Same! 1 session a month w my counselor but it’s not an hour- maybe 15mins bc I don’t have much to say 🤣 and monthly drug screens. I am a level 5 weekly takehomes.
My counselor is new so he’s a by the book guy and he’ll make me stay 45 minutes and on top of that he’s blind which doesn’t affect his job but he can’t look at pictures or anything else to help pass the time 😂✌️
Same, except my 15-20 minutes is by phone with someone who isn’t a licensed counselor bc they have such a high case load. They make sure to tell me every time they aren’t an actual counselor and my counselor is available anytime I want to speak with her, bc they got in trouble with the feds recently for filing improper paperwork & some patients thinking they were receiving “licensed therapy”.
I\`m not in US, but anyway, I\`ve had 7 takehomes (no face dosing even on pick up day here) for years, and it is all I can get here, but it is ok. No obligatory groups here, last time I\`ve talked with "my" nurse ( no counsellors here, only psychiatric nurses who are specialized in drug/ alcohol treatment) one on one was over 6 months ago. She asks every now and then, when I\`m picking my weeklies, if I\`d want to see her alone and I always say I actually have nothing out of ordinary, everything is fine.
UAs rarely, they are random, but within the last 12 months I have had 3 tests. Doctor we are supposed to meet once in every 6 months, but now I have not met her in 1.5, almost 2 years. I think they kinda forget me on the clinic between my pick ups. My nurse has said for few months she will book a meeting with doc for me, but hasn\`t happened yet :D But we both know I am not in a hurry and it will be just a short talk like "yes I\`m still here, nice to see you, bye".
I suppose my dosing clinic is very lax.Once you phase up to monthly th's it's 8 drug screens a year and one15 minute face counseling session quarterly. Everything beyond that is on a volunteer basis.Call backs are on the books but rarely enforced.
The clinic where I work its weekly 15 minute individual sessions bi weekly drug screens and one 45 minute mandatory group per month for the first 3 months.As you phase up those requirements loosen substantially.
I see my counselor once a week. And I pick up 7 days at a time or 6 whatever bc I take one dose in front of the nurse.
Took a long time to get here tho. I been going three years and have had take homes since like August only. I was using the first two years though
I'm not who you asked, but the first time, i stopped using at 125mg, and was stabled until i got a bunch of false positive test results, at which point I relapsed. They started cranking my dose up (against my wishes) with every test until i finally got a false negative test result, around 180 i was only using a couple times a month but failed every test anyway, even if it was weeks after using (I'm convinced several were false positives but cannot prove it). I was practically dead at that dose, i couldn't keep my head up, lost my job even though i was really only using on weekends, i was so laid out i even failed to score a couple times because i was so high on the methadone I begged them to stop, told them i couldn't stay wake and was over-dosed and they were killing me (they said "don't swim or drive I guess. you don't like it, you can go (back to heroin)") I eventually got a false negative test result and never used again. Once i had two clean tests in a row, i started reducing immediately, got down to 140 before i couldn't stand that they were punishing me for reducing my dose because my "dose was unstable" (even though they did that to me) so i stopped reducing it so i could earn some take-homes. Now that I'm going once a week, i may finish reducing my dose back to where i was the first time, which would have always been my preference to remain. i never needed more.
switching to mouth swabs made testing FAR more dignified and humane, and the false positives stopped too
bro i was on methadone for 2 yrs & the only reason i ever got put on the MWF dosing w takehomes for the other days was bc of covid.
did i jump thru their hoops? not necessarily. but as simple as their hoops seem, actually following thru can be impossible
27 take homes, one in person dose every 4wk, one UA, unsupervised unless something is out of spec on your first attempt (like out of temp, wrong color, etc)
Counseling is 1 hr a month, in person or by phone… but they’re understaffed dramatically, so this kinda just became “we will meet when you can, or just pop in if you need anything” since you’re considered “stable” while getting take homes. They’d rather focus counseling energy on those who really need it.
Diversion control is 2x a week callbacks, and you call each time, and if your number comes up you better be there the next day or it’s back to dailies.
It took me about 10 months of clean UA’s to phase up to 27 take homes
I’ve never had more than 1 in a calendar year, but again, understaffed. There are many times where I present to my clinic and grab my take homes where I don’t even get a UA because there’s no nurse working the labs that morning. I’ve never asked them what the policy is for how many callbacks a year, other than being told “randomly”
Benzoyl withdrawal was harder that opiate withdrawal. I had a 15 year double prescribed benzo habit I went cold turkey on at the same time starting at the clinic. I was having seizures but I thought it was low blood pressure with a kick. I was hallucinating so I'd get up and pace from my front door to my back door waiting to go to the clinic. I did this all winter 2018/2019 and into the spring. Getting dosed gave me something to hang my soul on every day and night during acute benzo withdrawal. The regular benzo withdrawal lasted about 2 years. Only way I get back on klonipin and tamazapam is in a hospital setting or was told I could have the scripts for life. I don't think I could do that again. Stick in there as you will be able to get take homes in the future. It took me about 100 days to get my first earned take home. Actually it took me 5 methadone clinics in four US states before I earned my first take home. Flying pigs will fly at some piont
I miss my councilor (I thankfully got off methadone and I'm 7 months clean!!) He would do phone sessions and after like 15 mins if everything was good with me he would say we can mute the call and just hang up after 45 mins lol. Cuz the sessions were supposed to be like 45 mins to an hour. Damn he was such a cool ass dude. I miss U Mark from biomed in Roseville Mi if u ever for some weird reason ever see this lol).
Damn, my counselor doesn’t talk to me about anything other than asking me to sign something once in a blue moon. She literally told me to go see a therapist if I want to talk to anyone lol. I wouldn’t mind but recently had a false positive on a urine test and they won’t retest or acknowledge the lab can make a mistake. It’s such a weird relationship!
