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Long-term use of sleep meds
11 years ago, my partner of 14 yrs, who is now deceased(2018) who had severe chronic illnesses was 3000 miles away and became deathly ill and could not return. I was devastated and did not sleep for three consecutive entire nights. I felt I was having a breakdown.
My psychiatrist prescribed both .5 mg of Ativan and 25 mg of hydroxyzine Pamoate and it worked like a charm. About five years ago, I must’ve built up a tolerance because it was not working and I wasn’t sleeping well so I took an extra 25 mg of hydroxyzine pamoate, which the doctor allowed, and which worked for a while…a couple years ago I incorporated 5-10 mg of medicinal cannabis gummies(legal in my state)…Fast-forward to today… I take 50 mg of hydroxyzine pamoate, .5 mg of lorazepam, 2 mg of melatonin, along with magnesium and a cannabis, gummy for sleep(5-10mg)….
About a month ago, I traveled to Europe for 16 days and when I returned, I was unable to sleep. I attributed it to the jet lag, but it has been over a month and I’m taking all these meds, but not sleeping thru the night. Sometimes I can’t fall asleep, sometimes the liquid melatonin under the tongue would work, but that stopped as well. When it did work I’d fall asleep but wake up to use the bathroom and I could not fall back asleep. Sometimes I will get 2 to 3 hours sleep then up for a few hours and if I’m lucky fall semi-consciously asleep in the morning., but often I can’t fall asleep again. Many days I have no energy. Prior to my trip I was going to the gym 3 to 4 times a week. I’ve been to the gym only three times since returning because I don’t have the energy. Sometimes I’m just unable to get off the couch or sometimes I don’t feel motivated to get a shower and start my day. I feel as though I am becoming depressed from lack of sleep. I’ve tried to wean myself or taper off of the Ativan but as soon as I reduce it even by a quarter of a milligram, I don’t sleep. My PCP just switched the lorazepam to a liquid form so I only take .25 of the liquid as it’s more concentrated so it helps me to fall asleep but I’m waking up between 12 midnight & 2am and up for 4-5 hrs and can’t fall back asleep.
I’m at a total loss how get off these meds and fall asleep naturally. I was a good sleeper prior to the incident I mentioned earlier. I’m 73 yrs old , and in good health.. but feel it’s declining from lack of sleep. PCP wanted me to take ambien, but that scares me. I need some advice or suggestions to taper off. Thank you for letting me vent and taking the time to read my post.
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@berekann
My problem of insomnia began about 18 years ago. I have been on Ambien 5mg for about 8 years. Ambien does help me fall asleep. I do have some concerns having been on Ambien for a long time. I am looking for an alternative prescription that is not a controlled substance. I am
64 years old and I feel like Ambien might be too heavy of a sleep aid. Any thoughts to help me?
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1 Reaction@granddame I sure wish I had an answer for you. When I started on Ambien, just a quarter or a half of a 5 mg tablet would put me to sleep. This summer I underwent a course of Flagyl & Cipro, which gave me a lot of anxiety & no alcohol.. So I was taking a half tablet of Ambien and then another quarter and another quarter but I kept waking up and felt miserable; even after I stopped those other drugs, it didn’t work. Right now I’m on lorazepam which works erratically. My doctor is switching me to trazodone; But I’m a bit leery because I tried it once and it took 2 1/2 hours to get to sleep. Will do it differently this time and hope it works. One of my friends takes Amtriptyline and says it’s the best sleep med he’s ever taken. Mirtazpine has also been recommended, but I’m concerned about some of the Side effects. 1.5 mg of Melatonin does help me, but after about three or four days, not as much. I’ve tried THC Gummies and CBD/CBN Gummies and neither one did much for me. Might try again in a larger dose.
Good luck & let me know if you find something that works for you
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2 ReactionsI’ve recently heard of people who have been on Ativan for a long time can have release severe side effects to coming off of it that can last for years. I was on Ativan for many years and it was hard to get off of although I didn’t have the debilitating side effects. My friend had. Over over-the-counter Unisom the kind that has doxylamine NOT diphenhydramine works great for me.
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1 Reaction@diyayane
Why is it you wanted to stop taking Ativan if it was working for you?
Side effects?
@berekann
I experimented with dosage & found 100 mg worked for me,
BUT, I also needed to take it with food, as directed.
If I did not it took forever to fall asleep...or not at all... horrible night.
@granddame
What does your doctor recommend?
@kayraymat I’m leery of higher doses, as more side effects. And the label does say to take it with food - which can also delay the onset. Interesting that it seemed to affect you differently. Maybe I’ll try the 50mg dose one more time, with food. Thx
@kayraymat because my friend who is 10
Years older than me had such terrible side effects when she tried to go off of it. She did some research and learned that it can be very hard to get off the longer you take it and the older you get. I was wanting to not be addicted to any drug, and I decided to go off it now. I didn’t have the problems my friend did, but I’m glad not to feel dependent on it.
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1 Reaction@diyayane
I am 80 so think I probably don't have that many years left
to be dependent 🙂 , so I will just keep on taking it since I don't seem to have
any side effects. Sometimes I can't remember names, but I hope that is just age.
What were her terrible side effects? I don't even know what to look for.
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3 Reactions@berekann
I think maybe the food helps the pills to break down???
Ask both your physician & your pharmacist, as I am just guessing.
It seemed to make a difference for me.
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2 Reactions