# Can somebody be on (prescribed) methadone for pain relief? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685 "2014-01-02T06:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/1 "2014-01-02T06:51:33Z")
See subject. For years I’ve had an acquaintance, guy who lives almost on street, who has bone cancer and now two brain tumors. He’s taking chemo, says the doctors gave him "12-14 months) and has always seemed to be honest. For a number of reasons I do not doubt the cancer and his descriptions of how he feels on the meth and the chemo. Can’t remember if he said something about why he wasn’t taking morphine. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/2 "2014-01-02T06:53:33Z")
Yes, it is commonly used for severe pain. > **[Patients & Families | UW Health](https://patient.uwhealth.org/healthfacts)** > > Patients & Families Description ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/3 "2014-01-02T07:08:14Z")
Huh. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/4 "2014-01-02T08:06:24Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Yes, it is commonly used for severe pain. > > [http://www.uwhealth.org/healthfacts/B\_EXTRANET\_HEALTH\_INFORMATION-FlexMember-Show\_Public\_HFFY\_1105646179457.html](http://www.uwhealth.org/healthfacts/B_EXTRANET_HEALTH_INFORMATION-FlexMember-Show_Public_HFFY_1105646179457.html) That’s really surprising. [Methadone: A Major Driver of Prescription Painkiller Overdose Deaths](http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/03/methadone-a-major-driver-of-prescription-painkiller-overdose-deaths/) ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/5 "2014-01-04T12:45:54Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > For a number of reasons I do not doubt the cancer and his descriptions of how he feels on the meth and the chemo. Can’t remember if he said something about why he wasn’t taking morphine. Methadone works better than morphine for some types of cancer, I believe. Also, you don’t want to use “meth” as shorthand for methadone, because that’s what people commonly call methamphetamine, and it would get very confusing. ETA: One of the studies finding that methadone was superior for advanced cancer can be viewed on Pubmed [here](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9817288). ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/6 "2014-01-04T12:48:51Z")
We give methadone to our paediatric oncology patients but generally only the kids who are palliative need it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/7 "2014-01-04T12:51:16Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Also, you don’t want to use “meth” as shorthand for methadone, because that’s what people commonly call methamphetamine, and it would get very confusing. Because cancer patients don’t use meth, they cook it, as we all learned form _Breaking Bad_. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/8 "2014-01-04T13:08:11Z")
Oral morphine is poorly absorbed. Methadone gives better and longer lasting relief for severe chronic pain. When I worked at [Fred Hutch](http://www.fhcrc.org/en.html), methadone was all we used for pain. Even when given IV it works better than morphine and causes fewer side effects. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-be-on-prescribed-methadone-for-pain-relief/677685/9 "2014-01-04T13:57:47Z")
Yes, MethadoNE is used for pain. As some here already know I’m a chronic pain patient. I’ve been on pain meds for going on ten years now. The doctors started with Vicodin, then Percocet. When those quit working I was moved to Fentynal, but severe side effects and my general fear of that drug had now led me to be on morphine everyday with oxycodone (percocet without the Tylenol) for breakthrough pain. One of my main concerns is that the morphine will one day cease to work because of tolerance. I asked my doctor about this and I was told that methadone is the backup plan if it ever comes to that. With any luck that won’t be necessary. Hey doctors, quit playing golf and figure out how to stop my pain WITHOUT more friggin drugs. Please:D