Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Opiate-induced Sleepwalking

One reason I'd make a terrible #junkie is that I can't take more than 10mg of methadone 3 times a day. Any junkie will tell you that's a BABY dose. I helped the homeless including driving junkies to the methadone clinic when I volunteered in Seattle, and most methadone clinics give out a syrup containing 250mg of methadone for a once per day dose. Dear god, that would probably kill me. but the reason I can't go higher than 10mg/day is that on any higher dose, even for breakthough pain, I will either experience insomnia or sleepwalking.

The first time I went sleepwalking I left my friends' apartment, took their flashlight, left their apartment building, and sat for 5 minutes, ASLEEP, on 11th Avenue in downtown Seattle (not the safest of places to be a woman asleep on the curb). Then I went back inside (thank god I wasn't locked out) leaving the flashlight downstairs for evidence to myself that I was unconcious of my own actions.

I did this immediately upon falling asleep, apparently, because the lady of the house "thought I had gone out to smoke a cigarette, but [I wasn't] gone long enough... If that doesn't scare you away from misusing your opiates, nothing will. To this day it scares me to live alone, for that and may other reasons. I have a service dog to let me know when a bad migraine is coming, so I can also sleepwalk proof my house before going to bed.

If you watch Mike Birbiglia's first movie about him becoming a stand-up comic, you can see just how dangerous sleepwalking can be. I would sleepwalk and talk even into my teen years, but I grew out of it. Or so I thought.

So yeah... Me? So not a junkie.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for your sharing. It's very useful for me. My friend has same problem.I can get more knowledge about sleepwalking. Waitting for your new articles.
    Regards
    James

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, My Doctor switched me to Methadone off of Oxy 10 Mg 5 x's per day ... AT MY REQUEST ... Then I noticed bruises and waking up at the most unusual places like "draped across the coffee table" or "face first" into the back side of the Toilet ... I "figured" I was "sleepwalking" I just NEVER KNEW WHY! Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks! I thought I was losing my freaking mind. I'm on 10 MG 5 times/day and recently started SLEEP WALKING ... I have NEVER in my life done it. When I'd wake up and be on the couch, sidewalk (multiple times) sound asleep, and lately falling over stuff and waking myself up I began to freak out a little. Thanks again for sharing!

    ReplyDelete