Permanent Take Homes?

[Beefmang]

Hey everybody. I'm going to begin methadone maintenance in a couple days after being on suboxone for a while and really not responding to it in the sense of craving reduction and normalcy and all that. And after much research, I still have a couple of questions concerning some things in the MMT world. Now I understand that take homes are achieved by going through a certain period of time, like 30 or 90 days, with clean urines and showing up everyday etc...but when someone says that they got one take home day for 90 days of compliance...do they mean just one single day to take medication home, or one day a week from there on out? Because if it means one day a week it would be nice to be compliant for a year or so and only have to go once a week...which would be a couple times a month and sure beat the hell out of every day.

Also another quick inquiry, how long do most of you usually wait when you go everyday to the clinic? Are you sitting (or standing outside, for that matter) for a long time before you get your dose? Or are you in and out pretty quick? Is it better to go just as they're opening or later on after the crowd subsides?

Thanks in advance for all responses, you all have helped me in so many ways in the past.

[Chipper]

One day a week. There are limits, though - Here in Sydney, Australia the most takeaways you can get are 5 a week.

I used to wait from 5 to 30 minutes to get dosed, depending on the time and day of the week. Going in late is not a good idea because you could get delayed and miss your dose. I found the weekends were the best time for me.

[red26]

yes, its one take home a week. As far as finding the lull time at the clinic, you gotta figure theres the initial rush for the door opening, and thers gunna be some back-up before work time. Id ask the receptionist when you go and just always be polite. Sometimes theres alotta knuckleheads that give those ppl so much shit its unreal. BUT!!! If some asshole has the balls to jump yer space in line dont even flinch to tell the prick exactly how you feel and then some. I had to tell some dude we were gunna be stepping outback if he pulled that shit again cuz I seen him do it 3 or 4 times. Everybody there needs thier fix just as bad as he does.

[Duckfeet]

My place, gives u no take-homes for 90 days, then *one* take-home, so I didn't have to go in *sundays* after that, then ninety days later, I got *another* take-home, which I chose--like many--*saturday* so now I had *two* takehomes, which meant weekends off, the daily drive, and another ninety days, you get *three* take-homes, etc., etc....most clinics I've been at, have something like that set up,,,, *unless* you have some *good* reason, like "medical" or "aging parents (the one I used, which happens to be true, hell *I'm* aging, for crying out loud)...but yeah, when you see your counselor--if you think you might have a legit, or legit *sounding* excuse not to be able to attend clinic regularly, ask her what you need to do: I had to write a letter, explaining why I couldn't come in weekends, cuz I actually got my takehomes early...but I clean up good...if I wear a long sleeve shirt, that is, I look just like santa claus:D

In other words, if yer planning on wanting more takehomes, than the amount of time you have, don't go in with no shirt on, a quart of beer in one hand, and dripping blood off yer "ditch": give's'em a bad impression...

So I think you get the picture: sometimes after a year--of no missing days, and no "positive" piss tests, you can get even better, like *two* weeks takehomes, etc...when people talk about "weekend take-homes (two days) or "weekly takehomes" they usually mean they *don't* have to go in those days....

Hell, I'm down to 5mg daily, and just got my two takehomes: I have been here long enough to get another day, but why bother, I should be off in another week or so, and I think it gives me just a bit of psychological comfort just to drive down there, tho I'm at the point now, where I have to remind myself to go, and am bodysurfing and having daily bowel movements, and eating right, and doing yoga, and all the other crap that I *didn't/couldn't* do on methadone....but that's just me, some people *thrive* on it, and are miserable off all opiates...I'm kind of "in between" I'm usually miserable off'em, for a while, then sort of get used to it, then--unless I pay attention--find myself cheerful, even not thinking about it all the fucking time...

Best wishes, tho, methadone, if used correctly, can be a lifesaver: it saved mine, no matter if I dis it or not...I know that...

[rockbottom]

like he said^^^ i got as high as 4 take homes-----i've seen up to 14 ---my problem was every time i'd switch clincs they'ed start me at daily dosing again-----the bastards

[Hoss]

Just out of plain curiousity, and this probably sounds like a really dumb question, but for MMT take homes - is it always in liquid form? Reason I ask is that my sister and her BF are both going to the same clinic and my sis just got her first take home privileges last week, and someone was telling her that they get take homes but in pill form.

