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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 15:11:37
About 2 1/2 years ago I started working nights and I was having trouble adjusting. I started taking Xanax at night to sleep and the rest is history.
About a year ago my new doctor put me on Trazadone and I started at 50mg and now I'm on 100mg.
I absolutely can't sleep a wink without taking something. NOTHING. ZIP. ZERO. ZILCH. A few weeks ago I pulled an all-nighter and still couldn't sleep the next night. The night after that I slept for about an hour and the next day I still couldn't sleep. I seriously think I would stay awake for 4 or 5 days if I didn't take something. My pdoc will never address this. He would prefer to toss this problem in the back seat.
Trazadone is annoying. It won't work unless I eat something with it, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. When this happens, I take Xanax.
I'm tired of this. Less than a year into Trazadone, and I've already doubled my dosage. This is really alarming to me. I want to be able to sleep on my own. I wish I could doze off on the couch on a lazy Sunday afternoon (on the rare occassion that I take a nap I have to plan it and take Xanax.)
I set an appointment for an evaluation at a sleep clinic, but it doesn't seem to me like there is anything that anybody can do for me at this point...It's that bad.
Posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 15:16:27
In reply to SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 15:11:37
>>>A few weeks ago I pulled an all-nighter and still couldn't sleep the next night. The night after that I slept for about an hour and the next day I still couldn't sleep.
Just to illustrate the severity of this, I only slept an hour on that second night because I took Xanax.
Posted by notfred on July 24, 2006, at 16:13:12
In reply to SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 15:11:37
> I set an appointment for an evaluation at a sleep clinic, but it doesn't seem to me like there is anything that anybody can do for me at this point...It's that bad.
>On the contrary there is quite a bit that can be done once a sleep study shows why you do not get good sleep.
Posted by silvercoin on July 24, 2006, at 16:43:32
In reply to SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 15:11:37
> About 2 1/2 years ago I started working nights and I was having trouble adjusting. I started taking Xanax at night to sleep and the rest is history.
>
> About a year ago my new doctor put me on Trazadone and I started at 50mg and now I'm on 100mg.
>
> I absolutely can't sleep a wink without taking something. NOTHING. ZIP. ZERO. ZILCH. A few weeks ago I pulled an all-nighter and still couldn't sleep the next night. The night after that I slept for about an hour and the next day I still couldn't sleep. I seriously think I would stay awake for 4 or 5 days if I didn't take something. My pdoc will never address this. He would prefer to toss this problem in the back seat.
>
> Trazadone is annoying. It won't work unless I eat something with it, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. When this happens, I take Xanax.
>
> I'm tired of this. Less than a year into Trazadone, and I've already doubled my dosage. This is really alarming to me. I want to be able to sleep on my own. I wish I could doze off on the couch on a lazy Sunday afternoon (on the rare occassion that I take a nap I have to plan it and take Xanax.)
>
> I set an appointment for an evaluation at a sleep clinic, but it doesn't seem to me like there is anything that anybody can do for me at this point...It's that bad.
>
>
>
In my own case, I developed a severe dependency on Halcion (which is not a great deal different from Xanax structurally) after long term use, and then extremely severe insomnia and depression after discontinuing it, lasting for a few months. If you use the Xanax fairly often, I guess my suggestion would be to consider getting completely away from it to perhaps allow your GABA receptors to reset themselves to some semblance of normal. This may take a while, and it is very likely you will have to use some other kind of sleep aid to tide you through. Trazodone is a good and inexpensive sleep aid, and a 100 mg dose is certainly not out of the ordinary. Seroquel does not have the food interaction but is more expensive. I would suggest avoiding other drugs that work on GABA, such as Lunesta, Ambien, chloral hydrate, etc.Todd
Posted by wacky on July 24, 2006, at 17:30:10
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by silvercoin on July 24, 2006, at 16:43:32
I take 100 mg Trazadone plus Rozerum and it works most of the time.
Posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 19:51:44
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by notfred on July 24, 2006, at 16:13:12
That is very encouraging. Did you do the whole sleep study thing? What kinds of things do you think they could do to break this dependence?
> > I set an appointment for an evaluation at a sleep clinic, but it doesn't seem to me like there is anything that anybody can do for me at this point...It's that bad.
