Studying the methadone question

here is the issue. A woman from Altoona, has Med-Van drive her to Pittsburgh everyday at a cost of about $350.00 daily because she has a public high profile job and does want anyone knowing she is an addict. And perhaps there is more like this.

Look, here's the math. it is cheaper to inprison than medicate with Methadone. Now do the math. this is what is coming.

I like this:...."" "Spending tax dollars with little oversight is unacceptable, especially in such difficult economic times,"... Gee, is this what they were thinking when they robbed the people of Pa. 6 years ago? is this what Eichelbereger was thinking when he wrote a law to force kids and all people with motorized Recreational vehicles to liscence them and have insurance? Pennsylvanians are the dumbest and most incompetant people on the planet.

Look, these criminall morons cannot run this State. Yet are constantly telling people how to run their personal lives. This is the same Senate who robbed the people at a secret 3Am meeting giving themselves a 50% pay increase and Judges, then revoked the power of the Judge to rule that there actions were illegal.

As for constipation--here's the deal. Constipation is a side effect of ALL narcotic drugs. Most people report that this side effect improves greatly with time--however, for those who continue to experience it, there are effective remedies available. ALL meds have side effects; methadone's are much more benign that many other drugs. In any pharmacotherapy, the decision to medicate is based upon a weighing of the pros and cons. Untreated addiction is a VERY deadly disease, and even if there WERE a slightly increased risk of colon cancer, for most patients, this would be far outweighed by the risk of leaving treatment.

And no, I'm not "kidding" about methadone being the most studied drug. This is a FACT. And yes, there HAVE been studies--many many of them--measuring how many patients on methadone are still using illicits, including benzos, and the numbers vary somewhat according to the quality of the clinic and the patient demographic, but run between 65% and 90% illicit drug free. Thus, even the less well run clinics have a success rate far higher than abstinence based treatment.

14recovery, methadone is NOT "horrendously difficult to get off of"--it simply takes longer to taper off a long acting drug like methadone than a short acting drug like ******, vicodin, etc. People tend to get frustrated, want to get off "right now" and cut their tapers short, or decide to just walk off once they get down to 20mgs or so, despite all medical advice to the contrary. They they promptly get horribly ill, relapse, and end up either back on the clinic starting all over again, in jail, strung out, or dead.

I know many people who have done a proper, slow taper and have suffered NO withdrawal symptoms.

Nevertheless, tapering off successfully does not mean your addiction is "cured".

>>Methadone is the most studied drug on the planet already, with all studies showing that it is the most effective treatment available for opioid addiction.<<

Personally, I don't think it is a treatment at all. It is called Maintenance because it maintains the addict - it doesn't treat his addiction - it maintains it.

I am glad people are starting to take a closer look at Methadone. Most studied? You've got to be kidding me! Methadone Maintenance has flown under the radar for years. They've got studies claiming its a great drug,sure, but why have they not studied how many addicts on methadone take benzos or other drugs along with it? Why haven't they studied the long term effects of chronic constipation in methadon patients? Seems very likely there'd be an increased risk of colo-rectal cancer but no study on that,

Methadone maintenance is on it's way out IMO I don't think people should be limited in the time because it's horrendously difficult to get off of - pe

This is a complete WASTE of taxpayer dollars. Methadone is the most studied drug on the planet already, with all studies showing that it is the most effective treatment available for opioid addiction. The assumption that methadone is intended to serve as a short term "bridge" to being drug free is incorrect. Most patients in the clinic system have already tried and failed at abstinence based treatment many times over, often due to permanent changes in the brain chemistry which prevent the brain from producing natural opiates (endorphins). Like other medications for chronic disorders, methadone does not cure (there is no cure), but it does stabilize and normalize the brain chemistry so that the patient is able to function normally. It does not cause a high in stable patients.

Placing time limits on treatment is disastrous, unethical, unscientific and goes against all established medical protocol, and is nothing more than politicians practicing medicine to garner votes.