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.

[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.