Any Input on Hydroxyzine?

[[El...]]

Does anyone have any reviews on Hydroxyzine? I just finished a 14-month taper from Flurazepam in July and quit Ambien in early October. Two weeks after stopping Ambien, I’m sleeping maybe 3-3 1/2 hours with lots of dreams. However, I need to return to work in a few weeks and would really like to edge my sleep up to at least 6 hours to function. Has anyone tried Hydroxyzine? Any side effects? I definitely will never take a benzo or Ambien ever again as that whole nightmare has scared me straight for the rest of my life. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by [El...]

[[An...]]

3 hours ago, [[E...] said:

Does anyone have any reviews on Hydroxyzine? I just finished a 14-month taper from Flurazepam in July and quit Ambien in early October. Two weeks after stopping Ambien, I’m sleeping maybe 3-3 1/2 hours with lots of dreams. However, I need to return to work in a few weeks and would really like to edge my sleep up to at least 6 hours to function. Has anyone tried Hydroxyzine? Any side effects? I definitely will never take a benzo or Ambien ever again as that whole nightmare has scared me straight for the rest of my life. 

I have tried Hydroxyzine several times for anxiety. IMO, Very safe, non-addictive and no side effects when used as directed other than a little dry mouth IIRC. On the flip side, very mild and not very efficacious for severe anxiety but may help if your anxiety is mild.

I personally think it is safe to try to see if it might help your sleep some.

[[El...]]

@[An...], thank you for responding. I might give my body a few more weeks to recover natural sleep. Did you notice any weight gain when you took it? I’ve read that is a potential side effect. Thank you for sharing your experience!

[[An...]]

Hi @[El...]

No weight gain from the Hydroxyzine. Congrats on the Ambien and Flurazepam detoxes. Is sleep the only issue you are mostly having now?

[[El...]]

@[An...], I have some manageable symptoms of anxiety and night sweats, but my major symptom is insomnia. I am sleeping some and am hoping more hours of my natural sleep comes back. Getting off of Flurazepam and Ambien this year has been exhausting mentally but am looking forward to getting healthy. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by [El...]

[[or...]]

@[El...] I took hydroxyzine as a sleep aid for a few weeks and would give it a  C-. It helped a bit, but I felt really hung over in the morning. I had a bad insomnia problem also after my taper, and especially once I quit Ambien. To tell you the truth, I found Unisom Sleep Tabs to be much more effective than hydroxyzine. But they stopped working eventually. I then tried melatonin -- 1 mg -- and it was okay for awhile. CBD marijuana worked best of all. But . . . good news . . . natural sleep came back and now I need to take nothing.

[[El...]]

13 minutes ago, [[o...] said:

@[El...] I took hydroxyzine as a sleep aid for a few weeks and would give it a  C-. It helped a bit, but I felt really hung over in the morning. I had a bad insomnia problem also after my taper, and especially once I quit Ambien. To tell you the truth, I found Unisom Sleep Tabs to be much more effective than hydroxyzine. But they stopped working eventually. I then tried melatonin -- 1 mg -- and it was okay for awhile. CBD marijuana worked best of all. But . . . good news . . . natural sleep came back and now I need to take nothing.

@[or...], how long were you on Ambien? I saw that you did a slow taper over 6 months. I was on Ambien (6.25 CR) for 6 months and did a week-long taper 2 weeks ago. Ambien was causing too many dark thoughts, exhaustion, and inner trembling and I was scared of being on it too long. I am using Unisom, but I think that is losing effectiveness. May I ask how many weeks before your natural sleep returned?

[[or...]]

@[El...] I was on Ambien for about 2 years. At first it worked great. Then not so much. I had insomnia (of course) and the Ambien was just making me feel ill. After I dropped all my drugs then stopped the sleep aids that worked for a while then quit . . . I guess it took 6 months or so for "normal" sleep to return. I just "toughed it out" and then one morning I realized I'd slept without anything. Hallelujah!

[[An...]]

👍 @[or...]

Very encouraging!

[[El...]]

On 16/10/2023 at 17:15, [[o...] said:

@[El...] I was on Ambien for about 2 years. At first it worked great. Then not so much. I had insomnia (of course) and the Ambien was just making me feel ill. After I dropped all my drugs then stopped the sleep aids that worked for a while then quit . . . I guess it took 6 months or so for "normal" sleep to return. I just "toughed it out" and then one morning I realized I'd slept without anything. Hallelujah!

What a journey! I hope the Hydroxyzine does not hinder my brain from recovering. If my sleep does not improve by November to a reasonable amount, I will try a small dose to begin with. I hope this medication does not require an exhausting taper; I’m not sure my body can withstand anymore.