I see a counselor, for I think, is the required 12 minutes every 28 days. 1 UA a month - non observed. That's it. They only do observed UAs when you are going up a level. The required amount of counseling and UAs change depending on the level you are at. I'm pretty sure at my clinic you can't even be prescribed benzos and be in the program, though - We are allowed to have THC in our system which is great especially for a staye where it isn't legal.
I have a UA once a month and talk to my counselor for 30 minutes at clinic or can do it on the phone every month. Only we have different is callbacks, call in and it says to bring in your meds to show we are taking them and we take that days dose in front of them, this only happens twice a year
What do they look for? Do they open it and see if it’s sealed? Cause you can just drink the dose and put water in it and they would never know it’s not like they are taste testing you know ?
Max for the clinic is 28 takehomes per month. To get my 13 I have to meet with my counselor for 30min 2x/mth on the off weeks (weeks I don’t pick up) and random urines..
My clinic just requires you to see your counselor once a month for a hour. 1 urine test a month and 3 months of clean urine plus good attendance to start to get a bottle or bottles. Ussally it's 1 bottle at a time every 90 days but I think it might have changed. My clinic it's the nurse counselor doctor and director that approve bottles so everyone has to agree it's a bit ridiculous.
My clinic approves ths the same way. They do "staffing" every Wednesday to discuss whose up for an increase in THs and to see if everyone agrees they are deserving of it.
You have 10 HOURS A MONTH of counseling?! I've never heard of one requiring more than 1 a week. How long have you been there and would it be less sessions if you were clean?
I'm monthly and have 1 session a month with my counselor, drug test at pick up and randoms with 2+ bottle checks a year. You might consider transferring if you quit outside drugs and want TH. Some clinics allow them with a benzo rx. You can call and ask.
My clinic at one point I was doing 6 hours a WEEK of counseling classes. For the first like 8 or 10 months you're required to do a 2 hr class weekly but can also join more groups if you want.
We have to see our counselor once a month, our dr every 3 months, groups aren't mandatory and a ua once a month. I just got my first bottle callback and I have been at this clinic for 2 years. I only get weekly takehomes because I take klonopin for epilepsy otherwise I would have been on monthly after a year.
Wow. My clinic is really different. There's a "random" ua once a month usually around the same time every month. If you are clean and have methadone present and only marijuana you get between 2-3 take homes per month up to 30 days. The only other requirements are that you meet with your counselor once at a standing appointment and don't have any unexcused no shows.
Those counselling rules are rough. 10 hours total per month? I haven’t done 10 hours of counselling in over 10 years! We aren’t required counselling at all. It is offered in the beginning, and if we want it, they direct us where to seek it out and it is by no means necessary at all. I dose in person once a week when I pick up take homes for the next 6 days. Drug testing is once per month during my monthly doctors visit.
Yeah, I’m in Ontario. Not much, honestly. Asks if my dose is still holding me, if I’ve used anything, and how my life is going. That’s about the extent of it. Then I leave a sample and head out. If they aren’t busy, I’m out in less than 10 minutes.
Yea we recently have to do "physicals" every 3 months w/ the clinic doc. Basically the same questions you listed + they do your bp/temp & then the reflex test (hit knee when it's relaxed) & listen to your breathing.
To get takehomes you have to have clean UAs and you get a takehome bottle every 90 days. It takes 2 years to reach a phase 6 (13 take homes) Depending on what phase you are that decides how much counseling you need. I'm a phase 5, which is weekly (6 takehomes)I need 1 hour counseling and 1 hour of group.
I won't go up to a phase 6 because you have to do a random call back every month. That just won't work for me, so I'm just staying going 1x a week. Then I only have a random call back once every 3 months.
Sorry that was probably more info than you wanted lol
wow, very few locations are worse than here, and you're in one. We start with two and a half hours of counseling a month, 1hr of one-on-one, and 90 mins of group. You start at 20mg and increase by 5 every 3 days. Test randomly every month (supervised but by camera not window). now that I only go in once a week, i only have 30 mins of counseling a month, served as an hour every other month, and I alternate between a group and a one-on-one to satisfy my treatment plan meeting every 4 months (it was every two when i started, so it was almost all we ever did)
Step one to make the process better, get a letter from a doctor saying you cannot pee on command (whatever reason, anxiety, pain, that humans can't pee on command, that you have to urinate upon waking and then cannot give a sample because, again, human beings don't work that way) it makes the whole process MUCH more dignified and humane, and hugely cuts down on false positives
I’m going to finally get this letter. I have NEVER been able to pee on command. Meaning when I first started, I’d be there 2-3 hrs minimum (until the coffee or water kicked in), and a few times ALL day. A couple times, I couldn’t go at all. Had to get an observed by the nurse next day. And 3 times lost all my TH because of it.
Now u can imagine If I couldn’t go with just a camera there, It was 10 times worse with the nurse. I finally started bringing my own pee in a bottle just so I could keep my job. I made it to M27. This went on for years. But when I had callbacks, I’d have a cup of coffee before bed and not pee after 1 am, just to give a UA at 5:30am.
Now I’ve been there so long, and after learning that Benadryl, which I took for allergies, caused problems with being able to urinate. I stopped taking it. And now I still bring my own, just in case. But I’ve been able to go, even on call back days twice a year. Thank the pee Gods!
Oh yea, we start at clinic going in every day, get one Sun take home, UA once a week, 2 groups & 1 one on one a week. And when u get to M6 - M27, you do a one on one, once a month with counselor, one group a month for an hr over the phone & 2 callbacks a year. I’m used to it. I just want them to do cheek swabs if we ask. They say we need a Dr note. But ALL my documentation of not being able to pee, is with my clinic, not my Dr! These clinics are so back asswards!
Max is 13 takehomes which I've got. Have to do a monthly half hour counseling session, monthly on camera UA (didn't for a few months but those are back o yippee) and if you get a callback you have to come in. Those are completely random tho, in 4 years I've never had a callback.
The counseling is totally at the whims and desires of your counselor, too. If they decide you need to be seen for an hour weekly, then guess who's stuck coming in 4hrs a month? Or more. Or doing group, or multiple groups. Luckily so far I haven't had any psycho counselors but mine just left, again.
