StagebearNJ

You folks here are great and appreciated.
History of Ultram and Percocet abuse approx imately onw year or so. Stopped last Thursday. Admitrted to my doc I was abusing and told the pharmacy to mark my account as allegeric to narctics and ultram.
Today, I actually felt like doind something, which is good, since we moved in here last week.
But...I have not had any appreciable sleep since Wednesday night, when I had fours hours sleep thwnwoke uo anxious, because I knew what I was about to do.
First night off narcotics, I made the mistake of accepting an offer of xanax from a friend just to "get through". Also my docor prescribed Catapres. It was apparently wroking, but by Friday night I was back to jolting mylegs and arms. The oncall doc today ordered Requip- used for rstless leg syndroime.
STILL no sleep.
How long can I last like this? I need to go back to work. I've tried hot baths, hot showers, hot compresses and walks (not long, since it's WCF of 10 degrees here inthe Philly ares.)
Please tell me what to do. I got rid of the xanax, asked my partner to take them out with him since he was going out. So they're gone. I don'r think my doc will give me Ambien or Lunesta, sice he's worried about addiction. He did offer me Rozarem but said it takes a long time to potentiate and actually indduce sleep.
Some supprt, please. When will sleep at least 5 or six consecutive hours return?
Please offer some suggestions,.

im2sweet4u1983

A few suggestion I can make which will only work a few times due to you will build tolerance quick so switching up would be good. First one is Nyquil. You have to take more than the alloted dose. Usually 2 BIG swigs out the bottle. I used to use this when I was using crack and couldnt sleep and it worked. It will usually allow up to 5 hours of undisturbed sleep. Another thing to try which is like the xanax but not addictive is Benedryl. Benedryl is given to anxiety patients who have addiction problems and cant take stuff like xanax. 3-4 caps will usually work and provide for good sleep. And then of course there is the good ol Tylenlo PM I dont think it works as well as the first 2 but its something. The first 2 have helped me come down off a crack high so it should put you to sleep through withdrawls. I went through withdrawls like that off xanax and I used a lot of nyquil and benedryl. I was squirmy and could stop twitching and sleep was only a dream and a wish for me but this worked for me.

GlassPrisoner

I can't take Nyquil because I'm an alcoholic. Also, at higher doses it has the opposite effect on me.

I've had good success with Melotonin. I'm a little groggy in the morning, but I get a good nights rest once I get to sleep.

They say it will pass, or it won't. However, someone once shared "I've never see anyone die from lack of sleep".

Phinneas

Nope, sorry, OTC meds like Nyquil didn't work for me when I was kicking the opiates and Ultram. And - for a pill addict, bad idea, IMO.

Something that helped me, Stage, was hearing that no one ever died from lack of sleep. I had severe insomnia for months after kicking and, honestly, I just got through it one hour, one day at a time. I did a lot of reading here at SR, I surfed the web, I read a lot of books and just knew that if I held on, eventually it would get better. It did, but it took awhile.

Hang in there, Stage. You can get through this. It's isn't fun, but you CAN do it.

There is no drive-thru recovery. We take it one minute at a time if we have to.

StagebearNJ

Thanks for all of the quick input. I also cannot swig NyQuil and benadryl is useless for me. My doctor refused all sleep aids except Rozerem, which is a newer one. I initially refused that but may ask him about it tomorrow (scratch that- today. It's 2:11am EST). What Ive read so far says it's safe fro short term use. But heck, they told me the same thing about Ultram, right Phin? In any event I only want a few days supply.
I'm trying folks, I swear I am. I haven't even yet addressed what I'm going todo about the very real pain that got mt the drugs in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the drugs...I chose to abuse them. But the pain remains real.

GlassPrisoner

With ya stage. Although 3 hours earlier. I should be in bed.

Phinneas

Amen to that!