How does methadone affect me?
Methadone has many side effects of which unsuspecting patients are
unaware:
Methadone can cause sudden death
Recent medical studies have revealed that methadone addiction can cause sudden
cardiac arrest. Prior to 2001, federal law did not allow methadone clinics to
prescribe methadone doses higher than 100mg/day. Successful lobbying from
methadone doctors and businessmen who own methadone clinics changed the
law allowing methadone clinics to use their judgment and push methadone doses
much higher.
Today many patients with methadone addiction are receiving hundreds of
milligrams of "methadone treatment" per day from methadone clinics nationally.
Over one third of methadone addicted patients who are prescribed high dose
methadone develop QT prolongation on their EKG. This methadone side effect
frequently causes a cardiac arrhythmia called "Torsade de Pointes".
Some methadone patients suffer sudden death which is then automatically
assumed to be the patients fault; a drug overdose! "After all they are just another
drug addict." Wrong!! Prejudice against patients with drug addiction has resulted
in second class medical care, especially for patients with known methadone
addiction. The severe cardiac toxicity is caused by higher methadone doses from
methadone maintenance clinics and the recent surge of methadone prescriptions
by pain doctors who are fearful of prescribing OxyContin.
Methadone decreases brain blood flow and electricity
Methadone markedly decreases cerebral (brain) blood flow and electricity. These
large holes on the SPECT (functional brain scan) demonstrate areas of the
methadone addicted patient’s brain that are less than 45% of normal electrical
activity. As the brain’s electricity is decreased by the methadone, so is the brain’s
overall function.
Because the decrease in cognitive function is gradual and develops over time,
patients with methadone addiction do not realize they have lost their competitive
edge regarding analytic thinking and I.Q.
Pituitary Suppression
The pituitary gland is the brain's primary endocrine gland. Its responsibility is to
release hormones that "turn on" other vital organs such as the thyroid, adrenal
glands, ovaries and testicles.
Methadone treatment, particularly at high doses (above 80mg/day) causes severe
depression of the brain's hypothalamus and pituitary. Katz at Harvard and other
doctors have studied and proven that methadone induced pituitary suppression
causes methadone addicted patients to suffer from all of the following side
effects:
- Hypothyroidism
More common in females with methadone addiction than in men. Causes
depression, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, memory loss, weight gain, cold
intolerance, dry skin, elevated cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and metabolic
syndrome - which causes increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
- Estrogen Deficiency
Depression, insomnia, decreased pain tolerance, decreased memory, hot flashes,
bladder pain, increased stroke/cardiac risk - which causes increased blood
pressure, and increased clotting.
- Progesterone Deficiency
Through three chemical reactions progesterone converts to a GABA-ergic chemical.
GABA is the most relaxing chemical in the brain.
Decreased GABA levels cause the following:
Newfound anxiety disorder
Newfound insomnia disorder
Increased physical pain throughout body
Heavy menstrual bleeding
Painful menstrual bleeding
Increased migraine headache syndrome
- Testosterone Deficiency
Decreases:
Bone density
Muscle mass (positive nitrogen balance)
Libido
T-cell (fighter cell) activity
Memory recall
Testosterone deficiency in men and women causes significant depression
An increase in testosterone from 300-600 (midrange) in men older than 50
decreases risk of heart attack and death by 40% (2007 Harvard University Study)
- Adrenal Gland Suppression
Results in deficiency of all your “get up and go” chemicals:
Epinephrine
Norepinephrine
Dopamine
Cortisol
