Supervised Methadone Taking - Boots Drakehouse

[Frank Sidney]

Wasnt terrifying no. Just made me feel abit uneasy. You do hear storys about addicts robbing people. In a way id rather have been stood their with a lady getting her monthlys then a 'junkie' getting his fix.

 

If the person is on a methodone programme then they would be regularly drug tested. If there is heroin in the blood they would be removed from the programme. So people on one, don't take the other..

[Pug206]

If the person is on a methodone programme then they would be regularly drug tested. If there is heroin in the blood they would be removed from the programme. So people on one, don't take the other..

 

Oh must have read aload of rubbish then. Well to be fair thats the way it should go really. Wonder how much this methadone is costing the NHS?

[Saffy]

Hang on a minute !

 

How do you no he was a herion addict and getting a free script?

 

He gets his immediatley because the pharmacist knows he will be coming in for his "fix" as you call it at that time of day.

 

I go for my "fix" everyday as I had a severe addiction to opioid analgesics after a particularly heavey bout of neurological surgery. I take subutex on a daily basis as the withdrawal from the painkillers was unbearable.

 

I choose to go daily as that way I cannot lose my medication (with it being a strictly controlled drug you will not be able to replace it if it is lost or ruined).

 

I call into the chemist on my way home from work (except on weekends when I take it home) and its all paid for on a pre-paid prescription.

 

I work full time and have no interest in stealing your bag and I dont feel embarressed about taking this medication as it is my choice. The people in the chemist taking their meds are the ones who dont want to have to rob you anymore hence they are in there in the first place. The ones that should worry you dont go to the chemist to get "clean" they rob your bag in town to pay for their gear!

 

What does get to me is the looks[/i i get for being a smack head!!!

 

Oh my god I SO SO feel for you!

 

I too have been addicted to opiates through pain. I was on morphine, which I didn't like because it made me sleepy and I was still getting breakthrough pain .. then onto 80mg twice daily 12 hour release Oxycodone with Oxynorn liquid for breakthrough pain.

 

I missed a dose and the withdrawal started within 4 hours ...

 

I was lucky .. I managed the cold turkey, though god knows how. I spent days and night with my arms and legs going into spasms, unable to close my eyes because they burned so much .. unable to sleep ... sweating, shivering, hurting ... panic attack after panic attack .. I had to callt he doctor for reassurance that panic attacks wouldn't kill me because I didn't think my body could take any more.

 

The Doctor hadn't realised I was going to go cold turkey - the Oxycodone she had prescribed just kept getting higher and higher a dose as I got used to it and the pain broke through. She offered me methadone for withdrawal .. I said no, I'd be ok and I thank god I did it.

 

I went to HELL and back for nearly two weeks .. and I still suffer palpitations from anxiety.

 

Not everyone is a heroin addict .. some come from legally prescribed addictions.

[clownaround]

Oh my god I SO SO feel for you!

 

I too have been addicted to opiates through pain. I was on morphine, which I didn't like because it made me sleepy and I was still getting breakthrough pain .. then onto 80mg twice daily 12 hour release Oxycodone with Oxynorn liquid for breakthrough pain.

 

I missed a dose and the withdrawal started within 4 hours ...

 

I was lucky .. I managed the cold turkey, though god knows how. I spent days and night with my arms and legs going into spasms, unable to close my eyes because they burned so much .. unable to sleep ... sweating, shivering, hurting ... panic attack after panic attack .. I had to callt he doctor for reassurance that panic attacks wouldn't kill me because I didn't think my body could take any more.

 

The Doctor hadn't realised I was going to go cold turkey - the Oxycodone she had prescribed just kept getting higher and higher a dose as I got used to it and the pain broke through. She offered me methadone for withdrawal .. I said no, I'd be ok and I thank god I did it.

 

I went to HELL and back for nearly two weeks .. and I still suffer palpitations from anxiety.

 

Not everyone is a heroin addict .. some come from legally prescribed addictions.

 

 

I was prescribed opiate for 6 years on a high daily dose started with df118 and then eventually down to codein phosphate.

 

I decided to come off them and thats when the withdrawl set in. I went cold turkey for 8 days then couldnt cope any more and started a program.

 

Does this make me a "junkie"?

[HeadingNorth]

Does this make me a "junkie"?

 

Where junkie is just a slang term for "addict," then yes; when people are using it to mean "drug-addled scumbags who are useless pieces of filth" then definitely no.

[swordfish1]

I imagine most heroin addicts don't have a job so they're entitled to free prescriptions. Would you rather they were still on the skag out mugging old ladies for their next fix or getting a free dose of methadone which they'll be weaned off eventually?

 

Weaned off eventually? You're having a laugh mate. I used to deal with these daily prescriptions and saw thousands over a period of ten years. In all that time I only ever saw 2 that were weaned down to nothing. Out of thousands.

If anything we'd normally see the usage go up from weekly script to weekly script. Good little earner for chemists though.

[Saffy]

I seriously don't know I had the strength to do it. The Doctor said that had she given someone not on anything the same dose that I was on, they would be dead.

 

I started out on the Wednesday ... by the Saturday, I was looking at the bottle of Oxynorm that I had kept just in case I was desperate, and thinking .. "just one spoonful will take all this away!" That's when I knew I had to do something.

