posternutbag

Hello! I am new to the this forum but have searched it for advice in the past and have been lurking for the past month. I am off of Oxycontin for a month now, started cold turkey and then have been on Suboxone for about two weeks

I am also on:

Adderall
Klonopin
Zoloft

and have just started

Lunesta and Sonata

Just wondering what other people's experiences are with these drugs and recovery. Just a quick note to get started is what this is, really! Trouble with insomnia and depression (look at the meds). Things have been rocky so far, especially with the holidays, but I have not relapsed and the Sub is managing things very well! I have a great doctor and other people I am working with, but I decided not to go the inpatient route for a number of reasons, chief among them are privacy and not wanting my life disrupted any more than it has to be.

So I guess I am looking for some support here, support that would be kind of akin to what "group" meetings are about, in that I would hear from people who have had similar experiences. I am eager to get involved and offer what experience and help I can. Hope you guys are as welcoming as the board seems!

My first question is about the drugs I am currently on, I can post dosages in a later thread if it would help, and I know it may seem unusual but they are all scripted from one doc...I know some won't prescribe benzo's or adderall or others to someone who is coming off an addiction but I'm only taking whats scripted for me.

posternutbag

Anna

Hi and Welcome,

I'm glad you found us.

Of course, we can't give any kind of medical advice here, but you will find lots of support. It sounds like you've made a good decision.

Have you questioned your dr about the medications that he has put you on? Hopefully he would be able to answer your questions as to why he prescribed what he has.

posternutbag

Anna-

Thanks for the warm welcome and quick response! Yes I have a good amount of pharmacological knowledge so my doctor and I go over each medication in detail and discuss effects, side effects, how they work, etc. We have a very open discussion about these things. I was mainly looking to see if there are other people who have been on some of the same drugs and what their experiences were with them and managing an addiction and depression with insomnia.

Glad I found you too!

historyteach

Hi, posternutbag,
Welcome to SR!
You may have noticed that there are many different forums here.
feel free to join us in the mental health forum to discuss any of the depression issues you'd like.

Dual diagnoses is difficult to deal with; my son is a double winner too! LOL! His DOC is heroin, and he still struggles from time to time. He is also bipolar. Yet in RI, they won't treat his mental illness until he is totally clean for over a year. He's been using for 14 years now... As a comparison, in MA, 5 minutes down the street, they treat both the addiction and the mental health issues together -- as the research suggests! It sounds like your doctor is doing the same.

You'll also notice an insomnia forum too. there are some really good stickies on the top of it.

I look forward to getting to know you, and hope to see you here often.

Shalom!

Anna

I was depressed long, long before I became an alcoholic.

I had to get my depression treated before I could recover because I really didn't care enough otherwise. I tried Paxil and Effexor, both of which caused side-effects for me. I have been on amitriptyline for many years now and it works pretty well. I still have down times, but I always know they will end.

Insomnia has been a HUGE problem for me since my teens and continues to worsen as I get older.

flutter

Excuse my naivety (sp).. are you trying to get off all drugs? or just the oxy? I don't have any experience with prescription med abuse/addiction, and from the names of those I just was wondering if that was all the things you are currently addicted to?

I know that list is what you're prescribed, but as I've come to learn in here, a lot of addicts are taking meds prescribed, but abusing them.

I'm sorry if that sounds silly to you, I really don't know. I'm a drunk, my DOC is easy to pinpoint I'm really just curious as how best to support you!

Welcome, stick around!!!

posternutbag

I am only addicted to prescription opiates, and that is the problem I am working on now. Some other drugs I am taking other people have had addiction problems with, but it's a pretty clear-cut case for me, otherwise as part of the recovery my doctor would not have prescribed the other drugs! Makes sense, I hope. No these other drugs are either things I am on long-term, have recently begun to deal with depression, or have just recently begun to find alternative ways to treat my insomnia and related problems. Hope that clears things up...I only had a painkiller addiction, along with alcohol problems but painkillers are my demon. The suboxone has worked wonders for that, but I understand it's still an opiate and I'm going to have to titrate off that in the near future, but for now it's gotten me clean and able to deal with all the other ******** that would otherwise lead to a relapse. The depression has been horrible, but I refuse to use. I've quit many times before but never with any support, and this is my chance to get off.

Aysha

Dont know much about pills...But glad your here..Welcome.

flutter

Thanks for clarifying! You'll definitely find a ton of support here!