Speaking of such, does Lilly still make the wafers? Haven't seen one in a little while.

[Pandora]

Hell, I'm down to 5mg daily, and just got my two takehomes: I have been here long enough to get another day, but why bother, I should be off in another week or so, and I think it gives me just a bit of psychological comfort just to drive down there, tho I'm at the point now, where I have to remind myself to go, and am bodysurfing and having daily bowel movements, and eating right, and doing yoga, and all the other crap that I *didn't/couldn't* do on methadone

Damn, DF, good for you, man! 5 mgs.? That is awesome! I'm proud of you! :) Keep it up, I know you can do this. You are an inspiration to all of us trying to quit.

Love,
Pan

[ZodiacKiller]

Speaking of such, does Lilly still make the wafers? Haven't seen one in a little while.

I'd heard that these were pulled not that long ago. Only what I remember, so don't quote me on that. But those fucking wafers caused me some horrific WD a few years ago. Like the worst ever.......I'm just sayin'.


ZK

[Duckfeet]

Yeah, wafers used to be the most common form for clinics, then--when they snapped we were selling'em, buying'em, fixing'em, etc., they pretty much quit it, and put all us reprobates on the koolaid, which we all know and love...every once in a while, over on the methadone site, somebody will say or hear of wafers being perscibed...or injectable methadone--the holy grail of methadonians in U.S.A....
me, I don't know: I found the pills somehow more "like dope" and harder to manage, and not always be cheating on...while the koolaid is more, like, "yawn..."


I'd heard that these were pulled not that long ago. Only what I remember, so don't quote me on that. But those fucking wafers caused me some horrific WD a few years ago. Like the worst ever.......I'm just sayin'.


ZK

[Beefmang]

Well thats a relief, I figured I wouldn't put it past some of these clinics to give you one day to take home your meds for 90 days of compliance and just as quick make you come back every day after all the hard work you did.

Now, do most of you have to do the classic "standing in line outside the clinic" or do some of you have actual waiting rooms to sit in like a more traditional doctors office-style?

[Narkotikon]

It means once a week. It depends on the clinic you're at, but it's usually something like one take home per week for every 30 or 90 days of compliance (clean UA's, perfect attendance, etc.). So, if you did that for 30 days (let's use the 30 day as an example), you'd get one take home a week. If you kept doing that, and were compliant for 60 days in a row, you'd have two take homes per week. 90 days of compliance, three take homes, etc.

You CAN loose take homes, though, if you fuck up and miss a day, or test dirty, don't follow other rules. It's not like they're permanent. They can take them away.

I'm pretty sure that in the US the maximum number of take homes you can get is 30. You HAVE to come into the clinic at least once a month. But, it's rare I think to have people do that. It would take years for daily compliance to get to that point, but it is possible. But yeah, you have to come in at least once a month.

Usually, too, like if your clinic is closed on Sundays (some are, and on those days everyone gets a take home), you can choose to get your take home for Saturday, so you'd come in on Friday, dose for Friday there at the clinic, then get two take homes (one for Saturday, and one for Sunday), then you'd come back Monday. Usually they let you choose when you want your take home, and most people do it on the weekends it seems like. I've never had take homes, unless the clinic was closed for a holiday. The clinic I was at wasn't closed on Sunday. It was open seven days a week, and only closed on national holidays. Good luck.

Edit: Hoss, I think that liquid take homes are the most common, but I guess it depends on each clinic. I'm pretty sure the wafers were taken off the market for prescriptions, but I think I read somewhere that they're still available for clinics to use. But, for example, a doctor couldn't prescribe the 40mg wafers to chronic pain patients. They'd have to use 4 10mg pills instead.

