Methadone and morality

[ac_claire]

Does anyone here have any thoughts/opinions on the morality of taking methadone for use in treating opiate addictions?

Also, has the Church ever addressed addiction treatment
in general?

Thanks!

 

[teadough]

Does anyone here have any thoughts/opinions on the morality of taking methadone for use in treating opiate addictions?

Also, has the Church ever addressed addiction treatment
in general?

Thanks!

My favorite book on Recovery is titled The Anonymous Disciple by Gerard E. Goggins . It is a true story of an Alcoholic Priest who used the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous to find recovery. And offshoot to that book is Father Fred and the 12 steps. If you do a history of AA and the 12 step movement you will find that AA would have never got off the ground had it not been for many of the clergy of the Catholic Church.

As far as what the Church thinks about your origianl question in regards to Methodone I have no idea,however, I do know that methadone can work but it has been in my experience that many people continue to relapse while doing the Methodone treatmeant. Also, when you are done with Methodone the person is going to have a really hard time coming off of it. Harder than many of the original opiates that they were orginally attached to.

Below is a link to an article on this site as well as the book I mentioned

catholic.com/thisrock/1996/9610fea1sb.asp

amazon.com/Disciple-Gerard-E-Goggins/dp/1929039026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203881199&sr=8-1

 

[teadough]

Morning thread bump

LET GO,LET GOD:thumbsup:

 

[ac_claire]

Also, when you are done with Methodone the person is going to have a really hard time coming off of it. Harder than many of the original opiates that they were orginally attached to.

This is at the heart of my concern. The methadone issue has arisen with two close family members, who are also addicts. (Unfortunately, it tends to run in my family. )

Technically, it is considered a “treatment”. The thing is, if an addict is taking it as directed, following the rules, etc., they can live as functional members of society…People may not ever suspect that they are or have ever been addicts. That part is good. But we can’t escape the fact that the addict is still addicted to a drug as long as they are taking methadone. They are still enslaved. Do you think it’s sinful to be strung out on any drug, even if it’s for the treatment of a “worse” addiction? Or maybe not sinful, but is it moral?

teadough-- thanks for those links! I know AA and the 12 steps is a blessed program that has worked miracles. Another person is Bl. Matt Talbot, who Bishop Sheen used to talk about a lot.

 

[Mirdath]

I’ve never had to go on methadone, but yeah, the idea behind the treatment is to swap out the addiction to heroin or (fill in the blank) to an opiate that will stave off dopesickness without so many of the fun side effects, then gradually tapering off. Unfortunately, as teadough mentioned, methadone isn’t an easy drug to come off of either.

I have heard excellent things about buprenorphine treatment, though – if you’re researching options for family members, I’d definitely look into that. Last I checked it was still kind of new but looked extremely promising.

On the sin question, it’s not so bad: moral culpability requires full and free consent of the will, which addiction by its very nature goes a long way to diminish. And if one is actively trying to overcome that addiction, even if slowly and carefully (cold-turkeying opiates means a few days to a few weeks of absolute hell on earth), I can’t see how the effort could be regarded as anything less than heroic.

 

[teadough]

I am no Doctor so I only can give opinions of my own personal experience and I will admit that even that can be of little use to somebody,but then again it may help another.

Keep in mind that after people get on Methadone they are not walking around “high” and such. The problem with it can be when someone who relapses while taking methadone.

The only person I would recommend to try that or the other type of treatment mentioned is the person who can,seemingly, not get honest with themselves about their addiction no matter how many times they have tired to quit on their own, through 12 step programs, or Church.

I would love nothing more than to say that all someone needs is a 12 step program or just going to Mass. I don’t understand Gods grace when it comes to one person getting clean over another. I truly believe it boils down to the addict or alcoholic getting honest with themselves. Unfortunately,some people just cant seem to be able to pull that off.

I Pray for those who are still struggling

 

[Mirdath]

The only person I would recommend to try that or the other type of treatment mentioned is the person who can,seemingly, not get honest with themselves about their addiction no matter how many times they have tired to quit on their own, through 12 step programs, or Church.

Even methadone or buprenorphine won’t work for someone who isn’t dedicated to quitting. That’s always the first step, no matter what comes next.

 

[Renton405]

I would like to admit that I myself am on methadone. Have been on it for around 5 years now. I had chronic pain and my doctor had put me on painkillers, which made me dependant. And finally he sent me to the clinic.

There are lotsa people on methadone who are not heroin addicts. Many have been in car accidents, have chronic pain, have cancer, chrones disease, etc… and need methadone as a 24 hour relief of pain.

I have looked around on church teaching as far as methadone. haven’t found anything. But I was told, as long as Im taking directly, not selling it for profits(which some people do), and use it for what I need I should be ok. I could not function in life without it, because the pain would be too much for me to even get out of bed

 

[Mirdath]

There are lotsa people on methadone who are not heroin addicts. Many have been in car accidents, have chronic pain, have cancer, chrones disease, etc… and need methadone as a 24 hour relief of pain.

