Ativan blues

[ziggypiggy]

Recently added 2mg lorazepam to try and offset opiod induced insomnia and get some sleep. Had the opposite effect. Agitation. Restlessness with urge to move. Can't win for losing. Keep turning over rocks until someone gives .

[SueJohnson]

I'm sorry to hear that. Try lunesta which is what I take. It is not a benzodiazepine.

I use GoodRx as it is much cheaper than using my insurance.

[ziggypiggy in reply to SueJohnson]

Tried that and zolpidem. Not very effective. May have to see if the new orexin class work any better. Its bad enough that I may have to come off my opiod and see if i get more sleep without it and deal with the Severe RLS. Feeling trapped. Averaging 4hrs of sleep a night isnt enough and just adds to my mental health issues.

[SueJohnson in reply to ziggypiggy]

Trazodone and cannabis have been used to help sleep.

[ziggypiggy in reply to SueJohnson]

Tried trazadone three different times. Just power through any sedetive effects Have tried about 10 different strains and mixes of THC and CBD to try to sleep. No luck. Get some paranoia with the cannabis. The antipsychotics like serequel and zyprexa actually provide the most sleep but the side effects are too much to deal with. Agitation and restlessness.

They need to develop a fast acting opiod nasal spray that works immediately and is out of your system fast. Most of the time i just need to break the rls flareup connection and it may not come back.

I never slept well before taking opioids either but it was never this bad.

I appreciate the suggestions. My doctor is still slow to come around that the opiods are causing the insomnia but its not like there are awhole lot of options.

Gonna keep my eye on these people testing the Tomac machine. I have some suspicions about the mechanism of action but im willing to be open minded.

[SueJohnson in reply to ziggypiggy]

Oh my, you really have had a hard time and tried everything. Yes I would try one of the new orexin class drugs, although from what you have tried I have my doubts they will work

[ziggypiggy in reply to SueJohnson]

My next step may be the psychedelics to try and open my mind to a less rigid way of thinking. That's the premise anyways. Can't be any worse than the ECT treatments i went through. What an aweful experience. I'm still not convinced they didn't do more harm than good.

[intermk in reply to ziggypiggy]

I'm taking 6 mg of Buprenorphine every night which stops my severe RLS with arm & leg involvement completely. However, I still don't sleep a wink at night. It's 0430 right now and I'm wide awake and will be until at least 0630. Then I'll begin to toss & turn and get a little non REM sleep but have to get up at 0800 for work. I own my own business fortunately but get almost nothing done until late afternoon after taking about 600 mg caffeiene earlier in the day. I use the 5 Hour Energy Extra because the taurine helps. I have been unaware that Bupr or other opiods cause sleepless nights. I don't have that problem with meperidine or oxycodone. Of course the dose is lower by a little. They did try me on Ambein once and that stuff made me 'bounce off the walls'. It took away what tiny bit of sleep I was getting.I'm anxious to learn whether you get help from that new drug.

[amrob123]

Have you tried clonidine? That's usually good for initiating sleep.

[ziggypiggy in reply to amrob123]

On it right now for about five years. Kinda helps with anxiety and my blood pressure 😁. But not for getting me to sleep. I also take 600mg of gabapentin. Also helps calm me dowm. Tried doxepin a few times.Everything makes me groggy but can't seal the deal.

I have some autistic tendencies. I run in permanent fight or flight mode or masking you could call it. My brain percieves sleep as a threat. It gets in the way of being vigilant for danger and uses up precious time that my brain thinks it needs to analyze the past and also compute all the expected permutations of the future. The opiod just provides it the fuel it needs to stay working in peak efficiency. But my body is toast. Can't function. Bedridden more days than not. Hard to develop a rythem.

Thanks for the suggestion. I definitely recommend clonidine to others as it seems not to effect my RLS negatively.

[Jumpey in reply to ziggypiggy]

Could you try a different opioid? They all work slightly differently. I have had the same problem so I empathise greatly. I have found that the supplements 5HTP and Gaba(not gabapentin) have also helped.

[ziggypiggy in reply to Jumpey]

I've tried a few different opiods with similar response. As I mentioned above, my doctor doesn't whole heartily buy into the opiod being the problem for my insomnia for whatever reason. Also, my doctor's office puts in a lot of extra effort going through the motions every year to fight my insurance company to approve my medication. Anytime I want to try something else it's quite the production. My quest to continue to educate him continues. But as we all know, dealing with practitioners is a fine art form. Push on an issue too hard and it may backfire.

I'll look into those supplements you mentioned. Any idea on dosage and when to take it?

[Jumpey in reply to ziggypiggy]

Just following the directions on the bottle.Good luck.

[amrob123 in reply to Jumpey]

I find GABA supplement and L taurine helpful for sleep but at the same time, they're not half as effective as medications such as benzodiazepines or clonidine for example.

[TheDoDahMan]

I'm kind of confused. One often hears in the popular press the phrase "nodded out" referring to someone (ab)using opioids. Yet on these pages, you're not alone in talking about "opioid-induced insomnia".

So why the difference - is it a dosage related thing? Come to think of it, much the same is often said about kratom - stimulating in small doses, yet sedative in larger ones.

[ziggypiggy in reply to TheDoDahMan]

Probably. Messing with neurotransmitters is finicky.

[amrob123 in reply to TheDoDahMan]

Or if, for example, there's a greater imbalance in transmitters eg GABA/glutamate in RLS populations, then medications that ordinarily induce sleep may have the opposite effect.

[BeachGolfer]

If you got paranoid from the THC in marijuana you might try instead gummies made from hemp. If you are in the States you can mail order Delta 8 gummies made from hemp. It’s milder than the Delta 9 gummies made from hemp. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to take effect for me. Vaping the above gives me quick but short term relief from my restlessness. BTW I am also on Oxycodone. I wish you well.

[Typicallygaslit]

Have you tried taking just a tiny amount of THC in combination with something else? I had really good sleep last night on just 0.1 ml THC oil and low dose Buprenorphine, as well as a tiny morsel of quetiapine and Zopiclone. I’m really struggling to sleep as well! I have a Fitbit so I can keep an eye on it all. I gather it’s the hypervigilance that’s in the way and apparently the THC is about the only thing that puts a lid on it. Opioids are really problematic for me in general, some even make RLS worse. It’s a nightmare.

By the way, I find l-theanine helpful, it seems to regulate glutamate.

[violetta254]

The amount of caffeine you are ingesting to function in the morning may not be out of your system by evening. And would cause insomnia and RLS. Obviously you need it to do your job but it is probably part of the problem. It is kind of a vicious cycle. I can’t have ANY caffeine at any point during the day or I am awake all night. I have no suggestions as to how to function without it. I have gone to green tea which is not a good substitute at all. Have you tried Calms Forte? It is pretty mild and homeopathic and helps me to sleep.