Methadone Uses

Question by rs: dr put me on methadone wouldnt give me norco which ive been using for pain 3 weeks into methadone i started to?
have trouble breathing, couldn’t use my cpap and started to have panic attacks told doc but he denies it being methadone stopped taking methadone and started using norco again the breathing and panic attacks stopped and i can use my cpap wonder if it was the methadone or withdrawals from norco also i do have copd

Best answer:

Answer by Sparrow
Methadone, if taken improperly- at a higher dose than prescribed, or if taken illegally- can cause slowing of the respiratory system; that is a symptom of overdose. It should not cause any type of panic attacks; its sedation effects would rule that out as a cause.
Methadone however does work against other opiates- it blocks the receptors in your brain that opiates would normally attach to, making them ineffective. Norco won’t work again until the methadone is out of your system; and methadone, being a time released drug, will take awhile to leave your system, depending on how long and what dose you’ve been using.
Norco is really a very milk narcotic in comparison to methadone- methadone, even in it’s lowest doses- should only ever be used for severe, chronic pain & as MMT for opiate addiction. It’s time released capacity makes it very effective for chemo-patients and those with chronic, terminal illness- but is a poor choice for mild or pain that is controllable with something as mild as Norco.
1). The Harrison drug act made it illegal for general practitioner doctors to prescribe methadone for opiate addiction- only state run clinics can do so, and must follow rigorous regulations. A doctor may prescribe it for pain without these limitations. In the last five years, there’s been a lot of issues with the use of methadone, the bulk of which get blamed on MMT, but are actually the result of physicians prescribing it for pain- they don’t have the same strict set of regulations governing them, and ignorance and miseducation has made general practitioners more lax in using it for moderate pain.
Side effects of methadone include sweating, constipation, mild sedation when used in pain management (MMT for opiate addiction required serum testing of the blood called a peak and trough that determines a therapeutic dose that will not produce sedation and simply stave off withdrawal symptoms), among others, but nothing like you’ve described. On the other hand, Norco has several side effects akin to what you’ve described- it is also possible that you’ve felt withdrawal from the Norco~ which may be a mild hydrocodone based narcotic, but is still known to cause physical dependence. Many MMT clients are on it for opiate-pill addictions, not just heroin. If you discontinued Norco, and started methadone, the methadone would have first blocked any residual Norco built up in your system from working; making withdrawal from the Norco more imminent (usually it would take a few days to start). Methadone is a slow acting medication- MMT patients often aren’t stabilized- (just feeling normal, not in withdrawal)- for several weeks, as it takes some time to build up in the system, and most physicians- MMT or general- start patients off low, and will gradually increase, to avoid overdose, since it’s a strong medication. If you stopped the methadone, it might not have had a chance to work; and starting the Norco again wouldn’t help, since the methadone would still be blocking it- (methadone leaves the system astoundingly slow).
Talk to your physician- you may need a dose adjustment for the methadone, or you may want to tell him you aren’t comfortable on methadone- there are certainly other meds that are stronger than Norco and milder than methadone. It’s possible your physician prescribed methadone because your condition requires long term pain management, and that is a common use for methadone, since once stabilized, the patient doesn’t usually develop a tolerance, or a need to increase the way they would with other opiates.
Either way, you need to stop mixing, and take only one. Mixing is very dangerous- and the root of the supposed methadone deaths you’ve heard in the news. Methadone rarely causes overdose when taken as prescribed; but mixing it does- the person doesn’t feel it because it’s time released, and will either take more than prescribed, or take it with another med, which they also may not feel, but is still toxic enough to cause your body’s organs to fail. Even though there’s no buzz, your liver and kidney still have to filter out the toxins, and too many is dangerous.
If you have more questions, feel free to email me. I can help you get in touch with some people and resources more akin to your issue. Good luck.

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