Take homes and guest dosing

[onewayonly (OP)]

I have been at a cmg clinic for 3 months. Failed every test only for pot. I take 1 1mg etizolam every night and it has not shown up yet. With the ganja I still can't get a take home yet.
Just wondering how the guest dosing works. My clinic says I'm set up in a few weeks and i trust then since they faxed my shit.
Just wanting to know experience
 Also does your clinic allow u to smoke weed. Mine is also 16$ a day in Wi. Is 100mg alot at your clinic.

Thanks

[Lolleedee]

That sucks that your clinic tests for pot.  The one I go to (New Jersey) stopped testing for weed about three years ago.  Their philosophy is that there is no known interaction between methadone and weed and it is not worth the expense to test for it.  I absolutely hate weed more than anything, but I know most people love it and I'm happy that it won't hold them back from getting take homes anymore.

Just a suggestion about guest dosing..do NOT "just trust them" to file the paper work you will need!  I have known many people who were left in another state, high and dry and in a world of hurt because the proper paperwork wasn't filed.  If you are guest dosing at a time when your clinic is closed and they can't verify your status,  they may tell you you are shit out of luck and to kick rocks!

Make sure you call the clinic you are guest dosing at as far ahead as you can before your departure, and make sure they have what they need from your clinic.  If they don't, have your clinic resubmit the paperwork and then call the guest clinic again to make sure it is received and correct.

Some clinics have some weird guest dosing rules, such as mandating payment in money orders and only dosing "guests" at very specific times.  A lot of places fail to mention that while it may cost $XX.XX per day to dose, there may also be a "guest fee" or "set-up" fee.  They can range from a small token payment or an outrageous amount of cash.  Just make sure you call ahead, get payment details and amounts, verify when you can dose and also verify what documents you will need to show when you arrive.  If you can, have your clinic make copies of the paperwork they submitted and carry it with you.  Also, ask your clinic for a working number that you or the guest dosing place can call if there are any problems.

Again, I can't stress enough to not blindly trust that your clinic did it's job.  Unfortunately, even the best places can mess things up and the only one who will be screwed is you!!!  Check, check and recheck everything!

You also asked about dosage.  At my clinic, they are very conservative with dosing.  I am the highest person at my clinic (says my counselor...could be true, but may not be..I have never spoken to anyone who was at the same dose though.) and I am at 140mg.  The only reason I was allowed to go that high is because I am on medication for RA and seizures that make the methadone not work as well.  I am also on a split dose.  The clinical director doctor dude is an ass who doesn't believe in higher doses despite all the medical evidence that has found that higher doses correlate to better outcomes.  Eh, he's a toolbag, what can I say!!!

Sorry this post got really long!  Here is the last thing....Are you going anywhere good???  OK...NOW I'm done!!!

[onewayonly (OP)]

Thanks for the reply.

My clinic seems to be cool with dosing whatever you want. You cant believe anyone but people say they are on 200.
Personally I know I have seen many above 100mg on the dosing sheet each morning.
 Also my Dr. is a very smart lady and is really nice.
Yeah I will call the place i am guest dosing at on Monday since I have 2 weeks left before I go.
I called the guest dosing place in the past and they said the guest dosing fee is 20$ a day and I have to initially come in during a weekday.
So I will go guest dose on a Friday at 8am when both clinic are open and my home dr is at my home clinic at that time.

Yeah it really sucks my clinic is so hard on weed, thats all that is holding me back.
I am quitting this weekend. New year and all that jazz hopefully gives me the motivation I need.
My clinic is the normal I think, which is 3 months clean to go each phase.

[Thoms]

lol lessee nailed it all the way around! I thought I was in a unique spot because my siezure meds fuck with my dose but I guess not lol. Are you in tegretol like I am lollee? I'm on a split dose of 85/85.
My clinic just wants you to have your medical card. I'm glad they are cool about bud. We are fucking junkies after all haha. I myself don't like pot but for some people it's the only way they can live and that shouldn't cause issues with trying to improve your life with mmt. You will just have to look Into your clinics testing policies better about the etiz as there is no way for anyone to really know

[onewayonly (OP)]

What's up thoms. Yea the etizolam do not cause any reaction on my drug test. Take 1 a night and all 3 test were negative. The weed situation sucks but I'm dealing with it. I'm on 100mg and it saved my life. I travel for work so that is why I need to get clean to get take homes. I wonder if they will work with you if you have been clean from opiates for 5 months but only 2 months clean of weed.
I take home ain't shit. They gave us one for a storm which didn't happen. My travel days only last a day so I only need 1 take home. Shit I hope they help me out on the future. I just want my vacation guest dosing to go right

[Chip]

Hey you guys that take 1 Etiz daily (I love 'em) - isn't that causing a physical dependency ?

I found 1 mg stronger than 10 mg Diazepam.

[Lolleedee]

@Thoms...Yep, I'm on Tegretol (and Vimpat also).  I have been very slowly reducing it though.  I haven't had a seizure in over three years, so I have been very stable seizure-wise.  I will probably add back Lamictal, which I was on for a long time.  It work well as an adjunct to the vimpat, but it gave me horrible hertburn about 20 minutes after I took it, so I changed to the tegretol.  I think I would rather put up with heartburn, then my methadone not working well!!

