October 14, 2009 - 3:00pm
#102
methadone
i take methadone for chronic pain and i think there is nothing better for pain. now for drug treatment i think its a joke i and some freinds agree its harder to get off methadone than it is the heroin or oxy or whatever. just trading one addiction for another
October 14, 2009 - 5:49pm
#103
methadone clinic
There is good and bad in everything!!!!
October 15, 2009 - 3:43pm
#104
methadone
ive been on methadone for 8 years and it saved my life . also saved my family 'home 'car and anything else i could sell to get a oxy !so please dont knock methadone .its the best thing i ever done !!!
October 15, 2009 - 7:52pm
#105
I agree
I AM SO GLAD THAT SOMEONE MADE THIS POINT.
PEOPLE HAVE THE STRANGEST IDEA OF THESE CLINICS.THEY HAVE BEEN WHATCHING TO MUCH SID AND NANCY.
October 16, 2009 - 7:51am
#106
watch the movie
Methadonia...You'll get a really good view of what goes on in some clinics
Ray
October 16, 2009 - 12:45pm
#107
I agree Ray!! I love
I agree Ray!! I love documentaries. I know that it may not go on in every Mdone clinic, but it does happen. Htmom
October 16, 2009 - 4:02pm
#108
Methadonia..what a joke...
That movie,documentary, whatever it was...was nothing short of disgusting...it didn't portray Methadone clinics around the country very well....I know that the clinics here in Tn. are nothing like that.... First of all, no reputable clinic is going to give homeless people more then 120 mg. a day...that's so lame!! And there aren't junkies hanging around in the parking lot...that does not happen. These clinics give addicts a second chance...I agree that Methadone is harder to get off of then any other drug, including Heroin...but it makes things so much better....
So, if you think that movie is a good representation then you are smoking Crack!!! It isn't....I know.
Me.
I also take it for pain, and I've also been to the clinics many years ago before I knew about pain Dr.s so I can see it from both sides..
October 16, 2009 - 10:05pm
#109
I go to pm but I have not
I go to pm but I have not been to all the pm clinics in the country. I know some are shady. I think the Mdone clinic in the docu is accurately portrayed. If I remember correctly, the docu was filmed over a period of time. BTW I have never smoked crack.Htmom
October 16, 2009 - 9:03pm
#110
Go Rhonda
You are so absolutely right. This bs vision of methadone clinics with derelict fools running through the parking lot . Please, give me a break. Long lines of folks shaking waiting for the cups. It's suburban housewives on cell phones.I not only would have one on my street i'd have one in my house they save many lives.
October 16, 2009 - 9:33pm
#111
Im am with you htmom. I have
Im am with you htmom. I have not seen the documentary, but I know the type of people Ive seen go to methadone clinics. I dont generalize it as all people that go to methadone clinics are a certain way, but there are some shady ones. I had neighbors who used the methadone clinic just to stop the DTs until their next welfare check came in and they could go get more heroin.
October 16, 2009 - 9:56pm
#112
To Methadone DUI
hi there, I just wanted to comment on the fact that you were afraid of or you did get a DUI because of methadone. Im not sure of which but heres a story that I find interesting:
I am currently in Methadone treatment and I just recently spoke with someone who was in the same dilemma as you are and how she solved the problem. She was dosing at another clinic where they were having a lot of problems with patients being harassed by the cops. The clinic is in center city and it is known to be in a high drug trafficing area so the cops were concerned with clients selling their bottles and buying/selling drugs out side of the clinic..they even set up cameras all over the outside of the clinic to watch the activity. I do believe this is the same clinic that EAGLES09 is talking about...
At any rate...she drives everyday to dose, where as some take the bus. She told me that everyday cops would wait for certain people to get dosed and if they left in their car instead of by bus or taxi, or had a driver..they'd get pulled over and given a ticket for driving under the influence. Not only did she have that to deal with but she also had her "take-home" meds with her. She had to prove that they were given to her by a licenced doctor, that ALL bottles were hers with her name and information on them with letters from the clinic doctor with all of her information on them. As far as the DUI, she fought it and won. As long as you are not on anything else besides the methadone, you have a chance. The clinic proveded the judge with literature about methadone as well as most recent urine analysis proving that she was only on methadone. The literature stated that the peak for methadone is 4 hours after dosing. Therefore unless you live 4 hours away, the methadone is not in full effect. If you are to take your dose and get pulled over directly after, it hasnt even begun to take that much of an effect for you to be "nodding" or driving carelessly unless you are under the influence of something else, NO MATTER HOW HIGH A DOSE. Also it was entraptment to pull her over right after she left the clinic.
