These are Methadone comments
from a doctor in Italy

Dear friend,
I am glad you are doing well, since I am a doctor and
no such thing is important for me as to hear people
are in good health. Something must have gone wrong
with treatments you underwent, or you are the first
ex-addict to have experienced actual trouble with
methadone itself. I agree that 120 may be not enough
to stop craving for heroin, but such a dose is what I
(we) rate as average. We use the drug at doses up to
800 mg, which is not frequent but possible, and no
difference is there between a 500-taker and a
20-taker. The only possible difference is that the
lower you are on methadone, the more you are engaged
into drug use. This is proven beyond my and your
personal experience. I am afraid that you use
addiction and dependence as synonyms, whereas I have
not seen anyone craving for a methadone "high", maybe
be afraid of withdrawing or running out of methadone
supplies. Addicts usually dislike methadone, do not
insist on dose increasing, and ask to taper it as soon
as possible, when they do not attempt it roughly on
their own. It is, believe me, uncommon that someone
who is given methadone is sedated, unless an overdose
has happened, or a combination between methadone and
alcohol or sedatives is made. No methadone zombies
ever seen here in Italy, despite adverse propaganda. I
agree there are methadone + heroin zombies, who are as
such because of ongoing narcotic or sedative use,
rather than because of methadone. Maybe you were
overloaded at the beginning of your treatment, or
given higher doses than necessary, but you should have
developed tolerance to it anyway through time.
However, almost all addicts who had a negative idea of
methadone because of claimed past intolerance,
eventually did benefit from it when treatment was
conducted in an appropriate way, and were thankful to
our equipe. On the other hand, a lot of people who
have no insight on their disease, rate themselves as
out of it as far as they are off methadone, but
neglect to see any risk of relapse. In other words,
before relapsing they actually feel reborn and free of
useless therapies.
I respect your opinion, but your story should be told
in scientific terms, because it is scientifically
exceptional. What you cannot say is that methadone is
ineffective and harmful, because some millions of
addicts are alive and well thanks to a methadone-based
treatment.

Regards,
A doctor.

More From Cosmic Sailor

Dear friend,
I help people indeed, otherwise I would have turned by
back on methadone. But, let me tell you that those who
use it to detox make a great mistake, since it is
pointless to detox an addict, it just sends them back
to a ground where they are ready for relapse. My goal
is to have addicts stop shooting and regain happiness
while they are on treatment. Guidelines for the use of
methadone never speak about detox therapies: methadone
treatment is supposed to be maintenance since addiction
is chronic itself. So you can become dependent on your
methadone therapy, which does not mean to be hooked on
it, as you are on craved-for substances. I am
personally following up a hundred cases in my town,
the doses I employ vary from a minimum of 60 mg/day
(few) to a 150 mg/day (the average) to over 300
mg/day. But it is not a dose matter, it is a result
matter. And results are satisfactory. Some other
doctors use methadone in a wrong way: ineffective
dosages, short-term therapies, no information to
patients. Here in Italy no private methadone clinics
exist. It is all public. Here it is communities they
make money by the illusion of cleansing you from
who knows which diabolic possession, instead of curing
you for your disease. Going up and down methadone for
all your life may be destructive, but the first thing
that bears destruction is the disease, and not the
therapy, whatever it may be, and even if it is
completely useless. You do not do well because of
addiction, basically. None of those 100 patients
turned on me saying "doctor you deceived me: I am
worse, I am still an addict", although most of them
say "when will I stop taking methadone"...but this is
just because methadone prescription and detention is
under strict laws here, and they have to keep their
disease and therapy hidden to the others due to strong
prejudice. Would you be interested in receiving some
of my works, obviously in English ? By the way, I am
just about to come to the USA for the AATOD conference
on heroin addiction treatment, where I am going to
speak about alcohol use in heroin addicts. Are you
living near Orlando ? We could meet and have a talk !

Cosmic Sailor