Can you use oxycontin as a sleep aid?

[Grateful-UnDead]

An interesting topic, but to take it off onto a tangent:

As a consequence of legitimate need, I have been administered a number of opiates: morphine, pethidine, oxycodone, tramadol and codeine.

While the drugs serve their purpose in reducing the pain of the injuries suffered, I feel no other effect. I understand that most(?) people get a “high” or other pleasurable effect from these drugs. In this respect, I have never felt anything other than the pain killing effect.

However, they all do have the unpleasant effect of keeping me awake for long periods of time. In fact, one time I was on morphine I was awake for so long that I was administered some other drug to knock me out.

Now, when I require one of these pain killers, I take a couple of valium before bedtime in order to fall asleep.

Can anyone comment on my apparently unusual response to these drugs?

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Grateful-UnDead

Can anyone comment on my apparently unusual response to these drugs?

Sure. It’s not really all that unusual of a response.

Sleep architecture – Opioids decrease stage N3 sleep and, at higher doses, also decrease REM sleep. This was demonstrated by a double-blind cross-over trial of 42 healthy volunteers . Both sustained-release morphine and methadone decreased the percentage of total sleep time spent in stage N3 sleep, compared to placebo.

Patient-important effects – Patients who receive opioids for pain may not experience sleep disturbance, as seen in addicts and some healthy volunteer studies. Long-acting opiates increase daytime sleepiness

From: uptodate.com

[astro]

@Grateful-UnDead

An interesting topic, but to take it off onto a tangent:

As a consequence of legitimate need, I have been administered a number of opiates: morphine, pethidine, oxycodone, tramadol and codeine.

While the drugs serve their purpose in reducing the pain of the injuries suffered, I feel no other effect. I understand that most(?) people get a “high” or other pleasurable effect from these drugs. In this respect, I have never felt anything other than the pain killing effect.

However, they all do have the unpleasant effect of keeping me awake for long periods of time. In fact, one time I was on morphine I was awake for so long that I was administered some other drug to knock me out.

Now, when I require one of these pain killers, I take a couple of valium before bedtime in order to fall asleep.

Can anyone comment on my apparently unusual response to these drugs?

Your response is very much like mine and from what I have seen is fairly typical. In fact it may be more common (overall) than the people who get a pleasurable buzz from the drugs.

[Grateful-UnDead]

Thanks for those responses; they certainly do not reflect my layman’s perception of these drugs.

Could you provide a link which gives more information on this phenomena? I would like to read up on it some more; I didn’t get too far with “uptodate.com”.

thanks

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Grateful-UnDead

Thanks for those responses; they certainly do not reflect my layman’s perception of these drugs.

Could you provide a link which gives more information on this phenomena? I would like to read up on it some more; I didn’t get too far with “uptodate.com”.

thanks

UpToDate is a subscription website that runs about $500/year to join, so don’t rush to sign up unless you’ve got lots of disposable cash.

PM me if you like, my subscription allows me to forward articles to folks, and even give ‘guest’ access to the site for a brief time.

It’ll be HEAVY on the medical stuff, but has a fair patient education part of it also, some of which is available without cost.

[Grateful-UnDead]

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

UpToDate is a subscription website that runs about $500/year to join, so don’t rush to sign up unless you’ve got lots of disposable cash.

PM me if you like, my subscription allows me to forward articles to folks, and even give ‘guest’ access to the site for a brief time.

It’ll be HEAVY on the medical stuff, but has a fair patient education part of it also, some of which is available without cost.

Thank you for the offer, it is really considerate of you.

However, on reflection, I think the topic is important enough that I should get some “expert” advice on this.

I already have an appointment with my doctor for Friday, so I think I will make his life miserable by grilling him on this and make him earn his money.

In the meantime, thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[astro]

@Grateful-UnDead

Thanks for those responses; they certainly do not reflect my layman’s perception of these drugs.

Could you provide a link which gives more information on this phenomena? I would like to read up on it some more; I didn’t get too far with “uptodate.com”.

thanks

It’s not much a “phenomena” as simply an observation that when I have engaged in discussions about the effect of Oxycontin and it’s chemical relatives with friends and with people on this board I get a lot more people telling it works re dulling pain, but with some irritating side effects, than people telling me what a golden rush it was.

I’m sure there are people for whom its euphoric effects are awesome, but I’m not convinced they are the majority of users. Possibly there is an entirely different experience if you take it recreationally when you are not in significant pain.

[astro]

@Grateful-UnDead

Thank you for the offer, it is really considerate of you.

However, on reflection, I think the topic is important enough that I should get some “expert” advice on this.

Ha! Oh God I have tears in my eyes!
Just as a heads up QtM is a physican with huge amounts of experience treating drug addiction.

[Ambivalid]

@astro

Possibly there is an entirely different experience if you take it recreationally when you are not in significant pain.

Actually, I think this is exactly the case.

[Grateful-UnDead]

@astro

Ha! Oh God I have tears in my eyes!
Just as a heads up QtM is a physican with huge amounts of experience treating drug addiction.

Sorry, I didn’t mean my response to come across as if I was denigrating QTM, or anybody else.

The responses that were posted to my question were so far off from my understanding of the action of these drugs, that my initial reaction was to go off and read up on them.

However, I then realized that since I am taking a variety of them, it would be wise to get my information from an informed source and be sure that I am taking them correctly, rather than rely on my layman’s understanding of professional journals.

So, since I will be seeing the doctor who is prescribing these drugs, it is logical that I put my questions to him.

My apologies if I offended anyone.

[astro]

@Grateful-UnDead

Sorry, I didn’t mean my response to come across as if I was denigrating QTM, or anybody else.

The responses that were posted to my question were so far off from my understanding of the action of these drugs, that my initial reaction was to go off and read up on them.

However, I then realized that since I am taking a variety of them, it would be wise to get my information from an informed source and be sure that I am taking them correctly, rather than rely on my layman’s understanding of professional journals.

So, since I will be seeing the doctor who is prescribing these drugs, it is logical that I put my questions to him.

My apologies if I offended anyone.

None taken. It was just amusing. QtM has forgotten more about drug abuse and all it’s parameters than many doctors will ever know.

[snailboy]

@astro

Possibly there is an entirely different experience if you take it recreationally when you are not in significant pain.

Not for me. I’ve taken various opioids recreationally and never got much out of them.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Grateful-UnDead

My apologies if I offended anyone.

It didn’t bother me a bit. Your own doctor is far more of an expert on your particular situation than I plan on ever being.

Believe me, you don’t want me to become an expert on your own health.

[emulsified]

FYI, if you do decide to try diphenhydramine and get some from the store, look for the packages in the allergy section as opposed to the sleep aid section. It’s the same stuff, but for whatever reason you pay way, way more when it’s labeled as a sleep aid.