can't believe its so hard to get on methadone

[Snout]

Thoms, I want to hear the nick names you and your lady made up for your fellow methadonians. Nick names are funny as hell, my Mexican friends are the nick name masters!
    You gotta love the methadone clinic. I was in the waiting room the other day waiting to see my counselor and these two women had a music magazine they were flipping through. They were talking about Mariah Carey, and how she married a wealthy man. The one lady lamented the fact that she just wasn't meeting any rich men. I guess hanging out at the methadone clinic is not a good strategy for landing a sugar daddy.

[Thoms]

Lmao about the lack of sugar daddies at the clinic. Alright as far as nick names goes we have "sticks" with dude who is 5'9" or so and couldn't weight in at 100 pounds soaking wet. Then you have "wrinkles" who we found out is only 31, that lady could pass for 45 without a bit of a problem. Then you have old smoky who was at the clinic waiting to get smoking a cig in her second trimester telling us about the five miscarriages she has had in the past. She is a world class cunt. A few days ago she just sat in her car and then pushed her way in front of us in line just because she had her baby with her. I have news for her. I don't care if she has baby Jesus in a flour sack with her. She can't have us sit in the fucking cold for twenty minutes and thin come push her way in front, fuck that in the pooper. That shit isn't right. Then about last of the people was loud mouth prison bitch. That one doesn't need an explanation.

[Chip]

Oh yeah, the clinic is a zoo. I never knew what I was walking into.

You guys are making me laugh as we share the same experiences.

[lilbay21213 (OP)]

LOL well i am not seeking a sugar daddy  but i sure wish to hell i had something to take the edge off.
 i am still at 40(monday goes to 45 and 5 days 50.
i had a lil dope left last night and made out. However today not so lucky and boy am i feeling it. I made it though its almost 7 and i took some aleeve for my back. Definitely going to be asking to take it to 50 before the 5th day

[Snout]

Thoms, awesome! ' loud mouth prison bitch" is double dosing, he/she attends my clinic also. That sounds like an austin powers character!

[Lolleedee]

Yeah some of the shit people used before the clinic is nuts. There is one girl at my clinic who is on 45 msg. She hasn't tapered down to that. It's as high as she has gone. I'm like yeah, fuck you and your habit. It's funny the people who had supposed 1-2 gram a day habits are on like 90-110 mgs. Like I'm not one to really judge and I know that everyone reacts differently to every drug but a 2 gram habit being taken care of with 110 mgs just gives me a hint that the dope was absolute shit. It also reminds me thaat a iv morphine habit can get you to the same tolerance. Throw a bunch of smoked fent on that and you have a recipe for a kinda big dose of done. Not to mention the huge variation in the speed of metabolism, I know that has a big impact on your final dose. Hell maybe more so than the size of the habit. Anyone notice any other trends at there clinic? I'm no old timer or anything but I notice how a lot of people are in a huge hurry to get off it. Does anyone else give the people they see at the clinic a lot nick names? I guess it might be different for me as I go in with Andi every day but even though we know some of the other patients names we refer to them all by their nicknames. I assume you guys see a lot of th998e same people when you have to go in every day.

When we started Andi got a dose of 20 mgs and then like 15 minutes later a dose of 10 more mgs. I guess they were looking for any signs of an allergic reaction.
I only got 10 and 10 because I was on some other med when I started there. I don't remember what med it was, I think it was the kleptopens. I got off those with a quickness after a handful of them and a 72 hour psych hold. It pissed me off they did that when Andi told my family members that I needed to got to a hospital and not a loony bin. After all they do have benzodiazepine antagonists. Fucking idiots. I guess they don't get payed if that happens so fuck it eh..

We started in the end of may and now we only have to go in once a week to pick up our doses. They have been really really helpful in helping us get take homes on a fairly fast time frame. I was cash pay for the first five or so months so I only had to have 50 minutes of counciling a month but after some work my insurance started covering it. Normally that would mean I would have to start going to 200 minutes of counciling a month but my councilor worked on keeping it where I only had to do the one session a month. They also made it where Andi only had to do two sessions a month as opposed to the 4 that they make everyone do. They are really good to us there. It is an Aegis clinic if anyone has one as an option. They are a west coast operation. SoCal and the
 like.

I assume you guys had to have an ekg to go above 149? Also is anyone else on splits? If so do you notice your night time dose lasts longer than the AM dose? Like maybe you metabolism slows down while you sleep enough
 to be felt for longer.