More junkies are self-medicating, especially for chronic pain, than most people would like to admit.

 

[teadough]

I would like to admit that I myself am on methadone. Have been on it for around 5 years now. I had chronic pain and my doctor had put me on painkillers, which made me dependant. And finally he sent me to the clinic.

There are lotsa people on methadone who are not heroin addicts. Many have been in car accidents, have chronic pain, have cancer, chrones disease, etc… and need methadone as a 24 hour relief of pain.

I have looked around on church teaching as far as methadone. haven’t found anything. But I was told, as long as Im taking directly, not selling it for profits(which some people do), and use it for what I need I should be ok. I could not function in life without it, because the pain would be too much for me to even get out of bed

Thanks for responding to this thread and giving a great example. It is easy for people to assume,me included, that all people on methadone are on it for one reason. I am sorry that I came off that way if I did.

Peace Be With You

 

[ac_claire]

And if one is actively trying to overcome that addiction, even if slowly and carefully (cold-turkeying opiates means a few days to a few weeks of absolute hell on earth), I can’t see how the effort could be regarded as anything less than heroic.

This is a beautiful and charitable way of looking at it. I’m going to bookmark your post; I may need to quote it in the future. Thanks…

 

[ac_claire]

I would like to admit that I myself am on methadone. Have been on it for around 5 years now. I had chronic pain and my doctor had put me on painkillers, which made me dependant. And finally he sent me to the clinic.

There are lotsa people on methadone who are not heroin addicts. Many have been in car accidents, have chronic pain, have cancer, chrones disease, etc… and need methadone as a 24 hour relief of pain.

Yeah, definitely the specific moral issues I mentioned …wouldn’t apply in your case. In the case of my family members, it’s all a direct result of their pretty severe heroin addictions, and they are only on methadone because every other treatment they’ve attempted has failed. (Neither of them are compfortable with the 12 Steps, by the way. Both pretty much confirmed agnostic-- don’t accept that only a Higher Power can help them…)

 

[Renton405]

More junkies are self-medicating, especially for chronic pain, than most people would like to admit.

hmm, thats a contradiction in terms. Just because someone is dependant on pain medication dosen’t make them a junkie, it makes them physically dependant. A junkie only looks for the high off the drug. A person with chronic pain just wants the pain to go away so they can function in life. Thats what I take it for. So I can goto work, be with my wife, and eventually be able to take care of our future children(were trying )

I have fibromyalgia which causes severe pain, earlier my doctors thought I had Chrones Disease, but it is under control now. It has effected my life horribly and has kept be bedridden for so many years. My mother was born with many autoimmune diseases and she also has Colitis, Meneere’s disease, migraines, and IBS.

 

[cat123]

just a side note, methodone can be abused as well, i know of people personally who got weekend take home doses or holiday take home doses, stored it up, got it from a friend, whatever and then abused it to get a high.

 

[Mirdath]

hmm, thats a contradiction in terms. Just because someone is dependant on pain medication dosen’t make them a junkie, it makes them physically dependant. A junkie only looks for the high off the drug. A person with chronic pain just wants the pain to go away so they can function in life. Thats what I take it for. So I can goto work, be with my wife, and eventually be able to take care of our future children(were trying )

It’s not a contradiction in terms. I wasn’t using the term pejoratively, just to denote that group of people who have or have had dependencies on opiates acquired in a less-than-strictly-legal manner. Like alcoholism, it’s a problem that never really goes away completely (and alcoholics can also be self-medicators).

A lot of people can’t afford actual medical care in the US, and heroin is a perfect painkiller. So you have no want of people popularly conceived of as useless junkies who are actually just trying to keep the pain away. And because the black market is, shall we say, difficult to navigate, staying functional becomes a full-time endeavor, keeping these people from breaking the cycle.

Of course, me, I was just a rotten kid – who fortunately wised up pretty fast and didn’t get trapped too badly.

 

[New_Yorker]

If you’re using the medication for a healing purpose, then that’s just good healthcare. It’s the first step towards healing the person. It’s medicine and its moral as a means to wean someone off a worse addiction - heroin.

 

[ac_claire]

If you’re using the medication for a healing purpose, then that’s just good healthcare. It’s the first step towards healing the person. It’s medicine and its moral as a means to wean someone off a worse addiction - heroin.

What would you say if a person gets on methadone for that purpose- to get off heroin-- but then they can’t seem to get off methadone…?

