I need help from those who are suffering from opioid-induced insomnia

[halperinchen]

I need help from our members who suffer from the opioid-induced insomnia. I'd appreciate if you can share with your coping method and how serious your insomnia is from taking the opioid. Thanks in advance.

[Madlegs1]

I experienced insomnia for about 3 weeks from Tramadol and also Oxycontin.I used Melatonin 250 micrograms, or Ambien. Both helpful in getting to sleep.

Good luck.

[halperinchen in reply to Madlegs1]

Hi Madlegs1, thanks for reply. Does Melatonin bother or aggravate your RLS?

[Madlegs1 in reply to halperinchen]

It might at the extremely high doses prescribed by doctors- usually 2.5 mg. And if used for more than a few nights at a time.I use only one tenth that dose, 0.25mg.

I get it in liquid form- a dropper bottle of 2.5mg and use one tenth of the dropper dose. Vitasunn on the internet.

[halperinchen in reply to Madlegs1]

Thanks, how is your insomnia, is it manageable by your regime?

[Madlegs1]

Grand. I'm about 5 yrs on opioids and have 96.7% (approximately) control of the RLS.I rarely use the afformentioned medications.😎😴

Usually when I've stupidly taken some trigger.🙄

[nopeno1home]

I have leaned that there are a lot of food triggers. Coconut for me is the biggest one. I am on mirapex and love it.

[Ryan48]

Hello halperinchen, for me personally magnesium citrate helped A LOT, good luck I feel your pain

[Hidden]

I've taken Methadone for six years, daily, and rareely have sleep issues. Both REM and deep sleep are good most of the time. I rarely get 8 hours sleep, but usually get 7 hours and 4 cycles. Melatonin may be helful.

[halperinchen in reply to Hidden]

RonB27, every person is unique in his own make up, some of others who can't tolerate Methadone, I guess you are the lucky one.

[involuntarydancer]

OxyContin was a big offender for me. I needed 30mg to cover my rls and at that dose I would regularly lie awake - in a pleasant mellow state - all night until the effects wore off at which point rls kicked in.

I tried cannabis and also pregabalin to overcome it but it never settled down. I stopped using OxyContin and sleep returned ( rls symptoms covered by other drugs).

I don’t seem to get the insomnia so badly with temgesic (buprenorphine) but I am on a lower dose of that.

[halperinchen in reply to involuntarydancer]

I can't tolerate any opioids including Belbuca (buprenorphine buccal film), I am thinking to switch from opioids to pregabalin, but with trepidation. I will read some of your posts carefully before I proceed.

[involuntarydancer in reply to halperinchen]

I think I’ve already suggested this and forgive me if I’m repeating myself but there’s a good webinar by Dr Chris Earley (RLS specialist practicing out of Johns Hopkins University Hospital) about differing responses to different opioids which might be useful given your particular difficulties with opioids.

It’s definitely worth trying pregabalin or gabapentin. They work well for many.

It can be very tricky getting a workable regime given the side effects of treatment drugs. Ive noticed that RLS can respond well to treatment by a number of drugs - each at a lower dose than would suffice if it was the only treatment. Perhaps you could get a regimen with a low dose opioid and some pregabalin. The pregabalin could help with the opioid insomnia as well as directly with the rls. Possibly you could consider dipyridamole (unless blood thinners are counter indicated for you) also as some find it helpful and there are some promising studies.

Good luck.

[TheDoDahMan]

I don't believe that all opioids are created equal, as far as RLS is concerned. I've been on low-dose (5 mg, twice daily) methadone for 3 years now. From day (night) one, I went from 2 to 4 hours of unsatisfying, interrupted sleep, to a full 8 hours of restful dreamy sleep. A lifesaver indeed,

[halperinchen in reply to TheDoDahMan]

TheDoDahMan, you mean methadone gave you insomnia in the beginning, but later you have no trouble with it, right?

[TheDoDahMan in reply to halperinchen]

I'm sorry for being unclear. What I mean is that from the moment I started taking the methadone, all my sleep problems vanished. The interrupted sleep was BEFORE I was able to get the prescription for methadone.

[halperinchen in reply to TheDoDahMan]

How nice it is, happy for you and am envious of you at the same time.

[TheDoDahMan]

Thank you for your kind comment. What I'm trying to imply here is that if someone has encountered insomnia problems after using an opioid to help with RLS symptoms, then perhaps it's because they haven't been prescribed the "correct" opioid. In other words, perhaps methadone will work without provoking sleeplessness, when Oxycontin, etc. did have that effect. My understanding is that Dr. Buchfuhrer, one of the great researchers and specialists in the RLS field, is also of that opinion.

[Hidden in reply to TheDoDahMan]

I'm still trying to find the Holy Grail of opiates. Codeine, oxycodone and Tramadol all gave me insomnia. I could have persisted but the other side effects weren't great. Buprenorphine didn't seem to cause insomnia, only extreme nausea that had me awake most of the night.

[TheDoDahMan in reply to Hidden]

My understanding is that methadone can (often with difficulty) be prescribed for RLS in the US, but is not, in the UK. I see that you are in Australia - do you know whether it can be prescribed there?

For those experiencing nausea with opioids (Buprenorphine included), my advice is to split the dose into 2 parts, and take them 3 hours apart, so as not to overload delicate stomachs. Let us all be successful in tracking down our personal Holy Grails!