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HaHavishnu
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Posted 9:18 am, 03/26/2019
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It would help if some of the doctors in Wilkes wouldn't pass out pain meds and narcan like candy.
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sgtkracka
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Posted 9:10 am, 03/26/2019
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Absher.....YES....they will up your dose to try to keep you there because you have a better chance of surviving and have a better quality of life, and have a better chance of eventual success (no matter how long that takes) if you stay in the clinic.
She was already a slave....to OPIATES.....before she began treatment. No matter which way you argue this, she is better off in the clinic than on the street.
As for them not drug testing because she told them she would fail....i call BS....this is not the experience of most people. They absolutely drug test you because they need to know if you're doing benzos. The combination could be dangerous. If she's saying they didn't drug test her because she told them she would fail, that's an isolated incident and therefore anecdotal.....or your step sister is lying.....can't imagine a drug addict telling a lie?
As for people selling their meds on the street....YES....this absolutely happens. No matter what they try to do to prevent subversion, some people are h***-bent on selling some of their meds. However, opiates are being sold everyday on the streets.....it is far better to have methadones and subs floating around on the street than it is to have opanas, fentanyl, oxy, and heroin. It is not perfect but it is the lesser of two evils.
Your arguments all depend on it being a perfect solution.....no solution is perfect. Just because a program isnt 100% successful for 100% of the people, doesn't mean the system is broken. Your step-sister is the one who is broken.
Once upon a time, i was considering joining the medical field and was in school attempting to do so. During my clinical experience, i was tasked with taking care of more than one opiate-addicted baby during their wean-off period.... So you're not telling me anything i don't already know probably better than you. The reason your step sister kept custody of the methadone baby is because she was compliant in treatment.....i saw a mother compliant in clinic treatment go home with her baby and rightfully so....she was doing well and wanted to be a good mother....i got to know them and was happy to see them leave the hospital as a family.... I saw another mother who tried joining the clinic from a heroin binge a month before her baby was born in a lame effort to keep custody.....after she left the hospital, the baby had to stay for 2-3 more weeks until completely weaned off.....the mom came back 3 days later to "visit" her baby and was obviously high as a kite and nodding out while trying to hold her baby, forcing me to intervene. Luckily DSS intervened at the last minute and took custody of her baby, who ended up under the care of a wonderful foster family. The point is, if people stay in clinical treatment, it is ALWAYS better than the alternative, sans the very small number that can quit on their own.
Again, the addicts are the ones who are broken....not the system.
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HaHavishnu
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Posted 8:42 am, 03/26/2019
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Just curious as to what the percentage is of those that successfully come off drugs through the use of a methadone clinic. Seems like a crack pot operation(no pun intended). Thanks for the support I can't wait to be drug free.
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shouldawouldacoulda
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Posted 8:17 am, 03/26/2019
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Let’s all hope HaHa finds the peace of mind he so richly deserves.
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ABSHER3
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Posted 2:34 am, 03/26/2019
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20 mg is a beginner dose , my step sister failed MANY drug tests at this clinic in town ( it was mountain health solutions) it has a different name now . She was NEVER kicked out . She had to drop down a level and come everyday . Not only did they not kick her out ,they increased her dose ! She is up to 120 mg a day . For the past 5 years . She mentions leaving the program they bump her up ! It may work for some but it’s not working for her and many others that attend there . They ask her if she will pass a test ,she says no ,the one clinician say ok we won’t test you today !! And subutex and suboxone . She can tell you where and when to buy a pill and ppl sell their strips by the 1/4 at a time ! Did it keep her from overdosing , yes . I have to say it has . But she’s a slave to methadone like she was to opana and heroin . All of her children were born addicted . 2 to heroin and 2 to methadone. And talk about a sad sad sight. Watching a baby go through withdrawals will make your stomach hurt .she lost custody of the 2born addicted to heroin , she has custody of the 2born addicted to methadone. It’s a broken system .
