Methadone Uses

Question by Melissa: I go to a methadone treatment facility and they have a zero benzo rule?
I get a prescription for 0.5 clonopin which is okay through the clinic because its from a doctor and they do a once a month pill count. My ? is I did take two 2 mg xanax yesterday and have been taking one every other day, Will that make my benzo count high. cause my counselor said that if it shoews a higher nymber next to the benzo then she’s gonna have to detox me. So I was wondering if what I took will make the numbers high when I test, which was today

Best answer:

Answer by Sparrow
It depends entirely on your metabolism, and the panel test your individual MMT clinic uses. Any serum level test has a federal pass/fail guideline- but MMT clinics must- and for good reason- closely monitor any client’s intake of prescription meds. Benzodiazepines in particular are well known for interacting with methadone and producing feelings of euphoria- something methadone doesn’t do in the proper therapeutic dose.
It also is at the root of most of the overdoses you hear about- the mere fact your clinic is even allowing you to use it negligent; particularly b/c there are so many safer alternatives.
Xanax is indeed a benzo. So yes, it will elevate your serum level for them. Unfortunately, I honestly can’t give you an answer as to whether it will or won’t cause a fail- no one can, b/c it’s so individualized. I know that’s probably horrible to hear; and I can understand how hard it must be to have to wait it out. Drinking water will help flush your system, but it doesn’t disguise or dilute anything. If the Xanax was prescribed, and you didn’t tell the clinic, I would tell them you were newly prescribed, and unsure if it was okay, but took your initial dose, then stopped & decided to see what they said first.
Most MMT clinics will work with someone who’s only failed a single tox screen- administrative detox is a punitive action in response to consistent failure to comply. The best I can suggest is to be honest, before it comes up as a fail- they’ll hopefully recognize your taking responsibility for the mistake as an indication that you do want to get clean. If you do pass, I would seriously look in to alternative meds as well; for klonapin (Clonazepam) and Xanax. Klonipin is downright archaic; many meds have been developed that work better and won’t interact. If clinics are lax about this, people can overdose- maybe not you, but the next person- and we might very easily lose our right to MMT as a result. There’s simply no reason to use it when it poses such a major risk. I’m sure you are well aware of how much stigma already exists against it. I hope everything works out for you- best of luck.
Here are some additional resources that might help- I also run a website & FB group aimed at the education, regulation, and right to methadone in recovery. I’m not sure what indication you have that calls for Klonapin, as it has multiple, but if you would like to know about some alternatives so you can ask your physician about them, you can email me with the specific cause & I’ll do my best to find some for you. Take care,

* http://www.methadonetoday.org/index.html
(Methadone Today is newsletter & website published by MMT clinic physicians. In addition to articles, they also have a Q&A portion in every volume where clients can ask the physicians questions. I consider it to be the most extensive resource for finding answers to anything beyond the basic pharmacology of methadone)

* http://www.methadonetoday.org/doctip5.htm#Mask
(This particular volume of MT has an editorial on urinalysis & the use of benzo’s (i believe Xanax specifically) while on MMT- it might be of some help)

* http://www.methadone.org/index.html
(NAMA’s website)

* http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/druginfo/drugs/drugfacts/methadone.html
(Another article on benzos and methadone)

*http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/klonopin-with-methadone-703-357-1578-0.html
(Methadone and Klonopin article)

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