maintenance worldwide

[clinton]

I've been intrigued by users posts regarding opiate maintenance in their respective countries,
I've been reading on the net about various methods that are used in various parts of the world and would like input from opiophiles regarding what they've done themselves, what they are aware of and what they would prefer If any...
In the us we have bupe and methadone maintanence correct? Are there other opiates used as maintenance that I'm missing?
The programs in Canada and Europe using heroin as maintanence are almost unbelievable but thats only because I'm from a country whose legislature and media would cause a shitstorm If any addiction doctor recommended using It as a maintanence drug
And then you have the other extreme , countries like Russia which don't even allow methadone as a means to quitting but instead give benzos and the like to help one quit an opiate addiction...
Anyone care to share?
Even if you don't have any experience with maintenance , any opinion or thought on the matter would be nice....

[bigNasty]

i think somebody on here from serbia or somewhere like that made a thread about jurnista(24hr hydromorphone). sounds interesting, i hope he chimes in on how its going if he's started it

[Narkotikon]

Up until a few years ago you could also get LAAM (Orlaam) in the US too. It had a longer half-life than methadone, and you could dose every two or three days I think. Never done it, and that's all I know about it. I can't remember why it was taken off the market.

Personally, I think Europe / Canada have the best options. I'd definitely be down with ER hydromorphone or morphine over methadone or bupe. But, bupe is definitely better than methadone IMO (for me), and it's not that bad. But I think ER hydromorphone or morphine would be much much better than those options, and I can see it possibly being used in the US in the future, as they're both Schedule II drugs and are in common use, whereas I don't think Heroin maintenance wouldn't make it over here because of the dreaded Schedule I status and the stigma associated with it.

[jonny-5]

i would love to be on full agonist maintenance. just not a long acting one tho. as long as they gave me enough to stop cravings (i.e. enough to get high) then i would be lovin life.

[irish]

I think the great thing about using something like morphine or hydromorphone for maintenance, is that they are short acting drugs compared to methadone, and full agonists unlike bupe. This makes them easier to get off of, and cuts down on the negative side-effects. I take dilaudid for chronic pain, and asked for it specifically because of it's favourable side-effect profile. Less drowsiness, constipation, itchiness, nausea, and all sorts of others. Of course you also get to avoid the dreaded month-long withdrawal that methadone causes, this probably leads to more relapses than anything else.

[Seedy]

NZ: Been trying for 3 months to get on suboxone, still waiting for my number to come up. I'll probably have to dose at the clinic for ==--iujhjklkfvr--/= a while.

[Papa Verine]

I like poppy seed tea maintenance. Although it's not an official maintenance drug. I'm not getting high any more on the stuff but I get a satisfaction out of it that keeps the cravings away. I still get A lot of energy, and enjoy myself... kinda' like a normal person.
I just about topped off at 6-7lbs. a day. I can't drink any more in a day because there's a high volume of tea involved with this much. But I can get by on 2-3lbs. feeling pretty good and having no worries of W/D. I still have a cheap source that's under $3/lb. but I've noticed some brands have doubled or more in price recently. (Just like everything else right?) If I'm forced to pay $6 this can get expensive. Either way, the point is to "get by" on less as opposed to switching back to something stronger i.e. heroin.

With the tolerance it really comes down to the same shit we all face as Opiophiles. Because I'm going to have to make a choice real soon if I'm going to find content with less and slow the progression of my tolerance or switch to something stronger to keep me satisfied, and allow my tolerance to keep rising. No matter what I choose to do at least it's kept me busy this long. That's all I can seem to do to control this thing anyway, find something to keep me busy, feed something to the receptors and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

[upstate_007]

Although it not a sanctioned maintenance program....pods are quite popular and useful for maintenance. And 'legal' as well.

[LorTabitha]

I can't drink any more in a day because there's a high volume of tea involved with this much.

Have you tried reducing/evaporating the tea down? (I'm experimenting with this as I type.)

[clinton]

seedy what are you using at the present?

[Seedy]

^^ just seeds but it's getting harder to find good ones & more expensive, I'm well sick of it. Hopefully I'll be over prescribed the subs so I'll build up a collection. Maybe jump back on the pods over summer.... Only time will tell.