Dangers of Methadone Abuse
Methadone is a synthetic medication used to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings of recovering Opiate addicts. Methadone is highly regulated as a form of chemical treatment for those who are addicted to Opiate derived medication like Morphine, Oxycodone, and Hydrocodone.
Methadone comes in pill and liquid form, but not every doctor can prescribe it. Methadone has such strict regulation because it is easy to overdose on if dosage is wrong. Many Methadone clinics will not distribute this medication to those not enrolled in an inpatient treatment program, however, reports of abuse have come up around the nation. Just because the drug is used as a detox method and taper program, doesn’t mean it is not dangerous. In fact, it is just as addictive as Heroin or Morphine.
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If you are taking more Methadone than your body needs to taper off drugs like Heroin you will feel a euphoric high that mirrors other Opiate drugs. This causes people using Methadone to become addicted to the feeling of Methadone. When addicted to the feeling of Methadone they will either keep using more Methadone than prescribed or go back to the drug they were using in the first place.
From 1999 to 2005, methadone overdose deaths increased by about 460%.
Street Names for Methadone
If your loved one is addicted to Methadone he or she may resort to illegal ways of obtaining it by buying it off the streets to feed his or her addiction. Some of the street names for Methadone are: Methadose, Dollies, Dolls, Don, Metho, Wafer, Juice.
Methadone Effects
When people are addicted to Methadone, they will alter their behavior to fulfill cravings for the drugs. What was once used to help someone recover from addiction could turn into another addiction. Drug addicted individuals usually know their drug use is hurting them but ignore the threats to feed their addiction. Some signs and symptoms of Methadone abuse are fever, anxiety, muscle aches and pains, nausea or vomiting, sweating, diarrhea, cravings, insomnia, hallucinations and depression. The signs and symptoms of Methadone abuse will depend on how much the user is taking and how frequent. If you are using Methadone as a means to get off drugs like Heroin, be aware addiction is very possible and there are other options available to those who wish to recover.
Warning signs of Methadone abuse in a loved one
A common sign of Methadone abuse is drowsiness. If your loved one has a prescription for Methadone, it should not make him or her want to sleep all the time. If he or she is abusing their prescription he or she may be nodding off or sleeping more than usual.
Another sign of abuse is stealing and lying. If your loved one is abusing Methadone he or she is going to need more than he or she gets from the doctor and will in buy it off the streets. This will be costly and he or she will need money to feed their addiction.
If your loved one is abusing Methadone he or she may lack motivation for everything that has taken an importance in his or her life. It is possible he or she will drop out of school or lose a job because getting high on Methadone has become more important.
Factual Dangers: Methadone
It is scary when you notice something is going wrong with your loved one. You may not know exactly what it is but he or she has been acting different and you want a reason why. A common reason people begin to act weird or secretive around their loved ones is because they have developed an addiction. A common drug abused today is Methadone and this may be your loved one’s problem. If you are concerned he or she is abusing Methadone, here are some common signs of Methadone abuse:
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True Stories of Addiction: Justin Overcomes Heroin Addiction
Justin’s life took a turn for the worst when he tried a drug like Methadone. Listen to his story to figure out how he recovered. – View all episodes now
Methadone Rehab Treatment
Methadone is a drug that is used to help you recover from an addiction to drugs like Heroin and Prescription pain pills. If you are going to a doctor and using the taper program as prescribed, it can help you recover from your addiction. If you are to start abusing Methadone, taking more than prescribed and buying it off the streets you are not going to recover.
You are honestly just trading one addiction for another. If it has come to the point where you are addicted to Methadone and your life is just the same, not better, then when you were using your previous drug of choice, instead of trying another taper program, it is recommended to try out Methadone rehab treatment. You will begin your treatment with a period of medically assisted detox. The withdrawals from Methadone are painful and it will be hard to go through therapy and classes you will take in treatment when you are sick because of Methadone withdrawal. The doctor at the medically assisted detox program will give you medication to help safely remove the Methadone from your body while also decreasing the symptoms of withdrawal.
Once you have detoxed and your mind is clear, you will begin the real treatment that will actually help you recover in the long run. In rehab treatment, you will go through therapies like cognitive behavior therapy individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy. All therapies will hit different aspects of your life that will help you recover from all damage that has been caused. – Learn More
In 2011, more than 65,000 emergency room visits were related to methadone use.
