Chronic Pain Issues in Recovery

Chronic Pain in Addiction Recovery

Chronic pain is a serious and sensitive issue without the added stress of being in recovery from alcohol and drugs. Everyone does recovery differently and for those who attend 12 step meetings there is a lot of pressure to be perfect in your recovery. According to Narcotics Anonymous as long as you are taking your medication as prescribed, according to the label and doctor's orders, then you are still clean even if you are using narcotic pain medication. But, not many other NA members will let you in on this because the total abstinence theory or model is more important. We cannot deny that addicts and alcoholics will indeed suffer with chronic pain or go through periods of time when they have to use pain medication because of surgery or some other illness. Chronic pain offers a unique case though because it tends to require ongoing use of pain pills.

The following articles are useful resources for anyone who has chronic pain even without having an issue with addiction/recovery. However, they are very helpful for someone trying to balance both issues and stay healthy.

Learn how to cope with chronic pain when you are a recovering addict.

Read a Methadone pain pill review. Granted, this one will not work for everyone, so keep in mind it's only a review by someone professing to use Methadone solely for pain reasons.

Prepare for the time when you need to stop taking the pain pills for your condition. Being ready for withdrawal of opiate pain medication in recovery or as a person dealing with chronic pain is important.

More articles and information are being added soon.  I've been gone for awhile and apologize to anyone who came here for information and was let down.  (5-24-16)

Are Crystal Meth and Methadone the Same Drug?

Crystal Meth vs. Methadone

I see a lot of questions about whether Crystal Meth and Methadone are the same drug.

Please, read this very carefully-- it is for you, for those asking and searching online to find out if Crystal Meth and Methadone are the same drug.  Knowing the answer may save your life or a friend's life. Find out the answer, know the difference between these drugs, and share the truth with others.  I want you to understand the difference and why these drugs are often confused because I care about you, and if you decide to use knowing the difference can save your life. I am not going to bullshit you or try some scared straight angle. I know these things first hand.

Are These Drugs the Same - Methamphetamine, Crystal Methamphetamine, Crystal Meth, Meth and Methadone 

The simple answer is no.  People often confuse these as the same the drug because of the slang names we use for these drugs and others. Methadone is not at all like Crystal Meth, in fact, they have very opposite effects on the body, Crystal Methamphetamine is a stimulant or upper; Methadone is an opiate (or narcotic, downer), and they look completely different as well (see pictures below). Confusing these drugs can kill you (no, this isn't exaggeration).

Please keep reading.

What is Crystal Meth? How is it Different than Methadone?

Crystal methamphetamine is an extremely powerful stimulant, in the same drug class as cocaine.

The street name or slang names for Crystal Methamphetamine is where I believe these drugs get confused because the most popular street or slang names are Crystal meth and meth. People also call it ice, crank, shards, Crystal, Crissie, Jib, speed, shit, tweak, glass, Tina, G, and others.  Crystal Meth addiction is hard on the user and those around them, but you can spot Crystal Meth use or denial and help the person.  

I don't put pictures of drugs on my site because they're triggering to some people, but in this case, I'm making an exception because it is important not to just know that there is a difference between Crystal Meth and Methadone, but also that they look very different as well.  I want you as informed as possible.

This is Crystal Meth (the type in this picture goes by the slang name Ice because of its look).  Meth is a highly powerful and addictive because of its purity.

This is also Crystal Meth.  This is a powdered form and most likely goes by the street name Crank.

What is Methadone?

Methadone is an opiate narcotic pain medication available by prescription. Methadone pills prescribed for chronic pain are available by prescription only.  In my opinion, as a person who takes pain medication for severe, chronic pain (including Methadone in the past), try other pain medicines first before Methadone and have a genetic test done by your doctor to find out how you personally metabolize medication.  This test saved my life (more on that to come in another post).  

The slang name for Methadone is also "meth" and this is why it causes so much confusion. When someone just refers to "meth" they might be talking about Methadone or Crystal Meth.  You can see a comment below from a person addicted to Crystal Meth that somehow was initiated onto Methadone.  I don't know how that even happens other than sheer incompetence or possibly a hoax post, but I didn't take it as such.

Many people know Methadone because it has been used for years as a treatment for heroin addicts and other severely addicted opiate addicts.  This treatment is called Methadone Maintenance and is actually quite successful when its done right. Methadone maintenance is a clinic-based treatment that is only used to treat opiate addiction, not addiction to any other type of drug -- OPIATES ONLY.

This is a form of Methadone called Methadose.  

This is a 10mg Methadone tablet.

• Frequently Asked Questions and Info About Crystal Meth and Methadone

  Meth is slang for Crystal Meth (stimulant)
• Meth is slang for Methadone (opiate, depressant)
• Methadone is NOT used to treat Crystal Methamphetamine/Crystal Meth addicts
• Methadone is ONLY used in Methadone Maintenance Clinics to treat Opiate addicts 
• Methadone is prescribed by doctors for chronic pain 
• People who talk about using Methadone to stop using Crystal Meth are probably addicted to an opiate (heroin, pain pills) and also addicted to Crystal Methamphetamine
• Methadone is not Crystal Meth
• Meth and Methadone are only the same drug if someone is using "meth" to refer to Methadone
• Methadone does not have Crystal Meth in it

If you're reading this because you want mix Crystal Meth and Methadone to get high, well, there's not much advice I can give you other than use harm reduction methods.  People mix all types of drugs together to get high and a lot of times it's the concoction that causes bad side effects and overdoses. 

I hope I have cleared up some of the confusion about Methadone and Crystal Methamphetamine and the use of the word "meth" for both.  If you have any further questions, please leave a comment.

Be safe.