Hypertension

[[Ca...]]

I had a job interview that required a physical in my early 20s.  I was denied the job due to uncontrolled blood pressure.  After several years and several doctors, no medication (day and night) would bring my BP down.  After years of being told that if my blood pressure could not be controlled, my heart would enlarge and I would die early.  I tried a Xanax and it worked.  I took one before I went into the doctor office because they had refused to try any benzo.  He was surprised and happy that his two new prescriptions worked until I handed them back to him.  He wrote me a prescription for .5 mg, 4 X per day.  I am approaching 56 and am still on this dosage.  My blood pressure has been great, but I have this monkey that I may have to keep, in order to control my BP.  Nothing else seems to work.

 

My current issue is that I have had a serious case of insomnia, which has gone on for two years now.  I still hold down a job, but it's getting harder.  I am considering asking my doctor if we could try a different benzo (Librium maybe?) for sleep.  We upped the dose of Xanax for a couple of months and that was some help, but I went back two 2 mg  per day, when it was not a solution.  We also tried Valium, but I believe that the conversion was improper.  It was miserable.

 

Can I possibly try taking Librium (if doc allows it) for sleep and Xanax during the day, with the intent to move to Librium completely?  If Librium controls my anxiety and BP, would it be easier to try to taper?  I use as little Xanax as I need, which tends to vary and have used an extra pill to help me sleep.

 

If my situation is in violation of any of your terms, I apologize.  I do not know where else to turn.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  My guess is that a sleep center would blame it on long term Xanax use.  I didn't ask for this.  I did what I did to save my life.  I would not be writing if I didn't think that someone here can tell me if my idea holds any water, or they have a better idea.

 

Thank you.

[[Ju...]]

Hello Cantquit,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

Benzos, in general are not great sleep medications.  They lose their effect on sleep quickly.  I say this myself as a long term Xanax person who was prescribed the medication for sleep.  I was shocked at how much better I slept when I tapered off of the medication.  The first three months after I withdrew, thing were worse in the sleep department.  But very slowly I began to sleep on my own with no benzos or other sleep meds.  These meds just weren't meant for long term use.  Long term use causes changes in many of our CNS and I personally wanted to stop the med so that I could very slowly begin to heal.

 

I would search with my doctor for a non-benzo medication to control my BP and also a non-benzo alternative for sleep.  Perhaps there are some new medications you have not tried that may work for you.  I'm sorry you're in this predicament.

 

Here are some links to familiarize yourself with:

 

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

 

Members discuss their symptoms on Withdrawal Support (during your taper).

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Welcome to the board!

[[...]]

Hi Cantquit,

Welcome to BB from me too.  I agree with Julia in that benzos are a poor sleep aid and are just not a good long term medication.  I was prescribed Klonopin for insomnia and not only did it not work well for that but I developed dependence to it after only six weeks of use.

 

Like Julia I am starting to sleep much better now that I am benzo free.  I am so sorry that you are in this situation, but if you do decide to taper off of the Xanax you are in the right place for support and advice.  I hope you read the information in the links Julia provided for you and if you decide to taper off, I hope your taper goes well and that you heal quickly.

 

Good luck and take care 

[[Ca...]]

Thank you for the welcome and replies!

 

I know that I have some sort of GAD, which causes the hypertension issue.  It is extremely obvious.  I felt like I was usually under extreme stress when none existed.  Part of that comes with the IT jobs that I have been in for 35 years.  Maybe I should quit working and see if I could handle a taper, but trying to taper when a 500 user network goes down and you have to fix it would probably destroy my attempt.  I have managed for all of these years to keep my dosage at 2mg per day, knowing that I am addicted and not wanting to increase it.  It would be great not to have to carry a bottle of pills and sleep, but if anxiety causes my high blood pressure and anti anxiety medication was all that we could find, will I just have to suffer with anxiety if they did find a new drug that wasn't a benzo?  It seems to be a catch 22.  I went to a shrink because I had cancer a couple of years ago.  I have never seen a doctor that wants me off of this and then handle all of the issues.  If Xanax is CAUSING my insomnia, I'm really in deep.

 

I have had the Ashton manual saved as a bookmark for years.  I share it.  I know a lot about where I am and what I am up against.  It would be great to be drug free, but I'd like a job and sleep, too, without anxiety.  Call me selfish.

 

I refused treatment for my cancer at the first hospital that I went to.  They wanted to give me radiation, chemo, a feeding tube and take my quality of life.  They would not listen to me when I told them that my cancer could possibly be cured with surgery alone.  Push came to shove and I told them that I was going home to die, by their death date of on or around last Christmas.  They sent me to another hospital and we cut the cancer out.  I'll be 2 year cancer free in the spring and out of the woods.  I was my own patient advocate and supported my lady, who was falling apart.  I just got back from a couple of weeks of salmon fishing on Lake Michigan again!  Several surgeries kept me from catching a salmon last summer.  The first season that I missed since I was 12.

 

I can reduce the use.  I have to be extremely physically active for the entire day.  I love the outdoors and have heated with wood for years.  I cut, haul, stack, split . . . except in the heat of summer, if I can help it.  Are their other alternatives, since I sit at a desk five days a week?  Another slight problem would be the bad neck and back.  Surgeons won't touch me yet, but everybody wants me to keep working, getting exercise, keeping range of motion, keeping muscle tone . . .  But, and this won't help, I've been on 20 mg of Hydrocodone, as needed, for about 25 years.  I may go a few weeks with OTC pain meds, but I put my boat in the water in July and had a pinched nerve and couldn't fish that week.  I use it when I need it and don't have the issues that I have with Xanax.  I can have a drink, or a few, or none.  I know that Yoga, meditation . . . work for some, but I have tried.  I want to go outside.  If I do it outside I want to do something else.  I think that if I was in better shape, I could get a job using my muscles and probably be able to taper easily.  I quit smoking years ago and can have a cigarette, now and then.  This is a different beast.  What beats anxiety better than benzos?

 

Should I think about a career change at 56?  I could move up to my fish camp, but if I don't find a new career, I'll start to get anxiety over money issues.  Doctors are scarce up there, too.

 

At least I'm alive!  Things could be a lot worse than this.  I'd love to have my sleep back, but I'm getting old enough that they seem to accept the fact that I nod off during the day when it gets slow.  There probably isn't a good answer for this situation.  Maybe my neck, or back, will get me out of work and make that decision for me.

 

Thanks again.  I knew that there was no magic bullet, but hoped that I might find a way to patch the holes in my life.