paws

[camm2]

I have been clean from methadone for 10 years now, but i still get post acute withdrawal syndrome, i some times can't concentrate don't sleep more than 4 hours straight, and other felling of depression. I was on 80 mg of methadone for 17 years and had to come down off of it in a 2 month period because of a job move out of state where the nearest clinic was to far away, got down to 10 mg was my last dose and went through pretty bad withdrawals for about 1 month. but after 10 years of being clean why do i still feel PAWS. The doctors seem to be stunned with my condition. thew give me medications to help sleep but nothing seems to work. and the trying to concentrate like just simple reading a book gets hard. Could i have messed something up in my brain that even time won't fix. Please help at the end of my rope.

[lilyput]

sorry you are having hard time. go to the health food store and buy an herbal sleep remedy. preferably one that has GABA in it. also make sure to get plenty of exercise. get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes 6 days a week. strength training is also good in addition to cardio.

good luck!

lily

[duckandcover]

Wow I feel for you on this one.  

I'm just thinking out loud here but keep in mind that you may be putting the cart in front of the horse here.  It sounds like you may have some issues mingling together.  If you're not sleeping then of course you can't concentrate.  I don't know many folks who can.  

You may have underlying anxiety issues that need to be addressed which can definitely lead to insomnia.  You may want to see a psychiatrist who specializes in anxiety and/or sleep disorders.  I've read that it's possible to suffer from PAWS as long as you have but there are definitely ways to get better.

Check out he health pages on the right of this screen for more info.

[worried878]

It may or may not be PAWS...sometimes even people who never had addictions have these types of problems believe it or not...I always tend to blame every feeling i have these days on drug abuse...sleep can be a challenge for many...what all have u tried?

[Calzy]

Hey camm. It could be you are dealing with a new kind of stress, like a new job or family matter, something out of the norm that could trigger that old way of thinking. Our brains store all the things that happen in our life and with the right combination of thoughts and situations can bring back some feelings from a long time ago. You may be just run down and need to take care of yourself. Look over in the health pages to the right and read the information on nutrition. Good luck to you
calzy