PATIENT HANDBOOK

Methadone

You are being prescribed methadone, a narcotic medication and controlled substance, as a part of your treatment at SOAR. Methadone is a powerful synthetic opioid that is very helpful in the treatment of heroin dependency. It can be harmful if it is not taken as prescribed. We are providing you with a special booklet called “About Methadone” which should answer a lot of questions and concerns about this medication. Please read the booklet carefully. It will also be discussed in orientation groups. Orientation groups are held each week and it is mandatory for all new patients to attend the Orientation Group at SOAR. Your medication is never to be given to another individual as it could cause their death. As with any opiate, withdrawal can occur if you suddenly stop taking it or if you are not at a stable dose. Signs of withdrawal can include nausea, insomnia, chills, aches, vomiting, muscle spasms, abdominal cramps, pilo-erection (hairs on skin standing straight up), diarrhea, dilated pupils and yawning. Signs of an overdose can be respiratory depression (difficulty breathing), being unconscious, eyes rolled in the back of the head, not being able to stand up, excessive nodding, difficulty talking and feeling overly euphoric. Should you feel any of these symptoms you need to go to the nearest hospital to be checked out. There are many common myths about methadone that are just not true. Methadone does not rot your teeth, get into your bones, or make you gain weight (you may need to be more active on methadone). If you follow directions while here in treatment, you can expect to safely be tapered off the methadone with little side effects and/or withdrawal.

If you are taking any medications while in treatment, you must bring the prescription in to the nurses to have it validated and you must sign a release in case we need to speak with the doctor who prescribed the medication. We ask that for the first 2 weeks that you try and find someone who can drive you here until your body becomes used to the methadone and has adjusted accordingly. You may also be asked to sit and wait in the lobby for up to 30 minutes after receiving methadone for the first 2 weeks so nursing can observe your reaction to it. Both are for your safety.

Methadone can cause death in children and adults if accidentally ingested because there is no tolerance to the medication. Methadone does not need to be refrigerated and should not be kept in a refrigerator where children or other adults could mistakenly drink the medication! It is very important that the methadone is always secured so that only the client has access to this medication. To accomplish this, we require all take-home dosages be kept in a lock box, locked drawer, or other locked storage area. The security of methadone is an important responsibility of each client.