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Adults are initially prescribed 20 to 30 milligrams per day in a single dose. It is advised against taking more than the prescribed dose within 24 hours.

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Unlike morphine and heroin, methadone and its metabolites are generally excreted partially in feces and urine, while they can also be excreted primarily by the hepatobiliary fecal pathway in the presence of renal disease.

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The minimum duration to standard methadone maintenance is considered to be around 12 months, although some opioid-addicted individuals continue to seek assistance from methadone maintenance for many years.

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The initial half-life of methadone stands at approximately 15 hours. However, with repeated dosing, the half-life stretches to approximately 24 hours. The amount of methadone in the patient's system may take between 3 and 10 days to stabilize.

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Methadone is quite an old drug, which was first introduced as an analgesic in the United States in 1947 by Eli Lilly & Company. 

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Onset of effects occurs approximately 30 minutes after ingestion. The apparent half life of a single first dose is 12 to 18 hours with a mean of 15 hours. With ongoing dosing, the half life of methadone is extended to between 13 and 47 hours with a mean of 24 hours.

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Physicians can prescribe methadone in general practice to treat pain, but not as a treatment for addiction. 

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In direct contrast to heroin or prescription pain medications, methadone will not generate positive results on a standard opiate test. It will only be detected if the individual has been specifically tested for methadone, which is quite a rare practice.

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Even though methadone in itself does not fester the teeth, it can inhibit saliva production and cause dry mouth, which can, in turn, contribute to the production of plaque that causes gum disease and tooth decay.

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Methadone helps in treating pain by altering the way the brain and nervous system respond to pain. It also works in treating opioid addiction by alleviating withdrawal symptoms in people who have quit using opioid drugs.

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