Opioids Withdrawl sign: trouble staying awake?

After a year on opiates (dilaudid), I finally started working a full time job again. I still use, but something has been happening at work that I assume is drug related but I never had this happen before: I can't stay awake!

I dose before I leave in the morning and tried to make it through the day without taking anything. By the end of the day I could feel withdrawl kick in, but I could live with it since as soon as I get home I can look forward to happily plugging a dillie.

But I started having trouble staying awake in the afternoon. And I don't mean I get a little tired, I mean I am literally nodding off in front of the computer, catching myself with a whole-body jerk just before actually fading out (kinda like the way you catch yourself when you start to fall asleep at the wheel).

It usually starts around 3 in the afternoon and no matter what I do I just can't fight it off.

Unless I take some drugs. Just to see what would happen, I tried snorting 4mg after lunch and badda bing, no more trouble staying awake!

This makes me think it must be some sort of WD symptom, but I've never had this happen before and it's the ONLY symptom that shows up.

Anyone else have experince with this? Any hints on how to deal with it?

Thanks...

Most people get really tired in the afternoons... this is common in most people, especially those who dose opiates in the morning. I don't think it's a withdrawal sign moreso than it is your body craving sleep...

Once nightfall sets in your body adjusts to the darkness and dopamine/norepinephrine is pumped out to help your body stay awake throughout the night. But that period between the later afternoon-nightfall is notorious for being quite tiresome...

I'm on methadone at 150mg and although I don't get any sedation from it, I do get awfully tired in the afternoons around 3-4pm, to the point where I'm 'nodding' off (but no euphoria) at the computer, quite similar to what you described. But once nightfall hits, my energy is back and I don't have that problem of tiredness anymore. It's most likely your bodily clock.

Lethargy & tiredness are both symptoms of w/d. However, also your diet & lifestyle will play a part in how tired you are come afternoon.

So yes it could be your body wanting more drugs or it just simply being tired.

Thanks for the responses, guys.

The reason I think this is a drug related reaction is because I've basically had the same job for ten years and I've NEVER had this problem until now, and the only difference now is I'm a regular dilaudid user.

And, of course, if I take some D in the afternoon I don't get tired. So I'm thinking this is a weird withdrawl sign. I just find it odd since, before I started working, I never had this particular WD symptom. Sure, I'd feel anxious and irritable and get cold-like symptoms, but it never made me have a hard time staying awake!

I've tried all the usual remedies - taking a break, going for a walk and getting some air, have a snack or drink, nothing works. But snorting 4mg of hydromorphone after lunch would prevent it from happening at all.

i really don't think it's withdrawal. yeah it could be drug related (as in side effect not w/d effect), but you're not going to sleep when you quit

opiates can cause lethargy/drowsiness too, especially high/prolonged dosing

And, of course, if I take some D in the afternoon I don't get tired

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i believe you said you only tried it once? opiates are very psychological, and taking a pill can easily give you a good mental boost of energy, especially if it isn't at your normal get-high-place

I just find it odd since, before I started working, I never had this particular WD symptom

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a lot of people/opiate-heads seem to start getting body/mind issues when their work schedule changes... idk just a thought

perhaps try melatonin to reinforce your sleep cycle (and keep that regular)?

Good information from the posters above.

In my personal experiences, before I enter ''full blown withdrawal'', a period of intense lethargy resembling a ''nod'', minus the euphoria, will over come me to the point of falling asleep in front of the computer, tv, doing whatever activity it is I am at the time. Shortly after that, the yawns, lacrimation, and all the other goodies start to kick in. I strongly associate this noneuphoric, yet intensely powerful somnolence from the beginning stages of opioid withdrawal.

Ive noticed i always get extremely tired when i first start withdrawing like during the first stage. Then after that I wount be able to go to sleep. Happens just about every time i go through WDS

John_Burrows said:

After a year on opiates (dilaudid), I finally started working a full time job again.

