please help - 4 days clean and maybe abut to blow it

[codean]

I've posted here a few times and have a fuller biog in my tracker. long story short, long term codeine abuser - up to 1800 mg per day. ouch. I  tapered down pretty quickly then went ct . I'm doing ok, bad stomach, muscle ache etc. etc. but i can bear thst. what i can' bear is no sleep. in the last 72hours (not including today,i've had maybe 2-3hrs total. I'vetried using diazepam tosleepbut even on a high dose - 70-80mg it makes no difference. I'm finding myself thinking thst if Iuse one more timejust to get some sleep, that'll help me with the next few days. I'm rationalising it on the basis that it would be no more thana prescription dose so it's no big deal. I know that's probably wrong, and I can almost guess what people will say if they read this, but what's worse, no sleep for 4 days, swallowing enough Valium to drop a horse or a bit of codeine? Say, 150mg? Would that even help? I think it would.

[mtgoat911]

you will start the wd process all over, please do not do it
4 days is awesome!!! its a long time for a codine user!!! are you willing to find an na meeting?

[codean]

thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it. It's great to know you're not on your own and I think without this place, I would be. Now, if I can address your points:
@theeagle
I can certainly accept that codeine may well be an easier withdrawal. It's been bad but nowhere near as bad as I feared. I'm feeling a bit better today and while it would have been a huge effort, I could probably have almost have functioned normally. Luckily, being sunday, I didn't have to. Plus, I can't help thinkng that maybe I feel better cause I actually got some sleep.I don't understand why the valium isn't working - I have no history of abuse with any benzo. I can only put it down to the no sleep that comes with wd and therefore, almost nothing wil work. I'll check out the sleep remedies you suggest and see what I can find. I suspect there may be a US/UK availabiity/translation issue at work with some ingredients (i haven't heard of any of the 3) but I'm sure I can get to the bottom of that. I've already decided to quit the codeine so have no real issue with your final comments but I have to say lack of sleep may not kill me but it sure feels like it! - more practically, I seriously worry about driving if I haven't slept in days. Also, my understanding is that codeine doesn't doesn't damage the liver - excess amounts simply go unmetabolised hence it was probably pointless taking as much as I did and why it was possible to taper down as quickly as I did. If I've been misinformed about that I'd like to know because if you happen to know that codeine damages the liver, I'd like to know because that may be quite serious for me. Anything you can point me to that shows that would be quickly up on my screen. Finally, thanks for taking the time to give some input. Always appreciated from anybody. Just talking helps.
@ack4,
I'll try again to see if I can track down any melatonin anywhere. My local health food shops had no clue although I was able to get most of the thomas recipe and amino acid protocol ingredients. I've just had a look online and I can find some places I can get it but I'd rather buy it OTC so I don't have to wait for delivery - another 3-4 days sleep is not a welcome thought - how much do you take? are you saying 6x5mg? Given that Valium isn't working what's the odds of melatonin helping?

@both Frankly I'm prepared to try anything. So I'll be off to look at what eagle suggested and maybe buy some melatonin too.

I'll be checking back here regularly though so if you're around, I'd really appreciate ongoing dialogue. a) it helps pass the night b) it removes the loneliness.

Thanks guys

[Ack4]

You can get Melatonin and any grocery store or Vitamin store. I order it from PURITANSPRIDE.COM.
If you order there, they are the cheapest and always have deals like buy 2 get 3 free,
I use it every night and I take alot more then they say to (6) 5mg per night.

I am a chronic pain disabled person so I have trouble sleeping also and have to get off of alot of meds.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Well - 1800mg is a healthy dose. But codeine is also one of the easiest withdraws that exist in narcotic land. Your addiction is just trying to feed itself. And thats also a hefty dose of valium, particularly if it isnt working. You do need to make an order of battle and stick to it. Have you tried benadryl for sleep? Diphenhydramine. It is the OTC equivalent of vistoril that is used for detox. And it does work for sleep a great deal of the time. It is unfortunate but insomnia is a strong component of withdraws. Practically insomnia will not kill you. But that much codeine and a narcotic addiction will kill you. And you are probably not doing your liver any favors either. Think about it. And good luck to you.......

[codean]

ok I blew it - sort of. I couldn't sleep and took about 100mg codeine. Reslt was 6-7 hours sleep. bliss. Good thing is there's been no temptation to take any more today although obviously I'm tempted too take some more tonight to sleep - maybe a bit less this time - 80 mg maybe.Bizarre way of tapering after my initial taper I know, but could this work? Is it really really a bad idea? I  know the obvious answer is yes, but am I fooling myself thinking I can make this work for me? I'm supposed to go to work tomorrow and there's no way I can do that if I don't sleep. The day starts witha 2.5 hr drive for a start followed by a 3 nr meeting and then the drive back. I can't do that with no sleep.

Before I get the answers saying 'don't do it', please think about it. I've gone from 1800mg codeine taken throughout the day to be able to take none all day - including today. I did that for four days and didn't sleep. Last night I took a small fraction of my previous dose - well within prescription dose (with a bunch of valium admittedly) and it's helped enormously. I'm thinking tonigt, no valium, just a small amount of codeine and see what happens, One part of me thinks the only way is complete ct, the other part thinks maybe I can tailor the plan to my requirements within strict guidelines. Or am I just talkinng out of my backside?

[Danny750]

Don't do it. I was 15 days clean and started using again and have yet to stop. It always starts out as just a little at night to sleep and turns into something bigger. Don't take it trust me you will regret it.