Methadone: Methadone Facts

Question: I'm on methadone and i have to have a painful root canal, what can they give me as a painkiller?

(Posted by: Chloe on 2009-07-01 07:51:12)

Methadone blocks the effects of opiates. I'm on 80 mg. and have been on methadone maintenance for 2 years for heroin addiction. It saved my life. A lot of people don't agree with it but it was my only alternative. I had exhausted all other options and would literally, try to kill myself when going through withdrawal. I've been clean of ALL drugs since starting! Anyways, I need to have 2 root canals. I haven't talked to the doctor yet but of course, I'll tell him about the methadone. My nurse at the methadone clinic said they can temporarily "up " my dose and that should take care of the pain but I still experience pain all the time on my dose. Will the dentist probably give me an extra high dose of a painkiller? What could he give me? And how painful are root canals? Can you be put "under " during the procedure? And how painful is it after the fact? Is it worse than having like a molar pulled? THANKS FOR ANY INFORMATION!

Posted by: DynoDiKk on 2009-07-01, 08:10:11

Methadone does NOT block the effects of opiates! In high doses it will , in your case it will. So it can be a blocker but What happens is, in lower methadone doses and not in your case, the adding of another pain-killer is needed for pain management. ! Example 20mg's a day of Methadone with 10mg's of Oxy. In a dose like this the two drugs actually compliment each other and the two compete for the same receptor site magnifying the pain relief without the higher feelings.However this combination overall shortens the efectiveness of both drugs, and it is a tricky regimant to manipulate. For the other opiate to compliment the MMT, the dose of the MMT must be low, not 40mg's. No need to explain Methadone to me sweetie, I am a firm believer in it, I disdain organizations like HARMD and write articles on methadone on Helium and had a U-tube channel to go against HARMD and inform people on Methadone. I am a chronic pain patient. Although some smart alect pharma person will insist, OH Methadone is not A blocker! The two opaites compete with glutamate and their nonesense..... it does not block in high doses, basically anything over 40! So not too much will work in your case, and methadone is weak, inspite of what and how it works, it has a long onset and it's pain margin actually begins at 60 to 100 mg's a day and it's pain relief threshold is only 8 hours! YOU DO NOT WANT them to tempoaray up your METHADONE DOSE! At your point, when they start getting you back to normal, YOU WILL feel it unless they cut it 2mg's a week AND it is crucial you stay on the dose, you start playing games with upping it, your sunk, and you will need 10mg's to 20 to even have it work on your pain, trust me! EAT THE PAIN, DO NOT UP YOUR DOSE! Take Aspirin or Motrin. It will work, you do not need an opiate narcotic! I been on 200mg's a day as prescribed for pain, weaned off it totally with them in my hand and weaned off about everything. Methadone my friend is your only alternative and screw people and have them read my articles on Helium, they don't have a clue, you need this stuff!

Posted by: TheBigFGuy on 2009-07-01, 07:55:28

Is that what the dentist told you, "You need to have a painful root canal. "?

Posted by: peanut on 2009-07-01, 07:55:45

Root canals don't hurt. They give you Novocaine during the procedure and after there should be no pain because they took out the root/ nerve.

Posted by: monaro on 2009-07-01, 08:08:21

If you have lots of cashish i heard of a procedure that uses a slight electrical current that numbs the pain. i'm sure the doctor could give you something but since you have one of the most potent drugs already in you it's unlikly he cares how much pain you suffer. he's probably a dog anyway. have some herbs and a drink but dont go silly . there is a pill women take for period pain and its grouse for tooth ache all i can remember is they were blue.

Posted by: VA on 2009-07-01, 10:02:20

First off, good for you for staying clean. Even on methodone, that's hard to do, so well done. Root canals actually aren't too terribly painful -- less so than having molars pulled. (It's what you're usually feeling *before* the root canal that's painful!) It's a lot like having a cavity filled, it just takes longer. They usually don't put you under for it. During the procedure, the area they're working on will be completely numbed, and afterwards, since the root will be gone, the tooth itself can't feel any pain. The area around the tooth can be a little sore for a day or two afterwards, though. Sometimes they'll send you home with a small number of 5mg vicodin pills, but of course, you don't want that. (Whether it works with the methadone or not, it's still an opioid, so probably not a good thing for you to be taking.) You can just refuse the vicodin if they offer it to you. Use ibuprofen or Tylenol instead. It's really only the same day of the root canal, after you get home and the local wears off, that might find yourself wishing for something a little harder, but it's really not that bad, and if you can just tough it out that one day, you'll be fine. Many people never feel the need for anything but OTC pain killers after a root canal at all (and some dentists don't even offer it to you for a root canal - they just tell you to take some ibuprofen). My housemate never took any of the vicodin they gave him when he had his -- he just didn't feel like he needed it. With luck, you'll find yourself similarly mildly affected. Good luck!

Posted by: Alissa, R.N. on 2009-07-01, 12:22:15

Methadone does NOT block the effects of opiates. That is a misconception. It stops the painful withdrawal from stopping other opiates cold turkey. You can take Percocet, Vicodin, etc while taking methadone. I was on methadone (FOR pain people, not for anything else) before I had my back surgery and also had oxycodone (percocet without the tylenol) as a medication for breakthrough pain and it definitely still works. However, if you're on methadone for drug addiction therapy, they may not give you any narcotic pain relievers.

Posted by: Just Me on 2009-07-01, 15:12:14

Well you wont get any different med than your already on for pain. You cant mix 2 opiates, 2opiods or an opiate and an opiod, look what happen to MJ, thats what happens when u mix 2 depressants. You need to tell the Dentist your a Methadone patient because your a former substance abuser. He or She will be able to inform you better based on this, they may give you a Steroid doe for swelling and inflammation, they also help with pain.