FDA is issuing this public health advisory to alert patients and their caregivers and health care professionals to the following important safety information:
- Patients should take methadone exactly as prescribed. Taking more methadone than prescribed can cause breathing to slow or stop and can cause death. A patient who does not experience good pain relief with the prescribed dose of methadone, should talk to his or her doctor.
- Patients taking methadone should not start or stop taking other medicines or dietary supplements without talking to their health care provider. Taking other medicines or dietary supplements may cause less pain relief. They may also cause a toxic buildup of methadone in the body leading to dangerous changes in breathing or heart beat that may cause death.
- Health care professionals and patients should be aware of the signs of methadone overdose. Signs of methadone overdose include trouble breathing or shallow breathing; extreme tiredness or sleepiness; blurred vision; inability to think, talk or walk normally; and feeling faint, dizzy or confused. If these signs occur, patients should get medical attention right away.
Downloadable Documents
Drug-Induced Deaths in Idaho (pdf 30kb)
Idaho Bureau of Statistics report summarizing drug-induced deaths in Idaho for 2004-2006.
Local News Stories
KPVI-6: Methadone Deaths in Bonneville County
Local News 8: Idaho Methedone Epedemic
15 Methedone Related Deaths in Eastern Idaho
Related Sites
Side Effects of Methedone CDC Report on Methedone Deaths