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Posted by: Anthony on 2010-08-20, 23:42:56
Pharmacist here: The answer to your question in short is yes. All medications similar to Methadone are harmful to the body. These are chemicals that in many cases degrade into toxic substances, which we are introducing at an alarming rate. Methadone is harmful to the liver mostly but that is just the main physical harm. There are also other harms, which are harder to detect and explain. Methadone has a high level of physical dependency. The body will actually attach methadone metabolites to receptors in the brain and throughout the body. Once in the system the body can start to require more methadone to achieve the same affect. There is a major problem with Methadone though. Unlike the majority of medications 5mg is not double the strength of 2.5mg. The strength charts on methadone are exponential in its binding to substrates. In other words, you could receive 10 times the affect by doubling a dose. This makes it extremely dangerous and the possibility of overdosage is higher than most medications of the class. Withdrawal can happen with exposure of as little as one month. Methadone withdrawal can be dangerous and life-threatening if not handled correctly. Never abruptly stop taking Methadone. The physical attachments that the body once had to the methadone metabolites as mentioned above become actually necessary for normal function. It takes time for the body to function normally without the methadone and separation should be handled with extreme care and caution. I have worked with many Pain Management physicians and in pharmacies for years and years. Most people hate Methadone for the reasons above and many more. People flat out get addicted to the stuff way too quickly. It is not a good medication when so many alternatives exist and the medication is extremely unpredictable. I know many pain management doctors that refuse to prescribe methadone and a few years ago, the federal government changed the classification and general availability of certain strengths of methadone acknowledging the problems and risks associated with it. Basically high strengths of methadone are only available through in-patient treatment centers now for safety and abuse reasons. |
