Oxy and Zolpidem withdrawal...

[dramatica]

Hello all.. I've taken Zolpidem for sleep almost every day for 18 months, always crushed and taken up the nose. For the last ~5 weeks I was on an Oxy binge with no prior history of use. First few weeks around 40mg/day then slowly increasing to about 90mg/day and the last few days 120-180mg.

Incidentally I ran out of both drugs the same night. I am on Day 5 of complete sobriety -- I am making a concerted effort to stop Oxy use for good. I have had days off from Zolpidem before and never had serious symptoms, but lately my dose each night was higher.

My world is complete hell. I am familiar with the symptoms of depression but this has topped it all. I feel I am constantly in panic, want to burst into tears at every moment, and I'm daunted by simple tasks of eating and taking showers. What's worse is that the feeling of being so useless and unproductive makes the anxiety so much worse. I don't know if the withdrawal is related to both the Oxy and the Zolp or mostly just the Oxy.

I do NOT really have physical symptoms since the binge was too short in duration. However the mental pain keeps me from doing anything physical. I can't eat.

The most wicked symptom is this feeling deep inside my abdomen that I can hardly describe -- its like I'm having a heart attack or my heart is racing (when in fact it is not), and it's the worst at night when I lay still in bed and try to sleep. I toss and turn endlessly. Sometimes I sort of "forget" to breathe because of it, like its stopping my breath. The feeling is driving me mad - it is only alleviated when I move around or rock back and forth like a crazy person.

I have so much regret and I just want to feel normal again. I have improved since Day 1 but it is still not what I would describe as "normal." I would like to think that by Day 14 I will not be so horrendously depressed, but I am just scared. These 5 days have felt like an eternity in hell.

My thanks to everyone for reading this..

 

[Jabberwocky]

I think it is very reasonably to assume that any remaining discomfort by day 14 will be a small fraction of what you have been going through the last 5 days. I don't know exactly what the abdominal/stomach discomfort is but many people getting off opiates get some relief from loperamide (immodium AD) for GI problems and discomfort. It is also cited as taking some edge off other opiate w/d problems as well. Congrats on making it through thus far. I believe you are over the hump.

 

[psytaco]

i have used zolpedium and zolpclone for insomnia everyday for like 8 month periods at a time. I never had any withdrawal symptoms (with the exception of difficulty sleeping - though that would be the insomnia). I would say what you are experiencing is the withdrawal symptoms from the oxy's.

best of luck and stay strong.

 

[dramatica]

Thanks a lot fellas. I'm in the middle of Day 7 full blown clean. I can't sleep worth shit, which really sucks, BUT the depression and anxiety is most intense in the morning and tends to fade a little at night now. That is great, even though I still feel like slaying myself each morning.

I am so restless despite not sleeping. I feel like I can't sit still or I'll lose my mind.

Has anyone else had experience with a short-term opiate binge? I was curious what your habit was like and how it long it took you for your depression to lift.

Before I started the 5-6 week binge, I had felt quite relaxed and happy and all my reward paths were working normally...

Any suggestions for the insomnia? Diphenhydramine does not work (seems to make it worse), melatonin does not work, I don't want to take Ambien anymore... I have access to lorazepam but I want to avoid more benzos.. I'm gonna try doxylamine which I see many people swear by.

Thanks all

 

[kken]

Yes. This is normal. Theres few things that come to my mind that are not really addictive.

If you have access to cannabinoids it will help with sleep/restlessness

doxylamine succinate (antihistamine/anticholinergic). You can use this while awake too it will sedate you enough to get rid of that annoying restlessnes but do not use for longer than 2 weeks or rebound affect will happen. Try melatonin with 50mgs (safe) it has slight sedating effect of its own

hydroxyzine - even stronger sedatation than doxylamine. up to par with benzos imo. hypnotic, analgesic, and tranquilizer but no euphoria. Great! its also Rx'd for opioid-induced hyperalgesia

pregabalin - gods send. i can withdrawal from anything if i have access to this. utterly destroys any anxiety too, removes chills/hot flashes, decreases noradrenaline, removes the annoying pains (but you dont seem to have these) and will stabilize your mood
gabapentin - weaker then pregabalin

il post more ideas later

 

[dramatica]

Bump to give a final word...

Today is my Day 11 off of Oxy, after ~6 week daily use binge.

I wanted to post again to share my experience with a relatively short-term, moderate-high dose binge.

On Day 7 I did not feel great (mostly due to lack of sleep) but I was able to get interested in food for the first time in a week.

Diarrhea and GI discomfort continued to Day 10 (although Loperamide (Immodium) helped immensely with this!) Now I think my tum will act normal even without the Immodium.

I was horribly anxious and depressed up through about Day 9, a small bit less and less each day, but still horrific. On Day 10 I was not perfect but I felt as if I had awoken from a terrible dream. I was THRILLED about this. Now, on Day 11 I can say my mood is more or less back to normal. I can happily read, watch TV shows, cook, and clean without wanting to burst into tears. All the terrifying feelings of despair have gone.

This was the most difficult experience of my life, though I am lucky I was able to get out after only 6 weeks of abusing roxys and oxycontin (I didn't really have any more money anyway). I kept on telling myself that the horror would end and that I would one day feel normal. This was very hard to to believe but I am very happy to say....it WORKED.

I wish everyone luck with their own battles. Even if your problem is much worse...there is hope for you yet... if you cannot bear to endure the suffering cold turkey, please look into the addiction treatments.

If you are a position similar to me, Please do not try to hurt yourself -- the horrible depression and boredom can overtake you if you let it... force yourself to keep moving... use that restlessness to your advantage... I found that if I felt like I had no hope left, I would just hit the street and walk...walk...walk... even for several miles... JUST to keep my mind and body from stagnating. Do ANYTHING you can to make the days go by and eventually you will get there, you will eventually reach a day where you mind is at peace, I promise you.. peace and love

 

[3dmusic]

I would say your troubles are down to zolpidem withdrawal.

Zolpiden is a class of z-drug which works the same as a benzo. (highly addictive)

How much zolpidem were you taking, and when did you stop taking it.
If it was less than fourteen days ago, you may be able to re-instate and taper. Any later than this, it probs wont work.
If you do go this route, its best to taper off valium, as valium has a long half life, whereas zolpidem only has a two hour half life. Using valium will stop any inter-dose withdrawals that may occur if you were tapering off zolpidem.
Morning anxiety and depression are worse this time of day because the stress hormone cortisol is at its highest rate.

Avoid alchol caffeine and sugar, and avoid any herbs or drugs that act on GABA. If in doubt, google them to see if they do act on GABA.