 

God knows how I had the strength to carry on, but I just told myself, if I have this spoonfiul, I'm right back to midnight Wednesday when I took my last spoonful - and I'd come through such hell. No one, unless they have been there can understand just how awful withdrawal is. It takes over your body and your mind.

 

I did it though. I am so proud of myself .. I was unable to eat as I had no appetite whatsoever, but made myself eat tiny pieces of buttered toast. My husband brought me herbal tea bags, smoothies .. and I forced myself to drink these because I knew I had to keep my strength up to keep up the fight.

 

I did it .. it can be done .. but it nearly lost me my sanity believe me.

[clownaround]

I really wish that I had the same will power as yourself, I guess I am just weak minded. I could not afford the time off work and put a sick note in with withdrawal on it.

But a couple more days and the effcts would have got better but I really couldnt have gone on.

Instaed I got put on Subutex which is just as addictive but for different reasons as now I dont think I could cope without it in fear that the withdrawal symptoms would return.

I am on a reducing dose that started at 16mg (the standard dose for a moderate heroin user) and reduce at 2mg per fortnight untill the day that I no longer need them.

Thank you for your understanding "saffy" most people arnt interested in why you are on such meds just that you are a smack head.

[PoppyRed2012]

I know that this thread is really old, but I came across it and I felt so angry about some of the comments that I had to reply. The first post which started this thread is so laden with prejudice it's unbelievable. The way the poster describes the young man who was collecting the methadone is disgusting, she has made several assumptions based on appearance that would be racist if applied to someone of an ethnic origin, and sexist if applied to a woman wearing certain clothes. Society, quite rightly, recoils from these types of assumptions when applied to racial origin or sexual stereotyping, so why is it ok to apply to someone overcoming addiction? The fact that the poster says she 'felt really on edge knowing he may be about' is truly awful. By doing this, Ms Poster, you are assuming that EVERY person who is opiate dependent is also a thief. It shows a total lack of regard for other people in society, and a very naive view I have to say. Before you repeat your later used argument that 'you do hear of addicts robbing people' etc etc etc, I want to tell you my experience. I am a University educated Graduate, holding an MA from one of the UK's top 5 Universities. I come from a so-called 'good' family, and I guess you could say my upbringing was 'middle class', if you were so inclined to use such labels. I am also a methadone user, and a former heroin addict. If you see me come into your pharmacy and swallow my medication from a little brown bottle, you'll automatically tighten your grip on your handbag, I am led to believe. But I am not a thief, and I never have been. Yes, I had an addiction problem, but I never EVER stole to fund my habit. I have a good job, and I used my own hard-earned wages. So before you judge people so quickly, think again.

 

A few other points I would like to make:-

 

1) My addiction came as a result of having to face up to severe family illness, coming a month after two family members were involved in a serious car crash. my body reacted with bouts of debilitating cystitis, the pain being so unbearable I was literally going mad. As well as offering a mental escape, heroin killed my pain and, believe it or not, allowed me to function day-to-day.

 

2) The quote in the original post declaring 'I also felt quite sick', also, in turn made ME feel quite sick. Methadone is a liquid, the young man just took a drink of it, he wasn't doing anything disturbing. What made you feel sick exactly? (Your judgement and total lack of understanding was what did it for me). The young man is on methadone to END his addiction, he is trying to get back into the mainstream. People like you, passing unfounded comment, is NOT constructive. Yes, he made a mistake, and believe me he'll have paid for this is pain and sickness, but getting onto a methadone programme means you are looking to make a change, to get out of that way of life. Can't you be cheered that he is doing something to change his life, to make is worth more? If not, then I'm afraid it's you with the problem, not him.

 

3) Calling daily pick up of methadone a 'fix' is pathetic and shows that you know nothing about the subject. You don't get a 'rush' or euphoria from methadone if prescribed correctly as part of a recovery programme. You are using the word 'fix' because you've heard it used in relation to drugs before, not because you know what you're talking about. By choosing to use such jargon, you are undermining your whole argument I'm afraid. When I take methadone, I don't feel a thing. I just feel normal. It's not a 'fix' in the way you think it is.

 

4) A later poster says this:- 'What annoys me about them is that they get their methadone free, and can get their fix straight away, whilst I have to queue and pay the full prescription charge for my prescription'. This again, shows a total lack of understanding and knowledge about the subject. I take it by 'them', you mean those on methadone maintenance programmes? You say 'they' get methadone free - wrong. I pay for mine, yep that's right, I pay THE FULL PRESCRIPTION CHARGE. Oh and yes, I HAVE TO QUEUE JUST LIKE YOU. I don't get my 'fix' (Jesus.) 'straight away'. There's no special treatment for me, I pay, I queue...hell, it's almost like I'm a normal human being isn't it?

 

Stop assuming, stop judging, stop being so prejudiced about something you don't know about. If you want to have a reasoned debate, do your research, and then come back to me and put your case across.

[frank ryan]

I saw one of the mechanics from my local garage slurping his green fix in lloyds on london rd - didn't want to be judgemental, but also didn't want my brakes done by him - felt guilty but haven't taken my car back .