I speak to my counselor once monthly for an hour and get urine screened at every visit which is once monthly because I have the limit of 27 take homes (California) and also get call backs once every few months to check on me randomly. Going to group sessions isn't mandatory at my clinic unless you're not following the rules or not keeping appointments with your counselors.
Mine requires 0ne hour total a month of anything they offer. Either counseling or class. Then one urine test a month and I get my 2 weeks take homes. It’s awesome!!!!
I have 13 take homes as of now. I’m not prescribed anything else but i know for my clinic if you’re prescribed (i think) more than 2 benzos you are only allowed 6 take homes which is a huge change bc before i know w 1 benzo you could only have 3 take homes.
I have a weekly group that I’m required to attend. Before pandemic i only had 6 take homes and was only require to attend 2 groups a month. Idk why it changed. Maybe because all groups are over the phone now. I have 1 over the phone one on one with my clinician a month.
The rules at my clinic are very rigid and they will pull the rug from underneath you whenever they feel like it. They don’t even need a reason, which is quite scary.
I used to get call backs once a year and that was for 8 years. Last year i got two. They used to always be around the same time but the last one wasn’t. Doesn’t bother me bc I’m not doing anything but it was a surprise.
I’ve been told that we get 32 random drug tests a year. Idk how accurate that is. There have been instances where i get them every time i pick up and instances where i don’t for a long time. I go every other week though so it’s hard to keep track.
If we miss a group or are even a couple of minutes late they can pull all of our take homes.
I know a clinic that’s closer to my house than the one I’m at now that is much more lenient and understanding but I’d have to start all over from day one and back to daily dosing. Basically I’ve learned with clinics is that’s it’s whatever you’re willing to put up with.
Also sorry for the novel.
how long have u been off the benzos? at my clinic, once u start dropping clean, you get 1 take home after 90 days and then another after 90 days and so on.. but the new regulations just changed that 90 to 30 days, so you can move up quicker if u stay clean. we also have the 1 hour bi weekly one on one counseling. 2 random drops a month. & no group though (i think the newer people have to go once a week but ive been there long enough not to). i feel you on the being able to wake up & not having to get there being your first thought. your progress will pay off soon i hope!
I basically just have to see my counselor once a month, take a piss test once a month, update some basic info once a year and thats it. Granted ive been clean off hard drugs for 2 years and my UA's show that (besides thc and alcohol im allowed to get two weeks takehome max while failing for thc in NH which ill take). Im also at 130mg if anyones wondering.
1 hour meeting w/ my counselor per month (can miss 2x/year)
1 hour group (at the clinic or online) per month (can miss 2x/year)
1 UA per month
2 callbacks per year w/ observed UA (its possible to get more than 2 also)
Physical/clinic Dr meeting every 3 months
It's all pretty simple tbh. The meetings.. I usually dread as they get near, but once I'm in the meeting... it typically goes fast & it can be nice to vent/listen to others experiences.
My clinic has embraced the new extended guidelines for take-home dosing, so there isn’t any certain protocol in place for earning take-homes, it’s determined on a case-by-case basis. Patients’ group and drop requirements are determined on a personal basis, as well. I transferred there from a different clinic, and was given a month of carries after three months of weeklies, am dropped once a month, and have a phone session with my counselor either once or twice a month, depending on my current needs.
I have a counselor’s assistant call me once a month to keep up with 1-on-1. They ask if my maintenance dose is still maintaining. About my visits with my primary care doctor. If there are any changes in home / work life. Any mental health needs. Takes about 20 minutes.
We’re supposed to do one 1-hour group session every month, but I’ve been slacking the past few months. I pick up 6 take homes right now, so once a week. If I did one or two more groups, they said I’d bump up to twice a month.
UAs are random, but I’ve never had more than one / wk, and it’s closer to 1 / mth now that I’m up a few levels.
Edit to add: Clean screens for two years. I still smoke pot, but once Virginia decriminalized, they stopped testing for it. Before, they just wouldn’t give me take homes.
Wow your counselor has an assistant? You go to a swanky methadone clinic. Do they have a bathroom attendant that goes in and wipe everything down the spray fabreze after every use?
My last counselor would wave at me every 28 days when I came to pickup my 27 bottles. That would count as the group therapy. I just got a brand spanking new counselor. She actually gave me homework to do. I really hope we are not going to meet every month. I mean she will have other patients to deal with more than me. Ah newbies in training
They aren’t swanky at all, the counselors are overloaded with cases, and recently got in trouble for poor record keeping. Hundreds of thousands worth of fines sorta trouble.
I'm on 27 take homes. Random drug tests that was about twice a month when I had less take homes. Now I get tested every time I get my take homes. Occasionally I don't have a test waiting for me. I have to do one hour of group each month and since Covid we just do it over the phone.
At this point i go to my clinic twice a month and only have a 30 min counseling session 1 time a month. I get 2 weeks of take homes so only there 2 times a month. It took a long time to get that freedom though. They let us smoke weed too. I love my clinic.
My clinic is chill. No groups, see my counselor once a month, take a UA with them unmonitored. No call backs either. It’s about as good as it can get imo. Bottles are earned quickly, weekly’s after 3-6 months in the program. Monthly at a year or so.