Methadone Detox Treatment
You may have started using Methadone to try and get off another Opiate but found yourself now addicted to Methadone. This is very common for Opiate abusers because Methadone mimics the feeling of drugs like Heroin and Morphine when taken in higher doses. If you want to stop abusing drugs completely and stop using the Methadone program because your life isn’t developing as it should, going to a medically assisted detox facility would be your first step.
Methadone withdrawals are known to be painful, more painful than withdrawals from Heroin. Without the help of other medication, it will be hard to stay away from Methadone if you were in a lot of pain. In a detox facility, the doctor will evaluate you and prescribe you medication to get you off Methadone completely without severe withdrawal pains. Some of the withdrawals you might experience from Methadone are anxiety, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, chills, sweating, fever and rapid heart rate. With the help of medication, your symptoms will be slim to none.
You will heal your body in detox and get the rest you need to prepare yourself for rehab. It’s recommended for all individuals who are addicted to Methadone to go into rehab treatment directly after detox. Detox will not change the way your mind thinks, it will just safely remove all toxic chemicals that were in your body from drugs and alcohol. – Learn More
Addiction to Methadone
If you are a Heroin abuser and you have moved onto a Methadone tapper program, you need to be aware that Methadone is just as addictive as other Opiates. If you do not follow the doctors order and slowly taper off Methadone, you are just going to be trading your Heroin addiction with a Methadone addiction. If this is happening in your life, you are going to notice your life is not getting better as it should because you stopped using Heroin.
Things are going to be the same and progressively get worse. It will get to the point where your prescription to Methadone won’t cut it and you will begin buying it off the streets just like you were doing with Heroin. This will cause you to go broke again because Methadone is not cheap. You will start to burn bridges with your family and friends again making it harder for them to have trust in you when you want to get help. You could lose your home and your car because you need Methadone to function.
Just because you were using Methadone in the beginning as a prescription doesn’t mean your addiction isn’t as fatal as your Heroin addiction was. When you are addicted to Methadone, your chances of overdose are high and your life is at risk each time you put Methadone in your body. The only way to stop using Methadone is if you are willing to get treatment. Give your life the change it needs and become the person you have always wanted to be. – Learn More
Methadone Dependency
Methadone is a drug you would use to try and come off other Opiate drugs like Heroin or Oxycodone. A doctor will usually use a Methadone maintenance program that will last about 6 months to a year before you come off Methadone completely. If you are using this Methadone maintenance program you are still going to be dependent on the substance you will just be under a doctor’s supervision.
This is dangerous for Opiate abusers because you are not truly becoming clean and sober and changing your life. The chances of you becoming addicted to Methadone are high because the feeling Methadone gives mimics the feeling of other Opiates. To truly recover, it is best if you are to cut out all mind-altering substances, go through a detox, rehab treatment center and then work a 12-step program. It is difficult for people to want to stay clean and sober if they are still under the influence of drugs like Methadone.
If you are careful and really follow the doctors’ orders you can come off the other Opiate you were abusing safely but you will still need other treatment to heal your mind. Methadone is just as addictive as all other Opiates and can cause the same amount of havoc if you are to abuse it. If you truly want to get off other Opiates, it is a better idea to go straight into a detox facility and recover that way because Methadone programs are very tricky and not as successful. – Learn More
Seeking help for a loved one.
- Who Do I Include in a Methadone Intervention?
It is best to include an intervention specialist and those closest the Methadone addicted individual. It is best to leave out anyone who may not be able to control their anger. - What Do I Say in A Methadone Intervention?
You will speak directly to your loved one, only speaking in love and concern while leaving out judgment or anger. Let him or her know the negative impact their Methadone addiction causes you.
Intervention for Methadone Abuse
If you know somebody who struggles with a Methadone addiction, you should consider holding an intervention. An intervention gathers family members with the common goal of providing a route for treatment to the individual struggling with addiction. The best interventions are rooted in compassion and have a non-judgmental angle. If you begin the intervention with an agenda to attack and hurt, you will not reap the benefits intended by the intervention in the first place.
An intervention is a place where people can share their frustrations in a way that doesn’t discourage or put down. Sometimes, families look to intervention specialists to help organize the process. They are specialists in crisis management and have a long history working with people who have distinct problems with addiction. An interventionist will make sure nothing gets out of hand. There will be a lot of emotions and it may be easy for family members to get angry and feel the need to express their pain in a non-compassionate way.
