Use of intramuscular methadone in managing intravenous drug abuse.

A 30-year-old woman was referred to the Acute Pain Team for their advice on how to manage her current pain, in light of her unique pre-admission medications. On questioning it was discovered that the patient was receiving 50 mg of intramuscular methadone daily, in the community. She was a former intravenous drug user who had been enrolled into a methadone substitution programme for 10 years and had been receiving her methadone intramuscularly for the past 6 years. It had been discovered that her addiction was not solely to opioids but, moreover, to the process of injecting as well. She was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, with a needle fixation, and started on the intramuscular methadone regimen on which she has maintained abstinence from heroin for 6 years.