Any Advice?

[OwnedByCats]

I had been taking prescription narcotics for 10 years because of pain issues. I have been off them now for a month, but have serious problems. I don't suffer from withdrawels at this point, except for maybe one - and that's a restless leg problem I get every time I want to sleep. My pain issues are still a problem, I've fallen into the darkest depression I have ever experienced and I cannot sleep. I have so much anxiety that I worry about everything constantly. I wouldn't do this because I just can't, but I do feel like putting a gun to my head. Sometimes I just pray to die. I used to pray to feel better, but when that never happened I just want to die. I have no will left and my quality of life is the lowest it's ever been. When I was taking narcotics, I didn't have pain, I dealt with stress so much better and I didn't have problems sleeping. For the ten years I had this problem, I was living in the UK and there wasn't quite as big of a stigma about this in my case anyway there as here ... or so it seems because I'm back in the US and my new doctor is just extremely unsympathetic. The root of my addiction, which is the pain/anxiety/depression/sleeping problem has never been successfully treated any other way, and while it's still a problem, I just don't know how I can successfully beat the addiction. In the UK they were willing to keep me on narcotics while they found the problems - in the US my doctor wants no part of it. I just don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

[kj3880]

I did the pain pill dance, too. Very hard to kick.
Try an addictionologist. I didn't have any luck talking to regular docs. No understanding of the problem. Get someone with as much experience as you can find or afford. Mine is worth his weight in gold. He got me to give myself a break and stop the blame game. I'm a lot better now.
Also, have you thought about NA? They save my life and sanity on a regular basis, and keep me smiling.
kj

[tommyk]

I can share some strength, experience, and hope...

I too suffered from depression & anxiety, I wanted to die, if someone could 'will' themselves to die I would be dead.

Anyhow - like KJ said, think about visiting a different doctor.

NA and the 12 steps were a gift from God too.

[ccgirl2]

Are your pain issues still an issue? It's natural to feel depressed and anxious if you're in pain. I would talk to a pain management doctor about that end of it.

As far as narcotics being the only thing that has helped with those depression issues, not so much. In the beginning your brain may be tricked into feeling better, but in the end, the narcotics work against your brain being able to function in a proper manner.

[kari08]

Owned.. I agree with CC... the narcotics will end up doing the reverse to your brain and your body over that period of time. As many many people will tell you on here.. after they have gotten off of narcotics the levels of pain that they were once treating didn't seem quite as severe. The narcotics mask so much of what is really going on. I have dealt with a problem with perocet for quite awhile and although it worked great for all the very same things you described.. chronic debilitating pain, depression, shyness, get up and go.. etc.. in the end the dependence on this is what is really killing us. I have worked a very good and very hard taper on these and have added in many more "natural" supplements and my pain levels and mood are soooo much better than they were being on percs all the time. I still have my "sore" days but they are so much better than they were. Each of us has a different story and not one is necessarily better than another but they are all significant for helping each of us add to our own path for recovery. I know by being on here and reading some of these stories about rock bottoms has honestly kept me from mine.. and I am very grateful for that. Good luck in your recovery too.
Kari

[butterfly19]

OwnedbyCats,

Hi! Nice to meet you! Since you're back in the USA, here is a website that you might want to check out:

Buprenorphine (Suboxone Subutex) treatment and opioid addiction resources from The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment - NAABT - Home page

You put in your location, and they find local physicians in your area who are specialists in treating addiction! It is a suboxone/subutex website, but even if you didn't want to get started on something like that, at least you could find a physician who is an addictionologist. That is how I found my doctor, and I am on suboxone. It is working very well for me! In my program I go once a week for my prescription, am drug-tested weekly for any other substances, and have therapy with a counselor to deal with both addiction and personal issues. If you want more info on it, that website will mail you a packet that has brochures and a CD that will explain what suboxone is and how it works.

Another avenue that you may want to pursue is a pain-management doctor. However, they are more likely to put you right back on pain medication. I do not know all of your medical history, but perhaps, you do need to be on pain medication. Pain centers carefully control what and how much of something is given to you.