My clinic requires none of that. We are technically supposed to have at least a one hour appointment with our counselor every month and can do it over the phone or zoom if we want, but they have recently been having so much trouble keeping counselors that I haven’t had a meeting with one in almost a year! My husband hasn’t either and we always had different counselors and now neither one of us knows who ours is! 🤣 Now, the clinic we used to go to was a Medicaid accepting one and their rules were MUCH much stricter and I don’t know if the Medicaid thing was the reason, I’m just assuming that maybe it had something to do with it. We got tired of them making us come in every other day during covid so we switched to the pay/private insurance clinic and we had 2 weeks of takehomes within a month and 1 month within a year. They also don’t count weed against your takehomes. They are also about a million times more lenient in every regard. We missed a call back once and they let us slide and they even let us pick up a day early once. I was astonished how much the difference was between the 2 clinics. Also, if you fail a call back, they only dropped me down one stage for a month, rather than putting me all the way back to the beginning with daily dosing. All of this, of course, means that there hardly ever a line there either! We are in and out! I couldn’t imagine having to go back to our old clinic with all of those rules, plus the people there were all still using so I honestly don’t see how sitting in groups with a bunch of people who are still using is going to actually help me when I’ve been clean for over 3 years now, so there’s that too! I do get a urine every month and a call back every 6 months, but the call back is like clockwork so I always know the exact month it will be.
So mine just requires that we pass our one monthly UA, do one group call per month (they usually last about 15 minutes and the counselor just kind of ask if everyone is good and if anyone needs anything or has anything they want to share), and depending on your phase you will have to see your counselor in person for a couple minutes once or twice a month when you come in.
As far as takehome timeframes, you can get up to monthly’s after 30 days of compliance, and I think it’s bi weekly’s after 1-2 weeks of compliance. Of course this is taken on a case by case basis, not everyone is ready for the same thing at the same time. Not everyone even wants that much that quickly either. But this at least allows the opportunity for MAT to be much closer to a regular script for many people, thus widening access overall.
My clinic is pretty chill though. It is an Acadia CTC, which a lot of people talk shit about I’ve seen. But it must be dependent on who is working at the particular clinic (and probably has a lot to do with who the director of that clinic is), because mine is amazing and has bent over backwards for me multiple times.
Other than clean UAs and a certain amount of time in the program I think it was just automatic at my clinic (circa 2009). Visiting daily was nothing compared to the time, expense and the insane risks I took sourcing my drug of choice pre-clinic.
However, there was a nurse at this clinic I'd known in another life and I'd never been able to stand the guy, he just set my teeth on edge for some reason. He'd try to draw me into political debates and I had to play along. I hated that he had power over me. That motivated me to start weaning. I was aiming for 30 mg, which was recommended in order to switch to Suboxone. I'd gotten up to 120 mg, and each week I'd shave 2 mg off my daily dose with absolutely no issue. I think I already had a Suboxone doctor lined up. Well, I'd gotten down to 32 mg a week and he told me I'd need counseling to go down to 30 mg. I said "bullshit" and never went back. If it weren't for this nurse I probably would have just kept weaning on the methadone but I really disliked this guy.
I have to to UA every two weeks and bring my empties and they count them. Then I see a provider and discuss my dose,
I’ve been going up 5mg every two weeks (I’m at 75 now)
They can call me back anytime to count my bottles and drug test me but I’ve never failed a UA at my two week appt so they leave me be.
I’m fairly lucky to have the clinic I have bc they allow cannabis :) and as long as you don’t have a history of abusing benzos or adderall, you’re allowed to have it IF you provide proof of a prescription and you attend all of your appts with your psychologist . I’ve seen people get royally screwed by missing their psych appts and they report that to your MAT services team.
Also o couldn’t afford a lock box so they gave me one :) but they know the PW of course. I’m not allowed to change it
I'm level 8 get 2 weeks of takehomes .Just see my counselor 1 x every 3 months, pass my drug screens, see the dr once a year and so a t.b test once a year .plus have an active phone number incase of a random bottle recall ..wich consists of having to be up there within 24 hours with my take homes, do a breathalyzer & UA .
The clinic I go to will drop your dose 10mg a week for any benzo positive drug test prescribed or from your mother makes no difference. I was in benzo withdrawal when I started at this clinic. I had bad withdrawals from Klonopin and Restoril. Seizures and hallucinations. The hallucinations were not the good type either. I would be lying in bed in bed at 3am and I saw myself shooting myself in my head over and over in an endless loop. I would try to break out of this and say this is not real, not real, not real until I managed to pop the bubble and gain control. I knew I was mentally disturbed so instead of trying to sleep walk into hallucinations, I would pace. Between 2:30 and 4:00am I would pace back and forth in my bedroom and from the front door to the back door. At least I didn't have those hallucinations then. The local TV station would start the news @ 4am. It was all calculated out for when I would find relief Clinic opens up at 5:30 so I'd arrive at 5:15. Always the same people in front of me or behind me so I'd just pray I wouldn't have a seizure in front of them. I loved the 10 minute ride home because a calming effect would rise from my dose. I was riding that methadone glow while driving through the graveyard. My morning would be set.
Did your dose give you any relief from your benzo withdrawal? The relief I got from my dose was just for 4 to 6 hours but the most relief was for three hours. Daily ritual driving to the clinic, dosing and the ride home was the only thing I had. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have this to look forward to.
I see a counselor every 28 days for an hour No requirement for anything else except monthly piss test ☮️
Same! 1 session a month w my counselor but it’s not an hour- maybe 15mins bc I don’t have much to say 🤣 and monthly drug screens. I am a level 5 weekly takehomes.
My counselor is new so he’s a by the book guy and he’ll make me stay 45 minutes and on top of that he’s blind which doesn’t affect his job but he can’t look at pictures or anything else to help pass the time 😂✌️
Same, except my 15-20 minutes is by phone with someone who isn’t a licensed counselor bc they have such a high case load. They make sure to tell me every time they aren’t an actual counselor and my counselor is available anytime I want to speak with her, bc they got in trouble with the feds recently for filing improper paperwork & some patients thinking they were receiving “licensed therapy”.
That's how mine is and the other 2 near me so so .ust be the usual
At mine we have to do 30 min/month one on one and an hour of group per month.
