Methadone for cancer patients
Common Questions and Answers about Methadone for cancer patients
methadose
do you mean that your brother is off illegal drugs for 8 years and is on ongoing methadone replacement? if that is the case then yes, it is certainly possible that he could be having withdrawal symptoms from the methadone. one narcotic does not always remove withdrawals from another. hope this helps. please feel free to msg me if you need further help.
Nick.
I am on Methadone for chronic pain management. Did you try any other drugs first? it's a little strange if you did not try any other medications and they put on Methadone to begin with. Did you discuss that with the doctor? Methadone builds up in the system very quickly in some people. I just started taking it 2 weeks ago. I was very weak, very sleep. My blood pressure is normally low but it dropped to 115/50. The Methadone built up so quickly in my system.
He said that IS the reason it would be so dangerous for me and although my regular Dr. has some Methadone patients, none that need the amount of pain control I need to move, and he says even those patients need additional pain meds, since the Methadone amount would be to high to control. I thank GOD that I have a Dr. that is behind me, but it is still an uphill battle!
Sub only makes sense for you as a step down (temporary) from methadone. Methadone as you know is very hard to get off of and even tougher for 18 years but it can be done. It's makes no sense to switch to sub to stay on sub from meth because meth is a better maintenence drug. It makes a lot of sense to use sub for 6-8 weeks as a step down from meth. There are outpatient clinics that specialize in this for methadone patients and give you meds for when you get off the sub.
My husband is starting to taper down on methadone and we've read that there are a lot of supplements that may help. I'm getting ready to order but I wondered if anyone could recommend a good multivitamin. An article I read said that you need a multivitamin with a strong mineral component and that it should be in gel cap form only because methadone patients have poor gut function and can't absorb a regular pill as well.
Hospice does its best to prevent suffering from the pain of cancer, and methadone is an excellent pain medication.
Morphine is preferred for the treatment of COPD because a doctor can better control its effect on breathing, however, both morphine and methadone work in similar ways -- it is just that methadone suppresses the breathing longer. At end of life, it doesn't matter much which medication you use.
TN is not a methadone friendly state. My pain management specialist had me on methadone for 12 years after trying other optoids with no success. I regained about 70% of my ability to function and good pain relief. I was able to go back to work after a year in bed. With the controversery over the increase of methadone related deaths my doctor decided to wean me off methadone and put me on pain patches, then morphine, then oxy everything.
For anyone who has ever taken Methadone for chronic pain management...When you first started taking Methadone, how long did it take for it to control your pain? How many days, weeks, etc.?
My best friend was started on Methadone to manage completely debilitating chronic pain that is the result of multiple, major, back-to-back abdominal surgeries. Tonight marks the fourth full day of her being on Methadone, and she's really not feeling any better. How long can it take?
I had been on Hydrocodone for about 4 years and my new Dr felt Methadone would help. Day one they gave me 30mg. I could not function and I was very sick, vomiting, etc. I told them that was too high that I wanted no more than 10-15 mg per day. I was a little shocked at their encouraging people to take high doses and increase 5 mg per day. My blood pressure has dropped and I'm not going back and my Question is this. Am I addicted to Methadone at 10-15 mg per day for 7 days?
My son has been on methadone (120ml) for almost four years, got hooked on Oxycontin following surgery for testicular cancer . Additionally he is prescribed lorazapam, plus he buys some on the street. He wants to taper off methadone while continuing the benzo's until he is methadone free. My question is has anyone any experience in this area? My sense is the other way around would be a better approach but i really don't have any knowledge in this area. Would appreciate any feedback.
vicki is spot on about methadone and xanax. I have been on methadone for 7 years and every doctor I`ve ever talked to has said that methadone and xanax is a bad mix. It is also true that tapering is the safest thing at his level. He needs to get to a much lower dose if he wants to go CT. Methadone withdrawls last a long time and the higher the dose, the worse the withdrawls are. Also check out the Thomas Recipe.
Signs include slurred speech and difficulty in balance. Is this common for cancer patients or something more. She is taking morphine for the pain, but they seem to think it isn't that. She didn't take any the last couple of days, yet the symptoms are still there. I know that every person is different when it comes to cancer, but what should we expect in the comming weeks as the chemo has stopped. Could she feasibly live for another few months in the amount of pain she's in?
I know how hard it is because 6 weeks ago I stopped methadone. I was at 120mg/day for 3 and 1/2 years and then one day woke up and said, enough is enough, I am getting off this horrible drug. I went in to see my doctor and told him to drop my dose in half (60mg/day) and then continue to drop it 15mg per week. I went from 120mg/day to 0 in just over 5 weeks.
I can tell you that it was the hardest thing I did....but after going through it I can hold my head up proud.
I am a 42 year old diabetic type 2, diagnosed with hypertension about a year ago, recently diagnosed with heart murmur, and also had a borderline ekg, ihave also been on perscribed methadone for arthritis for about three years, I am schedualed for a ecocardiagram next week, I am wondering if the methadone could be causing the sudden problems.
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