Suboxone - Living on the Edge

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QyX

Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by QyX »

Carbamazepine worked for me from day 1, even in a low dose, I think 200 mg.

I have tried Neurontin before. Except side effects I had no useful effect at all.

I never wanted to try Suboxone because I heard it can cause sleeplessness / activation so I looked for the opioid which in my opinion is most likely to improve sleep, at least in the beginning will cause some tiredness. This was Morphine. I was able to sleep on Morphine alone for a couple of weeks but then I had to add the Carbamazepine.

EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

QyX wrote:Carbamazepine worked for me from day 1, even in a low dose, I think 200 mg.

I have tried Neurontin before. Except side effects I had no useful effect at all.

I never wanted to try Suboxone because I heard it can cause sleeplessness / activation so I looked for the opioid which in my opinion is most likely to improve sleep, at least in the beginning will cause some tiredness. This was Morphine. I was able to sleep on Morphine alone for a couple of weeks but then I had to add the Carbamazepine.


No way will my doc give me morphine, he is not happy that I asked for a higher dose of Suboxone, although now I know that all it would it would do is make me itch. He said that it does not do that to everyone, I wish I was one of those :lol:

EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

I got 2 hours and a few minutes of sleep last night. Went to bed a little after 3am and got up to the alarm. Forced myself to go to work, not only went to work but had to repair the plumbing under the kitchen sink too. I have had a full day and yet I made it. Only because I have had decent sleep lately, this can't go on for long or I will be back in the gloom.

Unfortunately, tonight I just took my 4mg of Suboxone. I can't allow myself to take too much of anything else or it will stop working due to augmentation, or through overuse, or because of building up a tolerance. Also I have to be very careful of not becoming dependent on anything else, it is bad enough to be a slave to Suboxone.

In a few minutes the plumbing should be ready to test and if all is well I'm going to bed (if it is not well I'm going to bed - but mad :lol: ). This is a very strange way to live our lives, I am so weary of it, but then maybe there is something over the rainbow - a cure coming any day, and we will actually be able to rest again and lay down and sleep in for a change. It would be so cool not to have to take meds to keep from pacing back and forth like a father to be in the waiting room (I did that one too).

ViewsAskew
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by ViewsAskew »

The tolerance thing is a huge problem for some of us. The only way I've been able to overcome it is by taking regular breaks from it. But, that either means being non-medicated every so often or taking things that many of us have already failed.

Because this is such a difficult issue, I honestly wish doctors wouldn't prescribe any of us a straight opioid. I also wish they wouldn't prescribe DAs without a break. If we all had to take regular breaks from each, maybe a lot fewer of us would have these problems. We'd never augment, we'd never have tolerance, and we could continue with the two for many years.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

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EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

ViewsAskew wrote:The tolerance thing is a huge problem for some of us. The only way I've been able to overcome it is by taking regular breaks from it. But, that either means being non-medicated every so often or taking things that many of us have already failed.

Because this is such a difficult issue, I honestly wish doctors wouldn't prescribe any of us a straight opioid. I also wish they wouldn't prescribe DAs without a break. If we all had to take regular breaks from each, maybe a lot fewer of us would have these problems. We'd never augment, we'd never have tolerance, and we could continue with the two for many years.


I found a huge bottle of gabapentin in my stash which allowed me to sleep 6 1/2 hours last night! I really am beginning to think that what I need is a different med to get me to sleep each night, while the opioid could be a pick of several, Suboxone works though. If I take a med once or twice a week, and take 3 different meds that way, I think it may work, at least I'm hoping it works.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by ViewsAskew »

I hope so, too. It certainly does for me. Too bad the side effects are such that we often are limited to which ones we can rotate.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

ViewsAskew wrote:I hope so, too. It certainly does for me. Too bad the side effects are such that we often are limited to which ones we can rotate.

I found today one of the limits. Last night I took 1/2 Suboxone (2mg) and .25mg of pramipexole. It worked to allow me to sleep 7.5 hours but now at 11:30am I had to take an extra 2mg of Suboxone, no doubt from withdrawals which are same symptoms as RLS. I hadn't thought that halving the dose when taking something else would do that. Surprise!

ViewsAskew
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by ViewsAskew »

You may find that you can reduce something like 25% (just guessing) without as much of an issue.

To get the most benefit, you'd likely have to withdraw from suboxone, then start alternating, never allowing yourself to become dependent. But, that would mean a tough time for you!
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

ViewsAskew wrote:You may find that you can reduce something like 25% (just guessing) without as much of an issue.

