About Methadone?

My son is a heroin addict. Dr. perscribed methadone. He's had 3 relapses and has repeatedly been perscribed methadone. Is it possible he will have to stay on it the rest of his life? It seems every time he gets taken off of it, he gets nightmares about using, gets insomnia, and anxiety and then goes back to using. Any help out there would be very much appreciated.

Methadone is actually even more addictive then heroine. What your son is going through is the cold turkey and the effects of stopping with the drug. This is supposed to be so horrible, for both drugs, that it seems impossible for him to stop. It's easy to fal back into his drughabit.
Even after he is physical clean, which takes a few days, he is still mentally addicted. He needs help.
With some good help, first he has to make sure he gets of the drugs physically with no chance of falling back. A clinic might help him. He could also do that at home, but it will be so strong that he might not be able to withstand the enormous temptation to use again. So he needs the help of people who will make it imposible for him to leave at that stage and who not give in to him.
After this stage, he needs to find ways to stay clean. The thing is that first of all very often a person's whole social life is around drugs, which makes it difficult to stay away from it, and second of all: what's the reason for his drugaddiction anyway? What is behind it? Most often there are things behind it, like traumatic experiences or the need for warmh and understanding. So he needs a professional to help him learn what is behind it and how to deal with those issues.
He doesn't just need to fight only the surface addiction, but he needs to get the root of the problem out.
There are many clinics and docters that are not good and use unhealthy techniques for this. Thank god there are also some very good drugtherapists and clinics. He might need them!
He will NOT have to stay on drugs for the rest of his life. But, without good help, he might have a problem with drugs the rest of his llife. An addiction like this is hard to deal with, but absolutely NOT impossible!

The best to you and your son!

Maybe the two links down here can help you a bit to continue your search:

A good book by a very good therapist:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...

Also interesting to read:
http://www.drstp.drugeducation.com/PDF/E...

About methadone and heroine:
http://www.istc.ru/istc/sc.nsf/news/scie...

Methadone is prescribed as the safe alternative for heroin addicts, unfortunately I have met many people who are addicted to methadone, hence your sons withdrawal symptoms. He does need to come of methadone at some stage, your dr is the best one to ask how long he can be on it for. My strongest suggestion is to encourage your son into rehab, so he has the chance to get really well and have a happy and fruitful life.

The best thing you can do for your son is to get him into a rehab.The only catch is "He has to be Done with the Dope".If he's not done then he'll just keep getting high.There is Nothing you or anyone else can do for him.

Helen I am on Meth. I have been suffering from Heroin Addiction since July 1998. I am now 30 (31 on 4/8). I was on Meth Maint. 2 other times with disasterous results..
I have been given Meth in inpatient detox's also..

Is he trying to do a detox off of Heroin in a "outpatient" basis (at home w/ therapy?)
Does he go to a "Outpatient" clinic? You know daily groups and individual therapy for 60 or more days?

Is he just taking the Meth and chillin at home? How old is he anyways?

Drug dreams, anxiety, depression are 100% normal for a Heroin Addict. These after detox-detox effects can last up to 2 years. It is normal! That is why H addicts trying to do it without Meth Maint. are on psych meds and go to NA/AA meetings, groups, etc..

You actually detox from the detox. It can manifest itself in physical ways. I needed help sleeping for example. Sometimes I would see a visual reminder of using H and actually get sick to my stomach because I had such a strong visual of shooting up/using. Little things like seeing a spoon or cotton balls would make me pratically run out the door to get a few bags..

Does your son shoot/sniff?

I was clean-clean for over 18 months I began using the minute I was able to despite the clean time, psych meds, support, etc..I kept relapsing over the next year or so. Finally my insurance company told me no more inpatient detox's, you NEED to go on Methadone Maintenence. I did it. The 3rd time for me. It had been years since the last time. 2000-2005.

I have been there a little over 1 year now. I have NOT used 1 time! Yes, I craved. I went to NA/AA meetings for a little while, did daily outpatient groups, still take psych meds, etc..
I get "Take home bottles" in the start people go everyday except Sunday. I now go 1x a week about to be "rewarded" with 1x every 2 weeks. 1 year later. 1 year of clean urines.

I have tons of hobby's. I started my own housekeeping business, save stray cats, knit, watch movies, bike ride, decorate, cook, shop, etc..

I DROPPED ALL of my old "friends" ALL of them Infact I did not even make 1 "friend" at the clinic. You can't. To much negativity. Can't risk it.

I came from a middle class family, boarding school, etc..ended up homeless, I mean abandoned house homeless, rejected by society, chased by police, smoking crack, looking like hell, did prison time for shoplifting, was a rotten, coniving person, lost EVERYTHING I cherished (family photo's, my baby pic's, my dad's pic's, all of my family photo's) Never to be seen again. My legacy is gone! My dad died.


Methadone is NOT a forever treatment! It does not need to be! Use it as long as the PATIENT see's fit. Trying to push him off before HE is ready will be disasterous...