Re: I feel like my body is poisoning itself while I sleep.

December 27, 2005

Dear _______________ (insert name here),

You said:

> I have been off Methadone for 1 month which was prescribed for pain by

> my doctor. Every night after I have slept about 3 hours I wake up

> feeling very sick, its hard for me to move but I fall back asleep.

> Following this I consistently wake up every 15-30 minutes until morning

> with the same feeling. When its time for me to get up I am at my

> worst. I feel very sluggish and sick, I can only describe it as a toxic

> or poisoned feeling. Much like a hangover, but a lot worse. After I

> get up, shower, and move around, the feeling gradually dissipates after

> a few hours. After being awake for 4 hours I usually feel normal. I

> have tried adjusting my diet and excluding different things such as

> dairy, wheat, vitamins, sugars, etc, with no results.

>

> Two years ago when I quit Oxycontin I had this exact same issue, but to

> a lesser extent. It was tolerable back then, however it continued until

> I started taking Methadone. When I was taking the Methadone the problem

> went away.

>

> I am becoming very frazzled from the lack of sleep. I have had a

> complete blood workup by my doctor and a naturopath, the doctor's blood

> work up showed nothing, and the naturopaths showed that I was slightly

> anemic and had a slightly high level of protein. I do not, and will not

> eat animals. I take flax oil, multi-vitamins, rice protein powder, and

> superfood with a fruit smoothie in the morning.

>

> Anyone have any idea as to whats going on?>>

** Yes, I have a pretty good idea of what's going on and your

doctor should have picked up on this.

High protein in the blood has nothing to do with diet. Our blood

contains millions of different proteins. The one that is usually

measured in blood tests is the blood involved in the immune system.

Do you have a lab value (and reference value) on this blood test?

Just a few things cause elevated protein in the blood. These are:

-- inflammation

-- infection

-- bone marrow depression/damage

These things cause permanent bone marrow suppression/damage --

most drugs used for chemotherapy, radiation treatment, drugs for

rheumatoid arthritis, and depending on length of treatmentm some

antibiotics (many people who were treated in NYC for anthrax exposure

after 9/11 have this problem now because they were given two or three

antibiotics for an extended period of time). Also, some pesticides

and insecticides, viral infection, lupus (an autoimmune disease),

bone marrow diseases, heroin, and yes, you guessed it, methadone.

As long as we're on the topic, I am going to stray for a monent and

list the types of drugs that cause temporary bone marrow

suppression/damage. These drugs will cause bone marrow suppression

within a week or two of beginning them. It is possible for the bone

marrow damage to be permanent depending on the length of time these

drugs are taken.

Dipyrone

Mianserin

Sulfasalazine

Co-trimoxazole

Anti-arrythmic agents

Procainamide

Carbamazepine

Ajmaline

Tocainide

Aprindine

Amiodarone

Penicillins

Amoxycillin

Aziocillin

Benzylpenicillin

Phenethicillin

Cloaxacillin and penicillin

Thiouracil derivatives

Methyl thiouracil

Propyl thiourcil

Phenylbutazone

Cimetidine

Busulfan

Lomustine

Penicillamine

Methotrexate

Diclofenac

Carbamazepine

ACE-Inhibitors

Captopril

Enalapril

Melphalan

Hydrochlorothiazide with potassium sparing diuretics

Indomethacine

Cephalosporins

Cephalexin

Cepahazolin

Cefuroxime

Cefitaxime

Cephradine

Oxyphenbutazone

Nitrofurantoin

Salicylic acid derivatives

Clozapine

Carbimazone

Sulphonylurea derivatives

Glibenclamide

Tolbutamide

Methyldopa

Thiamazole

Nucleosides

Aminoglutethimide

Ibuprofen

Pentazocine

Levamizole

Promethazine

Chloramphinicol

Acetaminophen and combinations

Perazine

Mebhydrolin

Ranitidine

Imipramine

Phenytoin

Chlorthalidone

Sulphamethizole

Norfloxacin

Naproxen

Clomipramine

Trazodone

Omeprazole

Alimemazine

Pirenzepine

Ticlopidine

Ibopamine

Hydralazine

Nifedipine

Nalidixic acid

Doxycycline

Clindamycin

Gentamycin

Fusidic acid

Dapsone

Azapropazone

Propyphenazone

Sulindac

Piroxicam

Pirprofen

Niflumic acid

Allopurinol

Glafenine

Valproate

Levadopa with carbidopa

Chlorpramazine

Haloperidol

spironolactone

Zuclopenthixol

Zopiclone

Cinnarizine

Metronidazole

Pyrimethamine combinations

Thophylline

But, back to your problem. How long did you take Methadone and what

dose were you taking? We'll proceed from here after I get your

responses to the questions in this email.

Regards,

(list owner)

December 27, 2005

,

It is possible that inflamation is a factor. I have had horrible bowel

cramps, and diarrhea since I stopped taking the Methadone. I was also

taking two 5mg percocets a day for breakthrough pain. I stopped taking

that as well at the same time, but have started taking one 5mg percocet

a day, my diarrhea, energy levels, and sleep improved a lot. So I

would say that without any opiates in my system my bowels tend to be

inflamed. I was taking 10mg of Methadone daily for 8 months. To quit

I cut down my doses by 50% every 2 days til I couldn't cut down

anymore. I was still in pain, but was tired of feeling sick/0 relief.

I have the blood test results infront of me but am not sure what I am

looking for. The protein level listed is 6.9. Also I wanted to

mention that I have very high hormone levels. The results were:

Progesterone 310 (average healthy range is 5-95pg/ml), Androstendione

759 (average healthy range is 151-350pg/ml), Testosterone 162 (average

healthy range is 60-110pg/ml), DHT 87, Estrone is at normal levels. I

am a 23 year old male.

Thanks,

Sky

Creel wrote:

Dear _______________ (insert name here),

You said:

> I have been off Methadone for 1 month which was prescribed for

pain by

> my doctor. Every night after I have slept about 3 hours I wake up

> feeling very sick, its hard for me to move but I fall back asleep.

> Following this I consistently wake up every 15-30 minutes until

morning

> with the same feeling. When its time for me to get up I am at my

> worst. I feel very sluggish and sick, I can only describe it as a

toxic

> or poisoned feeling. Much like a hangover, but a lot worse.

After I

> get up, shower, and move around, the feeling gradually dissipates

after

> a few hours. After being awake for 4 hours I usually feel

normal. I

> have tried adjusting my diet and excluding different things such as

> dairy, wheat, vitamins, sugars, etc, with no results.

>

> Two years ago when I quit Oxycontin I had this exact same issue,

but to

> a lesser extent. It was tolerable back then, however it continued

until

> I started taking Methadone. When I was taking the Methadone the

problem

> went away.

>

> I am becoming very frazzled from the lack of sleep. I have had a

> complete blood workup by my doctor and a naturopath, the doctor's

blood

> work up showed nothing, and the naturopaths showed that I was

slightly

> anemic and had a slightly high level of protein. I do not, and

will not

> eat animals. I take flax oil, multi-vitamins, rice protein

powder, and