The interventionist will be able to mediate the situation so the individual will not feel the need to leave the intervention without treatment. Another job an interventionist will do is help plan. This will take stress off you so you can really focus on how to get the best treatment for the addicted loved one. Going through an intervention is going to be an emotional process. Even if the Methadone addicted individual does not accept the help, at least he or she knows there is a group of people who are when he or she makes the decision to change. – Learn More
Recovery from Methadone Abuse
When you decide to change your life, and stop abusing Methadone you are going to be amazed at what your life can become. It is possible, in your active addiction, you could have lost everything you have worked for in your life. You could have lost your home, car and the trust of your family members and loved ones.
Once this happens, recovery seems like an impossible goal to reach. What you need to understand that when you go through recovery, you are giving yourself the chance to gain everything you lost back in a timely manner. When you decide to change, your family members will see you are making an honest try at trying to rebuild your life and they will slowly but surely start to rebuild trust. You can get a new job and maybe even prove yourself to your past employer and get your old job back. Your possibilities are endless when you decide to change your life around and recover from your methadone addiction.
Methadone is also referred to as “Dolls”, “Meth”, “Junk”, “Jungle Juice”, “Chocolate Chip Cookies”.
In order to recover and make this all possible, you will need to first go through a detoxification process to safely remove the Methadone and all other mind-altering substances from your body. You will then move on into rehab treatment where you will go through certain therapies to help you recover. The real recovery, however, begins when you leave treatment and get involved with a 12-step program. When you begin to work a 12-step program your life is going to change in miraculous ways and you will make lasting friendships with other people who are trying to recover from addiction as well.
- How Do I Recover from Methadone Addiction?
The first step in recovery from your Methadone addiction is admitting you have a problem. Once you have done that, reach out for help and seek detoxification and treatment center. - Will I Ever Relapse on Methadone?
Methadone relapse is always possible. As long as you learn from it and move on in a positive direction you should be fine and able to have a strong and lasting recovery in the future.
Dangers of Methadone Overdose
Studies have shown 40 mg of Methadone can be fatal, causing overdoses. This is why this medication is highly regulated. Those who use this medication in recovery must be closely monitored to ensure there is no allergic reactions or overdoses. This medication is usually tapered off the duration of the treatment until full recovery is reached.
If you end up using Methadone as a taper but become addicted your risk of overdose is high. It doesn’t take a lot of Methadone to overdose. It is especially dangerous if you are mixing it with other Opiates, Benzodiazepines and Alcohol. If you are not planning on stopping your Methadone abuse, at least be aware of the signs of an overdose and how it can affect your body. Dome of the most common Methadone overdose signs are nausea and vomiting, spasms of the intestines or stomach, low blood pressure, weak pulse, slow or no breathing, dizziness, distortion, fatigue, muscle twitches, weakness, blue lips and fingernail tips and cold skin.
If you are showing theses signs and don’t get medical attention, your symptoms will worsen into coma and even death. It is possible to die on the spot with a Methadone overdose as well. You may not have any warning symptoms, take too much and pass out. If this happens your only chance of recovery is if someone finds you in time, realizes you are overdosing and gets medical attention. Even then, it could be too late and you can die. There are so many risks that come with using Methadone and the only way to prevent these risks is to stop abusing methadone and get the treatment you deserve. – Learn More
The Reality of Methadone Addiction
Methadone is one of the many drugs that are approved for treating addiction to Opiates like Heroin and Oxycodone. If you are struggling with an addiction to an Opiate, such as Heroin, you might go to the doctor and he or she may recommend getting into a Methadone maintenance program. These programs can be effective because Methadone works over a long period of time, it stays in your system for 24-hours and you usually take it orally which only takes 30 minutes for it to kick in. However, Methadone isn’t all safe and effective. If you go on a Methadone maintenance program, without any other help from rehab or a 12-step program you will most likely end up becoming addicted to Methadone and trade your Heroin addiction in for a Methadone addiction.
You may feel like having an addiction to Methadone is better than an addiction to Heroin because Methadone is prescribed by doctors. This, however, is the opposite of true and Methadone can create the same problems in your life that Heroin did. Let’s say you are going to a Methadone clinic, you are really set on coming off Heroin and changing your life. However, when you are evaluated by the doctors, you lie about how much Heroin you were using so they give you a higher dose of Methadone. At the time, you aren’t going to think anything of it and you will be able to justify it because you are getting off Heroin and doing the right thing. Are you really doing the right thing? Not completely.
