Questions about removing sugars from Methadone

[Psilo-somatic]

I have been on methadone for about 2 years now to treat heroin withdrawls, and I have injected the pink oral suspension a few times, but over the past few days i started an experiment. I would like to find a way to isolate the methadone and remove the sorbitol, so it can be more effectively used IV as well as insufflated. Many people are also having problems with this excess sorbitol rotting teeth, so this would help many fellow recoverings like myself.
I began dropping small amounts each day into a little dish. as it builds up and the moisture begins to evaporate little chunks of super-saturated sorbitol crystals emerge at the bottom. I imagine if i continued this procedure and picked out the sorbitol that would cut down on it some (not good for the veins, not to mention how great it would be to be able to make pure powdered methadone). Any suggestions would be greatly appretiated. I am trying to find a solvent that methadone is insoluble in but will remove the sorbitol, or vice versa. no luck so far. Thanks!

Oh and if there is a better place for me to post this please let me know
thanks!

[cheech]

good lord i hate to get preachy, but if you are indeed in recovery why you want to shoot the 'done?
a simple acid/base trick would enable you to isolate the 'done freebase.then an easy flip to salt (water soluble) the thing is, while shooting 'done will give you a nice rush (been there, done that). done's oral bioavailabilty is right close to it's iv potential. in other words, if you have say 80 mg of 'done hydrochloride and eat it, you will not miss much high than if you shoot it. plus you have to factor in the amount lost doing the lab work ~10%.
my opinion here is somewhat biased because i'm finally clean after years of opiate use/abuse. just drink your juce man, and try to taper over time to get from those chemical handcuffs

[cactuswren]

Addiction truly is a nasty fucker. I know that I got to the place where I was willing to sell or trade anything just to be comfortable. I don't know what you're looking for, but as cheech pointed out, you won't get any more of a "high" from injecting Methadone. That's one of the selling points of Methadone as a harm reduction approach. No needles, no infections, no viruses, or lesions. Just like every other treatment approach, Methadone maintenance only works for some.

[Psilo-somatic]

I agree, and my years with heroin were simultaneously the best and worst years of my life. Fortunately after being on maitenance for coming up on 3 years now, my problem isnt with the needle addiction anymore. Psychologically I am free, But im probably the only 21 year old on the planet who can never get off a maitenance program of some sort. I've gotten multiple docs opinions, and they believe that since I started abusing opiates so heavily, so young (I was 12 when i started shooting, heavily abusing prescription opiates before that) that my brain will no longer make the natural opiates that make you feel normal ever again. I've tried getting off the stuff a few times, managing to stay off for about 5 months, but my body never got back to normal. The whole 5 months were a living hell.
Anyway, kinda rambling. My point for doing this is not really for personal injection. Many americans (overseas the dones different) are unable to get on any other methadone source because there are very few clinics in the country that will dispense the sugar free stuff. I have lots of friends on the program (including my mom) who had perfect teeth before starting methadone, then within two tears their teeth begin to rot, and the ones without dental insurance(most; lets face it its a meth clinic)end up with no front teeth, and i dont think I need to tell anyone how much that can affect your life. This effect is caused by a couple of things. primarily the huge, and i mean huge, amounts of sorbitol to cover the disguisting taste of the methadone. The second is just and opioid mechanism drying out the saliva making the pH of the mouth more acidic making plaque more apt to get through your enamel.

Personally I only plan on injecting it once: In my opinion it would be immoral to release a method of removing the sugars withought first knowing its safe.
I realize that 'done is not like morphine which has a 3-5 times greater IV potency as oral, but I know people with abscesses up and down their arms from injecting the oral soultion. As much as i'd like to see them stop, I know I cant, so I at least want to see them do it more safely.

[feralronin]

Having been on Methadone for about 4 years and Im not near 30 yet, I wouldn't recommend what you are planning on doing. But I can vouch for your desire to remove the sugars because they will no doubt DESTROY your teeth over time. A good trick though is to dilute it down slightly then quickly drink down with a straw positioned in the very back of your mouth. With practice you can avoid all contact with you teeth. Or at least most of em.
And be careful- Methadone lulls you into comfortability, but it is a very strong drug and very tough on your system. I hope you can overcome your addiction and get clean. I have to tell you that it may feel better to be off dope and on methadone, but you can not imagine how amazing you feel when you are really clean.


Also have you looked into suboxone. This is what I went to when a few places opened up here. A million times better than methadone IMO for getting clean. Its a sublingual pill that dissolves into you bloodstream from under your tongue.

Good luck in your path.

[cactuswren]

It's true that if you continue to use more than a small daily dose of Methadone [anything over 20mg] your neurotransmitters may never balance out, which keeps those cravings going. You might want to look into amino acid replacement therapy. Amino's are precursors for the neurotransmitters that are involved in addiction. Dopamine seems to be implicated with all drugs, while other neuro's, like Endorphins and enkephalins, are only involved with certain addictions like opiates. Anyway, about 2 years ago when I started having cravings after 2 years of sobriety, I went on an amino acid regime for one month and the results were drastic for me. You could begin your research with Dr William M. Hitt who developed Neurotransmitter Restoration [NTR] which involves 10 days of IV amino's [I did mine orally & am not endorsing his or any other facility] and with Julia Ross, the executive director of Recovery Systems in Mill Valley CA, another pioneer of amino acid therapy. If this hadn't of worked, I probably would have gone to Mexico or Canada for Ibogaine treatment. Nothing like talking to the Great Spirit to set your shit straight. Or just eat a bunch of cactus, or keep doing dope; whatever works best for each individuals well being.

[quote=Psilo-somatic;518720]I agree, and my years with heroin were simultaneously the best and worst years of my life. Fortunately after being on maitenance for coming up on 3 years now, my problem isnt with the needle addiction anymore. Psychologically I am free, But im probably the only 21 year old on the planet who can never get off a maitenance program of some sort. I've gotten multiple docs opinions, and they believe that since I started abusing opiates so heavily, so young (I was 12 when i started shooting, heavily abusing prescription opiates before that) that my brain will no longer make the natural opiates that make you feel normal ever again. I've tried getting off the stuff a few times, managing to stay off for about 5 months, but my body never got back to normal. The whole 5 months were a living hell.

[Psilo-somatic]

Thank you very much for the responses guys.
I was wondering wren if the amino acid replacement therapy helps against the physical withdrawl smyptoms, because my cravings are next to none, but the acute withdrawl symptoms persist. Actually I am growing an iboba plant for just that purpose this season. I have heard some really great things about it. Also possibly supplementing with kratom for a short time afterwards if necessary. Not quite sure about the kratom thoguh, I dont want to start a whole new addiction.
Suboxone I have looked into, but you must be off methadone for 2 weeks prior to starting because it contains narcan. Subutex is the sublingual pill with only buprenorpine, but no one will prescribe it in my area. I cant not take my methadone for 2 weeks (school, work)

[stevenmhubel2007]

I started suboxone after getting down to 30 mg of methadone ,,, then the next day , taking 16 mg of suboxone . It didnt make me sick but some people get real sick when they try to shoot anything . It wont hurt to change over to suboxone and this is why they make you go down to 30 mg b4 transfering. I have had experence with both and have been doing the best on Methadoone only because of the Maintainence approach and EARNING the tak homes and noit just getting a bottle to take home of 100 pills to do and take whenever I want like suboxone. Plus suboxone can be mixed with benzos and gives a great feeling so to the person who ... like me would like to be on methadone for his own reasons , I will stay on meth. I am 28 and dont care about getting off and bla bla as long as I am clean , RIGHT NOW !!!!!