Often times, new methadone treatment clients experience a renewed sense of hope and vigor. The prospect of no longer feeling sick, or having to spend hours looking for opiates, brings incredible relief. Most clients familiarize themselves with the requirements of treatment and then follow the program as is prescribed. And particularly so if their home clinic is professional, organized, and takes an active role in interacting with their clients on a regular basis.

However, human nature tends to look for the path of least resistance, "the easy way". This sometimes results in a client beginning to skip individual or group counseling sessions. Or in other cases, procrastinating on completion of their Medicaid renewal forms which results in the sudden termination of Medicaid payments for their methadone treatment. For some clients, old bad habits are hard to break, and they can ease back into complacency & put off important things once the ...

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Most clients choosing opioid replacement therapy have it in mind that they will one day taper off of methadone once they are feeling better and have restarted their lives. Interestingly, there is considerable confusion around tapering, and this seems to be the result of opioid addicted people having tried unsuccessfully to "detox" themselves at home, or possibly having come off of methadone cold turkey.

For some, the vivid memory of abrupt withdrawal tends to exaggerate one's fears & apprehensions. And of course, there is always someone around who seems to enjoy telling horror stories of "how bad it was" when they came off of methadone. The reality is that nearly always this person did not follow the appropriate taper process, and came off of their medication far too quickly.

So what is the reality of methadone tapering? First, a recovering individual needs to avoid being in a hurry to taper ...

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