The doctors that prescribe your Methadone is going to give you a dosage of Methadone that will allow you to feel how you were feeling while you were on Heroin until you start to dose down. They do this because they want you to stay on the Methadone program and getting the same euphoric high you got while using will keep you coming back. This is good for the people who are honest with the doctor about how much they were using. Since you have lied to the doctors they are going to give you a higher dose than you need that will intensify the high you are feeling when you take your dose in the morning and because Methadone lasts about 24-hours or more you will be feeling that high all day.
You are going to feel that high and feel grateful you found a Methadone program because it is just like Heroin but you get to be high all day. The feeling the Methadone gives you will keep you coming back to the clinic daily because you never want to miss a dose. The whole point of a Methadone program is to ween you off the Methadone slowly and the day will come that the doctors will pull you in and tell you they are dosing you down. At the time, you might not think anything of it and you are still coming back in the morning to get more.
When you show up in the morning, you take your Methadone as usual, but something is missing. You don’t get those goose bumps or that feeling of “awe” you usually did after you took it. So, you ask to see the doctors but they tell you this is what the program is about and it is going to help you if you keep dosing down so you will eventually be clean off all drugs. When you first started the program, this is what you wanted but now you know the feeling Methadone brings you are not sure you like this idea of dosing down. You are thinking about what to do and remember your old dealer sold Methadone along with Heroin so you give him or her a call.
You meet up with him or her, buy some Methadone and after you take it, everything feels right again. Now you are getting your Methadone in the morning from a doctor and buying an additional amount off the streets to keep the high you wish to feel. This all seems familiar, you are broke again, your parents or spouse want you out of the house and you feel alone. You are confused because you thought stopping the Heroin use will take all this away. Which, if you were to stop the Heroin use and really get the treatment you need it would all stop but you just traded one addiction in for another.
What you need to do now, if you don’t want your life progressing into nothing again, is to get the help you need. You need to go to the clinic and be honest with the doctors about your use and ask them if they know of any detoxes around town. They will probably give you a sheet with phone numbers and addresses. It is your job to pick up the phone and start calling. When you find a detox center, you need to tell them it was Methadone you were using because if you take the medication they are going to give you to help the withdrawal symptoms too soon, you will become very sick.
Once detoxed, you will go to a treatment center to heal your mind, body and soul. You have put yourself through a lot in your addiction and it is time for you to work on being the person you want to become. You will get your family back, learn to love yourself and begin to believe in yourself again and realize what you are worth. If you are still using Methadone and feel like you cannot stop, give us a call. We will put you on the line with an addiction specialist and he or she can help you find the best treatment that will help you recover.
- What Will I Work on in Individual Methadone Therapy?
You will work on yourself. Individual Methadone therapy focuses on bettering your life in ways you never thought were affecting you. - What is Individual Methadone Therapy?
Individual therapy is where you would meet one-on-one with a therapist in a confidential setting to talk about your Methadone addiction.
Individual Therapy for Methadone Abuse
Once you have made the decision to change your life and have gone through detox, you are going to end up in rehab treatment. While detox was used to clean your body from all harmful chemicals Methadone held, rehab treatment will, in a way, clean your mind from all the negative things that has happened in your past. It won’t necessarily clean your mind; however, it will heal your mind from what triggered your Methadone Abuse in the first place.
One of the ways rehab treatment does this is individualized therapy. Individualized therapy will be one-on-one treatment with just you and a therapist. This is a positive because it gives you the chance to really open up without others hearing the whole story of your past. It is just going to be you and a trained professional to help you get through what you need to in order to move on. You and the therapist will talk about your past and figure out what may have been triggering your using. It might be hard opening up old doors but this give you the chance to really work through those problems and close the door for good.
It may be childhood trauma that has been triggering your using and you may have not even known it because it happened so long ago. However, if something happened to you in the past and you never worked through it properly, it will still linger in the back of your mind waiting to attack you at your weakest moment. Working thorough all these emotions will ensure you that they won’t pop up again and trigger relapse in the future.
Group Therapy for Methadone Abuse
You may be curious about what it is that helps people recover while they are in rehab treatment. Well, going through a multitude of therapies is what helps your mind recover and prepares you for the future. One of the best therapies to go through is group therapy. Group therapy is going to help you in a multitude of ways and help you prevent relapse for the future when you leave treatment.