There's different forms of 'done:

Liquid, either plain for flavored (usually cherry)
40mg wafers, although like I said they're not common anymore. These were designed to fall apart in liquid.
10mg pills
5mg pills
and injectable versions of methadone

Usually clinics use one or two kinds. Like the one I was at used the wafers for daily dosing, then for take homes (either b/c of holidays or if you earned them) you got the liquid. The plain was standard, and if you couldn't tolerate that you could request the cherry. I never got take-homes except for holidays, so I didn't bother requesting the cherry. The plain is so nasty. It tastes like battery acid. The wafers were always put into a little dixie cup, then the nurse would put a little bit of liquid on top, give you the cup, and you put as much Orange Kool-Aid into it as you wanted to drink. I thought the wafers tasted bitter and chalky sort of.
The clinic I was at would also use the 5mg pills if you were on a weird / low dose. Like, they would use the 40mg wafers, then they would have a separate dosing tray with bits of half wafers, and wafers that had been broken into fourths (10mg each), then they'd have a pile of 5mg pills. So, if you were getting 75mg daily, you'd get one whole wafer, one half wafer, one fourth wafer, and one 5mg pill in a cup with liquid.

Edit again: I don't know how they did it if you were on a really odd dose, like 76 or 77 or 78 or 79mgs. I don't know of anyone who was on a dose like that. Usually the clinic increased people by increments of 5mg, and in some cases if the doctor approved you could get 10mg increases. But, for odd doses, or even for detoxing purposes, I don't know how they did that. I know for take homes they used the liquid, which was ordered somehow and delivered to the clinic in advance, and I think liquid can be measured / dosed in smaller increments, so I guess they did it that way if you wanted to be on a really precise dose like 76 or 77mg rather than rounding up to 80. The clinic didn't have one of those dispensing machines there, where they could enter the dose and it could be dispensed by the milligram. They didn't have one of those. I guess the place they sent out for the take-homes did though.

[Method]

As for the long term compliance to be able to get extended take home , i was able to get an exemption to be able to pick up once a week (saturday) instead of being there everyday. now i have only been at the clinic a total of 3.5 months. The reason being is for work, I have to be there at 0630 everymorning and the clinic will not open till 0600 and it is a couple of hours (by public transport) to work. i was getting there at 0900 everyday and it was killing me so i talked to the counsler about it (BTW she is drop dead fucking hot, i would beat the hell out of that) and she worked it out so i could get a weeks worth at a time , with out having to be there for over a year.

[duper]

;) There's a sticky in OPhile's Methadone board about the :drool: 40mil "biscuits" :cloud9: getting pulled from the market.. :dollarsig

[prettypoppy]

It's true that the 40mg wafers were pulled for use by pain patients--pharmacies no longer have them. However, they can still be used in Opioid treatment programs (clinics). They were never intended for use by pain patients anyhow, but docs began using them for that purpose for their higher dosed pain patients. This new restriction has caused a real ruckus for many pain patients, who now must pay more for a bajillion 5 or 10mg pills, and oftentimes their insurance will refuse to cover a script for more than so many unit doses per month, so their dose has to be lowered, or they have to get weekly scripts, etc. Some doctors refuse to write a script for the number of 10mg pills that would equal the former dose they were prescribing in 40mg wafers--they feel it makes them look bad. So quite a few patients have been out in the cold. In fact, many docs are telling pain patients they will no longer script methadone at all.

[antigonemuse]

i know that you can get at least a ttwo month supply. you have to take an eight week course too. and test positive for ninty days. it takes a while to build up your bottles, and you can have one or all your bottle taken away at once time depending on your infraction.

dosing only takes a few minutes. most the thimes i dont wait, unless there is a slower nurse, then a line builds up; it depends on the time of day you go. also sometime you have to test, so you do that before getting meds, and some days you meet with your worker. but its in and out.

some places give methadose. hence those wafers. some take homes are already mixed with juice. we get the stuff, that is very concentrated... they give us a dixie cup with the clear liquid, and we dilute it with orange drink (ghetto juice as wee call it) or water. our take homes are the clear concentrated liquid. nasty shit, yuck.... i made the mistake of swallowing it once without juice. i couldnt get the taste outta my mouth for an hour. just toget an idea of the concentration, i get 120mg, and my bottle (standard square take home botle) is less then half full.