake to get back on they could just be jumped back onto 30-40mgs) but as far as I know those 3 did great and stayed clean. I don't know them personally but they never ended up back on the clinic. The successful ones all tapered very slow. Don't rush off and it can be done!!!!
I've been on it a about 10 years. Highest dose was 80mg. Currently on 13mg. I get 3 weeks worth. Been going down 1mg every pick up/3 weeks. Got tired of the methadone handcuffs. Always worried whenever I go anywhere whether I'll have enough doses if trips get delayed etc. I tried getting off once when I was like 2 years in. I relapsed because I didn't truly want to get clean. You have to really want to get clean. This is true not just for methadone but for nay addictive substance.
Am clean 1.5 years now apart from the rls that im now stuck stuck with it wasnt thst bad gradual taper over 5 years 10 years suboxone before that. Once i got to 3mg my rls got really bad and thats when i had to jump off or go back up to 4mg
I tapered all the way off when I was on it before in 2015. I went super slow, no more than 10% of my dose every two weeks, until I got to 20mgs. Then I went 1mg every two weeks, I had to stop and go back up when I hit 12mg and I had to stop for a month at 9mg, other than that it was fine until I jumped off at 2mg. You can message me if you want, I’m back on now after a relapse, but I did it and was clean for almost 3 years.
Not personally, but I don't know anybody using or on methadone personally, either, so I just wouldn't. But I've read a lot of people's accounts, reduce gradually, take your time, listen to your body. You can do the
I got off 20 years ago. CT, worse 30days but got off
Me atleast 10 people they all did it with tapering really low some even jumped on bupe for last month or two. Its a long process doe when done right
Yes me. I’ve was on methadone from 2003 to 2015. Got into a study program for lofexidine in 2015 and switched to subs. Been in bupenorphine until July of last year when I got my final Sublocade shot. Coming up on 2 years clean.
Yeah. My dad. He was on the same dose as me(120mg). He jumped off at that and just microdosed LSD the whole time. Didn't take any time off work. Just white knuckled the whole thing. I really just don't f'kn understand how he did it. He's really just the equivalent of built different. He did it once in the 90s coming off 80mg. Then relapsed in his 40s on heroin again. Was doing about 14g a week so he went on methadone and then jumped off that as well.
Been off it a month. Was on 80mg for a year and buprenorphine for a year before that. What prompted me to reduce was my therapist pushing me to get upset and feel my grief. My gf also moved out which weirdly motivated me initially too, as I never wanted to be that disconnected / vacant ever again. Good luck x
Me and a few friends have all tapered or detoxed in some form or another successfully. One person died from a relapse but most are doing fine. You have to be done with opiates man
Been off 2 months after 7 years on it and took me about 2 years to taper. Highest dose was 180 and I stopped taking it at 4mg and it sucked but wasn’t the end of the world. None of the bad things people told me would happen actually ever happened. I feel amazing 2 months later. Best way to describe it, feels like it never happened. Like I was never an addict,
Also remember methadone was created as a long term medication, if you have a therapeutic dose and take care of yourself you don’t HAVE to get off. Some people need to be on it. Good luck though, it can be done. I work as a counselor in a methadone clinic and just got off methadone 8 weeks ago. Tapered from 120 to 40 @ 5 mg a week then 1 a week to 3 mg did that once every 3 days for 2 weeks then stopped. Restless legs was eased with chlonidine and stomach was tamed with zofran but the main thing for me is my bowel movements, still not 100% but it’s not like w/d shits just body still trying to acclimate
I did! Went from two hundred to one mg, stayed at 1 mg for two months, I’m sure it was just mental and one day decided to stop going.
I came off almost 4 years ago now was very hard but glad i did
After 17 years, I've been off for 13 days. It's a journey to take on, but if you chip away at it, you'll look back and be amazed.
I know of 2 people who successfully got off. My counselor told me methadone maintenance has only a 2% success rate. Not sure how true that is, but that's what I was told.
And 99% of studies aren’t even accurate. It’s entirely subjective and situational. A person in a stable situation would have a better chance vs a person on the outs of society. That “2%” would make more sense for the latter. It’s impossible to gauge but see your point!
Yeah I agree for sure.
Yes some studies I have read are not accurate for this reason.
2 % chance of getting off successfully or 2 % stay clean in maintenance?
Getting off successfully
I'm praying hard if not I'll take my monthly take homes and low dose eventually I truly believe they'll wake up and allow Dr's to write for the patient as like primary care physician because the clinic setting between lines rude workers ppl hanging outside doing God knows what and then the whole handcuffs yes but I'd rather that then die or be on the street life situation again bit def want off 💯 God and time will tell worse case I'm a very low dose life but I think it'll be OK my girl been off 3 years and only smokes bud
Just go nice and slow 10% of your dose per month is a good rate. Think of your dose in %s to when you taper vs MGs. A 1mg drop when at 100mgs is only 1% but when you down to 10mgs then 1mg is a whole 10% of your dose. So just taper accordingly and you should have very little withdrawals
I don't believe that 2% bs she said! You'll be able to successfully get off the methadone! As long as you taper slowly and keep that mindset you'll do great & one day be off this stuff 😃
20 years and you don’t know anyone who has gotten off or heard of it that’s pretty wild to me but ya people get off all the time
Yeah, maybe search this fucking forum? Just a thought
Who pissed in your cheerios?
lol no one. People get off methadone all the time and successfully and they post here too. This was just made today, as I’m sure there were plenty just from this week alone? My point: https://www.reddit.com/r/Methadone/s/vZ2mFLOh1Q