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← Return to Protracted Benzo withdrawal
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Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Feb 23 2:44pm | Replies (329)
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Thanks so much for the reply.. So did you have any sleeping issues while being on the benzo or physical effects like headaches or anything? & I literally can't sleep without it.. If I come off of it will that get better after awhile.. Will my own natural sleep drive come back like it was before I was on benzo's because right now it's like a can't get sleepy without my sleeping pills I have no sleep drive what so ever without them.. Before I got on them I just automatically got sleepy when my body got tired like normal people.. But its like now even if I get extremely tired I can't sleep is that normal with dependence? & my sleep is extremely fragmented I wake up all night long it's rough..
Replies to "Thanks so much for the reply.. So did you have any sleeping issues while being on..."
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Yes, my sleep was terrible on Xanax. Light sleeping at best and waking with a startle response at 4am no matter how exhausted I was. And yes, also tension headaches all the time. Insomnia was (and is, truthfully) a huge concern but it's turned out better than I had hoped. I take 50mg of amitriptyline in the evening which helps in actually getting to sleep. Reducing the benzodiazepine in my system has only helped the length and quality of my sleep. I had steeled myself for the exact opposite so it's been a happy surprise.
I really can't recommend the Ashton protocol highly enough. By switching to Valium (diazepam) I was able to do the SMALL reductions necessary to avoid acute withdrawal. As an added benefit, Valium is also used as a muscle relaxer and sleep aid so my tension headaches disappeared and sleep has been a non-issue.