Nodding off- What does this mean?

Im new here and I really hope someone can give me some advice. I come from a very close christian family so all of this that I am about to write was a big shocker to my family. One of my older brothers just recently admitted to being addicted to pains meds- such as oxy and roxycodine (sp?). He said hes now clean... but something is just not right. He is very thin, can't sleep ( hear him up at all hours of the night), he nods off while sitting with the family. I have a newborn and I am wayyy over tired but never nod off.. so that just sounds strange by it self. He has his ups and downs.. hell be really hyper one minute then the next very rude and to him self (doesn't want to be bothered). Finally, his teeth are all grinded down.. he used to have such nice teeth and now they're very bad. The biggest thing though is the falling asleep... we'll be eating dinner or having a conversation with the family and he'll just fall asleep. Does anyone know what these signs mean? Thanks!

[10356]

Hello and welcome to he forum.. I'm sorry to tell you but he has all the signs of active addiction. Your Brother is obviously not clean. You can gain a lot of information and knowledge here on addiction.. This would be your best move so when you confront him you are armed.. You will not be able to make him stop but it is better that it is not kept secret as addiction grows fastest when kept in the dark.. He sounds like his addiction is advanced so I would also speak with your parents and maybe together you can offer him rehab.. The one thing you do not want to do is give him money or help him feed his addiction in anyway.. lock all valuables and keep a eye on money as supplying a habit is expensive.. they also have group support for family members called alanon You may want to check them out as others that have delt with addicted family members can help you to cope with your Brothers addiction.. I wish you well I'm sure you will get a lot of responses but the bottom line is Yes he is and only he can get clean.. nobody can do it for him.. take care lesa

[10356]

oh yes nodding off, like at dinner at inappropriate times.. does you brother wear long sleeve shirts ? I wonder as usually when we are this advanced we are shooting drugs.. not saying he is but it is something to consider..

[fogmussher]

Wow! how long has this been going on? I seems like it would take a while for him to ruin all his teeth like that. But if he started a while ago and it is just now noticable I guess that is possible. Does he scratch his nose as he is nodding. Are his pupils tiny pin points. The moodiness and weight loss and being up all night could be methamphetamine. But that would dilate his pupils. If hes on opiats ( Heroin, Oxycontin) that may also have him up all night and nodding, scratching face, pin pointed pupils.
Did he have an injury of any kind that may have started him on painkillers? Many times that starts the whole thing. But the crabbiness makes me think meth.

[kmb22]

it's hard to say what drug it is because so many of them carry similar symptoms.  and there are synthetic forms of meth as well, prescription meth if you will.  but yes someone up there asked if he could potentially be shooting up.  i was heavily addicted to oppiates and i never really nodded off except towards the very end when i was using the heaviest but i also never really snorted them and i def. never shot them up.

however, my ex-roomate did.  and he would be full on in a conversation with me and then just nod off and still kind of be talking but his eyes were shut and his head would be falling backwards.

however just taking them orally or snorting them can make you nod out as well...so don't jump to conclusions there.

honestly the only way to truly find out what is going on is to confront him.  which is difficult because he is not going to want to share with you all he is doing since addiction is rather embarrassing.

i would totally approach him non confrontationally with tons of love and by yourself.  us addicts can feel overwhelmed and attacked if confronted by too many people. at first at least.

also can you do some research?  make exact notes of his behavior and come post in here as most of us have been there we can help you but we need more details.

also try and find out where he could potentially be getting these pills from.

keep posting.