I guess the moral question comes in when I think about the specific addict in my life who this applies to. Staying clean, avoiding temptation, etc. --none of that is a problem. It’s the actual getting off in the first place that he can’t go through. Heroin detox is in a category by itself. It’s not even the most physically dangerous of withdrawls, but the physical and psychological toll it can take on a person is just unimaginable unless you’ve gone through it…And it can take weeks just to kick. This person has tried, and tried, and tried. He’s been in rehab, medically asisted detox, cold-turkey at home…you name it, he’s tried it. He’s so brave and strong, if he could just get past the worst part of the withdrawl, he might be able to get clean on his own. But he can’t do it. He’ll go as long as a week and half sometimes, but then caves. With methadone, it keeps him from ever having to go through it. It puts your body in a holding pattern as long as you’re on it.

 

[New_Yorker]

If I’m understanding it correctly, the methadone itself, by its nature, is a step in the right direction because it’s less dangerous than heroin, so even a methadone addiction is better than a heroin addiction.

And the methadone puts him in a holding pattern so that, when he’s ready, he can take the remaining steps.

I see him being a lot better off, w/the potential for advancement, w/the methadone. But I could be missing something.

 

[Mirdath]

What would you say if a person gets on methadone for that purpose- to get off heroin-- but then they can’t seem to get off methadone…?

If that’s the best he can do right now, it’s the best he can do. Look at it this way: he’s off the street, isn’t in danger of accidentally overdosing or getting in trouble with the police, won’t burn a hole in his wallet (or get ripped off), and can live and interact socially without having to spend all day every day hustling. That’s definitely several steps up from where he was before!

I know it can be frustrating to be unable to punch a button and say ‘blam! cured!’, but some cures can’t be rushed. And make no mistake, addiction is an illness – although the acts that cause it may be considered sinful, being sick in mind and body can’t.

There isn’t really anything you can do to speed the process up. Just keep being patient, loving, and supportive. Praying can’t hurt; the patron saint of addicts is Maximilian Kolbe.

Stay strong, and all the best to both of you

 

[Asteryx]

I’ve recently refound my Catholic faith after a 45-year journey of wandering and wondering. One of the less valuable acquisitions of those years is an addiction to opiates. I came to this forum because this is the biggest question in my life right now and I haven’t met a priest who can give me an informed answer to the question “Is an addict committing a sin when taking his prescribed, legal opiates?”
What do you think? Here are some facts about methadone.

1. As opiates go, methadone is one of the finest with a long, powerful but ‘soft’ stone. The idea that it is a ‘substitute’ is untrue, put about for various reasons, some laudable and some less so.
2. It is used in preference to other narcotics because its very long half life means it can be administered once a day. After the person’s standard dose they can comfortably go thirty hours without another one. Good, eh?
3. No, not so good, eh. The degree of addiction to and the difficulty of withdrawal from methadone are an order of magnitude worse than other opiates. I was ‘rescued’ from my codeine addiction, from which I could have withdrawn in two weeks, and put on methadone. I am starting on a withdrawal programme which is expected to last six months and involve two weeks of hospitalization at the end and which will still be tough.
   Like all opiates, methadone insulates the heart. This is why junkies, who are often very sensitive people inside, can commit heartless and heinous crimes just to get a few tastes.
   Since we talk to God and he talks to us though the heart, for some hours after I take my dose He is unavailable to me and I to Him. However since those hours are pleasantly fuzzy, often imbued with a general sense of love and bonhomie for my friends and family it doesn’t matter, does it?
   If I was addicted to something that cut me off from God and the Divine leaving me feeling cold, anguished and lost, there would be no problem. But I like taking my methadone. I’m ashamed to say I often even look forward to it. It is bizarre, taking part in a wonderful Mass many hours after my last dose, feeling the community of Catholics, enjoying the prayers and homily, touched to my heart by the Eucharist, yet at the same time thinking oh groovy, in an hour or so I’ll be getting high. And bitterly regretting and repenting that thought. Then having it again….
   You start to get a sense of the moral dilemma.
   I have tried to discuss this in Confession but so far I haven’t found a priest who has any kind of grip on this issue. They tell me that God loves me and that I’m being too hard on myself, which may well be true but it doesn’t help.
   The most helpful thought I have found came from an earlier contributor to this thread, who pointed out that real sin requires the exercise of full free will. On that count, I am probably off the hook. Or am I, since at the actual time I take my methadone I have the complete and free choice to do it now or later. And I am choosing to take it rather than go through withdrawal. I could just lie down and take it the hard way and trust in God’s support. Except that I can’t because I have a family to house, educate and feed.
   I think embarking on the withdrawal programme and trusting in God to help me to bear the cross which I know I will carry for the rest of my life after withdrawal must make it OK in the broader, longer view.
   But in the day-to-day active perspective, there it is. It feels like sin. I think Monsignor Gianfranco would agree, but I don’t really know what God says about it. I have never been left so high and dry by my conscience.
   Any ideas?