In group therapy, you will work with a group of people from your treatment center or volunteers with a therapist. Usually, you will all start by checking in on how your day was. This gives you a chance to really open up on how you are feeling to people who understand. Once you get comfortable opening up to other people, it is going to come natural to you. This is especially going to help you when you leave treatment.
Once you leave treatment, you are going to want to get involved in a 12-step program. Because of group therapy, walking into a 12-step meeting less stressful. It is going to be natural for you to be around other people who support and understand your problems so you are going to jump right in and make friends that will last forever. Another reason group therapy helps is because you can learn from others mistakes and others can learn from yours. It is important to listen to other people and figure out what didn’t work for them so you don’t have to go down the same path of active addiction again.
- Will Group Therapy Help My Methadone Addiction?
Yes. Group therapy will show you that you are not fighting your Methadone addiction alone. - What Do I Do in Methadone Group Therapy?
In group therapy, you will talk about your Methadone addiction and relate with others’ battle with their addiction.
True Stories of Addiction
Breana’s life went downhill when she watched her mother pass away at 13 years old. She began experimenting with drugs, and it ended up taking everything from her. She was homeless, afraid and alone wondering what her life has become. She ended up getting pregnant and got on a Methadone program that didn’t help her recover, but rather, it made things worse. Her child was taken by CPS and she was heartbroken. It took some time, but Breana fought the battle of addiction and won. She is now living a clean and sober life with her daughter right by her side. If Breana can recover, you can too.
Seeking help for a loved one.
- Why Should I go to Inpatient Treatment for My Methadone Addiction?
You should go to inpatient treatment to save your life from Methadone addiction. You will learn a new, healthier way of life while in inpatient rehabilitation. - Why Should I Attend Inpatient Rehab?
You should attend inpatient rehab for your Methadone addiction so you can learn how to live your life in a positive way without the use of drugs.
Inpatient Methadone Rehab
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Methadone addiction is no joke and it requires a lot of hard work and dedication to fight through it. Though there is no cure for Methadone addiction, you can maintain it with the proper treatment. One of the best ways to being your recovery is admitting yourself into an inpatient rehab center. Inpatient rehab is where you will stay for a period of time, away from the world, to give yourself time to recover.
Once you have arrived at the inpatient treatment center, a group of staff and therapists will have a conversation with you about your addiction which will help them create a personalized treatment plan for your recovery. Before you begin all the therapy and classes to help your addiction, you are going to need to go through a period of detoxification to cleanse your body from all chemicals Methadone held. Methadone withdrawal symptoms are very severe, that said, you will need to be prescribed medication by a doctor that will help you get through the detox as comfortable as possible.
Once you have detoxed, you will enter the therapeutic part of rehab treatment where the real recovery begins. The staff will now have your personalized treatment plan and be able to guide you in the direction they believe is best for you. You will go through educational classes to learn about your addiction, how it is a disease and that you are not alone. Along with educational classes, you will go through a multitude of different therapies that will help you to recover from your addiction and help you in the long run. – Learn More[
Outpatient Rehab
Methadone addiction requires treatment to recover from it, you can’t just sit around expecting to magically recover from your addiction. If you are ready and willing to do the work it takes to recover, you are going to need to get rehab treatment. One of the many treatments you can choose is outpatient rehab. Outpatient rehab is where you will travel to a facility o few times a week for a few hours at a time for treatment.
You will most likely go through individual therapy and group therapy. Though the combination of therapies are proven to help Methadone addiction, it is still going to be difficult to recover if you are still surrounded by the same people, places and things in early recovery. That said, if at all possible, you should do all you can to get into inpatient rehab before you go into outpatient. If you have work or family obligations that prevent you from being able to check-in to an inpatient rehab facility, still go to the outpatient program.
You are not going to be hopeless, you are just going to need to stay focused on your recovery. If you are going to choose outpatient rehab, it is a good idea to pair it with a 12-step program. There are 12-step meetings all over town and at every hour of the day so it can fit into your busy schedule. There, you will meet more people who are recovering and have recovered from Methadone addiction. This will keep your mind busy and make relapse extremely difficult. – Learn More
- Will Outpatient Help my Methadone Addiction?
Just like inpatient, if you are willing to do what it takes to recover, outpatient rehab will help you learn how to live your life without Methadone. - When Should I go to Outpatient Rehab?
Following up your inpatient treatment with outpatient rehab can help provide you with a better chance at Methadone recovery.
