Sometimes you want or need to get clean quickly. If thats the case then a quick taper may be for you.
In general 2 medications can be used for tapering, methadone or Suboxone.
This post will focus on Methadone.
Methadone is a great detox tool for fentadope/dirty blues users because unlike Suboxone it is not necessary to wait between your last fentanyl dose and starting the methadone.
Before we start:
All detoxes and tapers should be done under the supervision of an experienced doctor. These are just recommendations to discuss with your doctor.
Its always best to detox with someone else around in case things go wrong or you need help taking care of yourself.
Never start a new drug like methadone on a high dose without having previously gauged your tolerance. Methadone is a potent opiate and can result in overdose if too much Is taken.
The Detox:
You can start the taper anytime but personally I prefer to take my last dose of drugs the night before and start my taper the next morning when I wake. This way I can start the taper on a good nights sleep.
I recommend splitting your methadone dose between morning and afternoon/night. The reason for this is that until the methadone has had a few days too build up in your system the effects may not last the full 24 hours. Splitting your dose will remedy this.
Detox Length:
For short acting opiates;
If you are addicted to a short acting opiate like oxycodone I recommend completing the taper in 5 days. The reason for this is that the withdrawals are the worst in the first 3-5 days and after that you should start feeling better.
For Fentadope/dirty blues;
If you're addicted to fentadope or dirty blues I recommend completing the taper in 8 days. The reason for this is that many of the fentanyl analogs have long half lives and fentadope stores in your body's fat cells. This causes the withdrawals to last longer than short acting opiates.
Figuring out your taper dosages:
Everyone's methadone starting dose will differ based on their tolerance and severity of their addiction.
Important: Do not use a starting dose without first consulting with a doctor and gauging your tolerance. These doses of methadone can be lethal to someone without a tolerance.
If you are unsure about your starting methadone dose the safest way is to start with a low dose and slowly titrate up every few hours till you feel comfortable. Keep in mind that methadone takes 4 hours to fully kick in, so don't redose aggressively without waiting the proper amount of time in between.
Once you figure out your methadone starting dosage (day 1 dose) we can create the taper plan.
We figure out the taper plan by taking the starting dosage and dividing that by the number of days of your taper (5 for short acting opiate detox, and 8 for fentadope detox). This will give us our daily dosage cut.
Short Acting Opiate Expample :
For example if you are you addicted to oxycodone and your methadone starting dose is 25mg, we divide that by 5 days.
25mg/5 = 5mg. So 5mg will be the amount we lower our dose by each day.
Your taper will look like this
Day 1: 12.5mg in the morning and at night. Total = 25mg
Day 2: 10mg in the morning and at night. Total = 20mg
Day 3: 7.5mg in the morning and at night. Total = 15mg
Day 4: 5mg in the morning and at night. Total = 10mg
Day 5: 2.5mg in the morning and at night. Total = 5mg
Important: This is just an example. Do not use this starting dose without first consulting with a doctor and gauging your tolerance. These doses of methadone can be lethal to someone without a tolerance.
Fentadope Example:
For example if you are addicted to fentadope and your methadone starting dose is 80mg we divide that by 8 days.
80mg/8 = 10mg. So 10mg will be the amount we cut each day
Your taper will look like this
Day 1: 40mg in the morning and at night. Total = 80mg
Day 2: 35mg in the morning and at night. Total = 70mg
Day 3: 30mg in the morning and at night. Total = 60mg
Day 4: 25mg in the morning and at night. Total = 50mg
Day 5: 20mg in the morning and at night. Total = 40mg
Day 6: 15mg in the morning and at night. Total = 30mg
Day 7: 10mg in the morning and at night. Total = 20mg
Day 8: 5mg in the morning and at night. Total = 10mg
Important: Do not use this starting dose without first consulting with a doctor and gauging your tolerance. These doses of methadone can be lethal to someone without a tolerance.
Tips:
The split doses (morning and night doses) don’t need to be exactly 50/50. You can take your daily dose and split that however you want throughout your day.
If your using liquid methadone and need help measuring your dosages I recommend reading our post of volumetric dosing
If possible use this taper protocol in conjunction with comfort meds and supplements, we have a post all about that. They can go a long way to making the process more bearable.
Customize the taper to your needs. Especially the starting dose. Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently. If you need to take your time and go a little slower thats ok, adjust the taper to your needs
Stay busy. Occupy your mind to distract yourself. Find things that you can do. Watching movies, playing video games, or doing a puzzle are just some ideas. You’ll notice you feel much better when your mind is occupied
Try and have someone around who can be there to support you and be there if you need help.
Please share your experiences tapering in the comments below.
If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below or to post in our forum.
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