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I'd say that this is your answer - Just starting full-time work again.
You'll be getting used to the different times that you exert energy and sometimes extreme lethargy can be an early sign of withdrawals.

Ah, I see both starting full-time work and the early-withdrawal lethargy's been mentioned

when I went through methadone WD I didn't sleep for nine days

Oh well, i guess I'll just need to keep dosing after lunch to get me through the rest of the day. I suppose it was wishfull thinking that I'd be able to go through a 12 hour day (the time between my morning fix and when I get home from work) without taking anything.

I was hoping to get through it because, crazy as it sounds, I actually LIKE to be in wd before I take my next hit - since my dilaudid doesn't get me high anymore, the next best feeling is dosing after wd is in full swing and feeling them melt away

I actually tried to make it through the day clean, but like I said, around 3pm I'd start falling asleep and by 6pm or so the withdrawls would start to get bad (I work until 7). I could actually deal with the other wd symptoms for a few hours, but all that dozing off meant I just wasn't getting anything done in the afternoons and fun with opiates just isn't worth screwing up at work!

So now I take my afternoon dose and by the time I get home I still feel fine.

Am I nuts for actually being bummed that I can't come home from work in full wd??

I was hoping to get through it because, crazy as it sounds, I actually LIKE to be in wd before I take my next hit - since my dilaudid doesn't get me high anymore, the next best feeling is dosing after wd is in full swing and feeling them melt away

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Am I nuts for actually being bummed that I can't come home from work in full wd??

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not nuts. but i need to warn you. ive always felt like the periods during withdrawal were where i could really get psychologicalled attached. the feeling of going from horrid-to-opiated or -to-buzz or even just to-normal, is very reinforcing.

i think taking a normal maintenance dose to feel sober would probably be better for the process of addiction not to further itself in your motivations/brain

In my personal experiences, before I enter ''full blown withdrawal'', a period of intense lethargy resembling a ''nod'', minus the euphoria

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i think i might get this. like intense yawning and like blahhh

to me withdrawal feels too much like stims like meth. i even want to dance. i should be feeling better today

Funny, speak of the devil... For some reason, even though I took my afternoon dose I experienced WD later in the day - by 5pm I was having trouble staying awake and by the time I got home around 8 I was seriously jonsing.

I like to push things a little further on the weekends anyway, so tonight I drank half a bottle of Robo and half hour later plugged 24mg of dilaudid.

It really was a great feeling to have the anxiety of WD float away. If all goes normally, in about an hour the DXM will kick in and I'll plug another 16mg, which should have me flying high for the evening.

And then I'll likely sleep all day tomorrow

John_Burrows said:

Oh well, i guess I'll just need to keep dosing after lunch to get me through the rest of the day. I suppose it was wishfull thinking that I'd be able to go through a 12 hour day (the time between my morning fix and when I get home from work) without taking anything.

I was hoping to get through it because, crazy as it sounds, I actually LIKE to be in wd before I take my next hit - since my dilaudid doesn't get me high anymore, the next best feeling is dosing after wd is in full swing and feeling them melt away

I actually tried to make it through the day clean, but like I said, around 3pm I'd start falling asleep and by 6pm or so the withdrawls would start to get bad (I work until 7). I could actually deal with the other wd symptoms for a few hours, but all that dozing off meant I just wasn't getting anything done in the afternoons and fun with opiates just isn't worth screwing up at work!

So now I take my afternoon dose and by the time I get home I still feel fine.

Am I nuts for actually being bummed that I can't come home from work in full wd??

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So are you pluggin' them at work now? Or just taking orally to get you through. I can't stand w/d the minute I feel a trinkle of sweat, shiver, or knot in my stomach I'm already busting some OC out. But that's me .

John_Burrows said:

By the end of the day I could feel withdrawl kick in, but I could live with it since as soon as I get home I can look forward to happily plugging a dillie.

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ROFLZ ewwwww lolz. Honestly i'm trying but still not adapted to the whole of internet drug culture yet.