Best of luck in finding some help. Welcome to SR and keep posting! You'll meet some wonderful people who have great advice!!!!

butterfly19

[hairgirl]

You may have an anxiety disorder that requires a different medication, and I would find a new doctor.The fact that your doc here is unsympathetic is not uncommon, but if you continue to search, someone more qualified should surface.

[Sugah]

Would you mind sharing a little more specifically on your pain issues? It's difficult to give suggestions without knowing the source. There's a forum that deals specifically with recovery and pain management, as well. You might find some of the answers you're looking for there.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

[serenityqueen]

Welcome to SR ownedbycats!

I'm gonna open up a topic that many get their fur raised over, but I am a Recovery Addict/Alcoholic, namely, my DOC was opiates . . . in massive quantities. I used for 32 years, 25 of those addicted to opiates and I have chronic pain conditions as well. I tried so many times to get clean and sober and into Recovery but for various reasons, I never made it very long.

July 25 will be three years that I have been in a Methadone Maintenance Program and have had fantastic results. I have not picked up a single drug or had one sip of alcohol. I am very involved in AA/NA which, for me, is a life line. I have also found a God of my understanding, which is a first for me. I no longer suffer from depression, anxiety is gone and I love myself today.

Methadone also is used by many pain management Dr.'s, therefore it has helped me a great deal with pain. Sure, it hasn't taken it all away, I still experience pain, but it's bearable.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I hope this doesn't begin a huge anti Methadone topic hijack. It works wonders for me! And obviously, if it didn't help thousands, who knows, maybe more, the Clinics wouldn't exist nor would pain management doctors prescribe it. I don't think I should have to defend what has been a fantastic aide in my Recovery.

God Bless,
Judy

[OwnedByCats]

I really appreciate the responses I have gotten so far and understand what everyone is saying .... I will elaborate on my issues a bit further:

My pain issues are specifically chronic tension and migraine headaches. Sometimes they start because of loud noises, certain smells (such as perfumes or cleaners that can trigger them), bright lights and even the sun. Sometimes I don't know what causes them - except for stress. My father had these issues when he was young too - but when he was put on high blood pressure meds, he rarely got headaches anymore. They started for me when I was a teenager - about twice a week I had a problem and after a few hours they would go away. I would take ibuprofen - but I would have to take a horse's dose to have any effect and all it really did was take the edge off, the pain would still be there. Obviously with it only happening twice a week I just dealt with it. As I got older however, they increased in severity, length and frequency and by the time I was in my mid-twenties they were a daily problem. I also started having depression, anxiety and sleep problems in my teens that were mild, but those also increased as I got older. I find that any kind of stress makes them worse. They impair my ability to live a normal life. I can't sleep when they are happening, I can't read, watch TV and even sitting in front of the computer is a struggle for me - hence why it's took a bit of time for me to respond to everyone. It also of course makes me miserable and incredibly hard to get along with. I also suffer from very bad period pains and at this point I'm also dealing with tooth pain because I grind my teeth in my sleep and they are literally falling apart.... soon however I will be getting them fixed so that is not a long term issue obviously, but I'm still suffering with it right now along with everything else. I have stress in my life right now and between that and the pain, it's just getting unbearable for me. I know I used narcotics as a survival mechanism for so long because it tackled so many areas at once and of course it makes me want to continue using them because I want my quality of life back. I know there are deeper issues at hand and possibly other things to help my problems exist, it's just so far nothing else has helped.... and you can imagine after 10 years of going to see doctors and specialists and not finding the root cause and treatment for it is frustrating for me.

