Nodding off- What does this mean?

[kris1845]

Im new here and I really hope someone can give me some advice. I come from a very close christian family so all of this that I am about to write was a big shocker to my family. One of my older brothers just recently admitted to being addicted to pains meds- such as oxy and roxycodine (sp?). He said hes now clean... but something is just not right. He is very thin, can't sleep ( hear him up at all hours of the night), he nods off while sitting with the family. I have a newborn and I am wayyy over tired but never nod off.. so that just sounds strange by it self. He has his ups and downs.. hell be really hyper one minute then the next very rude and to him self (doesn't want to be bothered). Finally, his teeth are all grinded down.. he used to have such nice teeth and now they're very bad. The biggest thing though is the falling asleep... we'll be eating dinner or having a conversation with the family and he'll just fall asleep. Does anyone know what these signs mean? Thanks!

[gonebackpacking]

please let me suggest you do not offer to pay off any of his fines or give him money for anything else...that is what is referred to as enabling...it doesn't help them and you will end up poor and broke and miserable and they will still be going strong....Please take good care of yourself, i have found that all my love has not saved an addict.  Peace

[gonebackpacking]

some people visit the dentist for pain pills...and will even have teeth removed to get them if needed. Nodding can happen with narcotics which includes heroine, oxycodeine and other big time pain killer, morphine and demerol to name a few. My heart goes out to you.  I go to alanon which helps me handle all the addicts in my life...mom, 2 sister, daughter...its been crazy.  My thoughts and prayers are with you!

[kkrampage]

oops that was meant for kris185 sorry!

[kkrampage]

There are many other ways to use heroin besides shooting it with a needle. He could be smoking or snorting it or he could be using other types of opioids like pills or methadone to keep him from getting sick (withdrawing). Something to look for, your household aluminum foil is suddenly missing or your finding it in random places around the house, small balloons tied off on the end and straws cut into smaller portions. THese could be signs he is smoking, also straws with powder inside them could mean he is snorting it. There is always a chance he is shooting up in another area like between his toes or fingers where you aren't noticing the marks. Be vigilant if you think something is off it probably is. I have been in a relationship with a heroin addict for 9 years and have seen it all....I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[daddiesgirl1]

I have a sister who keeps nooding off all day and falling asleep as well. She is 63 years old and not on drugs, what can it be?

[Sister2012]

Hello All,

My brother is an addict and has recently relapsed. I confronted him very, very aggressively over the phone. He is denying it although his symptoms show that he is using (nodding, moodiness, paranoia, sneaking around, pinpoint pupils). I am so angry with him. I love him so much and I don't understand why he would do this to himself and his family. He has a wife and two beautiful children ages two and three. His wife is very savvy to his tricks and so I hope that he will not relapse for too long. I'm afraid I don't know much about why an addict is an addict. All I see is that he's risking his life. I see the potential harm his whole family would suffer if he dies from his addiction. I feel like he is toying with our emotional health. He has gone through a detox program before. His wife has encouraged counseling, therapy, and group support but he resists it. I feel powerless because the threat of losing him is always there and I feel like there is nothing I can do about it - like the addiction is holding all the people he cares about hostage  to his whims. It makes me sad and angry that he would take such a heavy risk with only the reward of a fleeting high. It seems so counter-intuitive and senseless. I have gone to see a counselor who specializes in addiction to talk it out. I keep getting angry. I guess that's normal. I want to be bigger than this, but sometimes I don't know how. It's comforting to know that others have been in this situation before and have survived it. Still, it seems so bleak. From what I gather, there are very few happy endings to all the addiction tales. I hope my brother can work things out inside himself so that he can live a long full life. I hope that for his sake and his family's sake.

[thhom]

He's not clean, he's WAY HIGH on some type of opioid.

As opiate addiction progresses you quickly develop a tolerance to the drug. In many cases the euphoria soon wears off and is replaced by 'paradoxical syndrome'. This is characterized by frequent headaches, hyper activity, sloth, emotional instability and insomnia just to name a few.

If you haven't already sought help for your brother, do so immediately. This is a lethal and progressive disorder that ends in respitory failure and death. It kills Thousands and Thousands of helplessly addicted people annually and is utterly beyond his control.  

