Will the cravings ever end????

[lolleedee]

I am on 78mgs. of methadone in a split dose due to metabolic problems. My clinic only goes up to 100mgs. no matter what, and they start getting weird bout increases when you hit 80mgs. Anyway, I have been on it for about 50 days and I am still having wicked cravings! Not the "just thinking about it"kind, but the" pacing around like a caged animal and searching everywhere for a little bit of any opiod I can get my hands on" kind. My counselor thinks that I just need to go to more meetings...I think she is full of shit and I think I need an increase. If they don't raise me, I can guarentee that I will use again soon! Not only am I having cravings, but I also suffer from chronic pain due to a back injury and boy, what I wouldn't do for a codeine or 10!!! I know it isn't that srong, but anything to take the edge off would be great....now if I could find some codeine....
Is anyone else out there on a similar dose??? Is it helping or are you going out of your mind too????? help!

[shaunclo]

Hey L, I am on Suboxone and crave EVERY FUCKIN DAY!! So no, if you crave it today, you will crave it tomorrow. I tried 10mg of methadone a couple of weeks ago and it got me toasty. I cant explain this, because I was under the impression that 10mg aint shit. I dont think there is a drug out there that will take away your cravings, that is unless your given H, or prescribed to you whatever you crave. I dont see why they wont increase your dose if your dose isnt helping you. All you can do is ask....

[Tar_Baby]

Actually a proper dose of methadone will reduce all craving..Unfortunately that dose varies from person to person. In Texas the methadone clinics are more progressive and dont have dose caps..
I dont even get blocking effect ubtil about 120 mgs a day.
Can you find a better care provider? You need to find a clinic that doesnt use draconian dose caps.. You need to go up to a proper dose whatever that is for you, and get on with your life...thats the whole point of methadone.

[lolleedee]

I was on suboxone too, shaunclo, and the cravings sucked!!! I had a bottle of 40 8mg. tabs that I ate in 3 days. The cravings were never relieved!! I wound up popping a lot of other pills (the narc variety!) while I was on it. (yup, the whole three days I was on it!! lol). That is about where I am now with the meth...ready to pop some other crap. Of course, when I started the meth, that was what I was trying to avoid!!

[candy]

I agree with Tar_Baby on this one. On the proper dose of Methadone, the cravings should at the very least be reduced. Unfortunately, not all Methadone clinics are up on the latest research or are unwilling to change their practices. Not everyone does well at 80mgs of Methadone and I do know of some who are doing well at doses of 200mg. For someone who has been using for years or been on Methadone before, 80 mgs is just not enough. Even at 100mgs, it can be a low dose for someone with a long history of opiate use, including Methadone.
If you can find another clinic within reasonable driving distance, I might try and give it a go.
You may also want to contact your states Health Department. There is generally a division that oversees Methadone clinics and you may be able to contact someone to see if they can help you to get an increase in your dose. I am not sure if the clinic sets caps on dosaging or if it is a state mandate.
But, if going to another clinic is not an option and you feel your dose is not enough, then see about filing a complaint. Your clinic should have a number posted somewhere in the facility where clients can see it for contact info if you have a complaint or feel you are being mistreated. Legally they must post this!
You could also call the state or county Health Department and they should be able to connect you with the right person.
It is the responsibility of the clinic to provide these numbers, so don't hesitate to take a look around.
You are intitled to fair and adequate treatment.

[lolleedee]

Thanks, Candy. I am going to go in on Monday and see what I can do. This dose is certainly not holding me. When I first started, I was on 65 mgs. and that would keep away the cravings and withdrawls for about 10 or so hours and then I would be sick as a dog. That is why they put me on a split dose. I had a gastric bypas three years ago, so I metabolize differently than most. I think if they put me on 65 am and then 65 late afternoon, it would hold me. But right now i'm on 38 and 38. Now instead of feeling good for a chunck of time like I did on 65, I'm just low grade sick 24 hours a day! I am definately taking your advice and if they won't listen to me I will file a complaint. It is the individual clinic that sets the dose limit. One of the counselors told me that they have the cap to increase their profit margins!!! Isn't it nice that money is more important then us getting better!!!! ugh!!! Anyway, thanks for your advice!!! I'll let you know how it goes!!!

[milky]

I've been wondering about my metabolism lately, because methadone at the right dose to keep you from WD's is supposed to last like 30 hours or so, but for me, after 8 - 10 hours, I can feel a definate reduction of the methadone's effect- At first I thought maybe it was all in my head, but that is not the case, as I can see my pupils growing, start feeling too hot/cold etc... And when I wake up in the morning, I can hardly bring myself to reach over to my bedside table to grab my meth, and after drinking the shite, I can't get up for at least half an hour.