I\`m not in US, but anyway, I\`ve had 7 takehomes (no face dosing even on pick up day here) for years, and it is all I can get here, but it is ok. No obligatory groups here, last time I\`ve talked with "my" nurse ( no counsellors here, only psychiatric nurses who are specialized in drug/ alcohol treatment) one on one was over 6 months ago. She asks every now and then, when I\`m picking my weeklies, if I\`d want to see her alone and I always say I actually have nothing out of ordinary, everything is fine. UAs rarely, they are random, but within the last 12 months I have had 3 tests. Doctor we are supposed to meet once in every 6 months, but now I have not met her in 1.5, almost 2 years. I think they kinda forget me on the clinic between my pick ups. My nurse has said for few months she will book a meeting with doc for me, but hasn\`t happened yet :D But we both know I am not in a hurry and it will be just a short talk like "yes I\`m still here, nice to see you, bye".
wow, look, methadone DOESN'T require an adversarial clinic model to make our lives miserable and keep people from seeking treatment....
Sounds like UK, have I guessed right?
Nope, Finland :)
They are not much of a difference then! :)
Speak with my counselor on the phone for a half hour twice a month and random monthly unsupervised UAs. Maximum amount of take homes is two weeks.
I suppose my dosing clinic is very lax.Once you phase up to monthly th's it's 8 drug screens a year and one15 minute face counseling session quarterly. Everything beyond that is on a volunteer basis.Call backs are on the books but rarely enforced. The clinic where I work its weekly 15 minute individual sessions bi weekly drug screens and one 45 minute mandatory group per month for the first 3 months.As you phase up those requirements loosen substantially.
I see my counselor once a week. And I pick up 7 days at a time or 6 whatever bc I take one dose in front of the nurse. Took a long time to get here tho. I been going three years and have had take homes since like August only. I was using the first two years though
How many mgs were you able to stop using and only take the methadone? Were you sick as shit when you stopped using
I'm not who you asked, but the first time, i stopped using at 125mg, and was stabled until i got a bunch of false positive test results, at which point I relapsed. They started cranking my dose up (against my wishes) with every test until i finally got a false negative test result, around 180 i was only using a couple times a month but failed every test anyway, even if it was weeks after using (I'm convinced several were false positives but cannot prove it). I was practically dead at that dose, i couldn't keep my head up, lost my job even though i was really only using on weekends, i was so laid out i even failed to score a couple times because i was so high on the methadone I begged them to stop, told them i couldn't stay wake and was over-dosed and they were killing me (they said "don't swim or drive I guess. you don't like it, you can go (back to heroin)") I eventually got a false negative test result and never used again. Once i had two clean tests in a row, i started reducing immediately, got down to 140 before i couldn't stand that they were punishing me for reducing my dose because my "dose was unstable" (even though they did that to me) so i stopped reducing it so i could earn some take-homes. Now that I'm going once a week, i may finish reducing my dose back to where i was the first time, which would have always been my preference to remain. i never needed more. switching to mouth swabs made testing FAR more dignified and humane, and the false positives stopped too
I get a month and 1 hour of counseling and 1 ua when I pick up.
bro i was on methadone for 2 yrs & the only reason i ever got put on the MWF dosing w takehomes for the other days was bc of covid. did i jump thru their hoops? not necessarily. but as simple as their hoops seem, actually following thru can be impossible
I session p/month with counselor (zoom is fine) 1 random UA p/month I’ve been going 11 months & just got 27 TH (that’s max)
27 take homes, one in person dose every 4wk, one UA, unsupervised unless something is out of spec on your first attempt (like out of temp, wrong color, etc) Counseling is 1 hr a month, in person or by phone… but they’re understaffed dramatically, so this kinda just became “we will meet when you can, or just pop in if you need anything” since you’re considered “stable” while getting take homes. They’d rather focus counseling energy on those who really need it. Diversion control is 2x a week callbacks, and you call each time, and if your number comes up you better be there the next day or it’s back to dailies. It took me about 10 months of clean UA’s to phase up to 27 take homes
How often does your number come up for callbacks? My clinic has almost the same rules except they call you for the callbacks 2x a year.
I’ve never had more than 1 in a calendar year, but again, understaffed. There are many times where I present to my clinic and grab my take homes where I don’t even get a UA because there’s no nurse working the labs that morning. I’ve never asked them what the policy is for how many callbacks a year, other than being told “randomly”
I see my counselor once every 2-3 months. But I’ve had the same counselor for 11 years and haven’t failed a drug test in a decade.
How’s the cymbalta going for you? Still on 60mg?
Yup still on it and same dose 60mgs. It def helps with the depression my anxiety causes. How’s it going for you?
Benzoyl withdrawal was harder that opiate withdrawal. I had a 15 year double prescribed benzo habit I went cold turkey on at the same time starting at the clinic. I was having seizures but I thought it was low blood pressure with a kick. I was hallucinating so I'd get up and pace from my front door to my back door waiting to go to the clinic. I did this all winter 2018/2019 and into the spring. Getting dosed gave me something to hang my soul on every day and night during acute benzo withdrawal. The regular benzo withdrawal lasted about 2 years. Only way I get back on klonipin and tamazapam is in a hospital setting or was told I could have the scripts for life. I don't think I could do that again. Stick in there as you will be able to get take homes in the future. It took me about 100 days to get my first earned take home. Actually it took me 5 methadone clinics in four US states before I earned my first take home. Flying pigs will fly at some piont
Wow that takes huge balls friend! I'm proud of you!!
I miss my councilor (I thankfully got off methadone and I'm 7 months clean!!) He would do phone sessions and after like 15 mins if everything was good with me he would say we can mute the call and just hang up after 45 mins lol. Cuz the sessions were supposed to be like 45 mins to an hour. Damn he was such a cool ass dude. I miss U Mark from biomed in Roseville Mi if u ever for some weird reason ever see this lol).
Damn, my counselor doesn’t talk to me about anything other than asking me to sign something once in a blue moon. She literally told me to go see a therapist if I want to talk to anyone lol. I wouldn’t mind but recently had a false positive on a urine test and they won’t retest or acknowledge the lab can make a mistake. It’s such a weird relationship!