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BoomBoomBoom
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Posted 11:38 pm, 03/25/2019
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Sgt, you're a good person with the words and info so many folks in this area so desperately need. And, clearly, a heart for these folks. God bless you!
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sgtkracka
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Posted 7:10 pm, 03/25/2019
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i understand fox.....it's all good......nor do i want to argue....and forgive me if i came off as an A-hole.... and you're right....i do have a vested interest. Helping other miserable people who are stuck in the same holes ive been in is near and dear to my heart.
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sgtkracka
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Posted 7:05 pm, 03/25/2019
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Back to addressing the OP, if i can give advice, keep your dose high enough to ensure you won't be tempted to relapse on street opiates but don't get greedy and ask for more than you truly need.
And when you're ready to wean off, do it slowly. once you get down to a low daily dose, skip one day. Then dose and then try to skip two days...and so on and so forth.... Make sure you do it slowly enough to where your post-acute withdrawals aren't too severe.....Post-acute withdrawal periods can last months and are way more dangerous for relapsing than the 4 days of sickness from acute withdrawals.....anyone can lay around the house and be sick for 4 days.....it's much harder to get through the post-acute withdrawals which can last months and having to do so while returning to work/reality/normal life.
but the most important thing is fixing your life.....address the lifelong issues that made you an addict in the first place and find SPIRITUALITY. Without a complete psychic and spiritual change, your chances of success are very low. YOU CANT DO THAT ALONE!!! ....nor can you do it suddenly or quickly.....get in an AA or NA group....get a sponsor, do the work, establish a relationship with God or higher power of your choosing....and don't ever get complacent and think that you've got it all figured out. It's a lifelong commitment and takes constant maintenance.
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Foxnose
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Posted 7:05 pm, 03/25/2019
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I am not trying to argue with you, I am simply expressing what my eyes have seen. I can see you have a vested interest. I do not
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sgtkracka
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Posted 6:51 pm, 03/25/2019
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but to respond to your other post, the people that have been buried most likely did not die because of their 8 mg daily dose of buprenorphine or 20 mg dose of methadone that they got from a clinic.
These former clinic patients you're referring to that relapsed afterwards and died, well they died back on the street, doing their street opiates. I'll bet none of them died because they decided to go back to the clinic and overdosed on their 8mg daily dose of bup. or 20 mg dose of methadone.....so your statement there actually supports my argument and not yours
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sgtkracka
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Posted 6:39 pm, 03/25/2019
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foxnose, there is this thing called HIPPA.....and due to HIPPA, they won't exactly print me out a list of former patients.....and even if they did, i wouldn't have the time or desire to track them all down to see if they are still clean or not.....
Besides, even if everyone that was successfully weaned off through a clinic and then released were to relapse before your 10-year time window, this is not a failure of the clinic. It is a failure of the patient. Getting through the physical addiction is only the first step. Sobriety is a lifetime effort and people must continually work on fixing themselves behaviorally, spiritually, and psychologically. The clinic does everything it can to help with all of these, but their primary purpose is step 1, which is getting past the physical addiction.
Saying that every relapse is a failure of the clinic or of methadone is not logically sound. If you buy an exercise bike, and use it to lose 40 lbs, and then afterwards, you quit using it and start eating junk food again and gain all the weight back, is this a failure of the exercise bike?
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Foxnose
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Posted 6:26 pm, 03/25/2019
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Not counting the ones that have been buried.
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Foxnose
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Posted 6:25 pm, 03/25/2019
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Well lets just cut through the chaff. How many people do you know that has been off opiates after attending the methadone clinic and have stayed clean for 10 years?
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sgtkracka
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Posted 6:20 pm, 03/25/2019
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foxnose, you clearly are just spewing nonsense. You know very little about the subject and are just throwing around ignorant soundbytes.
if you want to prove me wrong, I'll be happy to debate you on any talking point you like.
