Insomnia

Sorry to have to tell you that the resulting insomnia, common to all opiate withdrawal, can take months to settle. It doesn't affect everyone to the same degree but frankly my sleep patterns have never returned to normal and I rarely get more than four hours continuous sleep though I have been opiate free for several years. Not what you want to hear, I'm sure, but you may as well be prepared. One does sleep eventually, but deep restful sleep is hard to find. I'd talk to your GP if you feel the need to sleeping pills.

Unlike many Fentanyl users I had the misfortune to have been addicted to opiates long before being prescribed Fentanyl, but I had ceased using them. In my experience, which may not be common to all, taking any form of opiate without already being addicted has always had the effect of keeping me awake - something one would think was contra-indicated. I suspect there is a very basic correlation between opiates/synthetic opiates and sleep. Certainly the addicted user needs them to function 'normally' on any level, and it seems to be the case that those trying to function without them, post-addiction, cannot do so normally for a long period, perhaps ever... I have been clear of opiate addiction for years but their influence on my life continues. On the rare occasions I have used one (mostly fentanyl, and always for genuine pain) they have further disrupted anything approaching normality. This is obviously bad news, and I hate to be negative about it, but ultimately one has to adapt and compromise - don't expect to return to a former state of being; I don't think that is possible. One has to find new ways of coping - yoga, sport, breathing exercises; whatever works. You can't go back, but you can go forward.