I have spoken to many friends and my doctor, who all agree that if the dose I take in the morning makes me feel ok, (which it does) then the effects should last for at least 24 hours, but for me, this isn't the case.

When I was a daily H user, oteher people I knew who used more than me daily, could use at 6 or 7 in the evening and be ok untill morning- Where as I would use at midnight and wake up at 9 sick!

I've always thought I'd got quite a slow metabolism, as I gain weight quite easily, or are the two things not connected?

lolleedee- I hope you get yourself sorted, my doctor told me that the average maintanance dose for someone who has been a daily opiate user for some time, is somewhere between 80 and 120 mg.

Good luck with the cravings- I don't think they will ever completely go away. Get a hobby, call some non junk friends, read a book, help me with my world domination plans... Anything to get your mind off heroin! (Or whatever your vice is/was.)

[shaunclo]

Very good advice, you need to get some hobbies or something. The cravings will not go away if you still live the junky-lifestyle, without the junk. It just wont. You need to become productive in some way or another. Its easier said than done, I know......

[msdope]

lolledee, Just wanted to say I hope you did well at your Doc today. I agree the cravings never go away. You have to get your mind off it. Get another addiction like say flea marketing, and buy every single thing for a collection or something. Reading, yoga. Yoga really helped me with cravings.

Hang in there. Feel better.

Milky, I was a wake-up bag user. I had to have my dope first thing in AM. Needed that wake-up bag no matter if I used at 70PM the night before or 120AM. Guess that was a habit of the habit.

[lolleedee]

Thanks guys!!! I actually got raised to 80mgs (split dose) so maybe that will help some. The cravings suck, but the chills, sweats and bone pain are the worst!!! I'm hoping this increase will at least take the edge off some of this stuff. I have totally been ignoring my hobbies. I ride horses (eventing) and I haven't been to the barn in almost a month. I just don't feel like doing anything...maybe once I get stabilized on a good dose I will start to come back to life!!! I think maybe I just need to push myself a bit! Do any of you out there ever feel like curling up in fetal position with the blankets over your head??? I really think that I need to force myself to do things and get myself moving again! milky, maybe I will help you with that world domination thing you are working on!!!!
Another thing, do any of you on meth notice that since you started taking it that food tastes funny? I have started to have some pretty bad food aversions...like to the point of gagging!!! everything, including my favorite foods, taste and smell weird now! Am I nuts, or has this happened to any of you guys????
thanks for all of your suggestions and support!!! If you have any more, lay them on me!!!! thanks guys!!!

[Tar_Baby]

Very good advice, you need to get some hobbies or something. The cravings will not go away if you still live the junky-lifestyle, without the junk. It just wont. You need to become productive in some way or another. Its easier said than done, I know......

Its not a matter of "keeping busy" or "hobbies" although that DOES help alot..and you do need to try and change your lifestyle..
You are dealing with a brain chemical issue...and at a proper dose methadone will eliminate all cravings.. I dont see how 80 mgs is enough to hold anyone..and most folks I know that are cllean and only using the methadone are on higher doses..Latest research has proven that higher doses> lower doses.

[lolleedee]

I totally agree tar baby! I KNOW that 80mgs. isn't enough for me. Unfortunately, the clinic that I go to has a real problem with anyone going above 80 and they cap at 100! I found another clinic though. It is much farther away from my house, but if I don't get raised, I will never be clean. I am still using some opiates because I am still having massive cravings and also some withdrawl symptoms...mostly chill/sweats and bone pain..really bad bone pain! I agree that it isn't about the hobbies and stuff...but I guess it can't hurt!!!

[GMorris]

The clinic I went to wanted to cap dose at 120, and I had the same type of metabolism problem. 100mg. in the morning just didn't hold me all day, so I finally got them to split the dose. After that, it was easier to get the increases for some reason. The dispensing nurses always seemed to dislike dispensing more than 100mg. at a time, but it didn't seem to bother them to give out TWO daily doses of 65mg., which is what I ended up on. Nobody else at that clinic was on that high of a dose, and let me tell you, even that was barely enough.

Once my body adjusted, the 130mg./day was enough to keep me from using anything (well, almost anything, I still drank beer and took the occasional benzo when nobody was looking, he he....). Some people just need more than others, and I've talked to a few people from other clinics that were taking in excess of 400/day. Now that's a lot of methadone!

Now I'm off the methadone, and hope to never set foot in a methadone clinic again as long as I live. It really is all about the money for them, but don't let them tell you that money is the reason for the dose cap. They buy the stuff in bulk and a single dose is likely less than $0.25 for even the most pricey 'done. For that matter, a prescription for 240 10mg. methadone tabs costs about $60 - $70 here. The stuff is CHEAP.

