Yes, I have been on Methadone. I was on a very small dose of 15mg. This was supposedly to treat my morphine addiction however it didn't work out that way. Being on Methadone brought me in to contact with a new set of people. People who could show me how to cook morphine into homebake heroin and how to inject my drugs. So I went from drinking liquid morphine before treatment to injecting heroin, and injecting methadone when they gave me take home supplies. It wasn't long before everything collapsed and I was off to in-patient detox in the Hilmorton Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand. But that (as they say) is another story.
Methadone
Methadone is the trade name of a synthetic opiate first developed by German scientists in 1937. Their task was to develop a painkiller that would make Germany self-sufficient by eliminating the need for opium imports. Although the Germans succeeded in inventing the compound, it wasn’t until after the war that the formula for Methadone was found amongst files confiscated by the Allied forces and the patent was made available to pharmaceutical companies for the bargain price of one United States Dollar. In the following years the product was released under at least thirty-three brand names – one of which was Methadone
Methadone first became commercially available in 1947 and by the 1950’s it was being used as a treatment for heroin addiction. For the first time doctors had a treatment option that had a viable success rate. During the 1960’s Vincent Dole, M.D. carried out groundbreaking research using a variety of drugs to treat opiate addiction. He noticed methadone had a unique ability to not only treat the symptoms of withdrawal but also to reduce cravings for opiates significantly. It was Dr. Dole who developed the once-daily dosing schedule that is still used today.
Further research has shown that Methadone, given adequate dosage, also has a blocking effect if any other opiates are used. It is for this reason amongst others such as level of craving present or the presence of any opiate withdrawal effects, that the dosage you receive as a methadone patient is reviewed regularly and adjusted accordingly until you feel comfortable.
Methadone is increasingly seen as a legitimate medication for lifelong treatment of opioid dependence but for those wanting to get clean it can be a valuable aid that can help the addict get back a sense of normality and a level of stability in their personal and professional life. Once a level of stability is achieved a gradual dose reduction program can be implemented. This program should proceed at a speed the user is comfortable with. Greater success rates have been found the longer a methadone patient remains in therapy.
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