[[Ac...]]

Oh boy, I'm glad I saw this.  I took hydroxyzine for 1.5 years after my CT from k.  I'm 2.5 years off now. Here's what I'll say:

- for me, it would not touch my acute level symptoms.  It's not a benzo or z drug so if you're in the thick of it, it might not do anything.  For that reason, I didn't use it much the first 6 months of my recovery. It just didn't work.  

- once I felt more healed, it really worked. Well.  One 25mg pill knocked me right out.  Half and quarter pills worked for me too.  I found that it took a little longer to work, usually about an hour.  It did not give me hangover symptoms or side effects.  Real clean drowsiness.  For that reason I used it often. 

- I never needed to updose- it always worked for me at low doses.

- now the bad.  After a little over a year of use I was feeling well.  Low benzo symptoms, feeling mostly healed, started writing my success story etc. 2 years from my ct.  I decided I wanted to work on getting off hydrox.  I did a long crude taper.  A few months of half pills, a few months of quarter pills, then quit.  I've experienced elevated symptoms since and would even say I'm set back.  It's been nasty.  This has gone on 4 months and counting.  

So it's not harmless.  It's not something, in my opinion, you can take a long time and jump off Scott free.  Everyone is different, of course, we all know that.  But my advice is if you use it, don't use it that long, a few months at most, and use as low dose as you can.  

I thought I was taking something "light" to help me out in wd, but this has really made me believe med free is best.  Gutting it out and letting your body do its thing.  

Edited October 26, 2023 by [Ac...]

[[...]]

On 20/10/2023 at 01:32, [[E...] said:

What a journey! I hope the Hydroxyzine does not hinder my brain from recovering. If my sleep does not improve by November to a reasonable amount, I will try a small dose to begin with. I hope this medication does not require an exhausting taper; I’m not sure my body can withstand anymore.

@[El...] I took a kind of hydroxyzine from time to time while tapering. I didn't feel any side effect and one night just stoped taking it abruptly. Can't say it is very effective but i slept somehow. I think the drug is quite harmless.

[[El...]]

On 25/10/2023 at 19:01, [[A...] said:

Oh boy, I'm glad I saw this.  I took hydroxyzine for 1.5 years after my CT from k.  I'm 2.5 years off now. Here's what I'll say:

- for me, it would not touch my acute level symptoms.  It's not a benzo or z drug so if you're in the thick of it, it might not do anything.  For that reason, I didn't use it much the first 6 months of my recovery. It just didn't work.  

- once I felt more healed, it really worked. Well.  One 25mg pill knocked me right out.  Half and quarter pills worked for me too.  I found that it took a little longer to work, usually about an hour.  It did not give me hangover symptoms or side effects.  Real clean drowsiness.  For that reason I used it often. 

- I never needed to updose- it always worked for me at low doses.

- now the bad.  After a little over a year of use I was feeling well.  Low benzo symptoms, feeling mostly healed, started writing my success story etc. 2 years from my ct.  I decided I wanted to work on getting off hydrox.  I did a long crude taper.  A few months of half pills, a few months of quarter pills, then quit.  I've experienced elevated symptoms since and would even say I'm set back.  It's been nasty.  This has gone on 4 months and counting.  

So it's not harmless.  It's not something, in my opinion, you can take a long time and jump off Scott free.  Everyone is different, of course, we all know that.  But my advice is if you use it, don't use it that long, a few months at most, and use as low dose as you can.  

I thought I was taking something "light" to help me out in wd, but this has really made me believe med free is best.  Gutting it out and letting your body do its thing.  

Good information! After you quit Hydroxyzine, how were you sleeping?

[[Ac...]]

On 29/10/2023 at 11:33, [[E...] said:

Good information! After you quit Hydroxyzine, how were you sleeping?

I slept a lot more poorly.  I would avoid it unless you need it as a last resort

[[El...]]

@[Co...], I read that you have experience with Hydroxyzine. Can I take Hydroxyzine twice a week? Is that sustainable? I’m able to manage my insomnia somewhat with Unisom on the days I don’t take it. I just started using Hydroxyzine about 2 weeks ago. If I use it twice a week, will my sleep even out on its own? Is the Hydroxyzine delaying my recovery?

[[An...]]

Hi @[El...]. I am sure Colin will respond when he sees your post.

You said>>>>

Quote

 I just started using Hydroxyzine about 2 weeks ago.

Is it helping any?

[[El...]]

