PTSD & Anxiety not letting me fall asleep. (Valium & Ambien CR)

[[Be...]]

Hi. I'm a 32yo male and I've been suffering from major depression, Insomnia, BPD and anxiety since I was 14 since my first suicide attempt and involuntary psych stay. The list of psychiatric meds that i haven't been prescribed throughout the years it's much shorter than those I've been prescribed.

From Dec '13 - Jun '14, I was prescribed Celexa 40mg, Hydroxizyne 50mg,  regular ambien 10mg & Diazepam 10mg 1x a day.

 

Long story short, the clinic I was going to closed and for 2 months, i was in paranoia and anxiety hell. i had to quit benzos cold turkey which doesn't come with all the dangers I've read online.  It was very painfree. But Because of my anxiety & ptsd would sometimes be so severe, I had to drink 2 or 3 beers sometimes just to relax myself. I am not a drinker now that I'm in my 30s and am only sociable without a strong benzo. So because THANK GOD now I see a very understanding and sympathetic doctor. An older, experienced gentleman who prescribes me Lexapro 20mg, Ambien 12.5 CR & Diazepam 10mg 2x as needed.

My anxiety is once again taken care of and I'm able to be sociable again without someone thinking I'm on crack or meth. But I do have a question. I take a Valium and Ambien CR at night. Yet I don't stay asleep long. I REALLY have inomnia problems. So. much so that in psych hospitals, I'm usually given Restoril and Chloral Hydrate 2 times in my late 20s. If there has ever been anyone here with insomnia problems while already taking a benzo? I wouldn't switch Valium for Restoril because I take Valium in the morning for the anxieties and etc.... Of my daily life. I've also been looking into amitriptyline for sleep and an added bonus for the lexapro which has become a bit weak. I've already take the lexapro to 40mg before with not much positive effect.

 

So to recap, I just tak 1x Lexapro 20 . 2x Diazepam 10mg (Morning & Night) . 3x Hydroxizyne 25mg (As Needed). Ambien CR 12.5mg 1 just for sleep

 

P.S. But here's the thing. I took my sleep stuff at 12am. And here it is, 3:20am and nothing. ;-(

[Guest [he...]]

Hi BeefyNY, sorry, I'm a little confused....are you wanting to stay on the Valium and Ambien?  The Ambien is a benzo derivative, and I never had luck with Ambien....the only thing that has worked for me after trying most is Remeron, but that is me.  Wish you well. 

[[be...]]

Valium is a weaker benzo than say Xanax or Klonopin so it really doesn't knock you out like they do. But your body is fed with a drug that puts you on a level playing field and you don't get the ups and downs from other short acting benzos. It lasts for a long period of time, so there is less likelihood  of suffering from interdose withdrawal. PTSD is probably contributing to your problem, as is anxiety. Ambien CR works well for many but it is a kissing cousin to benzos so you'll have to go through the trial of withdrawal for that eventually. I take Seroquel and Trazodone together at bed and I used to have a very severe unrelenting case of insomnia. I used to get 2-3 hours of sleep per night for a year and now I get 7-8 hours.

[[NC...]]

I had started another thread about coming off Klonopin. I was taken off 10mg of Klonopina day. I have tried just about every medicine out there. PTSD was a problem for me. Returned from 6 deployments and my wife tells me I have changed too much. She wanted a divorce. I self medicated for a while drinking and drinking all day that's the only thing that worked for myself. I would never mix medications with the alcohol.

Really looking back at it , the Seroquel helped with sleep too.  Thinking my 10mg of benzo use a day has finally wore out, and this 4 mg is just to keep the withdrawals away. The pain medication I was receiving Vicodin 10-325, 240 a month, And 120 perocets, and a 100mg Fentanyl patch every 3 days and other pain medications. Just don't remember the names of them, that was a lot easier to come off benzos.

Anyways I am glad to hear that you found a good Doctor who understands you. That's really good that you can be on 10mg of diazepam and it makes you feel comfortable.

[[sc...]]

So for 2 whole months you didn't have any withdrawals from the abrupt stop of medications?

[[sc...]]

Prazosin is sometimes used to help people with PTSD to sleep I took it and it helped me sleep but I had really weird dreams,,it's a mild bp med