My addiction to painkillers started quite innocently enough. Prior to moving to the UK, I only had one experience with narcotics which was when I had a wisdom tooth removed. I was given Tylenol #3 and for the first time because the extraction caused one mother of a migraine headache. The pain was gone which was great, but it put me to sleep. I immediately wrote off using it more regularly at that time because I didn't realize that the sleepiness would wear off over time, so I didn't consider it an option. Once I moved to the UK, the first time I had a headache (and from several months before I left for the UK and after I moved there - this coincided with the increase in headaches), my then husband ran out to the pharmacy to get me something with what I assumed was just ibuprofen. What I didn't realize at the time was that over there you can buy codeine phosphate over the counter at a maximum of 12.8mg per tablet. He picked me up something called Nurofen Plus - 200mg of ibuprofen and 12.8mg of codeine phosphate. I didn't think in a million years there would be anything like that over the counter and thought it was just ibuprofen - but luckily I just took two instead of my usual 6-8 tabs. I took it and it was like a miracle drug. The pain was gone. I was surprised as ibuprofen on it's own never really took care of it completely, but I didn't question it enough to even look at the box properly. I thought maybe there was something in there extra, but I hadn't dreamt it would be codeine. Not long after, I got curious as I found it was working every time I took it. I was shocked to see codeine as an ingredient. However, that didn't stop me from taking it. I was just so happy it was working. At the time I had just gone through a traumatic experience, moved to a new country and was dealing with a culture shock issue, being away from my family for the first time and my husband had just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. Not surprising I had stress issues. I was so worried about other things I didn't concern myself with what I was taking. I was just happy to be rid of the problem. After a couple of years, by which time my husband was in remission, the culture shock and homesickness was far less of a problem, other stresses were no longer an issue, I began to worry about the headaches a bit more. I was taking the meds every time I needed it so I told my GP about the headaches as I started to concern myself with why they were happening so much. I was sent to a neurologist who found nothing seriously wrong such as a tumor or anything like that. I had said that I was going through about 24 tabs a week. He didn't think that was outrageous as he had seen people in his office who took 3 and 4 times that A DAY. I was put on amitriptyline to try and help, and if I still needed the codeine I could take it while we were seeing if it worked. For two weeks I had no headaches. I stopped the codeine tabs completely. I had no withdrawels from it either at that time. However, that all ended when my husband's cancer returned a 2nd time and we were also going through the stress of buying a new house that we were also renovating. Suddenly they were back and the amitriptyline no longer worked. I was back on the over the counter tablets again. This time, I got hooked good and proper.

I took them for another year after that and I found myself with an impacted wisdom tooth that was pressing on a neighboring tooth's nerve and the pain was horrendous. My dentist wouldn't pull it and I had to schedule an oral surgeon in the hospital which took me two months to secure. They simply couldn't get me in any sooner (you know those pesky waiting lists in Britain!). My GP then prescribed me dihydrocodeine tablets when the over the counter codeine wasn't cutting it anymore for this kind of pain. I was already taking extra for the headaches so I was obviously becoming immune to them. I took 8x30mg tabs of dihydrocodeine a day as a starting dose, which was far more potent than what you get over the counter and kept me out of pain. As you can imagine, after 2 months of that, I was really hooked by the time the tooth came out. My GP agreed to keep me on it after the surgery for my headaches. In meantime I was put on different other types of medications to see if anything else would help. Everything from antidepressants to other types of painkillers that weren't addictive to sedatives like valium - none of it helped my problems anywhere near as much as the narcotics, but I would try whatever I was given. Eventually I had to admit to my GP that I had a problem. I knew I was taking them for pain mostly, but I did find myself here and there taking them to feel normal even if the pain wasn't an issue at the time I took them - AND I found myself taking between 20-30 tabs a day from my original 8. I did gradually increase my doses, as you all know ... you get immune and need more and more over time. That's when I knew something was wrong. I tried cold turkey - I couldn't do it. I tried to wean myself, that went wrong several times. I was then sent to drug counselling.