======================================
Your clinic sounds like it is pretty good there, Thoms!  I think it is bullshit that if you have insurance (my clinic doesn't take insurance except medicaid and cash) you have to do more counseling!  They do that at my clinic too, and it has nothing to do with good treatment and everything to do with money.  Medicaid will pay for x-number of counseling sessions so those on medicaid are required to attend that number so that the clinic can bill them for it.  I pay cash, so my counseling requirements are minimal compared to those on medicaid.  It is crappy that you can essentially "buy" your way out of counseling!  I'm only required to see my counselor for 1/2 hour once a month.  She is awesome, so I utilize her waaay more than that!  Also, because I have a disabled child, she lets me do mine over the phone, which I really appreciate!

You guys get take-homes quickly there!  My clinic goes way slower than the federal methadone mandates.  When you start, you get Sunday, because they are closed.  Three months (no dirty urines and all counseling requirements done) you get Saturday.  At six months clean, you get three, nine month you get four than there is a huge gap and at 18 months you get 6 bottles.  They totally skip giving 5 for some reason.  The most we can get is 13 and you get that 18 months after you get your six bottles.  Of course, if you have your six and then get a dirty, they take half your bottles away for three months.  If you are clean for three, they will give you back the bottles and then you have to restart the 18 month countdown for 13.

I wish they would ekg if we go over 149 but they will not go that high.  Because of my medications and a ton of begging the doctor and providing him with documentation about how it interacts with methadone I was able to get him to put me up to 140.  He and the nurse told me I am on the highest dose at the clinic.  I guess they could be blowing smoke up my ass, but considering how much time and effort it took to get it up that high I kind of believe them.  People there talk about their doses all the timme.  I have only ever encountered one other person who was over 100 and he was on 105.  They don't have a dose cap per se, they just have a doctor who doesn't think high doses are necessary.  He, of course, is a toolbag, because every comprehensive study on methadone maintence correlates higher doses with better outcomes!  I split my dose, but I find that when I do, then I feel low-level yucky all day.  If I take the whole thing at once, I feel good until 7pm...then it rapidly goes down hill.  I have to ask for an increase again and I am sure it is going to be aa shit show,  I would switch clinics, but my counselor called around to get an idea about dosing practices of other doctors and it seems New Jersey is notoriouss for low dosing patients.
Nicknames at the clinic!  There is a lady we call Mrs. Smokey, because she smells like smoke, hacks like crazy and drags an oxygen tank behind her.  Then there is pooper guy...cause he always smells like poop!  Thankfully, I do not see him often!  There is a huge group of people that are refered to as the "caid gang"..a play on chain gang..cause they all get transported on a van paid for by medicaid.  oh, and there is the flippy hair guy!  He has his hair shaved on the sides, but the top is long and flips over to one side, it kind of looks like a bleached blond wave!

@Thoms...you mentioned that you somehow got your insurance to pay for the clinic.  Is it private insurance or is it state insurance like medicaid/medicare?  I have private insurance but those fuckers will not pay for it.  They will pay for rehab, detox, suboxone and they will cover methadone as a pain medication, but dispense the same medicine in a clinic...so sorry..won't pay for it!  I was wondering if you had to fight them, or do they just pay a portion..like the counseling only or medication only? I might try again with my insurance company.  I doubt I'll get anywhere but it's worth a shot I guess.  Even a portion of it would be better than nothing.  This 110.00 a week shit is getting awfully expensive.

[Thoms]

I've got anthem blue cross. I believe something changed with their policies or something and they started covering it. Yeah normally our clinic goes a lot slower but because of some personal stuff they let my and my GF get our take homes a lot faster than normal. I remember your on tegretol like me, that fucks our dose up bad. I finally don't feel the need to go up. Me and Andi are very happy to have the clinic we do, plus we haven't shot up in like 8 or so months and that feels good

[Lolleedee]

Yeah, the tegretol does mess with the dose.  I was going to ask my neurologist to change it, but I am FINALLY seizure free.  My last seizure was a little over three years ago.  I take that and Vimpat, and the combo has totally worked.  This is the first time since I can remember that I have had my driver's license for longer than two years!  I would always hit the two year mark, have a seizure and then lose my lisence for a year.  That sucked majorly!  Hopefully, I won't jinx myself talking about it!  Do you mind asking what your dose is?

I have blue cross too (omnia plan).  I wonder if it was a company wide policy change?  Hmmm..going to call them in the morning!

@chipper....Thanks for fixing my post!*smooch*
Chipper says "a pleasure"

[Thoms]

Yeah absolutely have them try to bill them again. What's the worst that could happen. I take 600 mg of lamictal and 600 mg of tegretol a day. My last seizure was in march.