I have been on 20 mg. Paxil CR daily for 2 years and .5 mg Xanax & Tranzadone. I take the Paxil CR in the a.m. and the other 2 at bedtime. I was put on these 2 years ago when I was going through a family crisis, but I feel that I can now stop taking some of them. How can I ween myself off of these meds? I am a 53 yr. old woman in otherwise good health. Should get off the Paxil first or all 3 at the same time?

Thanks!
Millie Haymon

Consult with your doc, and wean off one med at a time. You can do it.

I am currently going through this same thing after losing my grandmother. I am currently taking Lexapro 20 mg, Trazadone, and Serquol 350 mg daily. After taking all this medication, I still can not sleep. Could someone please suggest something else. I would love to feel something other than sleeplessness and depression.

I can’t sleep until around 5 am, which is why i am commenting at 4:14am. I don’t know how much of this had to do with depression, but it’s worse when I go through spells of depression. Then I curse the birds chirping in the morning. What’s worse for me, meds or a bottle of wine?

Message to Melissa - My teen daughter was on Lexapro for depression for a year and had problems sleeping and was up all night. She just starting taking 50mg of Zoloft and is sleeping through the night. and feeling much better Check with your doctor. Sometimes you just need to try something else until you find what works for you.

As a second semester medical student, I have found that the only way to survive the intensity of the program is to sleep less, which allows addtitional time to study. Not the most sound approach but it appears to be working. My concern is not getting at least 6+ hours of sleep will lead to episodes of depression/anxiety throughout the remainder of my educational training and beyond The adage that as “one ages one needs less sleep�?is the farthest from the truth. I have found that on days when I slept less than 4 hours my ability to comprenend and dissiminate facts was severely challenged. Have tried various sleep aids(OTC, herbal, prescription meds) that knock me out but my brain is like Jello the next day. A glass of warm milk has been the best remedy for falling asleep that I have found without the negative morning side effects.

This article is so right on. I am an RN who suffered a major depression. I worked in an Operating Room and due to call, swinging shifts, just plain stress of the job and ill famiily members I began at night to have a rolling tape in my head that would not shut off. I thing innsomnia contributes to depression; however, after chemotherapy I have found my depression has contributed to my innsomnia. I am in counseling, take medication and have chemotherapy side effects still five years later. I also wear a CPAP because I was not breathing correctly at night. When I wear it I usually sleep. Recently, I was able to join a fitness center where I am beginning to work out in the gym and have a warm water pool routine. When I do not go…I ache and do not sleep. When I do go I find my mood lifts, I hurt less and I sleep better. I like walking the track because I have balance problems post chemo, have had many falls outside on pavement and I am very overweight. I hit 54 and saw the writing on the wall after a father who had diabetes and heart disease and a mom who was bionic from all the joints she had replaced. Both died at 76. I also find for me that faith is a very important factor and when I can’t sleep I read my Bible or a boring article and guess what?�? I fall right off. It is nice to read everyone’s comments.

insomnia hasbeen a part of me for a very long time. My first bouts of insomnia started when I was in the 8th grade (I am almost 60 now). It started out of nowhere. Suddenly I just couldn’t sleep. I was awake till 2 or 3 am. ‘we had a large volume of 1000 short stories and I distinctly remember going through that book figures why waste time if i just couldn’t sleep. I have very fond memories of that anthology, but not of the insomnia or of falling asleep the next day during home economic class.

I gradually worked out of that insomnia period, but it started to reassert itself as I gave birth to two sons. I supposed, being a mother and always being on alert to their noises influenced my quality of sleep then.

My sons have been on their own for quite a while now, but this persistent insomnia still visits me most nights. I have taken various sleep medicines, including Trazadone, until just this week. I also am allowed to take Ambien every night although I try not to unless total sleeplessness sets in. I have come off Trazadone after taking it for years as it hasn’t seemed to work for so long.