I have also been on prednisone for the better part of three years for a severe form of RA( I am on Embrel, too!).  I just recently discovered that steroids also contribute to lower methadone levels.

I split 70/70.  I think I would do better if I could do 100/100, but that is wishful thinking.  Trying to convince the clinic doc to go up to 140 took over a year, multiple meetings and me researching and printing out every relevant study I could find on drug interactions and methadone levels.

How is your clinic regarding higher doses?  Just curious!!

[Thoms]

They are pretty understanding. I've got good report with my shrink and all my piss tests have been clean. They know that we were shooting a lot of morphine and smoking a lot of fent before we went in though so it's a double whammy. when I've asked for a dose increase they have always given it to me, most of the time it has been at 10mgs a day increase but this last one was only 5mg. Honestly though I feel like my dose is about where I need though, thankfully.

[onewayonly (OP)]

Chip Yea I take 1.2mg of etiz every night for sleep help. 1.2 mg is 1 pill from my supplier.
Bud really helps me sleep I think but I am quitting that this month so I can get take homes.

I'm sure 1.2mg a day of etiz is adictive but it helps so it's where I have been for 6 months.

[Thoms]

Sorry to hijack your thread btw. But I think between mine and lolleeddees comments you can see that there is a pretty big variation between clinics. My clinic told me and Andi that the normal therapeutic dose is between 80 to 120 mgs. She is on a 75/75 split and isn't held for the twelve hours she needs to be but she just got her ekg to go up higher. Apparently a small subset of the population can have their qt intervals fucked up by methadone. I'm really thankful that my clinic has been understanding when it comes to needing a higher dose than the average person. It blows my mind that there is a person at my clinic that only needs 45 mgs to be stable. That isn't a dose she has tapered down to either. I know everyone is different when it comes to the dose they need (I have read about a lady who was on over 400mgs dosed 6 times through out the day) but I think if my habit was that small I personally wouldn't choose maintenance. I am not saying it was wrong for her but I would choose differently. I am curious what your guys schedule looks like to get take homes. Our clinic has made some pretty awesome exceptions for me and Andi when it comes to getting more carries. I have 5 days and she has six where as if they hadn't made those exceptions for us due to some circumstances out of our control we would only have three days.
 Is your clinic giving you grief over how high of a dose you are needing one way? I think when a clinic won't let their patients get up to the dose they need they are doing a real disservice to them. People are still having to deal with spending time being dope sick and having a higher risk of relapse.

[Chip]

Chip Yea I take 1.2mg of etiz every night for sleep help. 1.2 mg is 1 pill from my supplier.
Bud really helps me sleep I think but I am quitting that this month so I can get take homes.

I'm sure 1.2mg a day of etiz is adictive but it helps so it's where I have been for 6 months.

i just want to remind you that Etiz and it's relatives are only short term fixes for sleep issues.

But you know that. It worked well for me but i had to stop using them as they became scheduled in my country and the risk outweighed the benefits.

Since i stopped the Methadone 6 weeks ago, i am getting 6 hour stretches of uninterrupted sleep ... i'm grateful for that ... but i also take 5 mg Olanzapine daily so i'm in much the same boat as you.

[onewayonly (OP)]

My clinic seems cool with dosing whatever you need. My doc came in on the weekends when I first started to get me to what dose i needed. I am on 100mg and I am fine with that. However, to get 1 takehome is 3 months clean time. 2 takehomes is 6 months clean. Clean means no failed piss test (even for weed). This is what is fucking me because I have never missed a counseling session (30 min a week) and have never missed a day dosing, only failed test for weed.
I travel a little for work so takehomes are important to me. I have only been on 90 days but plan on staying for at least a year so takehomes matter especially when traveling for work.  I have only tried h 1 time since being on 100mg and it did nothing worth the money i spent, so I have no desire to use.
My clinic (Colonial Management Group) is really big in the south and for the most part I will say they are a good clinic.

[Chip]

It was a bit hard to walk away from 6 take homes a week because it took quite a while to get them.

I still miss the clinic routine as it put some form of more structure in my life.

I still yearn sometimes for opiates but that's normal.

My doctor and clinic staff were more than I could ask for. What a difference a clinic can make, right ?

[Snout]

My clinic will pretty much let you go up as high as you need to go. I've met people on some staggering doses, and when you approach the dosing window you need to announce your name and dose so you can't help but hear what folks are taking. The variety of doses, as thoms noted above, is vastly different for everyone. I've met some young, small people on crazy doses. I'm on 76 mg and feel fine.
     Methadone doses don't seem to me to be directly correlated to the size of the dope habit people had previous to seeking treatment. It just seems like methadone works differently for everyone. My main using buddy used much less heroin than me but he needs a good bit more methadone not to wake up sick every morning. I have slow metabolism.
     Also, my clinic does not test for weed. It is Seattle, weed is legal, if they didn't allow it nobody would have carries and the mob scene would be impossible everyday. Overall, I'd say my clinic is strict but fair, and well run. I've been to several clinics over the years and some are really bad.

[onewayonly (OP)]

Yea.Chip I kind of like having to go to the clinic. Its like i have a reason to do something other than work haha. Also it makes me responsible for my actions.