Online Medical Classes - Xanax for chronic insomnia? Yes or no?

Xanax for chronic insomnia? Yes or no?

Before you give an answer, please take the time to read of my current situation: For the past three months now I have been suffering from really bad insomnia. The first month was the worst, I only got 0-3 hours of sleep a night, usually waking up every hour or so. I was put on ambien, but it didn't really work too well. The second month I got a bit better. I was put on amitriptyline, an antidepressant that is also prescribed for insomnia, and I was sleeping 4 to 7 hours a night. I would wake up every three or four hours, but if I was lucky I would get 6 or 7 hours total, even though it was broken up. Still, this was a major improvement and I was happy. The thing is the amitriptyline kinda stopped working. I don't feel drowsy after taking it anymore. So now my sleep is back to crap again. The thing is I know why I can't sleep, it's because I'm too anxious at night, and it causes me to think too much about random things and I have a hard time relaxing, which in turn gives me poor sleep. I try to relax, but I can't shut my mind off. I was talking to someone I know and they said that I should try xanax. I described the symptoms of my night time anxieties to her and she told me that xanax would work in fighting my problem. Now, Ive tried xanax before and it didn't really help to do anything at all. I took it and I just felt normal, didn't feel any difference. Still, i took the suggestion and tried it out. I took a 0.5 mg pill before bed a few days back, laid down, was wide awake one second, and the next thing I know it was already morning time. I didn't even feel myself drifting off into sleep, I was wide awake one second and the next it was already morning. I looked at the clock and I had slept for six hours straight. I thought that this was too good to be true. So, the next night i took a 0.5 mg pill again to help me sleep. I was really anxious as usual during bedtime, but after taking the xanax I felt really calm and relaxed. This time I actually felt myself drifting to sleep. It turns out that I slept 9 to 10 hours that night! Unbelievable. And it actually felt like good sleep too, not all light and broken, and it was dream filled too. Best sleep ive had in months. I only woke up once or twice really briefly where I'd fall back asleep right away or to use the restroom, but that was it. So far this has been the medicine that has worked the best for me. The thing is, I've read some online opinions on xanax and it is mixed. There are people who say that it is ok to use for sleep, but there are others who say that it isnt ok to use for sleep. There are those who say that if used properly xanax is one of the safest drugs out there with very low addiction chances, but then there are those who say that no matter what it is easy to get addicted to xanax. Should I keep using xanax for a bit to sleep, or should I stop and seek other methods? I was just gonna use xanax for maybe a month or so to help me learn how to calm down and relax and to teach me how to sleep properly again. My insomnia problem seems to be caused by night time anxiety, and xanax is an anti anxiety medication. So it seems to me that it is the perfect medication for my situation, still, I'm not too sure yet...

Public Comments

You should speak to your doctor about all of this...and let him/her know what your experience with the Xanax was. It sounds to me, like it's not true insomnia you're suffering from - but anxiety induced insomnia - which would make the anxiety your primary problem. It would make it be perfectly logical and acceptable to treat the anxiety which would relax you - thus allowing sleep. He/She may not choose to treat you with Xanax long term, but perhaps with another anxiolytic drug. Good luck...hope you get some rest!
"I was just gonna use xanax for maybe a month or so to help me learn how to calm down and relax and to teach me how to sleep properly again." Xanax is NOT teaching you anything. Xanax is filling your brain with GABA, your brain's natural anti-anxiety amino acid, which is allowing your brain to slow down enough that you can fall asleep instead of laying awake at night with racing anxious thoughts. But you aren't learning how to self-soothe or shut off your brain by taking the drug - all you're learning how to do is pop a pill. You even said yourself, one minute you were awake and the next minute you were waking up and it was morning. What did that teach you? What have you learned about teaching yourself how to fall asleep without being driven to insomnia by your anxiety? Nothing. You're right, people's opinions on Xanax (and benzodiazepines in general) are mixed. Some doctors refuse to prescribe them, while others have no problem keeping a patient on Xanax for life. Some people never have an addiction problem, while others get hooked and abuse the drug. It totally depends on the person and the doctor. However, one fact that nobody can ignore is that benzodiazepines do not promote quality sleep. They decrease your delta waves which makes it harder to get REM sleep, the kind of restorative sleep our brains need. You are much less likely to get REAL sleep, even if you feel like you're sleeping well. I can almost guarantee that if you keep this up for a week or two, you will notice some cognitive dulling, because while you feel rested, you really aren't. What you need to do is speak to a therapist who can help you figure out what you're so anxious about, and can teach you ways to deal with those anxious thoughts without using medication. The medicine isn't helping you, and in fact it's hindering your ability to teach yourself how to sleep. As soon as you stop taking the medicine, you will go right back to being up all night because of your anxiety. Therapy can help you learn how to deal with your anxious thoughts and process them so that they don't keep you up at night. One type of therapy in particular, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is really good for this. You learn how to change the way you think about things (called cognitive restructuring) which helps stop anxious thoughts in their tracks, allowing you to reign them in and not allow them to keep you up all night anymore. This will allow you to learn how to self-soothe and fall asleep without relying on a sleep aide that isn't actually helping you in the long-run. I also think it would be a good idea for you to journal right before bed. Spend 10 or 15 minutes (or more if you like) writing down all of the things you normally lie awake at night thinking about. Get them all out on paper, then put the journal away for the night and calm yourself down. When my mind is racing (I have bipolar disorder and a slew of anxiety disorders, all notorious for causing sleep problems) I focus on something monotonous, like counting. I block out all extraneous thoughts from my mind, except for counting. I count with each breath in and out, and if I start to sense any other thoughts creep into my mind, I start over again. This allows me to fall asleep much faster than before. In short, relying on Xanax to get you to sleep isn't helping you in the long-run, it's just potentially causing you problems and teaching you that you need a pill to fall asleep, and can't do it on your own. That's not true, you can do it on your own, you just need the right tools. Short-term therapy can give you those tools. Good luck!
Just to let you know, you develop a tolerance for xanax. I have to take 2mg of it to have the same effect that I used to get. It does help with insomnia, but I think you should look into other sleep measures. I use store brand sleep aides to help me sleep, plus melatonin. I used to use tyleonal simply sleep, but my doctor said that tyleonal has stuff in it that's hard for your liver, and the generic brands don't have that. So, use the generic ones. But being dependent on sleeping pills isn't really a good idea. If you have the money, I think you should see a sleep clinic.
No ZANAX