They pushed for me to go on methadone because weaning off the tablets was too much of a nightmare for me. I was constantly clock watching for the next dose and it was too tempting to cheat. They said the methadone would help not only with the pain, but I wouldn't suffer the same cravings I had while on the tablets. It took me a while to agree because I was scared of using methadone. So much of a stigma about that had made me wary. Eventually when I just couldn't handle coming off the tablets any longer, I went on methadone out of desperation. To be honest, it was a wise decision. I was more in control than I had been in years. Prior to that I had my husband hide my tablets from me because I just couldn't control myself. If they were there, I would take them. Then I would beg him for more and it just caused too much of a problem. Because I wasn't considered a risk for selling my meth doses for heroin, I was always given two weeks worth of doses at a time, but I was in complete control and I never had to have them hidden from me. There were times once in a while were I would cheat, but compared to the tablets, that was nothing. Just to give you an idea - when I was taking dihydrocodeine I went home to see my family one Christmas and I was away for 5 weeks. This was the height of my problem with the drug and my GP gave me 800 tabs to last me 5 weeks. I ran out after 3 weeks!! I had to see a doctor in the US to get more - which at the time they did give me more without question when I said I was addicted. A year later after I had been on methadone for about 9 months, I went home to see my family for 2 months and I was given enough to last me 2 months (I was still on my starting dose of 30mg a day). It lasted me for the entire time. I had no problems with sticking to my doses. I hadn't had that kind of control since the early days of my over the counter codeine usage. I eventually weaned myself off methadone completely. I did it very slowly over a 2.5 year period, but I did it.

However, my pain issues were still a problem. I went back on small doses of the over the counter stuff until I left England 7 months ago. Once I got here, when my stash ran out, I started by Tramadol off the internet. I had used it before during a couple of rough patches while I was weaning off methadone. However, Tramadol and me don't get along as it triggers seizures for me. I decided to stop taking that and see a doctor here. I was honest with her about my past, I even gave them my old GP's e-mail address in England so they could get a copy of my medical records. I told her the headaches were still a problem and she did prescribe me a short course of Tylenol #3 which I gave my mother possession of so I wouldn't lose control. She had given me enough to last 2 weeks ... but I made it stretch to almost 3 weeks. When I went back to her, she didn't want to give me more because she wanted me to see a neurologist first and didn't feel comfortable giving me any more - she said her hands were tied. It took me a while to attempt to make an appointment with one because as I had just come back here, I had no insurance so I applied for Medicaid. I wanted to wait to make sure I was approved because if I wasn't, I couldn't afford to go and see a neurologist and as I have seen two already, it feels less urgent if you can understand what I mean. Once I got approved, they wouldn't let me make an appointment because they wanted to see my med records from the UK first (because otherwise "it could get quite costly" they said - for who? Medicaid will pay for it. My father told me they have to take a discounted rate when medicaid pays for medical bills - does anyone know if that's true? He's thinking that's why they want to see the records before they'll even see me) Then I find out my doctor's office kept messing up the e-mail address to my old doctor so they didn't get my med records yet. This wasn't my fault but when I told her I was really uncomfortable, she still wouldn't prescibe anything. Now I'm waiting for the neurologist to let me know when they've viewed my records so I can make an appointment.

I guess being honest really bit me in the backside. The problem is she doesn't know squat about me because when I've tried to give her the history to tide her over until she got my med records from England, she was just too busy to listen. She made me feel that I wasn't serious about seeing anyone and I just wanted the drugs, which is wrong. I just couldn't land myself in deeper debt with medical bills in case medicaid didn't come through. I had to be taken to the hospital when the Tramadol caused a seizure - I was in debt for almost $4,000 just from that - I needed to make sure about Medicaid! Then I find out I couldn't have made the appointment anyway. I will see the neurologist, but it's killing me to suffer in the meantime. She's talked about the neurologist putting me on other drugs, which would be fine if they worked .... and I will try anything, but in the past I've had medical proffessionals understand that I didn't want to suffer in the meantime. She didn't want to create a dependency problem, but what she doesn't get is this is a problem she has inherited already. It goes back ten years. It's too late .... the dependency is already there. I guess replacing a controlled substance for other drugs is ok, even if they aren't always the best for you either. I just want one that works, and one that isn't going to keep me prisoner. However, if someone told me that I was never getting relief without the narcotics, I'm sorry I would choose to take it. I don't believe that is the case, I'm just saying .... lesser of the two evils and all of that.

