Published: December 06, 2007 09:27 am            

Drugs touch many lives - Week 19

Thanks so much for the many stories you have put in the paper about drugs. I know many, many people are reading these.

But, please see what you can find about Methadone. There is a place in Huntington where these kids and grownups go to so-called get off drugs. These people tell them they will get them off. But, NO! They just keep going, going and get hooked and don’t want off. They are doing anything to get $200 every two weeks to keep going to get this liquid stuff and most of them are selling it for big money. Why can’t this be stopped? It’s also making their teeth rot out, gain weight and no telling what to their organs inside like the heart and liver. Please see what you can find and report it in your paper for folks to read.

The dictionary tells plainly it’s a “Synthetic Addictive Narcotic”.

Surely there are other means of coming off these drugs without going to Methadone, then need drugs to come off it.

Please check into this. Thanks again for your paper, information and letters.



What is methadone?

 Methadone is a narcotic pain reliever, similar to morphine. Methadone also reduces withdrawal symptoms in people addicted to heroin or other narcotic drugs without causing the "high" associated with the drug addiction.

Methadone is used as a pain reliever and as part of drug addiction detoxification and maintenance programs.

Methadone may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.

What is the most important information I should know about methadone?

Taking methadone improperly will increase your risk of serious side effects or death. Even if you have used other narcotic medications, you may still have serious side effects from methadone. Follow all dosing instructions carefully.

Like other narcotic medicines, methadone can slow your breathing, even long after the pain-relieving effects of the medication wear off. Death may occur if breathing becomes too weak. Never use more methadone than your doctor has prescribed. Call your doctor if you think the medicine is not working.

Do not stop using methadone suddenly, or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Talk to your doctor about how to avoid withdrawal symptoms when stopping the medication. Do not drink alcohol while you are taking methadone. Dangerous side effects or death can occur when alcohol is combined with methadone. Check your food and medicine labels to be sure these products do not contain alcohol. Methadone can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Tolerance and dependence

As with other opioid medications, tolerance and dependence usually develop with repeated doses. Tolerance to the different physiological effects of methadone varies. Tolerance to analgesia usually occurs during the first few weeks of use; whereas with respiratory depression, sedation, and nausea it is seen within approximately 5-7 days. There is no tolerance formed to constipation produced by methadone or other opioids; however, effects may be less severe after time and can often be alleviated through dietary fiber supplements.

Withrawal symptoms of methadone include:

• Increased lacrimation

• rhinorrhea • sneezing

• nausea • vomiting

• fever • chills

• tremor • tachycardia

Withdrawal symptoms are generally slightly less severe than those of morphine or heroin at equivalent doses but are significantly more prolonged; methadone withdrawal symptoms can last for several weeks or more. Anecdotal reports, such as those by author and lifelong opiate addict William S. Burroughs in the postscript of his book Naked Lunch, suggest that "cold turkey" methadone withdrawal is substantially more difficult and unpleasant than similar withdrawal from other opiates, presumably because its duration of withdrawal is almost an order of magnitude greater than short-acting opiate withdrawals, such as those from heroin or morphine. Indeed, there is a trend in the management of opiate addiction towards the reduction of a patient's methadone dosage to a point where they can be switched to buprenorphine or another opiate with an easier withdrawal profile. Ultimately, methadone is all but ideal for maintenance, but is not considered to be a desirable opiate to withdraw from when attempting to become completely opiate-free.

Methadone maintenance treatment

MMT (Methadone Maintenance Treatment) reduces and/or eliminates the use of heroin, reduces the death rates and criminality associated with heroin use, and allows patients to improve their health and social productivity [10]. In addition, enrollment in methadone maintenance has the potential to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases associated with heroin injection, such as hepatitis and HIV. The principal effects of methadone maintenance are to relieve narcotic craving, suppress the abstinence syndrome, and block the euphoric effects associated with heroin. Methadone maintenance has been found to be medically safe and nonsedating. It is also indicated for pregnant women addicted to heroin.

Effect

Methadone maintenance treatment significantly decreases the rate of HIV infection for those patients participating in MMT programs (Firshein, 1998). At proper dosing, methadone usually reduces the appetite for and need to take heroin. Furthermore, higher doses, generally above 80mg, provide cross-tolerance and block the euphoric effects of other opioids such as heroin, greatly reducing the motivation of patients to use them.

Methadone offers patients the freedom from active addiction and use of mind-altering drug use and in turn allows them to seek concurrent psychological, psychiatric and self-help based therapies for both the disease of addiction and any comorbid illnesses they have, freedom they would not have when experiencing severe ongoing withdrawal and/or cravings. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, methadone allows addicts to become productive members of society; freed from the need to obtain money through often illicit means, opiate addicts can return to their normal lives, or develop skills, further their education, and (re)join the workforce.

A proper dose used in methadone maintenance therapy will block or greatly reduce cravings and illicit opioid use while not inducing any euphoric feelings or other subjective sense of being high, and if high enough will actively prevent the patient from experiencing any high if they do use other opioids. Methadone-based treatment is significantly more effective clinically and more cost effective than no-drug treatment modalities for opiate-dependent patients.



Much more information is available on the Internet.



NOTE: Those who are or have been addicted to drugs or have suffered loss due to the drug addiction of others are invited to send their story to mhogan@journal-times.com fax to 474-0013 or 286-4201, or drop off at the Grayson or Olive Hill offices.

        

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