Q&A: Why is 40 mg Methadone being suddenly taken away from those of us who are perscribed it???
Question by ebeth9161971: Why is 40 mg Methadone being suddenly taken away from those of us who are perscribed it???
I just found out when I went to get my Methadone perscription filled today that the FDA sent out advisorys to all Doctors and Pharmacies prohibiting them from perscribing or selling 40 mg Methadone after Jan.1 2008. Only Detox/Rehab centers or hospitals will have access to this drug. I personally am on 50 mg per day for pain managment & have been for 7 yrs. The nurse at my Dr. office also told me that even though the 5 & 10 mg tablets were not affected, that if any Doctor is caught writing a large perscription of the 5 or 10 mg methadone tablets for a patient, they will be turned in to the DEA. She told me they did this because they’ve decided that 40 mg Methadone isn’t considered to be for pain managment; it is for Opiate detoxification-uh…ok(?. What are others out there in the same situation doing about this? Also, can any Dr. (like my pain mng. Dr for instance) write out a script for Subutex/Bupranorphin or would I have to go to somthing like a 2wk. Detox center? PLEASE HELP!!!
Best answer:
Answer by W W D
You can’t just switch to buprenorphine. It’s a partial-agonist/partial-antagonist, and if you’re taking narcotics, the sudden switch will make you crash (withdrawal). It seems there’s no way to have both a “war on drugs” and adequate management of chronic pain in our society, and the tension will always be there.
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