I just feel that because my addiction started because of pain, anxiety, depression and insomnia issues .... as long as they are still a problem, how can I beat the addiction when the root of it all still exists? I just want relief and I know from 10 years of struggling with these issues, it won't come overnight. I have only been back here 7 months and my stress is at an all time high. I'm recently divorced, hence why I am back here, I don't recognize my own country anymore, I miss the UK like crazy and want nothing more than to be back there, my new partner is in the UK and I can't be with him for a while due to certain circumstances which is killing me, I have money issues and my parents, who I am back living with, are driving me nuts because they don't understand me at all, for various reasons. I'm just having a bad time and that has made my pain/depression that much worse. Then I have a doctor who doesn't take me seriously and I am not used to that. My old doctor, although I know he probably regretted giving me narcotics (although let's face it, I was addicted to the over the counter ones first and that wasn't his fault), he had the patience of a saint, gave me plenty of time and never judged me. I had a wonderful relationship with him and now I have this cold and unfeeling woman who just acts like she doesn't have time to deal with me.

I know it sounds like I just want the tablets and believe me, I wish I didn't want them. I wish my problems didn't exist so I could get them out of my life completely. Everyone on this side of the pond just thinks I'm out for the high .... well I'm not. It's just for some reason I felt like it replaced something that was horribly missing, which my old GP thought maybe I had a dopamine deficiency, hence why when I first started taking narcotics I felt hugely better in many different ways. Of course it did get out of control, but I learned alot when I went to drug counselling ... I learned how to keep better control of the medications and since then I didn't overdo doses any longer. It really did help me to keep control while I was searching for a better way. I just wish I had that same support now - between the drug counselling and my old GP - the support was amazing. Now I'm lost. Now I can understand why some people may get their drugs on the black market. Doctors shouldn't wonder why that sort of thing happens when they just toss their patients aside like this. I'm not thinking of doing that by the way .... I couldn't even if I wanted to, which is just as well. I just wanted to be above board with my doctor ... with her knowing what I take because she gives it to me. Those days are over for me unless I find another one who will help a bit more. I just long for a quality of life I used to have and now I feel I never will have again.

I'm sorry this is so long ... but it can be hard to squeeze 10 years of history into short paragraphs! Thank you all for listening!

[bvaljalo]

I would look for a pain management specialist. Admit to them that you are physically dependent on narcotics, but tell him/her that you can manage your doses okay. You med records from the UK aren't going to show you as constantly showing up way early for your meds, getting dismissed from practices, or other negative remarks like that, right? If you can gind a good 'pain specialist' and can make a reasonaby good impression, I suspect you'll have a lot better luck than what you're having with run of the mill GP/family docs.

Worst case, you can always find yourself a methadone clinic to tide you over temporarily. Those are generally inexpensive, and at least you'll get some relief until you find the right doctor.

Good luck with everything, welcome to SR, and keep posting

BTW, welcome back to the good ol' US of A. Land of the industrial world's most f***ed up, bulls*it health care system! Remember, it's all about PROFIT here, and taking a medicaid patient who's already hooked on opiates is nothing but a MONEY LOSING proposition (not to mention a hassle!) for most doctors. Kept 'messing up the email' ... YAH RIGHT!!!

You gotta understand, it's not about YOUR health here in the USA, it's about PROFITS. Medicaid doesn't pay that much, so, you get to 'take what you can get'.

Ain't that just SWELL news?

Sorry to be the bearer of it, but them's the facts.

P.S. my aunt has bad bad migraines, but she takes some kinda shot that's non-narcotic that really really help her. I'll try to find out what the drug is for ya ...

[OwnedByCats]

Well I hate to admit it, but I've had the feeling that the medicaid situation would have it's drawbacks. I'm sure they just hate me!

