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New med

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 7:49 pm
by leggo_my_legs
I was having problems alerting from oxycodone. I thought the dr was going to add a sleep med or something but instead he stopped that and changed me to 2-4 mg of dilaudid.

On the dilaudid, I have cotton brain the next day which seems odd since it's supposed to be so short acting. I have fewer central apneas on it than oxycodone, but my sleep is more shallow and less restful. I just emailed the dr for advice. This is all so frustrating.

Overall, I have found that any opioid is better than no opioid. But such a frustrating situation. I also have little initiative but not sure if that's due to this or being marginally employed.

Re: New med

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:07 am
by 2BassetMom
I remember being given dialudid when I had my appendectomy. I definitely had foggy brain. I agree that any opioid is better than no opioid. I hope you and your doctor can work this out. Initiative.. is also a problem for me. I think it is from the lack of sleep. I wonder if the foggy brain will ease as you get used to the new med.

Re: New med

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 8:26 am
by badnights
I take hydromorphon contin (long-acting hydromorphone/Dilaudid). I haven't ever gotten foggy brain from it, so I can't tell you if it goes away, but in general you should give a med 2 weeks for a fair trial. Maybe ask your doctor how long you should take it to find out for sure if the side effect will go away or stay.

I think if you're alerted by one opioid you'll be alerted by them all. You will probably need a sleep aid, if you can convince him. There are five main groups that I've tried meds from.
- One is benzos but you don;t want those unless you're desperate.
- The Z-drugs (zolpidem, eszopiclone, etc) are very effective and have minimal side effects in most people, I take zopiclone with few (if any) problems.
- Then there's trazadone, which I also take, it began life as an anti-depressant but is used for sleep a lot.
- Then there's the alpha-2-delta ligands like gabapentin and pregabalin. I use Lyrica/pregabalin, just a tiny dose, to increase my sleepiness as bedtime approaches. It might not be enough by itself, but it can help.
-F inally there's marijuana and related substances, including nabilone which is a synthetic THC-like substance. Nabilone was not very effective for me and gave me next-day grogginess, but many people like mm.

Might be more.

When can you talk to your doctor again?

Re: New med

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:06 pm
by leggo_my_legs
Thanks guys. I emailed the doc. He said give it some more time if I can. I appreciate the 2 week guideline, I will try that.

I already take trazodone but the opioid makes it not work for sleep. I do eventually fall asleep with the opioid but it takes so long and sometimes I think it has worn off by that time.

Patience with medical issues is not a personal strength but I am trying...

Re: New med

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:56 am
by badnights
Try taking the trazadone later and the opioid a bit earlier.

Re: New med

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:58 am
by leggo_my_legs
Thanks. I was also thinking about taking the trazodone first then the opioid. Trazodone puts me to sleep so right before maybe take the other pill before it gets into my bloodstream and alerts me. Opioid is so short lasting if I took it earlier feels like benefits wouldn't cover all night.

What a mess.