geauxtohell
Choose your weapon.
Sounds like we're in the same boat. I have Percocet also, and Vicodin, Tramadol, hell the VA just throws drugs at me for pain. Got to go to the "Pain Clinic" on the 28th... phht... I'm in pain, what more do you idiots need to know? No, you CAN'T cut me open again. Percocet gives me a buzz too, and I damn sure can't sleep if I take it too late in the day.
Opiates depress your respiration, but they don't necessarily help you sleep. Same with benzodiazapines. They are a sedative, but they actually hinder you from reaching REM sleep, so they aren't the best thing to use for that.
None of the artificial means of sleep are good for you. Teas help some people, but even then. Waiting until you can sleep is the healthiest way to do it.
I don't disagree, non-pharmacological intervention is the best route for all things non-cancer/bug related. That's just not a reality for a lot of people though.
Some good advice I got was to establish a sleep schedule and when you are trying to sleep repeat the number one or some other random thing that has absolutly no meaning so that your mind can't take it and run with it until you doze off.
One nice thing about being a former infantryman is that I can sleep anywhere. Basically, once I am in the prone position, I am out like a light. I guess it just comes form years of sleeping on the ground.
It drives my wife nuts, as she's a light sleeper.