It's weird ... people here talk about how bad the situation is in the UK for healthcare, but it's not as bad as it's made out to be - at least according to my experience. I wasn't even a citizen or anything close to it when I first got there and they never gave me a hard time - NEVER asked for my previous records even at first! I registered with my first doctor when I was living there on my US passport. You are allowed to stay there for 6 months on a passport and I did this 3 times before I got my visa and then my indefinite leave to remain status. Regardless of what document I held, I never got refused treatment and I didn't feel like they were trying to fob me off. I didn't much care for my first GP, not because she wouldn't help, she just didn't seem thorough enough as it took her awhile to refer me to a neurologist. My second doctor who I had for the most of the time I lived there (8 years) was wonderful. I couldn't have asked for better. I never had to pay for visits to my GP, to specialists or any hospital visits.... the only thing I had to pay for was a small contribution to prescriptions, but next to what they would cost in this country without insurance or medicaid, it was nothing. My husband did pay National Insurance for both of us, but it was a small amount every month.... very affordable. Believe me, the amount they spent on me well went over the NI premium in just methadone alone! While the NHS isn't there for profits, they do have to manage what money they do have so they don't run out and I used to worry that they would cut corners to do so. However when it came to me, my family or friends - I never noticed people getting refused things they needed. I'm not saying that it's a perfect system because it's not .... the waiting lists can be a nightmare for some people and sometimes things go wrong, but it's far from perfect here too. I've never had so much trouble and I've only just got back into the healthcare system here for a couple of months. I've had more aggravation in one day here than I had in 10 years over there. As you can imagine, it was a shock.

I'm planning on returning to the UK in 2 years (sooner if I can manage), but in the meantime I have to put up with the God forsaken doctor I have now unless I find another avenue.... which as you say could be in pain management, but again, what kind of trouble will I have with them, especially regarding the medicaid issue? Hopefully nothing that I've had so far as they specialize in pain management and all that, but I worry. I had saw another doctor at the same practice before I got set up with the one I have now ... he was equally unhelpful. He wouldn't give me anything because "it would be like giving an alcoholic a drink" and I agree it's the same premise, but he knew I had only just come off of them. It wasn't like I had been free of them for 2 years and he just didn't want to risk a relapse. However he had no problem prescribing me clonazipam to help with withdrawels .... I guess swapping one addictive substance that actually works for the pain with another type that doesn't is ok. Of course I stopped taking that weeks ago ... it didn't exactly help with my pain problems and only mildy so for the withdrawels.

Now as far as my records go .... there isn't anything on there that is damning. I was never kicked out of a practice, I didn't do anything that made me lose any kind of trust or privilages with anyone. I was always brutally honest with my doctor because he understood. I was never admitted to the hospital for overdoses or anything like that. I don't think it will help me on this side of the pond though ... at least not with my present GP! Maybe with some other type of doctor.


I would love to get back on methadone, but I'm sure a clinic would expect me to turn up daily for doses regardless of what my records say and I don't have a car and have to rely on rides which I can't get every day. I know some people didn't get on with methadone too well so some might say don't do it, but I found it great for pain and so much easier to wean off of. Everyone is different in how they respond to different drugs, so while I found it worked great for me for my specific issues, it doesn't necessarily work for everyone.

How do I go about getting a pain management doctor, addictionologist or someone who's willing to help with my issues? Do I have to be referred or can I just make an appointment with one without even having to inform my GP?

Thanks to everyone who has responded, it has been a big help!