[clean_in_ks]

Here's the link to get a new question on the current forum page:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/new_with_new_subject?forum_id=77

Hope you'll join us....we were all scared, depressed, and living a cycle of insanity.  And I hope you'll post and get some feedback BEFORE you make a decision on switching to suboxone.
You can copy and paste part of your post above or just post a new question....lots of support, encouragement and love just waiting for ya!

P.S.  Elwood, eh?  beautiful part of the state...actually considered part of St Joe's metro I understand...and St Joe is "home of the Cherry Mash"...hahaha!!

[keepgoing89]

Thanks you two. Yeah I was just googling some things and came across this particular forum and thought maybe people could still read it. I am going to post more often. You know, when you don't have people in your life to help you because you haven't told anybody about your addiction, it is a blessing to have forums like these. I mean, complete strangers from all around the world can make you feel better and not so alone. I love it, thank you and I will check out the most recent forums and post some questions- I've got a lot of them lol.

BTW- Kansas, I am in Missouri, 10 minutes away from Elwood Kansas. :) A lot of relatives there too :)

[clean_in_ks]

Hey keepgoing....like ouchie said above, since this is such an old thread, not many people are still around anymore.....and it'd be great to have you hit the orange "post a question" tab at the top and post your situation.

It will put you on the first page of the substance abuse forum and lots more people can comment and help.

I would encourage you to read all you can about going on subs for a pill addiction.....I did without knowing ANYTHING about it....and in hindsight, wish I hadn't.
Hope to see you on the main forum page.....we're here for you~

[ouchie1987]

Hi keep going, this is an old thread, up top click "back to community" and you will see the latest questions. We would love to help you, it sounds like you really want to quit. I was in the exact same situation as you last week. We can give great advice to wd. Be very careful with subs as they too are very addictive, you don't want to be replacing one drug with another.

[keepgoing89]

Also, the staying up all night isn't necessarily uppers, I have had a very interesting sleep life since being addicted to opiates. I have hallucinated many times often after I have taken a high amount that day, and that has, many times, kept me up. Also I've realized that staying up at night is a way for me to feel better knowing that everyone is sleeping in America just makes it easier for me to live as crazy as that sounds. But you see, that's what these drugs do to you.

[keepgoing89]

Hey Kris I don't know if you still need help with this issue since its been a couple years but I would like to state my opinion in hopes that somebody finds this on Google like I did and gains from reading it.

Let me paint a picture for you: a beautiful, attractive 24 year old college woman who has been addicted to opiates for a year and is still currently addicted and living the worst times in my life currently. Okay, that's me. I have never been one that people would look at as a risk taker or drug user and I'm smart and charming. Well I quickly became addicted to painkillers (tabs, percs) and since then my life is decaying. I have to do something about it, my house is absolutely disgusting as I really have no desire to do anything of responsibility, even keeping up my own personal hygiene. I always make up excuses in my head, "I'm not going to clean my house until I get at least three tabs, I will clean SO MUCH BETTER THAT WAY" then when I get them I'm just lazy and sad. I literally spend 20-$40 a day on pain pills. $20 for 4 percocets or lortabs, $38 for 3 Diludid sp? Or 3 roxicodones. Three seems to be the magic number. I am now relying heavily on my mother for money, I say that I have a lot of bills and don't make enough to pay them, but its really my addiction I can't afford. I feel so relieved when I take pills, but the the same time and the whole day I also feel so depressed and horrible due to my conscious. I know it is ruining my life, that I have lost my friends because I have alienated myself on purpose because I get too high and am afraid people will know, I am always on the defend, especially with my family. Anymore, I just think people are against me, that the whole world is against me. Which is why I stay away from people, and if for some reason I can't get any pills, then my whole day is spent inside on the couch with nothing on my mind except pills.

A lot of time and money is wasted because of my addiction. I feel like the only way I can converse with people anymore is if I take pills first. I've found that the times I've really alienated myself from people have been when A. I've been taking high quantities everyday  and ashamed to let people see my eyes so heavy and pupils so small, and my skin itching so much B. I couldn't score any pills and can't stand to be around anybody or let alone even move from chills and body aches C. I'm just plain depressed because of my lifestyle choice.

