Faithlove

My AH is using Methadone to recover from opiates. I just recently let him move back in with our children and me and want to know what danger signs to look for. I can't ask him because I can't trust his answer. But, I do trust you all because you have experience and nothing invested in whether or not he stays in the home or is kicked out.

He's still very early in the program- about a month. He goes to the clinic each morning for his dose.

Should his pupils still be pinpoint in the evening? Should he be dozing off in the early evening 8pm-9pm, but then wide awake until 11 or midnight, or whenever (because I go to bed)?

Should he be sweating when no one else is? I know opiates make you sweat a lot but does Methadone?

How will I know he's "in recovery?" He doesn't really want to go to NA meetings because he says they're basically against methadone. He did go to a Celebrate Recovery meeting on Tuesday. There's another one again on Sunday. He also says he goes to meetings at the clinic.

Does Methadone make you twitch a lot while sleeping?

Thank you for you answers!

dragonfire613

I was once on methadone for about 1.5 years, and everything you describe sounds like what I experienced during my time in the methadone program... specifically:

Yes, his pupils could easily still be pinpoint in the evening. Methadone has a very long half-life (15-60 hours), and is used in maintenance programs specifically for this reason (1 dose/day is all that is needed).

I sweated like a turkey on Thanksgiving the entire time on methadone. The least little activity and I would be soaked in sweat. Drove me nuts. Sounds normal to me.

I can't speak much to the twitching while sleeping... may or may not be related, in my opinion.

For my 2 cents, you will know he is "in recovery" when he continues to work on his recovery... what that means is different for everyone, but I'd think if he isn't sneaking around or hiding parts of his life from you, that would be a good sign. My wife said she always knew in her heart when I was lying to her about this or that when I was hiding my using.
Hope that helps!

Faithlove

He fell asleep during dinner tonight- right in the middle of buttering his bread. My 12-yr-old looked at him and said, "What are you doing?"
Is that normal while on methadone? Dinner was around 7 pm.

dragonfire613

I would nod out all the time at first and had to lower my dosage... if its a problem maybe he should let his doc know.