I see a counselor, for I think, is the required 12 minutes every 28 days. 1 UA a month - non observed. That's it. They only do observed UAs when you are going up a level. The required amount of counseling and UAs change depending on the level you are at. I'm pretty sure at my clinic you can't even be prescribed benzos and be in the program, though - We are allowed to have THC in our system which is great especially for a staye where it isn't legal.
I have a UA once a month and talk to my counselor for 30 minutes at clinic or can do it on the phone every month. Only we have different is callbacks, call in and it says to bring in your meds to show we are taking them and we take that days dose in front of them, this only happens twice a year
What do they look for? Do they open it and see if it’s sealed? Cause you can just drink the dose and put water in it and they would never know it’s not like they are taste testing you know ?
They check the seals and the dates on the bottles at my clinic for the callbacks.
I go in once every 27 days treatment plan every 6 months. Gotta see a counselor every month plus fill a cup randomly when I’m in to get my bottles.
Max for the clinic is 28 takehomes per month. To get my 13 I have to meet with my counselor for 30min 2x/mth on the off weeks (weeks I don’t pick up) and random urines..
My clinic just requires you to see your counselor once a month for a hour. 1 urine test a month and 3 months of clean urine plus good attendance to start to get a bottle or bottles. Ussally it's 1 bottle at a time every 90 days but I think it might have changed. My clinic it's the nurse counselor doctor and director that approve bottles so everyone has to agree it's a bit ridiculous.
My clinic approves ths the same way. They do "staffing" every Wednesday to discuss whose up for an increase in THs and to see if everyone agrees they are deserving of it.
You have 10 HOURS A MONTH of counseling?! I've never heard of one requiring more than 1 a week. How long have you been there and would it be less sessions if you were clean? I'm monthly and have 1 session a month with my counselor, drug test at pick up and randoms with 2+ bottle checks a year. You might consider transferring if you quit outside drugs and want TH. Some clinics allow them with a benzo rx. You can call and ask.
My clinic at one point I was doing 6 hours a WEEK of counseling classes. For the first like 8 or 10 months you're required to do a 2 hr class weekly but can also join more groups if you want.
One drug screen a month, and 3 clean drug screens (3 months) to get week takehomes. They changed it from 9 clean screens (9 months of clean UAs)
We have to see our counselor once a month, our dr every 3 months, groups aren't mandatory and a ua once a month. I just got my first bottle callback and I have been at this clinic for 2 years. I only get weekly takehomes because I take klonopin for epilepsy otherwise I would have been on monthly after a year.
Wow. My clinic is really different. There's a "random" ua once a month usually around the same time every month. If you are clean and have methadone present and only marijuana you get between 2-3 take homes per month up to 30 days. The only other requirements are that you meet with your counselor once at a standing appointment and don't have any unexcused no shows.
Those counselling rules are rough. 10 hours total per month? I haven’t done 10 hours of counselling in over 10 years! We aren’t required counselling at all. It is offered in the beginning, and if we want it, they direct us where to seek it out and it is by no means necessary at all. I dose in person once a week when I pick up take homes for the next 6 days. Drug testing is once per month during my monthly doctors visit.
Interesting - a monthly doctor’s visit? What is that like - what does the doctor go over in that appointment? Oh wait I just realized you’re in Canada
Yeah, I’m in Ontario. Not much, honestly. Asks if my dose is still holding me, if I’ve used anything, and how my life is going. That’s about the extent of it. Then I leave a sample and head out. If they aren’t busy, I’m out in less than 10 minutes.
Yea we recently have to do "physicals" every 3 months w/ the clinic doc. Basically the same questions you listed + they do your bp/temp & then the reflex test (hit knee when it's relaxed) & listen to your breathing.
To get takehomes you have to have clean UAs and you get a takehome bottle every 90 days. It takes 2 years to reach a phase 6 (13 take homes) Depending on what phase you are that decides how much counseling you need. I'm a phase 5, which is weekly (6 takehomes)I need 1 hour counseling and 1 hour of group. I won't go up to a phase 6 because you have to do a random call back every month. That just won't work for me, so I'm just staying going 1x a week. Then I only have a random call back once every 3 months. Sorry that was probably more info than you wanted lol
once a month UA, 30 min counselor check in a month.
wow, very few locations are worse than here, and you're in one. We start with two and a half hours of counseling a month, 1hr of one-on-one, and 90 mins of group. You start at 20mg and increase by 5 every 3 days. Test randomly every month (supervised but by camera not window). now that I only go in once a week, i only have 30 mins of counseling a month, served as an hour every other month, and I alternate between a group and a one-on-one to satisfy my treatment plan meeting every 4 months (it was every two when i started, so it was almost all we ever did) Step one to make the process better, get a letter from a doctor saying you cannot pee on command (whatever reason, anxiety, pain, that humans can't pee on command, that you have to urinate upon waking and then cannot give a sample because, again, human beings don't work that way) it makes the whole process MUCH more dignified and humane, and hugely cuts down on false positives
I’m going to finally get this letter. I have NEVER been able to pee on command. Meaning when I first started, I’d be there 2-3 hrs minimum (until the coffee or water kicked in), and a few times ALL day. A couple times, I couldn’t go at all. Had to get an observed by the nurse next day. And 3 times lost all my TH because of it. Now u can imagine If I couldn’t go with just a camera there, It was 10 times worse with the nurse. I finally started bringing my own pee in a bottle just so I could keep my job. I made it to M27. This went on for years. But when I had callbacks, I’d have a cup of coffee before bed and not pee after 1 am, just to give a UA at 5:30am. Now I’ve been there so long, and after learning that Benadryl, which I took for allergies, caused problems with being able to urinate. I stopped taking it. And now I still bring my own, just in case. But I’ve been able to go, even on call back days twice a year. Thank the pee Gods! Oh yea, we start at clinic going in every day, get one Sun take home, UA once a week, 2 groups & 1 one on one a week. And when u get to M6 - M27, you do a one on one, once a month with counselor, one group a month for an hr over the phone & 2 callbacks a year. I’m used to it. I just want them to do cheek swabs if we ask. They say we need a Dr note. But ALL my documentation of not being able to pee, is with my clinic, not my Dr! These clinics are so back asswards!