[kari08]

It is really unfortunate here with the medicaid system. We see it all the time in our office. They dictate what the docs can or can't do. We spend hours trying to get one drug pre approved for a patient only to have them come back and say.. ohhh sorry need to do this one first.. then we will look in to the other one. it is bs. BV is the shot you are thinking of Imitrex? it is very effective most of the time for migraines, but medicaid will probably not pay for it. My best friend was on it for a bit and medicaid allowed I think it was 4 shots a month.. then eventually none. Topamax can be great for migraines if you can tolerate it.. but medicaid won't pay. Maxalt I have been told is good, not sure if they pay for that one thou. I have had huge success with mine with feverfew.. herbal and will probably get big backlash here, but sorry it works wonders for me, and I have been on everything possible for severe debilitating migraines for years. Feverfew combined with 5 htp has saved my rear from ripping my head off. But this is just my own experience from the depths of desperate sometimes the answers are so simple we can't see them. I wish you luck in getting through this until you can get back to where you want to be.
Kari

[bvaljalo]

Get your records IN YOUR HANDS. That is my best advice. It may well be that with them you'll be able to go to a clinic and they'll give you takehomes right from the git-go.

And yeah, medicaid COULD still be a problem at a pain doctor, but at least they're USED to seeing people in your situation, they're accustomed to prescribing narcotics to people that are addicted to them, cause that's what they do all day long, basically. Your chances of 'success' are just better with one of them. Hit the phone book and the phone, that's all I can suggest offhand...

[Alera]

For those in chronic pain, we have a great new forum just for us addicts who suffer from it.

Stop by Recovery and Pain Management anytime. The more the merrier.

[OwnedByCats]

Thank you for all the suggestions everyone ... I will look into a few of those for sure. Not sure how much luck I will have, but I will try.

I have a question ... has anyone noticed when they have come off narcotics that sneezing becomes a problem? LOL Every time I have detoxed for anything longer than a couple of days, I sneeze all the time! What's up with that? In the past when I have started taking the meds again after a detox because I couldn't take the headaches anymore, mysteriously the sneezing stops. If it only happened some of the time that I have detoxed I wouldn't wonder, but it happens every single time. It's been over a month now and I still sneeze like crazy! Everyone thinks I'm coming down with something or I have allergies, but I know it's not either of those things. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone saying they sneeze a lot - so I wonder if it's just me (I wouldn't be surprised!) or it only happens to some people or not many people have made the connection - which seems unlikely to me that someone wouldn't notice! I think detoxing makes us more aware of how we feel than normal.

I'm still not sleeping, finding the restless leg thing a problem along with the pain I already experience anyway .... I keep thinking I'm going to drop one of these days out of exhaustion, but it still hasn't happened yet. I'm lucky if I sleep an hour and a half or two hours a day and it's not restful sleep either. It's very much 15 minutes here or there throughout the night. I really feel like I might go insane if I don't get some decent sleep soon! My legs are fine if I'm sitting, walking and even if I lay in bed and read or watch TV it doesn't bother me, it's when I turn the light off and try to nod off that it starts - right when I start to feel tired enough to fall asleep, one or both legs start at it! I spend most of the night exhausted, wanting to fall asleep and as I said, 15 minute increments once every couple of hours during the night which doesn't add up to more than 2 hours. It's not a wonder I feel so rotten. I tried taking Nytol to help me sleep but that only makes the tiredness AND the restless leg worse than if I don't bother. I certainly don't get any extra sleep as a result, just end up more uncomfortable. Under normal circumstances, when I am not going through this and I don't have pain - I really suffer if I don't sleep at least 7 hours a night. How the hell am I functioning at all? Of course, I'm not fuctioning that well ... but I would expect to have passed out by now!

Has anyone else found these things to be a problem even over a month after stopping?

[bvaljalo]

Yup, it took me over a month to start sleeping normal, the first few weeks I took ambien (which worked for exactly 3.5 hrs a pill) and then I switched to unisom (doxylamine succinate), which worked just fine. I tried benadryl/tylenol pm (diphenhydramine) ... those just made it harder to sleep. Not sure what's in nytol, but you might wanna check the package.

And yeah, sneezing in w/d's? For sure. Happens to me every time. Lasted about a month as well.

"Teary eyes" lasted me even longer.

[windysan]

i'm a crappy advice giver

[bvaljalo]

Windy, you're just 'crappy' in general