Methadone: Are You Ready to Start Tapering? Take This Self-Test and Find Out

Ready for a challenge?

Most people on methadone hope to taper off and stop using at some point. Unfortunately, your odds of relapse jump once you start reducing your daily dose.

Long duration research studies show that a majority of people trying to taper off methadone either relapse back to opiate abuse or discontinue their tapering attempts. 

But while many cannot maintain abstinence without methadone (or Suboxone) a lot of people are able to taper off and avoid relapse.

Thinking about tapering?

While no one can predict the future, researchers have identified certain life factors that indicate readiness to taper and a greater probability of long term abstinence.

If you start now... will you make it clean to ZERO?

Take the following 16 question Tapering Readiness Test and see if you’re ready (simply answering 'Yes' or 'No'). 

The more 'Yes' answers you score the better your odds of long term success; the more 'No' answers you rack-up, the greater your odds of tapering failure.

Readiness to Taper Self-Test ²

1. Have you been abstaining from illegal drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and speed?
2. Do you think you are able to cope with difficult situations without using drugs?
3. Are you employed or in school?
4. Are you staying away from contact with users and illegal activities?
5. Have you gotten rid of your “works” / ”outfit?”
6. Are you living in a neighborhood that doesn’t have a lot of drug use, and are you comfortable there?
7. Are you living in a stable family relationship?
8. Do you have straight (nonuser) friends that you spend time with?
9. Do you have friends or family who would be helpful to you during a taper?
10. Have you been participating in counseling that has been helpful?
11. Does your counselor think you are ready to taper?
12. Do you think you would ask for help when you were feeling bad during a taper?
13. Have you stabilized on a relatively low dose of methadone?
14. Have you been on methadone for a long time?
15. Are you in good mental and physical health?
16. Do you want to get off methadone?

The Tapering Readiness Inventory was developed originally by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.