manic

I hope this is the best place to post this. My name is Justin and I'm 27. Ok, here's my situation. I've been on Methadone several times (some for a few years at a time) but everytime I try to detox completely, I end up relapsing. My problem is that when I get down to a low dose (less than 10mg) I become a maniac. My pulse stays around 140bpm all day, my blood pressure rises and stays high around 150/95 all day, my mind races so quickly it becomes hard for me to speak, I can't keep one line of thought so I often forget what I was talking about, I can't sit still for more than 5-10min, I can't eat that much, I avg. about 3 hrs a night of sleep (some days I don't even sleep), I have horrible anxiety and panic attacks, I've become very agressive towards others both mentally and physically, I'm completely manic. This feeling I get is what eventually leads me to using again. I figured this time I would cut back very slowly. I've been cutting down from 60mg to 5mg over the past 14 months. I've been feeling manic now for about 3 months and it hasn't gotten any better, only worse. I thought I would try to "stabilize" myself on a low dose so I stayed at 7mg for two months and there was no improvement. Has anyone else experienced this? How long did it last? Is there any medication that helped with this problem?

historyteach

Manic,
Have you seen a psychiatrist?
It may be that you are dual diagnosed, without the diagnoses yet!

Dual diagnosed means that you have two co-existing conditions at once -- an addiction, (which you are trying to tackle), and a mental illness, (which sounds like a bipolar condition - though I am *not* a doctor and only a doc can diagnose that for certain!)

I strongly suggest that you get an appointment with a good pdoc. Many addicts are dual diagnosed; they self medicate with their drug of choice, without even realizing it. My son is a case in point. Whereever you are getting the methadone should be able to get you an appointment with a pdoc. Please do check it out. It's not going to hurt, afterall, and it may just save your life!

I wish you the best. Please let us know how it's going.
We care.

Shalom!

jenvy

wish you all the best.hope you wil recover soon