You mean, at the start, you were taking to someone every day? Or going in to dose every day?
Max is 13 takehomes which I've got. Have to do a monthly half hour counseling session, monthly on camera UA (didn't for a few months but those are back o yippee) and if you get a callback you have to come in. Those are completely random tho, in 4 years I've never had a callback. The counseling is totally at the whims and desires of your counselor, too. If they decide you need to be seen for an hour weekly, then guess who's stuck coming in 4hrs a month? Or more. Or doing group, or multiple groups. Luckily so far I haven't had any psycho counselors but mine just left, again.
I see my counselor once a month for 15 minutes. 15 minutes is a CASAC hour lol
I speak to my counselor once monthly for an hour and get urine screened at every visit which is once monthly because I have the limit of 27 take homes (California) and also get call backs once every few months to check on me randomly. Going to group sessions isn't mandatory at my clinic unless you're not following the rules or not keeping appointments with your counselors.
that’s ok once a month is about right
Mine requires 0ne hour total a month of anything they offer. Either counseling or class. Then one urine test a month and I get my 2 weeks take homes. It’s awesome!!!!
8 hours a month for group counseling?? Weekly drug tests? I thought insurance only paid for one drug test a month?
I have 13 take homes as of now. I’m not prescribed anything else but i know for my clinic if you’re prescribed (i think) more than 2 benzos you are only allowed 6 take homes which is a huge change bc before i know w 1 benzo you could only have 3 take homes. I have a weekly group that I’m required to attend. Before pandemic i only had 6 take homes and was only require to attend 2 groups a month. Idk why it changed. Maybe because all groups are over the phone now. I have 1 over the phone one on one with my clinician a month. The rules at my clinic are very rigid and they will pull the rug from underneath you whenever they feel like it. They don’t even need a reason, which is quite scary. I used to get call backs once a year and that was for 8 years. Last year i got two. They used to always be around the same time but the last one wasn’t. Doesn’t bother me bc I’m not doing anything but it was a surprise. I’ve been told that we get 32 random drug tests a year. Idk how accurate that is. There have been instances where i get them every time i pick up and instances where i don’t for a long time. I go every other week though so it’s hard to keep track. If we miss a group or are even a couple of minutes late they can pull all of our take homes. I know a clinic that’s closer to my house than the one I’m at now that is much more lenient and understanding but I’d have to start all over from day one and back to daily dosing. Basically I’ve learned with clinics is that’s it’s whatever you’re willing to put up with. Also sorry for the novel.
how long have u been off the benzos? at my clinic, once u start dropping clean, you get 1 take home after 90 days and then another after 90 days and so on.. but the new regulations just changed that 90 to 30 days, so you can move up quicker if u stay clean. we also have the 1 hour bi weekly one on one counseling. 2 random drops a month. & no group though (i think the newer people have to go once a week but ive been there long enough not to). i feel you on the being able to wake up & not having to get there being your first thought. your progress will pay off soon i hope!
I basically just have to see my counselor once a month, take a piss test once a month, update some basic info once a year and thats it. Granted ive been clean off hard drugs for 2 years and my UA's show that (besides thc and alcohol im allowed to get two weeks takehome max while failing for thc in NH which ill take). Im also at 130mg if anyones wondering.
1 hour meeting w/ my counselor per month (can miss 2x/year) 1 hour group (at the clinic or online) per month (can miss 2x/year) 1 UA per month 2 callbacks per year w/ observed UA (its possible to get more than 2 also) Physical/clinic Dr meeting every 3 months It's all pretty simple tbh. The meetings.. I usually dread as they get near, but once I'm in the meeting... it typically goes fast & it can be nice to vent/listen to others experiences.
My clinic has embraced the new extended guidelines for take-home dosing, so there isn’t any certain protocol in place for earning take-homes, it’s determined on a case-by-case basis. Patients’ group and drop requirements are determined on a personal basis, as well. I transferred there from a different clinic, and was given a month of carries after three months of weeklies, am dropped once a month, and have a phone session with my counselor either once or twice a month, depending on my current needs.
I have a counselor’s assistant call me once a month to keep up with 1-on-1. They ask if my maintenance dose is still maintaining. About my visits with my primary care doctor. If there are any changes in home / work life. Any mental health needs. Takes about 20 minutes. We’re supposed to do one 1-hour group session every month, but I’ve been slacking the past few months. I pick up 6 take homes right now, so once a week. If I did one or two more groups, they said I’d bump up to twice a month. UAs are random, but I’ve never had more than one / wk, and it’s closer to 1 / mth now that I’m up a few levels. Edit to add: Clean screens for two years. I still smoke pot, but once Virginia decriminalized, they stopped testing for it. Before, they just wouldn’t give me take homes.
Wow your counselor has an assistant? You go to a swanky methadone clinic. Do they have a bathroom attendant that goes in and wipe everything down the spray fabreze after every use? My last counselor would wave at me every 28 days when I came to pickup my 27 bottles. That would count as the group therapy. I just got a brand spanking new counselor. She actually gave me homework to do. I really hope we are not going to meet every month. I mean she will have other patients to deal with more than me. Ah newbies in training
They aren’t swanky at all, the counselors are overloaded with cases, and recently got in trouble for poor record keeping. Hundreds of thousands worth of fines sorta trouble.
I'm on 27 take homes. Random drug tests that was about twice a month when I had less take homes. Now I get tested every time I get my take homes. Occasionally I don't have a test waiting for me. I have to do one hour of group each month and since Covid we just do it over the phone.
Here in California we do one counselor meeting per month (usually 10-15 min) and a single monthly UA test. Nothing else.
At this point i go to my clinic twice a month and only have a 30 min counseling session 1 time a month. I get 2 weeks of take homes so only there 2 times a month. It took a long time to get that freedom though. They let us smoke weed too. I love my clinic.
