Painkillers causing sleep probs.: Hi i feel I... - Pain Concern

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Painkillers causing sleep probs.

7 Replies

Hi i feel I should write my experience with matrifen patch and Tizanidine a muscle relaxant. I was on matrifen for nearly a year before I started having sleeping problems ended up sleeping alot during the day and waking up and going to the loo at night.

Finally 3 years later i saw a sleep doc and had an overnight sleep study and found out I had central sleep apnea where your brain doesnt make an effort to breath while asleep so came off matrifen patch(fentanyl) and it had gone.

But because I had been put on tizanidine in the mean time I still had sleep probs but because sleep studies came up normal. I did not know it was tizanidine at the time because of course I had been taking matrifen at the same time. But two years later I was getting fed up with sleep probs plus hallucinations as well and decided to try coming off it After asking Drs. I completely came off it and dont have sleep probs or hallucinations now.

Sorry for it being such a long post.

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7 Replies
FRreedman profile image
FRreedman

So what has happened to your pain? Has it gone? Do you not need any medication , any more?

No pain hasnt gone and I am now on a different muscle relaxant Baclofen. Plus it means i cant take any opioid pain medications.

I also still get very tired and might nod off in afternoon but that might be the baclofen now.

Ritchie1268 profile image
Ritchie1268

Hi Sasha.

I was put on a massive dose of Oxycontin for years by my Dr. Been off it a while now, but I too was diagnosed with Central sleep apnoea which is the frightening one where your brain doesn't say wake up when you stop breathing. After my sleep study I would stop breathing around 80 x per hour per night.

This has now almost completely gone, but my problem now is due to all the Oxy over years, I have B12 deffinciey & Pernicious Anemia where I just cannot sleep for long at all.

Funny how I've not read anywhere where sleep apnoea can be associated with opiates but I think we now know different.

Glad you're sorted.

Take care 👍

Thanks well my sleep Dr was sure it was that and did test when i came off and I didnt have it. It is scarey to think your meds can di that though. Mind you if you read the side effects they are worse than having the illness.

Ritchie1268 profile image
Ritchie1268 in reply to

It is very frightening.

I was told 15yrs ago I had 5 worn out discs in my back. Was put on Oxycontin not knowing what it was as I trusted my Dr.

It destroyed my life & I came so very close to being one of the over 200 thousand this one drug has killed in USA & Canada.

I now refuse to take any pain meds as im still suffering the side effects from years of taking Oxy, even after being off it for a few years.

Purdue Pharma & the multi billionaire Sackler family are just a load of legal Heroin dealers that have the blood of thousands on their hands.

in reply to Ritchie1268

Yep they certainly are.

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