I haven't told ANY family member or friend about my addiction, pretty much only my dealer knows. I am scared more than ever for anybody to find out and I keep telling myself everyday that I don't have to tell them because I'm going to stop on my own. Well the next morning rolls around and I get more without giving a second thought. It isn't till after I take one when I start telling myself I'm going to stop again. I am aware that I am scared to tell anybody but also aware that the only way for me to get off of these IS to tell my family and get their help. But I am still in this cycle, I can feel it getting darker and I really am scared. It sounds like your son is going through this too. Depression is a common side affect of pain pill use, and some people lose weight when they are depressed, which could explain his weight loss. Also, it is extremely common to inject pain pills, especially if they have built up a huge tolerance eventually injection is the only method to feel the high (long sleeves). The anger he is displaying is a MAJOR side effect of pain pill abuse. I have never been so angry and defensive until my addiction, particularly towards the evening hours and morning. And his isolation is all to common with opiate abuse.

Don't gather the whole family to talk to him until u have talked to him one on one. He already knows everyone would want him to get help, he would be expecting it and it would make him feel very alienated. You could fake it and say you understand his addiction and will do everything to help him, or you could do a lot of research and truly understand and let him know. I am going to make an appointment with a Suboxone certified doctor. It's embarrassing, but I have to. Suboxone is a medication used to treat withdraws and cravings from opiates (pain killers). It's very effective so I've heard, I suggest doing some research on that as well. Good luck with everything. Lisa

[mitchthematt]

He might be clean from the pain pills. It sounds just like methodone to me. The first year or so methodone will make you fly around cleaning things, give you more energy. Then if you sit down and not moving it will make you nod, nod, nod but not really ever go to sleep. And at first you don't eat much. It could also be H. Now pain pills never did that to me like that. But both H and meth will do all of that and make you itch like crazy as well.

[sunflowerqueen]

When I first met my boyfriend he admitted that he was doing pain killers. He said he quit while I was away in Europe. He really downplayed the whole thing and I didn't have the impression that it was a major issue in his life. Now, after doing long distance for a year, we are living together and I noticed him doing the same "nodding off" thing which had always been my indicator that he was on them when I first met him. I've confronted him, asked about his eyes and if he's sleepy. He gets very defensive and angry that I brought it up. Once I video taped him nodding off and showed it to him. He seemed really concerned and unaware that he looked so ****** up. I told him it's been really hard for me because I feel like he has a problem and every time I bring it up he blows me off. Well he held me and kissed me and said, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to feel like that. I'm not on any pills now. Yatta yatta. But now he reacts the same way when I show concern for nodding off. Defensive, dismissive. I was reading some other symptoms and he does eat an absurd amount of sweets. Once he ate an entire bag of kit kat bars in one day. He also told me he stopped smoking cigarettes and wasn't addicted. That one he can't hide. I am going to look more closely at his pupils. He has very dark eyes and his pupils are hard to see.

[10356]

HI Bootlace although this is a addiction forum.. You may want to have your thyroid checked. my hubby was tired all the time Falling asleep when he sat down for any time, it turns out he has low thyroid. So it sounds like a physical and a blood work is in your future !! You work hard also but really you should be checked by your Dr, my hubby feels like he has more energy now that he is on meds for low thyroid. I wish you well, lesa

[bootlace]

i can honestly say i am not addicted to any street drugs or perscription drugs. and i find myself nodding off alot, and i dont know why. yes i work alot (construction/painting) and im on the rode driving at least 4 hrs out of each day.but lately i've found myself nodding off at least 5 times thru out the day??? I get at least 5-6 hrs of sleep every nite. unless theres a big job due then i may be up at least 48 hrs straight. so why do I nod off so much?  i thought maybe some1 was spike N my water but who knows. IF theres a doc. out there or anyone help me w/this issue, thank you

[debbie8562643]

i have a friend..that was addicted to oxycotin for 5 years and he has admitted to me that he takes methodone...i have been around him for 6 years and i have grown to notice his behaviors..he tells me hes not doing anything...but he can be out of money,,and lay on the couch for weeks and hardly move..and then he will leave for a day ..and come back full of energy..all excited..up all night and nodding off..like hes so tired but is fighting sleep..hes got like a mean look on his face..and acts like hes in so much pain...i know hes taking something..but he wont admit it...he swears hes just tired but if hes that tired..why cant he sleep?? does anyone have any suggestions on what painpills have this reaction and side effects? or is it what i think ...methodone?