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sgtkracka
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Posted 6:15 pm, 03/25/2019
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i wish i could magically pull my posts up from previous threads so i don't have to go through this every time one of these threads is created. There are just too many. 1. Opiate replacement is the most studied, most effective, and safest course of treatment according to scientific data.
2. Yes, methadone and buprenorphine are also opiates but with nowhere near the "high" that comes with full agonist opiates. This allows people to experience some degree of normalcy in their lives without having to worry about sickness, but also lessens the psychological addiction over time by reducing the "high"
3. It is true that some people in opiate replacement therapy don't have the desire to quit and would stay in the clinics the rest of their lives.....the reason that many of these people resort to the clinics in the first place is not because they prefer methadone or subs over oxys and roxys, but they grew tired of the constant chase of trying to find medication, paying ridiculous prices for it, worrying about getting caught by police, and never knowing when they will have to go through withdrawals again because they never know when the supply will run out, or when they won't have money, or when they might end up in jail detoxing in lockup. This daily struggle and constant fear of withdrawals makes it nearly impossible to hold a job or have any semblance of a normal life. The clinics succeed in getting these people off the streets, keeping them well, but taking away that "high" that keeps them psychologically enslaved. They are under the care of a doctor, and good clinics like MHS also require counseling. 4. While its easy to apply conspiracy nut-jobbery to clinics by claiming that they want to keep you there for years just so they can suck your money.....well this is just stupid. Opiate addicts spend years, even decades, creating their addiction. You can't take a 20 year dope addict, and wean him off in 2 months and expect any kind of success. The clinics know this, and they know that the longer they can keep you in stable treatment, the more likely you are to succeed and not relapse on street opiates. Even if there are people who want to stay in the clinics for years and never leave, this is still a much better option than putting them back out on the streets where the madness starts all over again. Most addicts spent years and decades in active addiction.....ergo, it takes years and decades to treat these people, heal their brains, heal their souls, and give them ANY chance of success.
5. As for the withdrawals from methadone compared to any other opiate, this is an entirely subjective experience and depends on MANY factors like how quickly you wean down. If you wean down slowly from one opiate and compare it to quitting another opiate cold turkey, of course one will be worse. Anyone that claims to know which opiates have the worst withdrawals are only speaking from their own subjective experiences and therefore, anything they say is anecdotal.
Whatever your goals are, if you are not capable of getting off of opiates on your own (very few people are), then the clinic is ALWAYS a better option for a multitude of reasons.
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Foxnose
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Posted 5:54 pm, 03/25/2019
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What incentive besides self esteem do they have for getting off. As long as they are in treatment they can receive government benefits, spend the day loafing, free to spot and steal. Going to treatment is like a family reunion, where they share new drug information, socialize with friends find out who's holding, who's selling. If they get married, get a job, or get cured the LIFE is over. The clinics sure have no interest in losing customers.
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BoomBoomBoom
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Posted 5:41 pm, 03/25/2019
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Have they followed the rules? Like I said, attending appointments and answering phone calls are a must. Of course, passing drug tests are a must. They must also not test for alcohol. Used to, they could, but the with the passing of Obamacare they could no longer test for alcohol. I know of a few that got kicked out of programs even though they were doing great not using drugs, but they failed the alcohol part.
If they have failed at any of these points, there may be more I’m not aware of, it may have caused them from being “graduated” to the next step.
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Foxnose
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Posted 5:21 pm, 03/25/2019
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Boom Boom, for how long? I know people that have been going for over 10 years. I would call that an addiction
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BoomBoomBoom
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Posted 4:56 pm, 03/25/2019
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It's not a perfect solution, but it DOES work. You have to abide by THEIR rules. Attend every appointment ON TIME. Answer when they call to check on you or you'll be bumped down a level. For example, from having to go just once a week down to going every day for a while. Just do what they say and you'll be in a better position than you were in.
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