Xanax

When my father was sick and dying, my mom was under a tremendous amount of stress and started taking zoloft and xanex (at different times), but for sleeping as well. She now has myclonic jerks from taking these medicines. She can't sleep at all without being interrupted by these jerks or other things that now make her mind not stop at all (worse than before she started taking them.) It is a permanent side effect. I would recommend talking to a counselor, not a shrink, a counselor. This helped my mom just talk through how she was feeling and how to resolve issues. This was the reason she couldn't sleep, and it helped, but a little too late :( Take a proactive step to fix it, not mask it and end up with permanent side effects.

Hi M.,
I have been taking xanax for at least 2 years now. I went to my GP when I began feeling overwhelmed with anxiety. I was anxious during the day, could not sleep at night (my brain would not shut off), and then would verbally lash out at my little boys for no reason (like a switch went off and I was so angry). After almost of year of working with my GP to determine the best meds and dosages, we came up with the following....
20mg of prozac twice per day for the anxiety
0.25 mg of xanax at night (as needed) to fall asleep

I stick with the prozac schedule, as that is not an "as needed" medication, and everything has been good concerning anxiety. The meds and my faith have kept me calm.

When the GP first prescribed my xanax for sleep, he had me take a 0.5mg ER (extended release)....oh my goodness! That knocked me on my butt. I not only fell asleep immediately, but I could not wake up in the mornings (well, I would wake up eventually but it was very hard...I felt like I'd been run over by a truck). Then he lowered the dosage and had me take SR (short release) which is why I take 0.25 mg (SR). That made all the difference in the world for me. I take it right before I go to bed. I fall asleep within (what I would consider) a normal amount of time....not too quickly and not long....and I sleep through the night. Now, I only take the xanax before bed when I know my brain will not shut off (you know how you just know that falling asleep is not going to happen easily).....so, I would say I take it about 3 nights per week. That's how I see myself eventually not needing the xanax to fall asleep. And I know my GP does want me to eventually not take xanax at all.

When I first went to my GP about the anxiety and restlessness, I felt very guilty about taking the prozac and xanax. I did not like that I could not just "snap out of it." My GP explained my situation to me in this way....
1. Your life circumstances have gotten you to a state such that you have this anxiety and restlessness. When you were younger, you did not have this anxiety. But, for whatever reason, you have it now.
2. So, you take the meds and re-train your brain to calm down....to remember what it was like when you were able to calm down naturally and go to sleep naturally.
3. After a while, we will wean you off these meds and your brain/chemistry should be able to do what it did before...calm naturally.
4. He warned that if I did not nip my anxiety in the bud now, it would get worse and then be more difficult to treat.

Please PM me if there is any more you would like to know. Anxiety is no fun....my prayers are with you!
A.

Sorry, I don't have any real answers to your question but wanted to share my experience. I have never taken xanax but got a prescription for ativan a couple yrs ago for trouble sleeping and it helped. I never got a refill after that and currently take Tylenol PM for trouble sleeping. Interestingly though my Dr. told me that its better to take Ativan for trouble sleeping than Tylenol PM. His reasoning had something to w/the fact he believes my trouble w/sleeping has to do w/anxiety and thinks the Tylenol PM increases the anxiety somehow. One of my personal reasons for not taking prescriptions is b/c I rarely have insurance and cannot cover going to the dr. and paying for meds when I'm not insured. Something my Dr. really, really believes in is honey, yes, honey. He says taking a tablespoon of this a day will really help anxiety.I wish I had more info to give to you, b/c I really feel your pain b/c I've been there and still experience sleepless nights even w/my trusted Tylenol, so I totally understand!!!! I completely understand how frustrating it is to not be able to sleep when the rest of the household is in dreamland and how horrible it feels to have to work a full day when your tired but cannot sleep! Something I want to add is that I have my own moment (30 min) of peace before I go to sleep, I drink tea and have a snack and read all by myself in the living room, no tv, no kiddo, no hubby and this seems to help me relax before I go to bed.

I was having difficulty staying asleep all night and went to the doctor who ordered some tests. There are physical reason that sleep is interrupted. One is sleep apnea. You need to rule them out. After having eliminated physical causes the doctor did prescribe trazadone which has helped me.

They also taught me sleep hygiene. Spend 30 minutes/day in the sun if you have sun. Use the bedroom only for sleeping. Go to bed and get up at the same time everyday. Exercise during the day and not at night before going to bed. Do not take naps. Have a bedtime routine that helps you to let go of the day and clears your mind.

WHATEVER you do, please consult your physician. It is extremely, extremely dangerous to take yourself off of benzodiazepams after such extended use. You need to wean and it must be monitored by a professional.

I agree with Molly........please look into a more permanent anxiety/depression med..........Xanax is very addictive and I would not reccomend long term use. I would say you need to see a psychiatrist as opposed to a regular doc. A psychiatrist will talk to you and understand your issues and then recommend a game plan for medication........make a world of differnce. Please don;t try to wean yourself off and these meds can do a number on your brain and you don;t want to mess with that..........Good Luck

To me it sounds like you should look into a different anxiety med to take daily, not just for sleep. It will calm your anxiousness in general, and I think that in turn would help you sleep better.
Lexapro has really helped my life!

My husband has a script for it, only to take when he is feeling anxious or cant sleep, so he doesnt take them very often. They do help him sleep tho, and they do help him calm down if he takes one in the daytime, usually puts him on the couch.
According to our doctor she didnt want him taking one every day because they are highly addictive. So we havent experienced any kind of a withdrawal sypmtom from them. I suppose you could start cutting them in half to ween yourself. His prescription says "take a half a tablet" and the other half if necessary.

I took Xanax for brief episodes of anxiety. I love it, but like almost all drugs, one develops a tolerance for them and they stop working.

Do you exercise? It's the one and only surefire remedy for anxiety and sleep issues.