~kim

[kris1845]

Thank you guys so much for the quick responses.
He hurt his back about 5 or 6 years ago at work and has been on and off workers comp since then (right now hes on it and we never even see him.) He lives downstairs in the apartment and never comes up anymore and sometimes I'm scared to even go down there... like maybe he'll have overdosed or something. He used to be very big into working out (I think he had to be on steroids or something because he was huge).. then just recently he has gotten very very skinny and pale.. and now he looks unrecognizable to people who haven't seen him in awhile. He has a new gf and she made him confront us about his addiction. He told us though that he stopped and that he went through withdrawals and stuff and that's why he didn't come up stairs for a few days because it was really bad. We knew he took pain meds for his back but we never knew he was addicted. Now that I think about it I never see him in short sleeves anymore... he says he wears long sleeves because he lost his size and is embarrassed for people to see his arms. Also, he leaves the house at all weird hours... My room is above his side entrance and he goes out like 2am sometimes even later. My parents let him borrow money for everything...he always has some excuse of why he needs it...but he has always pretty much paid them back. My parents are in fairy tale land and think hes clean and take his word...they don't want to argue with him so they don't confront him. Also, another thing... he is always outside on the street on the phone...he claims he has no service...but it seems weird. He lives with us for free..and he is  just so hard to live with now...

[kaneisha]

My son was a former meth and then oxycontin/heroin addict. He completed a year treatment program at Teen Challenge.  Now in his later 20's, I am sure he is using meth as he has lost a drastic amount of weight.  He says, riding his bike all day is the reason for his weight loss.  He is 5'10" and weighs 160 pounds.  Now I observed him nodding off.  I know this is associated with oxycontin and heroin.  Is there a common mixture of meth with opiates that causes nodding off?  One more thing, he has no breaking out on his face and he religiously visits the dentist.  Any insight would be appreciated.

[pattifan]

Hi Kaneisha, Welcome to the forum.

Weight loss and nodding off can both be symptoms of stimulant use (like Meth).

Do you feel able to ask him?

Of course he may well be in denial, but if you make it clear to him that you're always ready to listen, perhaps he'll be prepared to open up to you.

Take care

[kaneisha]

Thanks for your quick comments Pattifan!  I have asked my son about his use of meth and heroin.  He swears he would not touch anything associated with heroin after his hear long recovery period.  That addiction started from an injury where he was treated with oxycontin.  I see such significant weight loss that is very evident even in his face.  He is in denial for sure.  I couldn't seem to find anything associated with meth and nodding off online.  I have noticed agitation often, he hasn't had a job for a long time, he is manipulative always trying to borrow money from me and other family members, never paying anyone back, and he is totally unreliable whenever any plans are made...even on Mother's Day.  We are not giving him ANY money again as we don't want to support any type of addiction.  It is disheartening and sickening as he went through so much to become sober and at that time we recognized him really being his sweet self.  He is a different person!

Thanks,
Kaneisha

[pattifan]

The nodding off tends to happen when the last dose of stimulant is wearing off.

I really hope, for both your sakes, that he isn't using again, but I would have strong concerns as you obviously do.

In my opinion, the only way to get him to open up to you, is to explain to him that it really isn't a big deal (even though it is), so that he is less scared of telling you, and reassure him that the only reason you want to know is to ensure his health and safety and to offer him the support he needs. He may still decide to open up.

Alternatively, you could suggest that he comes on this site himself. Once he's read the stories of other people in the same situation, he may feel more comfortable as an anonymous poster on line.

He would also get an awful lot of non-judgemental help and support.

Thinking of you.

[step2me16]

I noticed my nephew nodding off and starring in space with his mouth open yesterday. He snapps and will get upset very quick w u everything is we not his family the street is his family. We try and get him nice jobs so he can live tbe right way he makes up excuses we offer to pay $3000 to oay off his fines he will say he dont want it he fights disrepectful and all what can we do?

[krysa0214]

My boyfriend has been nodding off on me I know he did heroin especially cause I found a empty bag he promised me it was the first time out of 3 to 5 yrs but he is always still nodding he doesn't have any marks on his arm just from the one time he used which I knows gets worse if he continued even infected what else can make u nod off and stupid looking I read all the other post but wanna know for sure so I can confront him I don't need that in my life never did drugs and don't ever want to