I have always been a very light sleeper and wonder if just being aware of so many low noises around me (that lots of people wouldn’t notice) has contributed to my sleeplessness. My hearing test shows that i am super sensitive to low level pitch noises.

Of interest is that three years ago my husband and i flew across country from Virginia to Los Angeles to help drive our son and his college stuff cross country from LA to Virginia. In that 17 day trip I slept so much. I would go to bed around 8 PM and nap during the day in the cozy back seat of our car. I had no sleep troubles on this trip.

I wonder if the total lack of any responsibilities during this cross country trip allowed my body and mind to relax to the point where sleep was desired and easy to obtain.

To sum it up: Maybe our constant daily responsibilities, whether real or perceived, on a long term basis puts our mind in a constant groove (like an old LP record) of perpetual sleeplessness. To be able to get back to “sleeping like a baby�? we need to find a way to make a new mind grove in our brain.

I used to be someone who could sleep easily, even though I had a history of depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Then I took a very stressful, sometimes dangerous job, that left me unable to fall asleep. I tried a variety of natural things, such as meditation, exercise, avoiding caffeine, and proper sleep hygiene. Nothing worked. So I tried Ambien, and would wake up after 2 hours. I would lay down exhausted, but my brain just would not shut off. I also tried Seroquel, but it left me feeling groggy and made me exceptionally hungry. I quit the job, but months later, the insomnia persists. Presently, I’m taking 100 mg of Trazodone and 0.75 mg of lorazepam every night. Most nights I can fall asleep, but some nights not. It is my goal to taper off the meds and eventually sleep on my own, but I can see that it’s going to be a slow process. People who have never experienced weeks on 2 hours/night of sleep have no idea how awful and debilitating insomnia can be. I hate the recommendations for a warm bath and herbal tea. They have no idea how lousy this advice is for someone with insomnia.

I’ve suffered from depression and insomnia for years, and have been on a whole lot of anti-depressants. However, they just seemed to mask the symptoms. I finally found a really good psychiatrist who specializes in talk therapy. It’s taking a long time, but things are starting to come around, and best of all I’ve been off all medication for well over a year now! Yes, sometimes meds are appropriate, but sometimes the hard (and long) work of slogging through your issues with a professional can get rid of, not mask, the problem.

I found out about 15 years ago that I have a sleep disorder, and it’s a layered disorder. I went to all sorts of people, tried all sorts of drugs, and ultimately learned that drugs are no cure. I think a lot of people miss this. Most of the time our reasons for not being able to sleep are psychological in nature–whether it be anxiety, depression�?.a person needs to learn to adequately cope and deal with things. I am a shining example that this is true, and the more stories I hear from frustrated people who are looking for the magic drug (that goes for depression as well) the more frustrated I feel for them. It’s worth a little emotional pain to get a good night’s sleep. TRUST me. And if the issues are anxiety/depression, a medical doctor will not have the expertise to prescribe correctly. Don’t do that to your body. Go to someone who understands psychology as WELL as medical.

I first experienced insomnia as an 18 year old. I had gone away to college and after about three months just quit being able to sleep. I suffered severe insomnia (sleeping 1 night in 4) for about three weeks. My parents decided I needed to come home, and that really helped me. I switched to a local community college, was much happier, and my normal sleeping patterns resumed. I then experienced the same problem four years later when I graduated college. I suffered for three months before I was put on Serzone, which literally got me back sleeping and feeling good within one week. Now I am a 34 year old, and have been experiencing insomnia and anxiety again for the past two years, mostly due to many changes in my life�?.marriage�?moving across country twice�?.two new jobs, etc. With all of these experiences I have learned that change is extremely difficult for me. When I am anxious about upcoming change, or unhappy, I quit sleeping. It’s tough. I’ve always wished I was one of those people who thrive on change, but I don’t, and I probably never will. I have seen a therapist and taken ambien. They both help me a great deal.