Author: Matt2

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:58 am

So my dosage was increased to 80mg and the early morning withdrawal symptoms I was experiencing have pretty much all gone away. I did get my first take home this weekend so for the first time in the last 28+ days I got to sleep in and it was great not having to go and wait in line at the crack of dawn. I am likely going to be switching to the only other clinic here in Indianapolis this coming Monday but we’ll see. Main reason is the price and the fact that the current clinic I’m at seems to have really lax standards in terms of continuing to treat people even after they’ve had multiple drug screens, which I totally understand not wanting to kick an addict out for being an addict but I really want to surround myself more with people who are getting back to their own lives.

The current clinic I’m at charges $14.50 per day or $94.50 per week which is really difficult for me to afford. The new clinic only charges $65.00 a week and it sounds like they require less than weekly group or counseling sessions after 90 days. The only catch being that they only take 4 new patients each week on Monday mornings when they open at 5:30am and if I’m behind more than 3 new people I’ll have to wait another week. I’m planning on getting there at like 4am which is crazy but it’ll be worth it I think. I have gotten more out of a couple groups than I thought I would but with so many new people to recovery around I just hear endless "war stories" while in group and waiting in line. Of course the handout they give to new patients states that using stories aren’t tolerated while in line I understand it’s hard to police people. I just think I’m kind of in a wierd spot after not using for a little over 6 years but being new to the clinic. I literally don’t talk to or hangout with anyone that is currently using and I’ve found that I get along with people who don’t even drink casually.

I wanted to say a few things about how crazy it is to me that there is still a moratorium on any new methadone clinics opening in the state of Indiana. The current clinic is waay above capacity and the only other clinic within 100miles is at capacity also. Today I stood in line for over an hour (most of which was outside in the cold) just to get my medication. I hate to say it but if people with any other type of chronic disease had to wait that long for treatment daily everybody would be up in arms. I try not to focus too much of my energy on negative thinking but it blows my mind that people are forced to be treated this way when they are trying to get help and stop using! Can you imagine how many heads would roll if individuals with type II adult onset diabetes were forced to wait in hour long lines to get their metformin/insulin/other meds each day! I realize that methadone has alot more potential for diversion but every study I’ve looked at shows that more than 90% of diverted methadone comes from individuals being prescribed it for pain and not from methadone clinic patients. Are people/lawmakers really just blatently ignoring facts? Lol I know I shouldn’t be too surprised but Jesus! I would really encourage everyone here to think about writing/calling your local congressman/woman and state legislature reps to ask them to craft legislation based on factual information when it comes to methadone or any outpatient treatment facilities for that matter. Like so many other things in our culture the public opinion seems to be based more on what people feel the facts should be rather than what they actually are. I still don’t know how anyone could really expect drug addicts to be giving away their medication! I don’t doubt it happens sometimes but it’s clearly not most people. I don’t know how that would make sense to me even if I was totally and completely ignorant of the subject!