[Tar_Baby]

You gotta keep in mind you are paying for a service
If a clinic cant offer you adequate (sp?) dosing find another
Dont pay good money for relief when you get none
.

[Coddfish]

(This is the preachy coddfish; he don't come out much.) Before people go raising their dose, they should quit all OTHER opiates for at least a week. I will guarantee (since no one here knows who I am) that cravings will go down if not go away completely. There's no way to know your proper dose if you are still using other drugs. Period. And if you keep using them, you will never get to the right dose. Period. (ok. He's gone now)

[HistoryofMadness]

See, for me this is a chicken or egg discussion... quit other opiates before raising your dose, or raise your dose to quit opiates... tough call...

I'm not on methadone anymore so its much easier for me to talk because it doesn't affect me really, but if you're already on 'done, what's 20 more mgs? I mean its gonna take a while to come off either way.

Plus, why bother paying for it if it isn't helping? If you're gonna use it and others its just going to serve to raise your tolerance and make your habit more expensive.

On the other hand, I'm really curious if the cravings ever do go away. Mine never did, but I recently learned perhaps I wasn't on a truly therapeutic dose... 50 mgs / day (although I did go up once or twice)...

How many mgs does it take to get to the core of a craving...? Perhaps the world will never know.

-H

[shaunclo]

(This is the preachy coddfish; he don't come out much.) Before people go raising their dose, they should quit all OTHER opiates for at least a week. I will guarantee (since no one here knows who I am) that cravings will go down if not go away completely. There's no way to know your proper dose if you are still using other drugs. Period. And if you keep using them, you will never get to the right dose. Period. (ok. He's gone now)

where did he go?, no one will ever know

[lyndl]

Hey Lolleedee!

So bad that ur cravings are still not any better. I so get ur problem. For me it was simply a head space thing. While i still wanted to get smashed well................ i was on 200mgs and i still had cravings, non stop. Then after my back injury hospitilisation I now suffer no cravings and I am only on 50mgs. So go figure. To me with my addiction, I just did it til it was done. I tried on countless occassions to curb those cravings but never with any success. Then just when I had just about given up all hope of ever getting the monkey off my back........ TADA!!!!! Something just shifted in me and I no longer wanted to be stoned. The only reason I'm even on methadone is for chronic pain management.

So as far as whether methadone ever reduces or can actually fix cravings, well it's my experience that only the way we think and lead our lives can make a difference to the cravings we get.

But I'm really happy for u that the clinic put u up to at least 80mgs split dose. That's a total of 30mgs in one go and here in oz they rarely put u up any faster than 5mgs a day when increasing ur dose. So at least they did that for u but I would stilll check out the other clinic cause it sounds to me like you definately need far more than your existing clinic is prepared to go up 2.

All the best,
Thinking of u,
Lyndl x

[prettypoppy]

Lollydee, it is a crying shame that your clinic will not dose you properly. Dose caps were banned a few years ago but many clinics still have "silent dose caps" where they make it nearly impossible to go above whatever limit they set. This is NOT good medical care, nor is it a "best practices clinic" according to federal regs. You are at the very bottom of what is considered an adequate blocking dose (80-120). I have been an opiate addict for 20 years, and I am here to tell you that I would NEVER have believed that my cravings could have been relieved but on an adequate dose of methadone (180 mg) I rarely even think about using anymore. I have been on a low dose before (about 60mg) and it only helped for a few hours--by noon I was shooting up to keep the sick at bay. But now I dose once a day and it holds me for well over 24 hours--I could even go 2 days without much discomfort if I had to. This is HOW IT SHOULD BE! You're NOT receiving proper care at this clinic. I would recommend you contact your state methadone authority to complain, or see about getting a methadone advocate to work as a go between with you and your clinic. Check out the NAMA (national association of methadone advocates) website and they can steer you in the right direction. Good luck!

[lolleedee]

They finally bumped me up to 90 split and it just isn't enough..what i wouldn't do to get my hands around some fentynl right about now. i'm sick of craving and hurting...i think more meth would help, but they won't budge anymore,,i'm so sick of it...damn it why can't i just get a actiq fentanyl lollipop!

[Mokelly]

lolleedee,
I'm so sorry to hear about the situation you are in. That would really tick me off to be treated so poorly by the people I'm supposed to trust with my recovery. You deserve the help you need and it's just rediculous that you aren't getting proper care. I wish you the best of luck in the pursuit of a compassionate healthcare provider and hope you find him/her/clinic very soon, either that or maybe they'll wise up at the clinic you go to now and raise you to the proper dose.