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Diskets (methadone hydrochloride) is a prescription medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat detoxification and provide maintenance treatment of opioid use disorder in adults.

How Diskets Works and How It’s Taken

Diskets is a type of opioid medicine called an opioid agonist. It acts on mu-opioid receptors in the body. During maintenance treatment for opioid use disorder, methadone can help prevent withdrawal symptoms and reduce opioid cravings.

Doctors prescribe Diskets for detoxification or maintenance treatment of opioid use disorder. Maintenance treatment should be given along with appropriate medical and social support.

Diskets comes as a tablet that must be mixed into liquid before it is taken by mouth. It should not be chewed or swallowed before it is mixed. After it is mixed with liquid, it must not be injected.

Typical Dosing for Opioid Use Disorder

Treatment usually starts with a single dose of 20 to 30 milligrams given under supervision. The first dose should not be more than 30 milligrams. It should be given when the person has signs of opioid withdrawal and is not showing signs of being overly sleepy or intoxicated.

If withdrawal symptoms continue or come back, a healthcare provider may check the person again after two to four hours and give another 5 to 10 milligrams if needed. The total dose on the first day should not usually be more than 40 milligrams.

Lower starting doses may be needed for people with low opioid tolerance. Someone who has not taken opioids for more than five days may no longer be tolerant.

During the first several days of treatment, methadone can build up in the body. Because of this, doses need to be adjusted carefully to lower the risk of overdose and serious breathing problems.

During maintenance treatment, the dose is adjusted to help prevent withdrawal symptoms for 24 hours, reduce opioid cravings, and lessen the euphoric effects of other opioids. Clinical stability is most commonly reached with doses between 80 and 120 milligrams per day.

If Diskets treatment is stopped, the dose should be lowered slowly. Dose reductions are generally less than 10 percent, with 10 to 14 days between reductions. Stopping methadone maintenance treatment can increase the risk of returning to illicit opioid use, so treatment should not be stopped suddenly in someone who is physically dependent on opioids.

For short-term detoxification, dosing is also reduced gradually after the person has been stabilized.

This information is based on prescribing information, but your healthcare provider may tailor your treatment plan. Always follow their guidance.

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Diskets Side Effects

  • Lightheadedness
  • Dizziness
  • Sedation (sleepiness)
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Sweating

Serious Side Effects and Warnings

Diskets can cause serious side effects that may require immediate medical attention. These include:

  • Life-threatening respiratory depression — Dangerously slow or shallow breathing can lead to respiratory arrest and death.
  • Serious heart rhythm problems from QT prolongation — These problems can include torsades de pointes, an abnormal heart rhythm that can cause fainting, palpitations, or sudden cardiac arrest.
  • Severe low blood pressure — Hypotension, including orthostatic hypotension and fainting (feeling dizzy or passing out when standing up), can occur.
  • Serotonin syndrome — This potentially life-threatening reaction can happen when methadone is taken with certain medicines that affect serotonin.
  • Adrenal insufficiency — Low adrenal hormone levels can be serious, especially after more than one month of opioid use.
  • Seizures — Methadone may increase seizure risk, especially in people with seizure disorders.
  • Severe allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis — This reaction can include trouble breathing, swelling, or severe rash.
  • Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome — Withdrawal in a newborn after opioid use during pregnancy can occur, which can be life-threatening if not treated.
  • Problems with the esophagus — Problems with swallowing, regurgitation, chest pain that is not caused by the heart or food getting stuck due to opioid effects on the esophagus can occur.
  • Low blood sugar — Hypoglycemia may be severe and has led to hospitalization in some cases.

Get medical help right away if you think you are having a serious reaction.

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What To Know Before Taking Diskets

Before starting Diskets, tell your doctor if you have any allergies to methadone hydrochloride or any ingredients in Diskets.

Tell your doctor about all medicines you take, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Do not take Diskets if you have:

  • Significant breathing problems
  • Acute or severe bronchial asthma in a place without medical monitoring or emergency breathing equipment
  • A known or suspected blockage in your stomach or intestines, including paralytic ileus
  • An allergy to methadone or any ingredient in Diskets

Diskets can make you sleepy or affect your ability to think and react. Do not drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how Diskets affects you.

Do not drink alcohol or take other medicines that slow the central nervous system unless your healthcare provider says it is safe. Combining these substances with Diskets can cause severe sleepiness, serious breathing problems, coma, or death.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of treatment. Babies exposed to opioids for a long time during pregnancy may have withdrawal symptoms after birth.

If you are breastfeeding, watch your baby for unusual sleepiness, trouble breathing, difficulty breastfeeding, or limpness. Contact your baby’s healthcare provider right away if you notice these signs.

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Community FAQs

These answers are fact-checked by our editorial staff.

How effective is Diskets for opioid use disorder?

Diskets contains methadone, an opioid medicine used to treat opioid use disorder. Methadone can help control opioid withdrawal symptoms and cravings during treatment for opioid use disorder. At the start of treatment, a single dose of 20 to 30 milligrams will often suppress withdrawal symptoms. During maintenance treatment, the dose is adjusted to help prevent withdrawal for 24 hours, reduce opioid cravings, and lessen the euphoric effects of other opioids. Clinical stability is most commonly achieved with doses between 80 and 120 milligrams per day. The study does not provide one overall effectiveness percentage.

How long does Diskets take to work for opioid use disorder?

At the start of treatment, 20 to 30 milligrams of methadone will often help suppress withdrawal symptoms. If symptoms are not controlled or come back, the person may be checked again after two to four hours, when peak levels are expected, and another 5 to 10 milligrams may be given if needed. Methadone builds up in the body over the first several days, so its effects can change during early treatment.

Does Diskets interact with other medicines?

Yes. Diskets can interact with several medicines and substances. Some interactions can raise or lower methadone levels or increase the risk of serious side effects. The important interactions include:

  • Benzodiazepines and other medicines that slow the central nervous system, including sedatives, sleep medicines, anxiety medicines, tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, general anesthetics, antipsychotics, gabapentin, pregabalin, other opioids, and alcohol, can increase the risk of severe sleepiness, breathing problems, coma, and death.
  • Medicines that can raise methadone levels, including erythromycin, ketoconazole, fluconazole, ritonavir, sertraline, and fluvoxamine can cause interactions. Higher methadone levels may increase the risk of serious side effects.
  • Medicines that can lower methadone levels, including rifampin, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and St. John’s wort, may reduce the effects of methadone or cause withdrawal symptoms.
  • Medicines that can affect heart rhythm, including some antiarrhythmics, antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, and calcium channel blockers, can cause interactions. Diuretics and laxatives may also increase risk by causing electrolyte changes.
  • Combining the following medicines with Diskets may cause serotonin syndrome: medicines that affect serotonin, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, triptans, mirtazapine, trazodone, tramadol, cyclobenzaprine, metaxalone, linezolid, and intravenous methylene blue.
  • Diskets is not recommended while taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors, such as phenelzine, tranylcypromine, and linezolid, or within 14 days after stopping them.
  • Certain opioid medicines, including butorphanol, nalbuphine, pentazocine, and buprenorphine, may trigger withdrawal symptoms.
  • Anticholinergic medicines can increase the risk of urinary retention or severe constipation.
  • Some antiretroviral medicines may change methadone levels and affect how well Diskets works.
  • Desipramine may cause interactions because methadone may increase desipramine blood levels.

Tell your healthcare provider about all medicines, supplements, and herbal products you take before starting or stopping anything during Diskets treatment.

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