[DO NOT READ]my honest answer would be something like: "dude wtf man?? stop fuckin using dope every day, stop stickin things in ur ass, we don't need to hear dat ish, its gone too far for u my dude, wtf ... etc... etc... EDIT-LMAO @ john BURROWS"


BEST ANSWER: my PC answer would be more like "sounds like some good advice in the thread. I am worried that your use may be out of control. Be careful, the reasoning to re-dose could be a sign that with your new regular use of Dilaudid your tolerance is going up and you want to justify afternoon dosing at work. Are you sure you want to go down that road? Can you try some alternatives? Is it possible to take a brisk walk during lunchtime? Or some other method of exercise? Are you a coffee drinker? What does your diet look like? Is your nutrition and rest enough to sustain you? "

i'm tryin

This same thing happened to me when I was in high school. I would use in the morning and By the end of school I could barely stay awake. One time I fell asleep in the school parking lot for 2hrs, then I went home and slept 24straight. Eventually it went away. I thought I had mono or something.

Kurrupt: no, not plugging at work, that would be too tricky and time consuming; I just go to the restroom, crush up half an 8mg pill (I use a coin to pulverize it inside a small plastic pill carrying case) and snort it. It works instantly and lasts me easily until I get home.

Yes, JK, although your post is kinda hard to follow, I agree that dosing at work is a bad sign, but I don't have much choice - even if I was taking my pills as perscribed and was just mildly addicted, 12 hours is just too long a stretch to get through for almost anybody.

I tried to resist, but the sleepiness brought on by what I now assume is withdrawl is just too much to take; that 4mg afternoon dose makes all the difference in the worlld, and if it actually helps and allows me to do a better job, it's a good thing!

John_Burrows said:

Kurrupt: no, not plugging at work, that would be too tricky and time consuming; I just go to the restroom, crush up half an 8mg pill (I use a coin to pulverize it inside a small plastic pill carrying case) and snort it. It works instantly and lasts me easily until I get home.

Yes, JK, although your post is kinda hard to follow, I agree that dosing at work is a bad sign, but I don't have much choice - even if I was taking my pills as perscribed and was just mildly addicted, 12 hours is just too long a stretch to get through for almost anybody.

I tried to resist, but the sleepiness brought on by what I now assume is withdrawl is just too much to take; that 4mg afternoon dose makes all the difference in the worlld, and if it actually helps and allows me to do a better job, it's a good thing!

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sorry for me being a jackass playboy, I had a bad week and a somewhat traumatic health turn and hospital stay.

Does dilaudid have a bad oral bioavailability? Can't remember if that's the one. Normally I'd say just take the pill man(at work) but I can see the logic if the BIOA sucks.

Yes yawning sleepyness can be a sign of withdrawal. When i get that way coffee seems to help my altertness. (an odd thing for me - i need a whole cup in that situation - a half cup or less can sometimes just speed up my sleepy state wtf??). And a walk at breaktime does help.

Ideally your physical strength can help you man. Walking, exercise some coffee...
And Mental strength - If you've ever noticed that as soon as you dose while in mild withdrawals that you feel much better and its too soon to even kick in yet - then that would indicate that you have more physical strength than you may think and room to improve on the toughness.

don't forget to ask your doc if it's an option. Tell him it's not holding you through work and explain the dosage schedule.

Good luck.

I have the same problem as you, it's the come down from the high. The high makes you energetic upbeat etc (aka euphoric), once that's over there's the come down which makes you drowsy (me to the point of almost narcoleptic, I fall asleep during meetings, at my cube, etc).

Really I just call it the down.

long term opiate effects

That can happen, after about a year completely off of methadone, I felt the same way. I HATED going to work because of the fact that I felt shitty. Tired and sleepy all the time. And guess what, I still feel that way, I just have adapted my lifestyle to where I can take my afternoon naps.

@opiaddict - same thing here. Methadone gave me a lot of energy, even in very tiny doses. I got used to dosing twice a day (we have pills here, so it is easy) or even three times on occasions. Splitting the dose always gave me the necessary energy boost in the afternoon.