To get the most benefit, you'd likely have to withdraw from suboxone, then start alternating, never allowing yourself to become dependent. But, that would mean a tough time for you!


I have a feeling that I wouldn't be able to detox myself, that time I got off methadone, Lyrica, and pramipexole all at the same time about did me in but getting off suboxone would be far worse than all 3 of them combined.

Since they are little strips that go under the tongue it is easy to cut them to any size so I will experiment with that. 2 strips are 4mg so 1 and 1/2 is 3mg or 75% so maybe I could just take it that way at night with the other meds. I will try it. Thanks.

EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

I went to bed an hour ago but nothing happened except that my wife was asleep in 10 minutes and I just layed there. I thought it would be easy to go to sleep, I felt like I was very tired. I am very tired but I just don't have the thing to go to sleep. It is really discouraging. I have to work tomorrow too and there is no way I can't go in, a lot of people are counting on me to be there this weekend.

I had taken a 2mg Suboxone at about 11:30 am because of withdrawal from not taking enough the night before so I took another 2mg at normal time plus a gabapentin. I thought the gabapentin would allow me to fall asleep, but no. When I got up a little while ago I puzzled over this and took .125 pramipexole and another gabapentin. Hopefully by midnight I can try sleep again. This whole thing is crazy. I act like I am normal but I'm not.

The ringing in my left ear would be enough to drive some people up the wall. My shoulder hurts too. Then about the worse case of RLS ever. Today I went to the barber and got a haircut and came home and took a shower. I am allergic to my own hair so have to wash all the loose hair off. I decided to take a full shower since I work in the morning and to shave in the shower too. This morning when I shaved the gel shave creme seemed to come to the last of it. So (this is unbelievable) I looked at the opening and pushed the button.

It was like watching it in slow motion. The dang gel squirted right into my right eye at full blast, I didn't even have time to blink. I was actually yelling and screaming it hurt so bad, felt like acid in my eye (and who knows what is actually in that gel) but I smacked into the wall of the shower and found my way out as my wife came running in to see what was going on. She found the eye bath that we have, just a glass made to fit the eye so you can flush it with water. I did that for several minutes. Got back in the shower and turned the shower head on cold and flushed out the eye some more. The bottom eyelid swelled up, finally it is not swollen but it still hurts and is very red.

I'm talking about this because it would not have happened if it wasn't for WED, I'm sure of it. This fake sleep 100% dependent on drugs (and the drugs themselves) contribute to me making dumb mistakes like that, I would never do something like that normally, it is just plain stupid. Yes I am whining a bit, but I am not happy with the situation. Suboxone works fine to hide the symptoms of RLS but without real sleep it is not good. Especially because of the hyperalertness problem. 7 hours of med sleep is better than 2 or 3 for sure.

Polar Bear
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by Polar Bear »

Eefall, what an awful time that was.... I agree about the ripple effect of all these medications. My nocturnal wanderings I feel are often being done by another person.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
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EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

It is midnight and I am in bed unable to sleep, my wife is very asleep lol. I ended up getting 5 hours sleep last night, the extra meds worked and I was able to work. My eye is still tearing with grit coming out, it still is red and still hurts a bit but I can see fine. That was almost as stupid as when I fell asleep at the wheel 1/2 block from house last year. Back to my Preston and Child book called White Fire, maybe reading will help me fall asleep.

EeFall
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by EeFall »

It is almost 1am. I had an attack, it is actually a cramp in the butt it would be funny only it's not. I have gotten these since a teenager and when I get them I know I am very stressed out. I have to work tomorrow no matter what. If I have zero sleep I still have to go in no wonder that I'm stressed but it is just making it worse. My dad had this same kind of attacks but he didn't tell me until I was about 25 years old, I thought there was something wrong with me but I guess maybe he thought that about himself too. I can blame this attack on WED too. If I could get to sleep in 5 or 10 minutes like my wife there would be no stress. I'm acting like I'm 25 and healthy, working 3 weeks without a day off, unbelievable.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by ViewsAskew »

Are they rectal cramps or cramps in the muscle of the buttock? Hubby gets rectal cramps - unbelievably painful. He has a medicine that relieves them very quickly.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Re: Suboxone - Living on the Edge

Post by badnights »

I have to work tomorrow no matter what. If I have zero sleep I still have to go in
Those very words show how much stress you've placed yourself under.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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