Can one get off sleep meds after many years?

@stevej940
Thanks for the info.

There is a group called”Taper Clinic”, that are professional at tapering folks of the sleep poison. But that aren’t cheap. But they know what they are doing and good at it.

@stevej940 so sending someone to this sleep rehab clinic to get off sleep meds is the right thing to do in your mind??? So what are they supposed to do when they get home with no sleep meds to take and cannot sleep?? Some people in this world are just so screwed up when it comes to someone taking a sleep med. We do it to get the sleep we so desperately need in order to be healthy and have a GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE. PERIOD.

@toren123 All of these things you have told me are very upsetting to me. That your pharmacist, doctor and community make you feel like you're just as bad as a drug addict. That's so unfair and just plain mean. I am not sorry I asked you that question. It's a seriously flawed world (or at least the state you live in) when a person who is responsibly taking sleep medication is treated badly. Sleep is soooo vitally important to a person's overall health. And some of us people have extreme difficulty with it, and if taking a sleep medication helps us to get that much needed sleep, then what the heck is wrong with that! As long as people aren't abusing the sleep med, they should be allowed to have it to help them get the sleep they need. Shame on doctors, pharmacists, and anyone in your community who thinks you're a bad person for taking a prescribed sleep aid. The pharmacy not giving you your prescription after 28 days should be fined and forced to give you your medication! They are breaking the law! I feel so bad for you, thar you have to deal with that. And you're exactly right. Not all old people are high risk for falls. Every single person is different. It's such a shame that our world treats people badly just because they need a sleep med to help them sleep. Many, many medications may make you dizzy as a side effect, but doctors have no problem prescribing other meds to people. The sleep medications are the "bad ones"... which is so extremely wrong to me. I am lucky to have a doctor who understands and prescribes me what I need. Maybe ask your doctor about the medication Amitriptyline... it can help with sleep. Have you tried over the counter benadryl or Unisom with active ingredient Doxylamine? If you haven't tried them , you should. One of them could help you and then you wouldn't have to worry about getting a prescription from your doctor and pharmacist. Good luck to you. I pray for you. 🙏❤

@toren123 you call the sleep meds, "sleep poison"??? Excuse me, but some of us have extreme difficulty getting the sleep we need. And benefit greatly from sleep meds. Do you know how extremely important sleep is to a person's overall health??? Huh?? Well, it is....very very important to every aspect of a person's health. You are extremely lucky if you do not have sleep issues. But do NOT call sleep meds poison! They are a very much needed medication for some people....just like blood pressure medication or diabetes medication or any other med you get prescribed because YOU NEED IT to live a healthy life.

@cindisue
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. You are like the bright light of Prov. 4:18.😃👍

@cindisue
I really don’t want to, but would like to know if it’s possible. It seems that where I now live, people who use controlled drugs for sleep are considered almost as bad as people who use opioids or street drugs. One pharmacist was very rude to me when I asked to get a Lunesta prescription after 29 days instead of 30 days because I had dropped a pill on the floor and couldn’t find it. I guess she thought I was lying. I no longer use that pharmacy. Their policy was 30 days before you could refill although the law says 28 days.
Also I’m finding it more difficult to find sleep meds that work without side effects or a hangover effect. At one time that wasn’t a problem but now it is.
Also some meds have a caveat that says be careful with the elderly, it could cause them to fall. So some medical personnel may classify me in a category that says “all old people are the same”. Well we’re not. Many people my age have serious dementia. But I don’t.
Well cindisue, you may be sorry you asked. But these are reasons I asked the question.

@toren123 I used sleep meds for much of my later years until my doctors would not prescribe them because of being too old. I have found CBD/N oil have helped plus I take a low dose of Mirtazapine, a newer antidepressant. The combination keeps me calm all day and sleepy at night. The CBN oil is part of the plant that makes one sleepy. It has no THC in it so it won't alter your consciousness. Just Google it. There are hundreds of companies.

@cindisue I know exactly what it’s like. I developed chronic insomnia at the end of 2020 caused from some serious tinnitus. Couldn’t sleep after 3 months of trying natural stuff on my own. A conventional pulmonologist gave me Klonapin which is a benzodiazepine (an opiate based drug). It’s only meant for short term use, but he didn’t convey to me why. Well I found out. I tapered off by myself but then got rebound symptoms and had to reinstate. Benzo drugs actually alter your neuron receptors causing over time dependence tolerance to the drug and increased dosage. So now you’re in a box with no way out. That’s the poison. In some countries these drugs are prohibited. Over time they can cause other problems like dementia. Poison. Big pharma has created these with one thing in mind. Profit at the expense of your health.
I am still tapering off of the drug but ever so slowly and having success. No one should be in bondage to these drugs when there are other solutions. The problem is the medical industry has become an industrial complex driven by greed. Why do you think there are so many commercials on TV about drugs. The media makes money and so does big pharma. That is corrupt.
That sort of activity is banned in other countries.
There are I’m sure people who may need some sort of sleep meds no matter what but there are many more who get on them because of uninformed doctors who hand out pills like popcorn.

@stevej940
At my age of 86, statistics show there is only a 25% chance of me living to age 90. I looked up the taper clinic website. It looks good, but if it takes as long as you make it sound, chances are I’ll die of something else before it works. Also it may be that taking sleep meds are linked to dementia, but not getting enough sleep is linked to dementia also. Many people of my age of 86 have dementia, but I don’t have it. Could that be because the sleep meds helped me sleep? But now they aren’t helping as well, or they help but have side effects. I just want to live my last few years feeling decent after a good night’s sleep, with or without sleep meds.