Methadone Withdrawal

Doctors prescribe methadone to treat pain or ease withdrawal symptoms that occur when someone who is dependent on opioids quits taking them. Methadone doesn’t treat effects of long-term opioid use. When used as a form of medication-assisted treatment, it decreases opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Opioid dependence occurs when you take an opioid for a prolonged period. Your body adapts to regular exposure to the drug, and your brain begins to rely on it to function. When you stop taking the opioid, the brain can’t function properly, and you go into withdrawal.

Withdrawal ends when the brain relearns to function without opioids. But opioid withdrawal is so uncomfortable that many people are unable to stop using the drugs long enough to heal.

Opioid replacement therapy with methadone is effective because it gives people time to receive counseling and therapy for addiction without being bothered by withdrawal.

Methadone Withdrawal Symptoms

Withdrawal symptoms are generally mild each time you reduce the dose of methadone during a taper.

No matter how slowly you taper, you will still experience withdrawal symptoms when you quit. But symptoms that occur after a taper are more manageable than those that occur when you quit suddenly.

Early symptoms of methadone withdrawal include:

• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Trouble sleeping
• Sweating
• Yawning
• Runny nose
• Muscle ache

Late symptoms of methadone withdrawal include:

• Cramping
• Goose bumps
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

Tapering is preferable to quitting methadone abruptly because quitting cold turkey is painful. People who are accustomed to taking high doses of methadone experience worse withdrawal symptoms than people who usually take small doses.

Methadone Withdrawal Timeline

Methadone is a long-acting drug. It accumulates in the body over time. When you quit taking methadone, it takes several days or weeks for your body to expel all of it from various tissues. The first symptoms of withdrawal may not appear until more than a day after last use.

Methadone Withdrawal Timeline:

• Early symptoms begin between 36 and 48 hours after last use.
• Symptoms peak after about three days.
• Withdrawal can last longer than three weeks.

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The length of withdrawal depends on how long you had been taking the drug and how much you were taking. Moderate and severe effects can last several weeks. Mild or lingering effects can persist for several months.

Treatment for Methadone Withdrawal

Few medications treat symptoms of methadone withdrawal. If you have taken methadone illicitly and you’re worried about experiencing withdrawal, a methadone clinic or rehab facility can help you stop taking the drug.

If your doctor has prescribed methadone for pain or opioid withdrawal, he or she should help you establish a safe dosage and taper schedule.

By law, you must attend addiction counseling sessions if you’re receiving methadone to prevent or ease withdrawal from opioid addiction. These sessions teach you healthy methods for coping with stress. They can also treat trauma and other underlying causes of methadone addiction.

Some people respond poorly to methadone. Buprenorphine is another type of opioid replacement therapy that can treat opioid addiction. However, people on methadone have to stop taking it for several days before starting buprenorphine or they will experience precipitated withdrawal.

Withdrawal is a side effect of dependency. But it doesn’t have to be a long, miserable experience. Tapering off methadone eases the severity of symptoms. There’s no way to completely avoid opioid withdrawal, but methadone treatment is an effective way to ease the recovery process.

Author

Chris Elkins, MA,

Senior Content Writer, DrugRehab.com

Chris Elkins worked as a journalist for three years and was published by multiple newspapers and online publications. Since 2015, he’s written about health-related topics, interviewed addiction experts and authored stories of recovery. Chris has a master’s degree in strategic communication and a graduate certificate in health communication.

[email protected]

@ChrisTheCritic9

editor

Kim Borwick, MA,

Editor, DrugRehab.com

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View Sources

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• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2013). Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 45. Retrieved from https://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/SMA13-4131/SMA13-4131.pdf
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