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Hi, I am currently perscribed to 4 - 40mg methadone wafers a day which is 160mg's a day. I get this medication for treatment of severe chronic pain. This has been a miracle medication for me and has given me my life back.
I have a question and did some reasearch and couldnt find an answer to. I know 40's are being taken off the market. The 10's will still be available. Will I be able to get 12 - 10mg methadone's a day, which would be a perscription for 360 a month or is there a law or somethingsaying you can only get so many a month?
Ive been trying to find presctiption limitations as far as how many of a medication a doctor can perscribe a month or is it unlimited and the doctor can write it for whatever as long as its justified?
Hi Shawn, As far as I know, there are no limits on the amount a doctor can prescribe. I would definitely ask your doctor at your next visit though, to make sure. I have also heard of it being compounded into different dosages that are not available on the market, if needed. stacy
Thank you for the response Stacy. It is greatly appreciated. My doctor is really understand and to date the best doctor I ever had. If I do end up on 12 10mg methadones a day I will only be losing 40mg a day which shouldnt be to bad.
Stacy, you are correct ... a pain doctor can prescribe as much methadone as he wants to just as long as he puts the wording on the RX that it's "for pain." My pain doctor had me on methadone for several years ... then I switched to slow release morphine ... now I've been switched to Marinol ... hopefully I'll be able to take "Sativex" soon ... it has an extra Cannibinoid (CBID sp?) which balances out the side effects of taking pure THC ... right now I'm taking Valium 5's (3x day) to balance out the side effects of the Marinol ... Mark
Thanx everyone, I am going to bring this conversation to the doctor just in case. I go on the 6th and I will keep you all posted of what happens when I see the doctor next.
Hi Shawn One of my pain meds is a 15mg tabs and I take 65mg in the am, 45 in the afternoon and another 65 in the evening hours. since the tabs come in a 15mg strength, it requires me to have to walk out of the pharmacy with over 300 tabs a month, so I think that you'll be fine. It does feel like an over abundance when you first get your monthly supply, but just lock up your remaining meds and just keep out a daily or weekly supply. I don't share how much meds I get per month with family, relatives or friends, just to keep my home safe from intruders. You will probably get the same. Another lady I know has to pick her meds up on a twice a month schedule, as the amount is a bit much.
Hope it all works out for you Betty
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Posts: 516 | Location: Home in Washington State | Registered: 11-07-2007
Well I went in to the doctor and almost cried! I have been on methadone 40mg 4x daily for 2+ years now. That is equilivlant to 160mg a day. This was a perfect dose for me! It really helped my pain an allowed me to manage my pain with my life. I was able to finally start working again thanx to this medication.
Well the 40mg methadone wafers were taken off the market on the 1st but the 5 and 10mg tablets were still avaiable for pain management. So I figured that I would get 12-16 methadone 10mg tablets a day which would be the same dose I was taking with the methadone 40mg wafers. WRONG! At first the doctor was only going to give me 4 methadone 10mg a day! I flipped out, he would be cutting 120mg a day in one MONTH! Methadone is a drug that needs to be tapered slowly. I eventually got him to give me 8 methadone 10mg tablets a day which is still HALF of what I have been getting for 2+ years.
I am in so so so much pain that I can't even work. I lost my job and am now bed/coach ridden again. WHAT DO I DO? I am thinking about maybe looking for a new doctor. Any advice would be helpful at this moment. I would have posted what happened earlier but I've been in so much pain I dont even want to go on the internet.
YA i went to doctor the other day case im on methadone seems it interfers with my asthma meds. Makes my hear t beat wrong.. so he stop it same day after i been on it for a year. and put me on 5mg of oxycodone and i was taking 60mgs of methadone a day and im still in pain. now i can bearly walk or even stand i hve 2 hernated disk. one l5 s7 compleately gone . bone to bone. I hve tooking oxy ir before 100mgs a day it help a little but methadone help alot better but it did build up on me and i was in icu case i almost stoped breathing but i took oxy 40mgs with it . and didnt know i couldnt . But i ended up there again 5 months later case same but took no oxy or nothing. since oxy ant working shoul di try morphine or something else he was going to give me hydromorphone but it has same side effects as methadone with abuteral . I cant stand the pain what should i do?
thankyou so much for the infor. about the methadone, i don't have to panic, i'am on 30mg a day. for right now. but it seems like my body gets use to it, then they have to up the dose does any one else have this problem? i've had to take alot of meds tonight to get rid of the pain but i'am finally siting here in no pain. so mabey i will get a good night sleep. and i hope you all are having a good night.
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