Methadone
 

Someone Please Help, I am changing from oxycontin 40 MG 3X Daily to Methadone. All The Warnings Have scared Me !!! That Is All The Side Effects!
Now It Scares me. I am starting with 5 Mg 3 X Daily . Can any one Tell me If they have had any problems ?? Thank You so much !!!:confused:
Joan Marie

Hi there:

I don't know a whole lot about Methadone, other than you need to be sure you are taking it under a doctor's orders, which I am sure you must be.

My friend is on this, and it has given her a life, so to speak. She was in terrible pain and on several drugs and trigger point injections before. It has been very effective in giving her relief.

I think it takes a little adjusting, but here in our area, it is prescribed by various pain clinics for pain and drug withdrawal.

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress. :)
Cathie

methadone is the only opiate
 

that can affect the heart. Switching from other opiates to methadone can be dangerous if you are not properly evaluated. Every methadone patient should have a EKG to rule out prolonged QT syndrome (this is something you inherit).

At chronic pain forum here in the stickies I have details--- post #4.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1120

Many doctors do NOT know about this, as it is fairly newly reported.
Methadone also can interact with other drugs to be additive to any heart rhythm abnormality that might be present. So do be careful.

If you are cleared of this, you still have to pay attention to hydration and electrolytes. Low levels of magnesium and potassium can interact with methadone as well...causing the heart to stop.

People with errors of metabolism in the liver can also have a hard time with methadone, because of its long half life.

Please be informed and aware.

Mrs D.,
Your warning made the med sound like the drug from He11!
Methadone, after a careful heart check-up,
can be a very effective pain killer in the proper dosages.
My wife headed a methadone clinic for drug addicts for many years
and the onus of the med being only useful for drug addiction treatment is strong.
Many docs shy from it like a plague, but it can be very useful,
with only minor needs for watchfulness.
As with all meds, we have to consider not only side effects, but interactions with other meds or supplements. Methadone has proven to be an inexpensive and valuable tool in helping with PN pain.

alot has been learned about methadone....
 

within the last 5 years or so.

It is not an innocuous drug. And many doctors are unaware of its potential.

Also when used for pain management, it is hard to titrate to individuals.
The length of time it remains on pain receptors is shorter than its half life in the body. This means higher doses may be needed for pain relief than for addiction control. Higher doses, combined with other drugs or dehydration with loss of electrolytes make it dangerous for some.

So it has to be handled carefully, and patients screened and informed.

On the plus side, methadone is inexpensive and less likely to cause euphoria and hence drug abuse in long term situations.

While methadone has been dispensed for many years in rehab situations, its full impact was not understood until recently.
here is a CDC report that shows how alarming the increase in poisoning deaths has become:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pub...one1999-04.htm

The only way to prevent this alarming trend is to educate patients, so that they insist on their doctor being experienced with methadone treatment.

That CDC report is disturbing.
Altho it did concede the fact that Methadone deaths were not
the greatest of all the deaths categories mentioned.
In fact it was the least.
But the percentage increase for all of them since 1999 was very disturbing.

Mrs. D, I was recently referred to a doctor who specializes in pain management. He swithced me from the fentanyl patch to methadone to see if methadone would be more helpful to me with pain control. He never asked me if I had any heart problems! Or told me about other drugs to avoid! Sheeeesh. I can see where family docs or internests might not know about these studies, but you would think that a pain doc would. At any rate, the metadone was not as efficacious for me and made me too sleepy. I was hoping it would be because it is so cheap. But now I am glad it wasn't.