I take methadone and Im almost 45 min away from my clinic. At the build-up time when i first started I had someone take me since I was unsure of how Id react. Once I was stabilized, I was fine and could calculate the time and when I should and shouldnt be driving. ALSO once you are on the right dose, you should be stable and not getting $@$!$# up, if you are...maybe you should change your dose...and if you like that nodding feeling then maybe you are on methadone for the wrong reasons...just my opinion.
October 16, 2009 - 10:13pm
#113
about MM paying options in NJ and the surrounding area
I just wanted to also say that around me there are clinics that offer a program for clients called P.I.P. which is for clients who cannot afford methadone. There is also payment options based on your income. They even offer a Recovery on Wheels program to clients who are disabled such as vets and handicap where they come to your house or an area close by. I dont know who ever said that they dont offer help to anyone but Heroin addicts because that is also untrue for the clinics around my area. If you go there wanting help...they offer it...even if you go there for things they donot offer they point you in the right direction..maybe I am lucky to have found a place that is this helpful. The only way they'd ever turn you away is if you come in high after you started the program and have dirty urines.
....and they are NOT like the ones portrayed in that video. granted i am SURE there are bad clinics...and eventually they will get shut down, like the one that just got shut down in camden. this shook up a lot of those people who were using methadone for the wrong reasons. I know they are kicked out of the clinic I go to.
I read above that not every person on methadone is a junkie feind shaking waiting for their next dose. I am a Masters degree graduate with a full time job, hard working and determined individual who happens to have fallen into addiction and is taking every step I need to recovery. I hate when someone finds out im on methadone and gives me the "look down" or the "you dont seem like the type"...and I say really...so what IS the "type"?
Just remember:: with every bad there is always good and vise versa but after every person who is using methadone to beat the system and use it to keep them from WD theres someone like me or a few other people's posts i read who really want and need the help and use it for the RIGHT REASONS...thats why I support my clinic because they weed them right out real fast. you just have to be smart enough to know the difference. kudos to those who are in it for the right reasons.
October 17, 2009 - 9:28am
#114
To Jayla 3
People need to understand that there is no "type". And if there is a "type" it is often people of above average intelligence. Never lose respect for the fact that anyone can become addicted. Let me go one step further. With this "particular" class of drug it is the intelligent, the artistic, the gentle, and often the highly educated. Opiads are pain killers it doesn't discriminate between pain in body or pain in your heart. It also does not care about your social standing, your financial state or the fact that your room mother for your kids class. If there is tragedy in you, and there is in most of us you can go there. Walking through that door of that clinic( ???$* hole or not) takes guts. waiting for the next wellfare check or not. Please no shame about it. Some of the greatest people the world has ever known have lost it all literally . Methadone is not the answer forever, but it can help you catch your breath. Addiction is a physical reaction, or should I say withdrawl is. It is not a weakness. The type is mothers, your neighbor, John Lennon , Poe, Nixon, and I could go on all day. Methadone is a first step, but you get numb, and your body will let you know when it is time to let it go. It can be done.
edit/g
October 17, 2009 - 6:17pm
#115
spacegirl37 reply
I agree with you, whole heartedly! I wasn't saying it to brag (for serious lack of better words) I was just saying how some posts here make addicts = to junkies when that isnt always the case...I know and have read of mothers, teachers, politicians, poets you name it... you couldnt have said it any better than what you posted. Thanks for putting it in better words.
October 18, 2009 - 11:37pm
#116
If you're on maintenance, the
If you're on maintenance, the "peak" dosen't have anything to do with it. If the cops have ANY REASON to suspect drug/ alcohol intoxication, you will be cited to DWI. There is no question about it.
Most clinics adivse patients as to potential legal problems that may occur while in transit to/ from the clinic.
