Medication For Sleep And Anxiety

[mary1979]

So after 7 weeks of not self medicating with alcohol (yays)
I'm finally ready to overcome my anxiety about damned doctors, quit procrastinating and I'm off to the doctor today to beg for something to help me sleep and calm the anxiety that I've stubbornly told myself i can handle alone for too long.

I had REALLY bad experiences with anti depressant medications in the early days of my treatment (late 1990's) so I'm not really willing to go there (although they may have improved since then?)
I was a zombie, not present at all and I had even less emotion than I have now, which I thought impossible.

I also have days and even weeks where I feel I dont need medication at all and I cope just fine (except for sleep of course, that I feel is continual for about 30 years now)

So I guess I'm just looking for something to calm me the hell down when my anxiety gets to no control point, and something to help me sleep (which would probably also help me control the anxiety better as well, tired me is a whack job)
My anxiety begins as physical, heart rate, tremors, flushed etc, but very quickly becomes more about overthinking and paranoid type anxiety.

What would people recommend that i wouldn't need to take every day?
Just when I absolutely have to.

I read a little about beta blockers, anyone have any experience with these and do you think they would help me? They seem to only help the physical symptoms of anxiety and not so much the crazy thoughts so I'm unsure.

 

[UnKnown-Self]

Congrats on the seven weeks!
Before trying meds because you don't want to substitute
. Try listening to a book on tape with a soothing voiced narrator
Unfortunately part of any substance recovery is trouble sleeping and if you've always had problems sleeping (me too) it's worse:-(

 

[joeylittle]

If you can exercise enough self-control to dose minimally and anticipate needing it only a couple times a week, max - then a benzo like clonazepam or lorazepam is probably the likeliest psych med to handle the anxiety and help with sleep. They are addictive but only when used regularly.

If you need help with sleep when not also needing help with anxiety, Benadryl can be very effective.

It's not uncommon to have a beta blocker prescribed for anxiety (propranolol comes to mind, but I think I mangled the spelling) - however, it's an off-label usage, and they don't understand exactly how the mechanism of the drug is treating the anxiety. It works for some, not all.

If you aren't sure about being able to manage the benzodiazepines, then you'll likely need to either look at psych meds for the anxiety, or possibly gabapentin - but same thing about off-label. Not totally sure how it's regulated in your part of the world.

 

[sonicwhite]

I have with Inderal. It just helped my blood pressure. I would suggest a four week trial of .5 clonazepam and see if that helps. Take when absulatly need it. Than see if you can take as need for the rest of your life seriously. Because I take one mg of klonopin three times a day my anxiety was so bad that when I had my first klonopin it felt like xtc. My flesh was tingling to the touch. It felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders, I didn't even care that I was having obsessive thoughts about Gods Judgment and felt fine. Prozac is a God send. It took my OCD away as well as my depression that I have been in four and half years.



Just try the klonopin like I said. I don't think the docs will mind since you know how to bridle your body. Be aware tho that benzo are like a drink in a pill. But better. And they are addictive. Don't end up like me and take them daily. Just try to take PRN as needed. Beat of luck to ya.

 

[Friday]

Everyone responds to meds differently! :)

Caveat outta the way? When I'm doing well I keep Valium on hand to take intermittently / PRN. It's super addictive (benzodiazepine) so I don't take it when I'm doing badly. It's not a medication to take every day, or to maintain a level of okay-ness. It's a medication to keep on hand to stop bad cycles before they kick off, in emergencies, before extraordinary events, etc.

When I'm doing badly? Need something every day? I have to turn to exercise & other stress management.

 

[mary1979]

Congrats on the seven weeks!
Before trying meds because you don't want to substitute
. Tr...

Thanks Alice, and I totally agree, I didn't want to go back down the self medicating route at all once i quit drinking. I wanted to tough it out myself.

But I'm going to drive myself and my poor husband bat shit crazy if i dont figure something out soon, or start drinking again, because i know thats a quick way to get some sleep.

I've hit point of no return with my anxiety, trying to work with my husband on our relationship as well as my oldest daughter leaving home and stopping talking to me all while trying not to drink has my stress levels through the roof. Add no sleep to the mix and I'm jekkyl n Hyde.
All i need to do is commit homicide and ill qualify for total psychopath lol

I need help for a little while.

 

[shimmerz]

clonazepam or lorazepam

These helped me. They didn't fix my sleep issues (I didn't have insomnia but was waking every 1 or 2 hours with terrors), but they allowed me to sleep a little better.

I guess my question to you would be, do you have insomnia or are you falling asleep and jolting awake. I think that would make a difference as to what medication would be well suited for your issue.

Congratulations on the 7 week milestone! That takes guts!

 

[mary1979]

These helped me. They didn't fix my sleep issues (I didn't have insomnia but was waking every 1 or 2...

Either or, some nights I will fall sleep easily enough through total exhaustion (usually about day 3 or 4 of close to zero sleep) but find myself wide awake and bright as a button a few hours later.
And the rest of the time my mind just wont shut off and let me settle enough for sleep.

Thanks for the congrats, but it isn't guts. I'd spiralled to the point that when drunk I was starting to make such poor choices that I was making my life much worse than it already was.
I no longer trust myself to drink.

 

[shimmerz]

I no longer trust myself to drink.

Okay, I give. Let's call it smart then. After all that work, you have to take in credit somehow!

 

[Ellabella44]

congrats on 7 weeks!!!! that is such a hard period of time drying out, you cando it !!!

 

[EveHarrington]

To add to what @joeylittle said, I have actually found Benadryl to help with sleep and anxiety. I know it may not help everyone with anxiety, but I think that it can indeed have an effect on certain types of anxiety that are perhaps histamine related.

 

[mary1979]

To add to what @joeylittle said, I have actually found Benadryl to help with s...

I just googled benadryl because I've seen it come up repeatedly, and didn't know what it is.

Antihistamine!! Haha.
Interesting, I have something here called phenergan that id bought last year for a reaction to an insect bite.
Was looking through my meds 6 weeks ago and noticed on the box that it could aid sleep, so tried it.

Oh yeah it helped me sleep alright, was totally zonked for 12 hours.
It was doing nerve damage or something (I was using it every 2 or 3 nights out of desperation, and fear id become reliant) though because I developed an odd twitch and some weird vision problem.
So put that back in the cupboard haha

And if i tried that in the day id fall asleep at work!