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I've found it helpful to occasionally use Xanax to get to sleep. But it scares me to think, well, what if it became an addiction?? Has anyone else had any experience with this?
Since I have insomnia every night I haven't asked my doctor to try xanax. I would be afraid, too. Drugs of any kind can be scary to take especially if they can be addictive. I currently take 2 sleeping pills, Silenor and Ambien CR. I still don't get to sleep usually until 2am-4am and I take my pills around 11 or 11:30pm.
It would be nice to be able to take a pill and go to sleep in a half hour but I don't see that in the cards for me. I think as long as you are careful and keep track of how often you take it and keep an eye on that to make sure you aren't using it more and more it may be fine. Good luck!
'xdunlapx' wrote on '25:Since I have insomnia every night I haven't asked my doctor to try xanax. I would be afraid, too. Drugs of any kind can be scary to take especially if they can be addictive. I currently take 2 sleeping pills, Silenor and Ambien CR. I still don't get to sleep usually until 2am-4am and I take my pills around 11 or 11:30pm.
It would be nice to be able to take a pill and go to sleep in a half hour but I don't see that in the cards for me. I think as long as you are careful and keep track of how often you take it and keep an eye on that to make sure you aren't using it more and more it may be fine. Good luck!
Thank you so much for your response. Just knowing that I am not alone in this struggle has really been emotionally helpful to me. I'm glad this website exists!
'BobbyP' wrote on '25:I've found it helpful to occasionally use Xanax to get to sleep. But it scares me to think, well, what if it became an addiction?? Has anyone else had any experience with this?
Hello…I am sorry to hear your are having sleeping issues but this is a great place to talk with others who can totally relate. I actually took half a xanax last night. I try to reserve it for times when I am really anxious about things like last night. I kind of know when something heavy is on my mind that I won't be able to find my peace as I like to think of it and will not be able to fall asleep. I think if you use it only for those times, you will be fine and not addicted to it. Good luck! Anne
Hello BobbyP
I think xdunlapx's condition is very similar to my own, in that the insomnia is every night. Originally when my insomnia started in March of this year, my doctor prescribed me a powerful benzodiazepine and suggested I take it only when needed. The problem was that I needed it every night and so If I would have continued using it (according to all the information I have gathered) I would need 2 other drugs to detox with before trying to completely stop using it. I guess the real question is: Is your insomnia chronic and effects you every night and do you think you can moderate your use of the drug? Care must be taken with any benzodiazepine.
Hi BobbyP,
I'll start by saying I've been taking Xanax and Ambien almost every day and night for the past year. I've had insomnia most of my life but stress from my job (too many hours, unreasonable deadlines, understaffing, lots of travel) caused me to go into what seemed an unstoppable state of panic. I didn't sleep for 3 nights in a row and my girlfriend at the time begged me to go to the doctor. I found myself leaving with the prescriptions for Xanax and Ambien. At first I was able to make it through on an as needed basis. I would say .50 mg at the max at night. As the year has passed I have currently found myself needing to take up to 2mg a day just to keep my teeth from grinding, my legs from tensing up, my knuckles from gripping the steering wheel so tight, intrusive thoughts….the list goes on. It has also wreaked havoc on my memory. This is where you might find yourself if you're not careful. I could try to blame my doctor for me being in the state I am in now but I put most of the blame on myself. I still have the same stressful job. I plan to get off of the Xanax soon by switching to a longer acting benzo and then tapering. Hopefully I can get off the Ambien after that.
Take it from me, you do not want to find yourself here. My best bet would have been working harder to find another job without all the stress.
Hope that all didn't come out as a ramble. Good luck in finding rest.
'BobbyP' wrote on '25:I've found it helpful to occasionally use Xanax to get to sleep. But it scares me to think, well, what if it became an addiction?? Has anyone else had any experience with this?
Hi again, Bobby! Yes, Xanax can be addictive. I have some sort of weird drug tolerant system that adjusts very rapidly to ANY medication, and if I told you the amount of Xanax I have to take a day just to stay, well, SANE, it'd scare ya. But I have been able, during periods of my life that were not quite as stressful as they currently are, to wean myself off with relative ease. It has remained my fallback drug for years now, and since my life is at a highly stressful level (I've been at this stress level for over a year, but there's a bit of light ahead), my dosage has increased exponentially.
HOWEVER–my husband can take .5mg Xanax once in a while when he's a bit too stressed to sleep, and it works fine for him. He can take it or leave it any time, and the only medication he's on that he is, unfortunately, addicted to is morphine (heavy-duty pain), but opiates will ALWAYS mess with you when you're on them long-term. I think the amount of the benzodiazepines you take and how your body responds to them has a lot to do with whether you become addicted or not.
Not sure how helpful that really is, but I guess I've seen both sides, and wanted to let you know that you won't necessarily get addicted.