October 19, 2009 - 12:45am
#117
First of all i am an ex
First of all i am an ex patient at a methadone clinic. I am totally against them. They are for one thing only that is drug abse maintance.Take you off one thing onto another. They dont want you to leave that want you to rely on the methadone so you dont go out and do other things. which is crazy because its just as bad if not worse it suppresses your respritory system so bad that i would wake up gasping for air. Suboxone is a much better choice as far as quiting and its safer.
Now as for the people at the methadone clinic they are some of the nicest people youll ever meet. Some are bad people but most of them go there cause they want to get their lives on track and not chase drugs all day. I aploud them for that but its for people who dont want to stop getting high but want to stop the *#?&&$** that comes with it.
I will say this you will never know if theres a methadone clinic in your neighbor hood its completely confidential and here in nc they are very strict about that .
October 19, 2009 - 9:50am
#118
Reality
johnnyboy, you are right on almost all counts, save for the statement you made about "never knowing if there's a methadone clinic in your neighborhood."
They are easily spotted by looking for seedy people waiting in cars, and by lines of people in front of a building at 5 o' clock in the morning, shifting their weight from one foot to the other, tapping on widows, etc.
I understand that not all those who use the services offered at a clinic are degenerate junkies. There are some "soccer moms," as one poster said.
.
In my opinion, clinics should be located in hospital/ medical plazas. Not only safer for the general public, but for the patient.
Before I am bashed, I am speaking from personal experience, so I am not saying one group of people is better than another.
edit/g
October 19, 2009 - 11:37am
#119
Example
There was and is clinic 10 min from me in an office park next door(and when I say next door I mean in the same building) as the Wells Fargo office.
SG.
October 19, 2009 - 12:13pm
#120
spacegirl
...They are comparable in that they are both compulsions. People who exhibit compulsive behaviors are prone to recidivism. Do you know what the recidivism rate is among opiate addicts? \
P.S. As for your "Wells Fargo" example...give it a rest. Junkies don't rob banks, they commit petty crimes for the most part. And in case you didn't know, bank robbery is rather difficult to pull off in this day and age, as compared to property crimes...
October 19, 2009 - 1:07pm
#121
Petty crimes
Petty crimes are usually commited by people in withdrawl. If your not sick, because you had methadone that day you are far less inclined to commit crimes. You are just gonna go to work, go home eat cherrios. Watch tv whatever. Physical withdrawl is not a compulsive behavior, and no one that has taken methadone for any period of time is not going down and hard. There in lies the difference. People die everyday from withdrawl The whole philosophy behind methadone rehabilitation is to stop the endless plotting, get off the #%^*! phone, speaking of beating on doors. You all know what I mean. Stop the train for a minute let me think. If I don't have to worry about throwing up on the wall tomorrow maybe I can try to pick up some pieces. If you can stop the physical pain then you can start to break the compulsion. Oh, the Wells Fargo office is not a bank. SG P.S.
edit/g
October 19, 2009 - 4:44pm
#122
No boring stories
I want to apologize for my sentence structure in advance. In a forum like this one I write as I speak. I will also not speak of sujects that could offend someones delicate nature, but. Methadone clinics are a big boy and girl topic.
October 19, 2009 - 4:50pm
#123
?
Did you fail?
October 19, 2009 - 5:08pm
#124
Failure
If you'd read my post, I clearly stated I quit cold turkey. That was 10 years ago. Opiate addiction is insidious.
Dependence alone is bad enough, but when you add the compulsive aspect to dependence, thus creating addiction, all h--l breaks loose.
No I didn't fail, but thanks for asking. How about you? What's your story?
October 19, 2009 - 6:18pm
#125
Let's make up
I was addicted to pain killers for 5 years. I began a methadone program that lasted 10 years. I spent 70,000 cash. I quit cold turkey also. I seized, and my heart stopped. I have never relapsed. You know and understand that when you are on methadone there is the "honeymoon" period. You get a little dignity, you get some hope. You get to tell all your old contacts to kiss your @!^! I agree it is a money maker, and they want you to stay. I know now I'll be blasted, but they are not always honest. You can lose your teeth. You are numb, I can hear everyone " i'm not numb" well when and if it ends for you, you are numb. I recall having the thought wow the world is
3D. My point is(I think I had one)that I have had to make my peace with methadone. At first I was convinced it was evil. It is harder to kick than whatever your doing now. Time has given me perspective though. I feel for many it is the only way to stop the spiral, take a moment . The only advice I would give is only let it be a moment. It builds up in your body,and the longer you use it the harder it will be. If you go to a clinic, when you are ready , demand to start the weening process, don't wait for them. Back to what began the whole thing. Saying I believe in the use of methadone, just not in my neighborhood is like saying "some of my best friends are methadone clinics just not on my street".
