Still Can't Sleep!! Help!!

[kim715]

Today is 3 weeks for me off the methodone.I feel good for the most part.The horrible painful stuff has been gone for a while. My energy is really low though and I think if I could get some sleep I would feel so much better.I have tried the otc sleep-aides and they didn't help at all.I have the melotonin.I have used it for 2 nights now and nothing yet.This is starting to wear me down mentally.I am starting to feel really depressed and frustrated.Last night I just lost it,punching at my pillow and crying.I feel like I am going to loose my mind if I don't get some rest soon.I average about 2 hours of sleep a night,but not consecutive hours. They are not restful hours either.Going to see the doctor right now is really not an option.When I left my job to stay at home and take care of my husbands granddaughters I lost my health insurance,and things are so financially tight right now because the kids lost their medical coverage when their mother let their welfare benefits lapse.They are two and four and the two year old has tubes in her ears and is constantly getting ear infections.My back pain is kicking my behind.I can't get comfortable.I can't sleep. i guess I am not so good afterall.Don't get me wrong I am very grateful the initial withdrawl symptoms are gone,but these lingering ones are driving me nuts.PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE does anyone know of anything that may help?

[secretthougths]

after working night shift for years, plus having chronic pain also, ( bulging disc in my neck) I also have insomnia. I take ambien cr. the downfall to sleeping pills is that they are great , but they are addictive also!! so u have to decide which is the lesser evil. I have tried sonata , its good but it will only help u fall alseep not stay asleep , the ambien cr re-releases to both help u fall asleep and help you stay asleep. restoril is an old sleeper i was never to impressed with it, lunesta is allright for somepeople( it gave me a really bad metallic taste in my mouth) a lesser addictive newer pill is rozerem . You could start out trying the mellatonin or benadryl or valerian root ( those are  all over the counter not habit forming) they may work for u , but in my case i need the ambien cr. good luck

[Raj786]

Hi Kim I know you must have tried the simple remedies such as a glass of warm milk, taking walks, counting sheep etc and are tired of them, but I am serious in suggesting going through the most boring books you can find, for me, 'a study of chess openings', 'a study of chess middle games', 'a study of chess end games' and other books dealing with important issues such as what Socrates had to say about life and what qualms Plato had with it never have failed, I have sleeping on the story of philosophy's section on Aristotle for many months now honest :)

[1911]

I went through the same W/D and no sleep.  I spent several weeks just walking the house at night, hoping I would generate enough fatigue to get 1-2 hours sleep.  I was exhausted during the day.

Then, it was explained to me.  Opiates suppress the adrenal gland.  When we detox, the adrenal gland comes back and starts putting adrenaline into the system, more than we can handle.  The result is not being able to sleep.

The only two OTC medicines that will help slow down the adrenal gland is benydril or motion sichness pills.   You will have to choose which works best for you.

You may not think you will ever sleep through the night, or that you can survive these sleepless nights.  Believe me, you can and will.  Just keep going and try the advice you get in this Forum.  You are hearing the voices of experience.

FYI: I've been clean since Jan 07 and I am getting a solid night's sleep and wake up refreshed.  Last February I never thought this would ever happen.  But, it did.

GEORGE

[birdie500]

Kim i am in your shoes.  I have been on methadone for 20+ years and finally decided to detox.  I am having hard time sleeping and creepy crawly skin, and most of all leg pains.
I have turned to ambien, and darvon n.  If i get hooked on those, i guarantee it wont be as hard or as bad to kick as methadone.  Methadone has a very long half life so it stays in your system a long time.  The longer you take it seems like the more your organs and bones soak it up.  I have withdrawn off of heroin many times and none ever took this much time.  Hang in there and read the health pages.  some good tips.  don't give up now and start using something because the less drugs (darvon/ambien,etc) you use the better, as it only adds more time and toxins to your body.
Hang in there, and try walks, warm baths, and a glass of red wine before bed time.  Have the room dark and quiet.  that helps me.

[sadinmichigan]

as you've read..sleep definately is the last thing to return. I had to resort to taking seroquel for a few weeks after i went off the methadone.And that was only until it had already been 3-4 weeks since i slept more than an hour a day. I have experienced the no sleep thing after going c/t off the pills for at least 3 weeks and now it's i think too much stress..I'm going on day 38..i'm finally averaging about 3-4 hrs. I can pm you some really good tips a friend gave me. it's kinda long but i can send it to you. I found that i need noise like a fan and it to be very dark.. Luv  sad

[worried878]

Have u read the articles on methadone in the health pages..?  I am not familiar with taking or detoxing from this drug but seemd like some good info posted there

[bubbaganoosh]

Oh forgot any stress happening i find with me it can depend on that too how stressed out i am? hopefully hang in there and it will return, tonight im up again at 4am great but im starting to get tired again now i think what's keeping me up is worrying how i will be eventually of methadone.

[bubbaganoosh]

Hi there, for me i guess i cant comment on sleep and no methadone ,but strangly enough tapering down im actually sleeping better how weird, I'm not sure if methadone can cause insomnia at times I mean i though't i slept ok really but the last 4 days I'm feeling tired even in the afternoon. Maybe that's different though and well now im not using benzo's could also have something to do with that. Last night i was zzzzz at 10pm how strange

[Penelope14]

I to am having issues with not sleeping, I swear I didnt sleep an hour last night, then when I would kinda get into my sleep mode, Id start sneezing, & listening to my husband snore & look so peaceful, makes me sick! I want to be that person snoring & at peace, but we will get their, one day at a time!

[Raj786]

Yes, unfortunately sleep is the last thing to return to normal after withdrawals. I have been where you are and lack of enuf sleep adds to your misery. I know how tough it can be. In my experience, many a times, simple home remedies can also work for sleep, try taking your melatonin with a glass of warm milk, it worked for me. Another thing I used to do was to keep reading something until I naturally fell asleep. If nothing works try reading the most boring book you can find like a book on Trignometry or a exhaustive autobiography of someone very very boring like a nuclear scientist or some other idiot, this never fails to work for me :-)

[worried878]

like i said, when reading the health pages on methadone detox...phenergan was mentioned as a drug this doctor used...phenergan will make me sleep like a log and I had taken it for nausea in the past..it is also a good anti-histamine as well...i dont think it is very high risk as far as addictive qualities as I have never heard about anyone being addicted to it..but then anything can be abused and psychologically addicting...I took it last week for a bad cough that was keeping me up at night and it worked very well..I just took 1/2 as it can make me droggy in the morning....anyway i just feel for you having come so far and i know how miserable it is to not be able to sleep....hang in there

[worried878]

I was skimming the health pages and saw some good articles on methadone detox...sleep is so important to keep us strong...I hope that you can find something to help you with it...those articles were very informative

[spacecadette]

from personal experience sleep was the last thing to return during methadone withdrawl.  I got my first "natural" nights sleep during week 5.  Things like exercising to help release the toxins, hot baths, and even (at least for me) soap under my sheets do help temporarily.  But the only hope for me getting up to 7 hours of sleep in a night was that of ambien and/or valium.  However due to risks of a new addiction, I only took them a number of 4-5 times TOTAL...hence on the nights when I simply couldn't stand the lethargy any longer.  Good luck.

[GoingToMakeIt]

Are you taking about 10mg of Melatonin? That is a safe dose.
Are you taking brisk walks?
Try taking Natural Calm with Calcium before bedtime or early evening.