For a year or two I found Xanax kind of helpful for my insomnia. Oh, I should add that I didn't stop taking it because I developed dependence or tolerance- nothing like that. It remains a perfectly serviceable aid that I use to manage my anxiety, and now and then I still take it when I can't fall asleep; it just isn't my main sleep aid anymore because my insomnia became different.
Anyway, I was put on Xanax for anxiety, and various psychs over the years have taken it away and then prescribed it again. My current psych, who is absolutely brilliant, told me that he thinks that might be part of why I still find it effective and am not hooked 😀 You see, he told me that even more than with a lot of other substances, if you stagger when you take benzos (either in terms of dose or timing), you are much much less likely to have such problems.
I currently use it for my anxiety, and am careful not to take it every day or even every other day if I'm using a high dose, and after spending a little more than 3/4's of my life (I'm in my late 20s, though) on it, still no problems here. I'm not promising that you'll be fine, since obviously everyone's chemistry is different… but that cuts both ways: you might be one of the many who can't get addicted to benzos, period!
Good luck 🙂
Hi… I'm wondering if anyone else out there was “hooked” on xanax and depended on it to get some sleep. Eventually, if you take it for too long (like I did), it stops working… and now, a cocktail of pills won't get me a good night's sleep. My doctor says that after getting off of xanax (alprazolam) it may take a month or two (!) before I start sleeping normally again. I HOPE that's true, but I'm not optimistic…I've read here that some people have suffered for years. Honestly, I don't think I'll survive that long if I don't start getting some sleep. So, if anyone has had a similar experience, or if you have any input on this issue, I'd really appreciate your input!
I've been prescribed benzodiazepines for years now, switching between xanax, klonopin, Valium, & Ativan. Currently I take an Ativan every night before bed and sometimes one or half of one during the day if I'm having particularly bad anxiety. I try to resist the urge to take more than one to fall asleep or to take one in the middle of the night, because just on that small amount I've noticed my body desires it and I have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if I skip that one nightly dose. It's frustrating to HAVE to take them or feel ill, especially since they no longer work to put me to sleep like they used to. I'm not sure if what your doctor says is true with your natural ability to fall asleep returning after a month. I guess you'll kind out soon, right?
'ExhaustedMichelle' wrote on '15:I've been prescribed benzodiazepines for years now, switching between xanax, klonopin, Valium, & Ativan. Currently I take an Ativan every night before bed and sometimes one or half of one during the day if I'm having particularly bad anxiety. I try to resist the urge to take more than one to fall asleep or to take one in the middle of the night, because just on that small amount I've noticed my body desires it and I have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if I skip that one nightly dose. It's frustrating to HAVE to take them or feel ill, especially since they no longer work to put me to sleep like they used to. I'm not sure if what your doctor says is true with your natural ability to fall asleep returning after a month. I guess you'll kind out soon, right?
Hi….. Regarding the benzos, they told me that I could not stop Xanax without medical supervision, because I can have seizures. I actually ended up in a detox facility, voluntarily, to get off them. I was only taking a quarter of a bar a night, plus 2mg of Ativan, but they said HOW LONG
I've been doing that was the issue. I was there 3 days (it was a horrible place). They used Valium to ward off withdrawal symptoms, and the then tapered me off that. They advised me not to “cave in” and take anymore benzos, ever….so be careful….try not to depend too much on those particular pills, and ween off the Xanax slowly, if you can. But I understand, I didn't sleep AT ALL last night, in spite of all the other non-addictive meds they gave me. Thinking about returning to my classroom on Tuesday makes me want to cry. If I still had the Xanax, of any other “benzo”, I'd be very tempted to take it, too. And I agree with you, I don't think this sleep problem will be resolved in a month, but like you said, I'll find out soon………
Sorry, I started a topic “Xanax saturated?”, not realizing there was already a forum for it…. but check out my initial post there, I am very familiar with Xanax. I don't recommend using it, because you end up needing more and more to fall asleep; and they say it's dangerous to stop cold turkey, once you're hooked.
'MarcSFL' wrote on '15:Sorry, I started a topic “Xanax saturated?”, not realizing there was already a forum for it…. but check out my initial post there, I am very familiar with Xanax. I don't recommend using it, because you end up needing more and more to fall asleep; and they say it's dangerous to stop cold turkey, once you're hooked.
Yes, I've replied on the “Xanax saturated” thread as well to talk about my experience with benzos. If either f you would like to contact me personally for more details, please do. I have a lot of knowledge and experience with them.
Michelle
This is a great discussion. I've merged the newer Xanax discussion with this one so it's easier to refer to.
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I was on Xanax for only three weeks, and I developed tolerance withdrawals within the first week. By week three I was suicidal, and because of that I CT'd. My withdrawals could have killed me. I still suffer the after effects of it three years later. So NO I do not recommend Xanax for sleep. It can ruin your life if you are not careful.
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