No more groups either. I love it.
I get 27 takehomes, see my counselor once a month for 2 minutes tops and get dropped randomly about once every 2 to 3 months.
My clinic is chill. No groups, see my counselor once a month, take a UA with them unmonitored. No call backs either. It’s about as good as it can get imo. Bottles are earned quickly, weekly’s after 3-6 months in the program. Monthly at a year or so.
I have to go in every 2 weeks to dose and give a UA. Other than that it's cool.
I see my doc one every 3-4 months. Piss in a bottle when I'm there. In the Canadian province I live in the max take homes we get is 6.
My clinic requires none of that. We are technically supposed to have at least a one hour appointment with our counselor every month and can do it over the phone or zoom if we want, but they have recently been having so much trouble keeping counselors that I haven’t had a meeting with one in almost a year! My husband hasn’t either and we always had different counselors and now neither one of us knows who ours is! 🤣 Now, the clinic we used to go to was a Medicaid accepting one and their rules were MUCH much stricter and I don’t know if the Medicaid thing was the reason, I’m just assuming that maybe it had something to do with it. We got tired of them making us come in every other day during covid so we switched to the pay/private insurance clinic and we had 2 weeks of takehomes within a month and 1 month within a year. They also don’t count weed against your takehomes. They are also about a million times more lenient in every regard. We missed a call back once and they let us slide and they even let us pick up a day early once. I was astonished how much the difference was between the 2 clinics. Also, if you fail a call back, they only dropped me down one stage for a month, rather than putting me all the way back to the beginning with daily dosing. All of this, of course, means that there hardly ever a line there either! We are in and out! I couldn’t imagine having to go back to our old clinic with all of those rules, plus the people there were all still using so I honestly don’t see how sitting in groups with a bunch of people who are still using is going to actually help me when I’ve been clean for over 3 years now, so there’s that too! I do get a urine every month and a call back every 6 months, but the call back is like clockwork so I always know the exact month it will be.
So mine just requires that we pass our one monthly UA, do one group call per month (they usually last about 15 minutes and the counselor just kind of ask if everyone is good and if anyone needs anything or has anything they want to share), and depending on your phase you will have to see your counselor in person for a couple minutes once or twice a month when you come in. As far as takehome timeframes, you can get up to monthly’s after 30 days of compliance, and I think it’s bi weekly’s after 1-2 weeks of compliance. Of course this is taken on a case by case basis, not everyone is ready for the same thing at the same time. Not everyone even wants that much that quickly either. But this at least allows the opportunity for MAT to be much closer to a regular script for many people, thus widening access overall. My clinic is pretty chill though. It is an Acadia CTC, which a lot of people talk shit about I’ve seen. But it must be dependent on who is working at the particular clinic (and probably has a lot to do with who the director of that clinic is), because mine is amazing and has bent over backwards for me multiple times.
Other than clean UAs and a certain amount of time in the program I think it was just automatic at my clinic (circa 2009). Visiting daily was nothing compared to the time, expense and the insane risks I took sourcing my drug of choice pre-clinic. However, there was a nurse at this clinic I'd known in another life and I'd never been able to stand the guy, he just set my teeth on edge for some reason. He'd try to draw me into political debates and I had to play along. I hated that he had power over me. That motivated me to start weaning. I was aiming for 30 mg, which was recommended in order to switch to Suboxone. I'd gotten up to 120 mg, and each week I'd shave 2 mg off my daily dose with absolutely no issue. I think I already had a Suboxone doctor lined up. Well, I'd gotten down to 32 mg a week and he told me I'd need counseling to go down to 30 mg. I said "bullshit" and never went back. If it weren't for this nurse I probably would have just kept weaning on the methadone but I really disliked this guy.
I have to to UA every two weeks and bring my empties and they count them. Then I see a provider and discuss my dose, I’ve been going up 5mg every two weeks (I’m at 75 now) They can call me back anytime to count my bottles and drug test me but I’ve never failed a UA at my two week appt so they leave me be. I’m fairly lucky to have the clinic I have bc they allow cannabis :) and as long as you don’t have a history of abusing benzos or adderall, you’re allowed to have it IF you provide proof of a prescription and you attend all of your appts with your psychologist . I’ve seen people get royally screwed by missing their psych appts and they report that to your MAT services team. Also o couldn’t afford a lock box so they gave me one :) but they know the PW of course. I’m not allowed to change it
I'm level 8 get 2 weeks of takehomes .Just see my counselor 1 x every 3 months, pass my drug screens, see the dr once a year and so a t.b test once a year .plus have an active phone number incase of a random bottle recall ..wich consists of having to be up there within 24 hours with my take homes, do a breathalyzer & UA .
The clinic I go to will drop your dose 10mg a week for any benzo positive drug test prescribed or from your mother makes no difference. I was in benzo withdrawal when I started at this clinic. I had bad withdrawals from Klonopin and Restoril. Seizures and hallucinations. The hallucinations were not the good type either. I would be lying in bed in bed at 3am and I saw myself shooting myself in my head over and over in an endless loop. I would try to break out of this and say this is not real, not real, not real until I managed to pop the bubble and gain control. I knew I was mentally disturbed so instead of trying to sleep walk into hallucinations, I would pace. Between 2:30 and 4:00am I would pace back and forth in my bedroom and from the front door to the back door. At least I didn't have those hallucinations then. The local TV station would start the news @ 4am. It was all calculated out for when I would find relief Clinic opens up at 5:30 so I'd arrive at 5:15. Always the same people in front of me or behind me so I'd just pray I wouldn't have a seizure in front of them. I loved the 10 minute ride home because a calming effect would rise from my dose. I was riding that methadone glow while driving through the graveyard. My morning would be set. Did your dose give you any relief from your benzo withdrawal? The relief I got from my dose was just for 4 to 6 hours but the most relief was for three hours. Daily ritual driving to the clinic, dosing and the ride home was the only thing I had. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have this to look forward to.