> >
>
> On the contrary there is quite a bit that can be done once a sleep study shows why you do not get good sleep.
>
>
>
>
Posted by Phillipa on July 24, 2006, at 21:54:56
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence » notfred, posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 19:51:44
Excercise will help. And believe it or not lamictal at low doses makes me tired. Love Phillipa
Posted by notfred on July 25, 2006, at 1:44:39
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence » notfred, posted by detroitpistons on July 24, 2006, at 19:51:44
> That is very encouraging. Did you do the whole sleep study thing? What kinds of things do you think they could do to break this dependence?
>Yes, the study indicated I spend too much time in the lighter stages of sleep, generally, & too much time in REM sleep vs NREM sleep. Many sleeping meds decrease REM sleep and are an excellant treatment , for me. I took sedating AD's for 2 decades but lately the side effects were too much so I moved to Lunesta, 6 mg. The best yet. It works as well today as it did 5 months ago, but in general I do not have problems with tolerance.
Dependence ? I am dependant on water and oxygen but i do not loose sleep over that. Nor the Metformin. Why is sleep any different ? I need my sleep, the meds work, I got over it. I take what I need to function. Without sleeping meds I wake up several times a night, never really get deep sleep, and experience one of the following most nights: 1) asleep but slightly awake and aware w/o dreaming and stuck there 2) asleep but slightly awake and aware with dreaming in which the dreams "loop", the same thing over and over, and less often 3) more awake than asleep and paralyzed.
First get some help in understanding why you do not sleep well, then consider the treatments.
Sleep apena is very common & many sleeping meds make it worse. Treatment is non-med. Sleep problems are often secondary to another condition;
treating the primary condition improves sleep.Good luck in finding some answers and solutions to your problem.
Posted by wacky on July 25, 2006, at 12:09:54
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by notfred on July 25, 2006, at 1:44:39
I've had two sleep studies - and they focused on apnea. The issues that they were supposed to be addressed were thrashing, talking, screaming, hitting - and waking up and not going back to sleep. I screamed out during the night during the study - and it was so loud it startled the techs (so I was told ) - and that didn't even make it into the report!! I have a sense that the sleep center I went to was incompetent. It was cookie cutter and apnea is all they know about.
During the study - they had me take my regular sleep aids of 100 mg Trazadone and 8 mg Rozerem.
Posted by detroitpistons on July 25, 2006, at 12:44:14
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by notfred on July 25, 2006, at 1:44:39
>>> Dependence ? I am dependant on water and oxygen but i do not loose sleep over that. Nor the Metformin. Why is sleep any different ? I need my sleep, the meds work, I got over it. I take what I need to function.
I can understand your situation, but in my case, I used to be able to sleep without a problem, so this current problem is not organic. It would sometimes take me a half an hour to get to sleep, but when I did fall asleep, I would sleep soundly through the night without waking up. My problems didn't start until I bacame dependent on a drug, so it's an artificial kind of insomnia. That's what concerns me. If I'd had insomnia all my life, I'd be more accepting of having to take meds to sleep.
Also, I cannot sleep whatsoever without drugs...not even a light sleep. It doesn't matter how tired I am. This was never the case before I became dependent on these drugs. One summer when I was in college I worked 12 hour days of manual labor. During this time, I would fall asleep in 5 minutes. That wouldn't be the case today. I curse the day I ever took that first Xanax to fall asleep.
Posted by notfred on July 25, 2006, at 20:32:01
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence » notfred, posted by detroitpistons on July 25, 2006, at 12:44:14
What is the longest amount of time you have gone without taking the xanax to sleep ? Have you tried
to taper off the xanax ?
Posted by detroitpistons on July 26, 2006, at 0:41:14
In reply to Re: SEVERE Sleep aid dependence, posted by notfred on July 25, 2006, at 20:32:01
I haven't slept on my own in about 2 and a half years. The last 9 months or so I've been taking Trazadone, but sometimes I still have to add some Xanax when the Trazadone's not getting the job done. I started with 50mg of trazadone and recently I started needing 100mg. Tapering is something I wish I had the option of doing at this point.
> What is the longest amount of time you have gone without taking the xanax to sleep ? Have you tried
> to taper off the xanax ?
>
>
>
This is the end of the thread.
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