@[An...], thank you for responding. Yes, the Hydroxyzine is working, but I am trying to limit my use to twice per week. I remember taking it about 25 years ago for at least a few years with no issues. However, now I feel afraid to take any new Rx medications. 

[[An...]]

I completely understand @[El...]. I think all of us are left with some degree of Rx medication phobia after withdrawing from benzodiazepines.

Good to hear the Hydroxyzine is working. Your initial post said you were averaging about 3 hours after the Ambien detox and that you need at least 6 in order to function when you return to work. Are you getting 6 or more with the Hydroxyzine onboard?

[[El...]]

@[An...], yes, it’s averaging about 5-6 hours with the Hydroxyzine. I’m scared to depend on it. I am discouraged because I don’t know how long this benzo insomnia is going to last. I know it will last from 6-18 months. 

[[An...]]

Your History says>>>

Quote

September 2023: Started tapering Ambien 6.25.
July 2023: Finished tapering flurazepam.

You stopped the Ambien in early Oct. but started the taper in Sept. You slowly tapered off the benzo but fast-tracked the Ambien taper. What was the reason for that?

[[El...]]

@[An...], I knew I had to get rid of the Ambien as soon as possible and that it would be hard. The side effects were crippling (think internal terror every day for months). I took some time away from work and just did a week long taper with the Ambien. Stopping Ambien was difficult because I thought I would never sleep again. I had hoped that during my leave my sleep would return. Not really enough to function long term. So, I am trying to manage my insomnia so I can function enough to get by. Will my sleep return? Am I broken?

Edited November 14, 2023 by [El...]

[[An...]]

OIC @[El...]. I don't think you are broken. Natural sleep should return. Prior to starting the Ambien for sleep, how much were you sleeping? Was there a time in your life where you went from sleeping normally to not being able to sleep adequately where things got so bad until you sought medical treatment and a doctor prescribed the Ambien to you?

[[...]]

4 hours ago, [[E...] said:

@[An...], I knew I had to get rid of the Ambien as soon as possible and that it would be hard. The side effects were crippling (think internal terror every day for months). I took some time away from work and just did a week long taper with the Ambien. Stopping Ambien was difficult because I thought I would never sleep again. I had hoped that during my leave my sleep would return. Not really enough to function long term. So, I am trying to manage my insomnia so I can function enough to get by. Will my sleep return? Am I broken?

@[El...], sure, your sleep is going to return but perhaps not as soon as you'd like. On my local forum it's normal for sleep to disappear for a while during/ after withdrawal but it always comes back. 

I think hydroxyzine is ok. It can't be compared to benzo and it doesn't put off your recovery because it doesn't "touch" gaba receptors. I've already written here i took it almost every night for about 3 months while tapering. Then i just stopped and forgot about it. It is on the shelf now just in case) There are quite a few people on my forum who did the same.

Don't worry in vain. You will manage your insomnia.

Edited November 14, 2023 by [...]

[[Co...]]

9 hours ago, [[E...] said:

@[Co...], I read that you have experience with Hydroxyzine. Can I take Hydroxyzine twice a week? Is that sustainable? I’m able to manage my insomnia somewhat with Unisom on the days I don’t take it. I just started using Hydroxyzine about 2 weeks ago. If I use it twice a week, will my sleep even out on its own? Is the Hydroxyzine delaying my recovery?

Hi @[El...]. Truthfully, I do not know. I took it to break cycles. So, Id take it for maybe a week (the first time was for 2 or more weeks, but I was in terrible shape). Later, I'd usually take it only for a few days. But, typically, there were months between each use. I do not know to what degree tolerance would develop if it was taken twice a week every week. But it is surely Googleable.

If you have no luck finding the information, bump this thread or send me PM tomorrow and I'll see if I can find anything.

[[El...]]

3 hours ago, [[C...] said:

Hi @[El...]. Truthfully, I do not know. I took it to break cycles. So, Id take it for maybe a week (the first time was for 2 or more weeks, but I wish in terrible shape). Later, I'd usually take it only for a few days. But, typically, there were months between each use. I do not know to what degree tolerance would develop if it was taken twice a week every week. But it is surely Googleable.

If you have no luck finding the information, bump this thread or send me PM tomorrow and I'll see if I can find anything.

@[Co...], I took it for about 8 years around 25 years ago and didn’t seem to have any problems with it. I don’t think I ever built a tolerance. I took it nightly for years. When I became pregnant, I just stopped taking it. I have tried to find out from other forums how long it took people to build a tolerance. My system is different now that I am newly off Flurazepam since July of this year and off Ambien since early October. Plus, I am older. I’ll see what else I can find out about tolerance. Thank you for responding.