The length of time for methadone treatment varies, but it should be a minimum of 12 months. [3] X Trustworthy Source Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration U. S. government agency whose mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities. Go to source Some patients require years of treatment. Methadone is given primarily by mouth through either tablets, powder or liquid. Single doses of methadone should not exceed 80 – 100 mg daily — its effectiveness can last between 12 – 36 hours depending on your age, weight, level of addiction and tolerance to the drug.
Addiction clinics often disperse liquid methadone to patients, although tablets and powders that dissolve in water are typically given to patients for home use. Never share your specific allotment of methadone with anyone. It’s illegal to give it out or sell it. Keep your methadone in a safe and secure place within your home, particularly out of reach of children. Methadone is not injected at clinics or for supervised home use, although sometimes illicit methadone is injected into the vein by street users.
The tablets, sometimes called “diskettes,” contain about 40 mg of methadone — which is a common dosage for people to take while administering at home. If you can’t remember your doctor’s instructions, then follow the directions on the prescription label carefully or ask the pharmacist to explain anything you don’t understand.
You may be instructed to take only half of a tablet, so break it along the lines that are scored into it. Take your methadone at the same time every day, or according to your doctor’s instructions. Set your watch, phone or alarm clock to remind yourself of the dosing time.
Patients should share their complete medical/drug history with healthcare providers to ensure the safe use of methadone. Your doctor will normally decrease your dosage or tell you to take less methadone as your treatment progresses, but they might increase the dose if you experience any unforeseen withdrawal pain.
If you’re dealing with significant chronic pain and want a painkiller to take long-term, methadone is likely not the answer due to its numerous side effects. When taken as prescribed and over the short term, methadone is relatively safe and effective for helping people recover from their narcotic addictions.
Methadone is available as pills, liquids and wafer forms. It’s meant to be taken once daily and the pain relief lasts between four and eight hours depending on dosage. Opiate drugs include heroin, morphine and codeine, whereas as semi-synthetic opioids include oxycodone and hydrocodone.
Although methadone is intended to prevent opiate addiction, dependence and painful withdrawal symptoms, there’s still potential for getting addicted to methadone. Perhaps ironically, methadone is abused as an illicit street drug, although it’s ability to get people “high” (euphoric) is not nearly as strong as opiates. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding can take methadone for addiction (it won’t cause birth defects) and it lowers the risk of miscarriage.
Buprenorphine doesn’t lead to significant physical dependence or discomforting withdrawal symptoms, so getting off it is typically much easier compared to methadone. LAAM can trigger anxiety in users and it can lead to liver dysfunction, hypertension, skin rashes and nausea.
