Day 8 of heroin withdrawal- how long should my insomnia last?

[SilverDC4]

I picked up a heroin habit about 2 and a half months ago. Went from shooting a bag a day to a bundle a day pretty quickly. I took my last dose 8 days ago. The first 40 hrs were hell, then I was left with an ache in my bones which is now gone. Over the course of this time I have only managed 10 hrs of 'sleep' total. The deprivation is killing me. I start a new job today and I'm freaking out. I've tried xanax, ambien, valerian, nyquil with dxm and doxylamine, diphenhydramine, passionflower, ashwagandha, melatonin, trazodone, amitriptyline. The xanax and the ambien are the only things that seem to help, and even then I generally sleep an hour if I'm lucky. I take this in doses of 0.5mg (xanax) and 15 mg (ambien). I need recommendations for sleep, I need all the tips I can get. Also, when does this usually get better? Is there any danger to this? Ihave no psych issues other than alcoholism/addiction and I'm currently trying to kick these things for good... going to 12 Step meetings and whatnot... i'm just looking for words of encouragement I fear for my health... I've never had any troubles sleeping or been this long without sleep.. I figured my body would have shut down by now. I can't think worth shit. Im also hesitant to take the xanax and ambien out of fear of dependence and more insomnia

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

For some people it goes on for months and months.

You're only on day 8 (fucking nice one for getting that far though), it will come eventually. Most people can expect to be moving towards a more normal sleep regime by the end of the second week or so, but it can also take a lot longer than that.

If you can get hold of a hypnotic benzo (temazepam, nitrazepam, loprazolam, flunitrazepam, midazolam) that's likely to be your best bet, obviously be careful of how much you are consuming though. Nitrazepam works well to put me out and keep me out.

Quitiapine (seroquel) works really well as a sleeper for me, I find it very sedating and in a natural kind of way at the right dose. Fucking around putting anti-psychs into your body obviously carries it's own set of risks though.

To be honest though, what you really need is a little bit of patience. I know that the insomnia can be fucking destroying and leads lots of people back to using because they just can't handle the lack of a break from reality, but just keep strong and stick it out and most likely you'll be back towards having some sleep and waking up feeling refreshed and more healthy than when you went to sleep within the next week or so.

 

[Corazon]

If you've lasted 8 days = AWESOME.

Try to limit/abstain from any xanax, ambien, nyquil etc etc etc......

at this point you are past the acute withdrawals.
That other shit is going to start to be counterproductive at this point.

Try to be positive that you have quit the heroin, and that you have a job.
Try to eat. Try to do some exercise(your job itself may be sufficient exercise at this stage in the game).

You will sleep more and more at this point. It's basically inevitable. You body will settle into this healthier routine now, and the less additional chemicals you throw into the mix, the sooner you will be feeling good naturally.

 

[Fatjosh]

I didnt do heroine but I just came off a hefty dose of oxy and hydromorphone, its day 13 for me and I still can only get a few hours sleep if I combine benzos and nyquil, im only giving myself one more day of benzo use cause two weeks is even a bit long for me to use them. Im not saying you should but I will say that half a mg of xanax isnt much in my opinion and if I had only 10 hours of sleep and a new job I might up my dose a little to catch some zzzzz. But justbe careful with your benzo use it can lead to a worse addiction...good luck buddy be proud of your 8 days kicking opiates is a war, you may have one this battle but we r addics the war is for life.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Congrats on making it 8 days. It's not easy.

Insomnia is usually one of the last symptoms to go for people. Trust me I know how much it sucks.. I hate it. It's one of the worst if not the worst aspect of withdrawal for me. It can take months to get your sleep schedule back to normal. However, after about 1 month, you'll be at least able to sleep okay.

 

[SilverDC4]

Thanks guys. I managed to sleep 10-12 hrs last night. I took .5mg alprazolam slept for 5-6 hrs then took .5 more slept for 5-6 hrs more. I'm trying to avoid doing this at all costs, now that I have achieved sleep. Tonight I will take an ambien maybe and tomorrow I will try to sleep naturally. I can't be prescribed a more longer acting benzo because my doc doesn't want to give me anything addicting. The xanax and the ambien are administered to me by someone else who has a prescription. They are keeping me in check so that I won't abuse them. I still feel like I have "sleep debt" from last week but over all that rest last night was a huge sign of hope for me and I feel sooo much better. My heart goes out to everyone kicking opiates/opioids especially if their use was much more severe. I only had a few month stint with it and this has been awful

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Sounds like you're taking a sensible route.

To be honest you shouldn't feel guilty about using the benzos for sleep as long as you're keeping them under control. The sleep is worth so much in the process of both physical recovery and mental respite from the withdrawal that they're more than worth it.

Having someone to administer the benzos to administer to you is the perfect situation. When you start getting that completely natural sleep it's totally amazing though so you're right to be aiming for it. Nothing beats that feeling of those first few nights of totally natural sleep having come out of the otherside of a detox! (well, maybe emptying your nuts into a chick that you love but let's not go there)

 

[Fatjosh]

Sleep with antihistimines coming out of withdrawl =nice

Sleeping with benzos coming out of withdrawl = super nice

Emtying nuts into somone you love then falling off without even cleaning up right into natural sleep=priceless

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Emtying nuts into somone you love then falling off without even cleaning up right into natural sleep=priceless

The wetter the better!