No not forever
I definitely have hopes of getting it off it someday myself. Hopefully your loved one does too. My doctor suggests tapering when there are no big life changes happening currently or in the near future--I guess any large amount of stress and anxiety could trigger a relapse.
I have heard that some people stay on it for life. I am not planning on doing that. I have no side effects from it so it's not an inconvenience right now. But it does cost money to see the doctor once a month ($150) and money for the prescription ($15) once a month. I was on methadone for years and this is definitely cheaper. Plus the meth made me high. And I would have to go to the methadone clinic and see junkies everyday to get medicated and that didn't help my sobriety.
Hope this info helps. <3