[Dp91]

My dad will nod off for hours on end but claims to not be on anything. Is this even possible for someone who isn't sleep deprived. He used to be addicted to narcos and oxicotton but claims ti be clean of it now. I just don't think I can sit here and watch him nod off for hours and not say something but I don't want to offend him in case he really is clean. Any help is very appreciated.

[YesLife4Me]

Hi Sbecca,

This is an old thread.  If you'd like to get more responses, go to the top and start a new question by copying and pasting your question.    

In my experience, yes!   I had an ex that would just nod off sitting on the edge of the couch and other peculiar places.   He was either always super energetic  working on something or nodding off.   One or the other.   On top of that, the paranoia was awful.   He was so sure he was hiding his useage and would hide his pills so nobody could see how much he was taking.  Accuse me of odd things, call me paranoid, etc.    Pinpoint pupils, sweating, exciteability, talkative, itching...all signs of over using.  

[sputnik1957]

Does this addiction also cause paranoia?  My boyfriend does the nodding at the dinner table, stays up all night and nods off randomly. He is often like a statue standing, leaning over and just stops moving except for breathing and then maybe his body will shift a bit after a while. He’ll wake up for a moment and then nod off again, over and over. In the bathroom; at the kitchen sink; and just about anywhere else. He claims that he is a narcoleptic but I find his pupils are pin points and he has the Oxy prescription for back pain. His “narcoleptic” moments are more severe when celebrating an event.
I am also noticing that he is accusing me of walking too close to a contractor working in my home; shining and being too nice to his son; showing not enough interest in him but too much for others. Others in my family have seen his behavior while medicated and are very concerned for me. The paranoia scares me.  Will crazy behavior follow the nodding and accusations?

[SbeccaRue]

not trying to be rude or anything but actually if you are an opoiate addict taking enough you will nod or crash but it also gives you energy and you can't hardly sleep and your up all night...the nodding happens when you take an extreme amount..also the moodiness any and MOST addictions cause that cause your mad you don't have what you think you need!

[AuntBimmy]

SbeccaRue,
How much do you think is an extreme amount?  I ask as I know my older son (37 Years) has been addicted for at least6 years if not longer.  He had a terrible injury in a steel mill and was degloved.  Long story short, became addicted, got a dui 3 years ago, has no license, just got a job.  However, he nodds off early in the moring when I pick him up early in the morning to go to work and nodds off in the evening when I pick him up after work.  Is he using all day long?
I have read several people asking about the nodding off.  My son lost his prescription from a pain clinic when he got his dui.  Now I fear for the worst that he is using street drugs.
He overdosed a year ago, I picked him up to go to lunch and he asked if I could stop at a "friends" house to drop off a phone charger cord.  (I don't know this friend).  I did and he was there for about three minutes got back in the car to go to lunch.  Within 10 minutes he was totally slumbed over and gurgling, turned blue.  I drove to the emergency room with him.  Narcam brought him awake immediately.  So therefore I know if was and opiate.
What scares me is when he nodds off is the fact that it could be another overdose at any time.  He always has an excuse when I ask what is wrong with him.
I wish I had magic words to say to him just to get him to admitt he is using.  He denies that he is!  He denied the day the narcam brought him back.  Tried telling me that it was cold meds.  I told him that day, "sweetheart, you are first of all very welcome for me taking you to an emergency room and saving your life, second of all your mummy did not fall off the turnip truck yesterday! Narcam only works on opiates!"
He is a wonderful loving, intelligent young man.  He is also the king of maniupulative behavior!
I just wonder if it is heroin? He talks constinuosly about his drug knowledge.
Also, he uses Kratom?  Says it works great for pain.  Anyone know about Kratom?

[krysa0214]

My boyfriend has been nodding off on me I know he did heroin especially cause I found a empty bag he promised me it was the first time out of 3 to 5 yrs but he is always still nodding he doesn't have any marks on his arm just from the one time he used which I knows gets worse if he continued even infected what else can make u nod off and stupid looking I read all the other post but wanna know for sure so I can confront him I don't need that in my life never did drugs and don't ever want to

[step2me16]

I noticed my nephew nodding off and starring in space with his mouth open yesterday. He snapps and will get upset very quick w u everything is we not his family the street is his family. We try and get him nice jobs so he can live tbe right way he makes up excuses we offer to pay $3000 to oay off his fines he will say he dont want it he fights disrepectful and all what can we do?