Ibogaine Treatment for Methadone Addiction

Methadone Maintenance Programs where a synthetic, long-lasting opioid is substituted for heroin, were pioneered by the husband and wife team of Vincent Dole M.D. and Dr. Marie Nyswander. Their maintenance programs revolutionized addiction medicine during the 1960s; before their work, the conventional medical theory was that narcotic addicts suffered from intractable moral and ethical defects, in short: psychological problems were responsible for addiction.

Opioid maintenance programs have their pros and cons, but after most people become stabilized and get their lives back together again, many want to break free. Unfortunately, this medication does not cure the illness, but is a substitution therapy for the illicit drug.  It merely replaces self-administration of illegal substances, with regulated use of a highly-addictive, legal replacement.

While this paradigm provides motivated individuals with at least partial stability and allows some degree of social re-integration, it does nothing to address the underlying disorder. The street term for methadone is “liquid handcuffs.” You’ve replaced your dependence on one opioid drug, for dependence on an even more addictive substitute that happens to be legal.

Methadone is extremely physically addictive, particularly when it is taken in high doses. While there’s no one right road for everyone, and methadone can be used to treat opiate addictions, it can also lead some users into another dead end, having traded addictions rather than ended them. If methadone is taken frequently, tolerance to the drug rapidly ensues, just like it does with other drugs. Tolerance means the user needs more just to achieve the same effects as before. If you were physically dependent on opioids prior to switching to methadone, you are still just as – or more – addicted, to a similar molecule as the one you replaced.

If so, you’re not alone—and it’s a sensible train of thought. Methadone addiction is also an opioid addiction, and there are many health risks associated with long-term use, in particular.

Physical side effects from a methadone addiction an run the gamut from head to toe. Physical problems caused by methadone addiction that touch your gastrointestinal system may include: abdominal or stomach pain, clay-colored stools, severe constipation, diarrhea, gas; loss of appetite; nausea and vomiting; and unusual weight loss or gain.

Methadone addiction can also impact your circulatory system. Some of those side effects may include: bloating or swelling of the arms, face, feet, hands, or lower legs; fast, pounding, irregular, weak, or racing pulse or heartbeat; feeling of heat or warmth, redness or flushing of the skin, especially on the neck and face; swelling or puffiness around eyes, lips, face, or tongue; and sunken eyes. The lymphatic system can also be affected, causing painful, swollen, or tender lymph glands in the armpit, neck, or groin.

Methadone addiction troubles the respiratory system, as well. Some of those side effects may include: chest pain; chronic cough; choking and gagging; fast, irregular, shallow, or slow breathing; and pale or blue fingernails, lips, or skin. Your senses are also affected by methadone addiction, because it may cause blurred vision or difficulties in perceiving things around you.

The central nervous system (CNS) is absolutely affected by a methadone addiction. Some CNS side effects include: cold, clammy skin, cold sweats; convulsions; difficulty with swallowing; dizziness, fainting, lightheadedness; dry mouth, increased thirst, bad breath; extreme weakness or fatigue; headache; loss of consciousness; shakiness in the arms, feet, hands, or legs; sweating; or tingling or shaking in the feet or hands.

Long-term methadone addiction wreaks havoc on the renal system. Some of the problems it can cause include: difficulty with urination, including decrease or increase in the frequency of urination; decrease in urine volume; painful urination; difficulty passing urine (dribbling); blood in the urine; dark urine; and sensations of burning, itching, crawling, prickling, numbness, tingling, or “pins and needles” while urinating.

Of course, although your methadone use might be more controlled than, for example, heroin use, it is still entirely possible to experience an overdose. Symptoms of overdose include: chest pain; decreased responsiveness; extreme sleepiness; inability to move; loss of consciousness;

pinpoint, constricted, or tiny pupils; and irregular or slow heartbeat. And, like all opioid overdoses, a methadone overdose is potentially fatal.

Long-term methadone addiction can make it harder to treat pain as your body experiences it. Hyperalgesia, a chronic increased sensitivity to pain, is more common for people who use opioids, including methadone, over a longer period of time or in high amounts. Hormonal dysfunction is another long-term effect of methadone addiction; you may experience changes in your menstrual cycle and reduced libido and fertility if you are a woman. For men, the most common side effects from these hormonal changes include testosterone depletion, loss of sex drive, and sometimes impotence.

Immunosuppression, the weakening of the immune system that renders it less able to fight off infections and disease, is one of the most serious consequences of methadone addiction. Opioid-induced immunosuppression can mean increased risk of cancer, increased susceptibility to infection, and an increased risk of viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis.