Mscontin 240mg and 30mg percocet a day: day 15 advice

First 3 or 4 days blood pressure went up to 150-160. Have done everthing: Aminos, all vitamins and clonodine. Have gotten much energy back and am active until late afternoon. chemical chills are pretty common, but get worse in the evening. Can this be from the Ambien that I have been taking to try to sign off to WDs. I quit the clonodine a week ago. Should I take it again (Bp is 128-145). Maybe I shouldn,t go on and off it. But thats why Im asking. Slightly labored breathing (not as bad as first 5 days) but sure make time go slowly. I take an ambien and go to sleep wake up in a few hours and do it 3 times total every night. have been taking Melatonin too. Need, more experienced advice.

[worried878]

Did u wake up so much during the night when u were taking the clonodine?

[bladerunnerb]

I would stay on the clonidine.  My doctor said to stay on it at .1mg three times a day for the first two weeks after you taper to a new level, or quit.  Then go down to .1mg twice per day for a week, then .1mg once per day for a week and then quit.  The directions that come with it say you shouldn't stop it abruptly, and my doctor and pharmacist told me the same thing.  Otherwise, your body goes the opposite direction and causes higher blood pressure and symptoms you are describing.  The clonidine should work for your sleep, too...so try to not use the Ambien as much.  Also, you might try Ambian CR...it lasts much longer than Ambien...I've used them both and there is a big difference.  I would start the clonidine again, for sure...and then scale it down.  Hang in there...day 15 is something to be proud of!

[gustaria]

Yea, I did, but I was thinking that I did not want to take or get dependent on anything and I only wanted to take it for the minimum time? I sit up till nine because of my new (3) Adopted children. Maybe later I will think it is good.

[worried878]

clonidine does need to be tapered off of and many do not know this...i have never heard of a clonidine addict tho so dont worry...u may be trying to rush this too much...i know u want it to be done and over but it takes some time dude and u were on a high dose of oxy..i am really surprised at how well u have done so far..it is amazing to say the least...i can tell u will be successful..i feel it in my bones as u r very conscious of everything going on and have more determination than many....u will be fine but give this a bit of time

[gustaria]

thanks. It is amazing what those words can do. You know me now. I will follow your advise. I just put the 3 mil. patch on. I can say that I have no desire to take any of the 1000 pills I have left in my safe. I wreckon I will throw them away; can't think of any other use for them. When I was taking the clonodine. I was up to 5 mil patchs. When I woke up each day, my blood pressure was in the 120s and I took off 1 miligram per day as the trend continued; maybe its back fireing now; anyway this forum is so much better than my doctor and he will admit it too.

[worried878]

yey...give it a bit more time on the clonodine then taper it down over a week or so...it is amazing how many do not know this patch has to be tapered...it can cause rebound effects and that could be your problem ...sounds like it....keep a check on ur pressure and go down slowly with the patch...the ambien is probably not the culprit here but dont abuse it   10 mg a night is thig highest recommended dose  i have taken 3 mg before bed  and woke up at 3am and taken another 3 mg before when i was in detox...not 3 10 mg pills in one night...it is a relatively safe drug but can be abused...anything including nyquil can be abused...use ur judgement and ur good common sense

[ready2help]

Too much ambien. I don't think ambien is your best option. Also, it is very very easy to become dependent on them. They are short acting so of course you keep waking up.

You may want to try to work with clonidine adjustment (yes, make sure you taper when getting off of it!) and get rx for Trazedone (non-benzo, not a drug of abuse, often used for recovering addicts). It is something that is often used for those getting off of opiates because sleep difficulty is often an issue -  quite a while for some but not for everyone!

careful with the clonidine - it is quite strong and can bottom out your BP - it can make you hit the floor! LOL! Just be careful; don't get up too quickly and don't do anything hazardous!

Good luck! You can do it!

[worried878]

To add to ready's post, there is also amitryptilline which makes people very sleepy and it not happit forming..is used for chronic pain and depression...also helps with the dopamine we need...trazodone and amitryptilline are both anti-depressents...good options if u feel u have a problem with the ambien