Methadone Withdrawal and Detox

Methadone withdrawal symptoms can begin within 30 hours of the last time a person took the drug. The withdrawal process with methadone is slow and may last for a few weeks or longer. Some of the symptoms that come with methadone withdrawal include:

• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Sweating
• Teary eyes or a runny nose
• Yawning
• Insomnia

When someone experiences the first signs of a methadone withdrawal, it can feel like having the flu. Specific symptoms of  methadone withdrawal can peak at around three days and can include muscle aches and pain, severe nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, cravings and depression.

Within about 36 hours after the last use of methadone, many people start to experience withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal process can vary from days to weeks. The longer someone used methadone for, the slower the tapering process is since they will need more time to gradually rid the drug’s toxins from their body. Shorter, less severe addictions do not need very extensive tapering processes. Tapering is when the body is gradually weaned off of the drug in question to ensure a calmer and healthier withdrawal.During the first few days following the last dosage of methadone, some symptoms are likely to include rapid heartbeat, clamminess, cold sweats and chills. During this time, some of the most uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms may begin and can include physical symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, as well as anxiety. Usually, around the tenth day in the withdrawal process is when the severe symptoms start declining. This is known as the acute methadone withdrawal stage. During this time, emotional symptoms, like agitation, can appear and physical symptoms, like nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, may remain but they should lessen in severity at this point. The stage after acute withdrawal is post-acute withdrawal. Many of the post-acute withdrawal symptoms are emotional and can include depression, irritability and anxiety. Difficulty concentrating and fatigue are symptoms that are likely to remain, and cravings for the drug can persist at this point, but symptoms like nausea and vomiting should disappear by this point in the detoxification process.

The length of a methadone withdrawal depends on several different factors: the length depends on the dosage consumed, the form of consumption, the length of time that the drug was taken and the severity of the addiction. If someone took methadone for three months, their withdrawal can be significantly different than someone who misused it for a year. Their withdrawals will be different in terms of symptoms experienced, the severity of the symptoms and how long of a withdrawal is experienced.

When someone is looking to treat their methadone addiction or looking for methadone success stories, they’ll likely come across a variety of possible scenarios. When someone is prescribed methadone, their doctor can then help them handle their drug misuse disorder successfully.When a doctor prescribed methadone to a patient, they work with the patient to gradually lower their dosage amount over time, successfully tapering the patient off the drug. Tapering off  methadone is a good way to hinder some of the most severe symptoms including anxiety, aches, and nausea, as well as cravings for other opioids. In some cases, other medications such as buprenorphine can be used to treat an opioid dependency. Doctors can prescribe buprenorphine for people as they transition from a methadone dependency since it’s a partial opioid. Suboxone is one type of buprenorphine.When people wonder what to expect when detoxing with Suboxone or general buprenorphine therapy, it’s usually somewhat easier than simply tapering off methadone. This is because buprenorphine and Suboxone bind to the opioid receptor, which is where all other opiates bind to. Buprenorphine therapy can be utilized successfully, in some instances, to assist in the process of tapering off opioids. Buprenorphine therapy can also work for some people because it tends to have less of an impact in how they feel overall. For example, it can help them feel less medicated and more normalized as compared to the effects of methadone.With buprenorphine therapy or by utilizing Suboxone, there is a much lower likelihood of overdose as compared to utilizing methadone, and there’s less potential for dependence with these medications.The federal government outlines treatment guidelines for methadone as well as buprenorphine therapy, and the requirements tend to be less stringent for buprenorphine as compared to methadone. For example, patients can get take-home prescriptions of buprenorphine regardless of whether they’ve had a period of negative drug and alcohol tests. During a standard detox from methadone:

• Peak withdrawal symptoms can take up to 72 hours to be experienced
• Patients can work with the prescribing doctor to reduce the doses gradually
• Doses can be reduced to as low as 2 mg
• Anxiety, muscle aches, nausea and flu-like symptoms can occur

During a detox from methadone with the help buprenorphine/suboxone:

• Buprenorphine/suboxone can be taken home, rather than the methadone, which is taken in a structured, clinical setting
• Withdrawal symptoms can be lessened
• Methadone can be prevented from binding to receptor sites
• Other medications can be used in conjunction with buprenorphine/suboxone, such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Although, it is still recommended to take all of these together with the supervision of a doctor

A high dose methadone detox is very similar to a smaller dose methadone detox. However, extra assistance may be recommended. When the dosage taken is higher, the chances of severe withdrawal symptoms are present. When high doses of methadone are taken, the chance of an overdose occurring is also a possibility. To prevent either of these from occurring, it is important to work with medical professionals to ensure a safe and healthy detox. Working with doctors allows the proper form of detox to be determined so it will be most effective toward recovery. For additional help after detox, The Recovery Village offers inpatient and outpatient programs to help assist patients with forming the skills needed to prevent setbacks from occurring.