October 20, 2009 - 9:42am
#126
Yes, we should.
Thanks for sharing that story with me and the rest of the board. I stand corrected, you do have more insight into the methadone madness-i mean maintenance than I suspected.
I'm sorry to hear that things were so very rough for you, but what matters is that you have not relapsed.
I agree with the use of methadone clincs as long as they are not in residential neighborhoods. Just like I would oppose a halfway house, or a jail in my neighborhood. Establishements of that nature are not included in my visioin of the American dream; I don't want to see people lining up to get dosed across the street from my white picket fence...
I'm glad you're doing well at the moment, and agree with you that all who do use methadone (for narctic addiction therapy,) should not consider staying on it for life.
Take care
October 28, 2009 - 9:42pm
#127
MY 2 CENTS
I don t think its right that a person should have to make a daily journey to report to a methadone clinic, they should be intrusted with a 7 day supply, a persons diginity is the last thing that anyone has left after They hit rock bottom, believe that the transition from depandancy/addiction can be best treated if a person could save just a small portion of one s self.
the way that soceity deals with this problem, actually in my veiw is why 50% of most people that need help will not seek it, they may be a school teacher, fireman, preacher,deacon, or law enforcement that cannot deal with the shame, of being seen at the place of treatment, the treatment of depandancy should be handled the same way , that the housing of a person that is the victim of domestic violence is, it should be private, as our regular PM Dr. visits, an it should nt be a daily hassle.
WOODSTOCK
October 31, 2009 - 2:01pm
#128
WOODSTOCK #129
I couldn't agree with you more!
October 31, 2009 - 2:16pm
#129
I hear
...that Hydromophone ER is given across the pond for Heroin addiction. Anyone know if that's true?
November 1, 2009 - 12:09pm
#130
Saturated #131
In Switzerland Heroin addicts can get Heroin from a clinic similar to a Methadone clinic, so I would assume somewhere in Europe you could get Hydromorphone ER. I can't say it's true, but it seems more than likely to be so.
November 1, 2009 - 10:43pm
#131
Why are you so sure you are more educated...
then the rest of us? I know all about Methadone, from a CP standpoint and a clinic one. Not everyone there is sitting in their car at 5:00 am and if they are it's because they have a job and can't be late again or they will get fired. Not all clinics are seedy. and not all clinic patients are seedy either. I really hate to see people being judged because they have problems...don't we all? I think that if you're trying to get help then you're one step ahead of the rest....
Methadone is the only thing that has helped my pain...and I have been going through this since I was 20...and I'm 42. So, even though I wish I didn't have to take anything, I am glad that Methadone is available...
Rhonda
November 1, 2009 - 11:10pm
#132
Rhonda:
who are You addressing Your question too
Sorry to hear , You re having a horrible weekend, hope the Dr. gives Your meds back on track.
Woodstock
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Hi, I was a patient at a Methadone clinic for many years... I was taking pain meds for back problems and didn't know about PM Dr.'s so I went to the clinic... It literally saved my sanity... People have misinformation when it comes to Methadone clinics....they do NOT promote bad behavior, they do not make junkies hang out and rob you....They help people....
Now, I don't use the clinic anymore because I found a great PM Dr. that helps my pain... I have had 2 back surgeries, one while at the clinic, and the latest was Fusion at S1-L5....I have CP and it will never get better...if I didn't have a PM Dr. to go to I would go to the clinic again.... Methadone helps my bpain....I still take it, my PM Dr. gives it to me and I also take Oxycodone 30 mg. 4 times daily...
Methadone clinics get such a bad rap....It really drives me NUTS!!!!
Rhonda