I’ve been struggling with sleep issues for over a decade now. My Doctor has prescribed me all sorts of medication, all of which has had many adverse side effects. What I do know that works, is Xanax. My wife was prescribed it for some stress issues and occasionally will give me one so I can finally sleep. Obviously asking my Doctor, “can I have Xanax” Will not go well. I’ve eluded to it in ways and the response has always been along the lines of “that’s habit forming, I’d rather you try this”. Of the many medications prescribed, none have worked. Resorting to the dark web is something I’d really rather not do. Fentanyl laced drugs took my sister and it’s a road I hope to not have to explore. Any suggestions?
What, specifically, have they tried? Did you try trazodone? I don’t think Xanax is the solution you think it may be even though it worked for you.
Is the issue falling asleep or staying asleep? Do you have an idea of what prevents you from falling asleep? What do you think about when you’re in bed falling asleep? What is your natural sleep cycle timeline? In other words, when do you naturally get sleepy and if given no restrictions, when would you wake up? How is your sleep hygiene (really, not just what you tell people)?
Do not, I repeat, do not go in there asking for Xanax or you will be labeled a drug seeker permanently. A doctor is not going to give you Xanax for this, full stop. They’re going to ask all of the above questions and try other avenues first. If they suspect an anxiety disorder they will move up that avenue and you may need a benzo but you have to be under care for a while and basically prove you’re trustworthy.
I have massive sleep problems too but you don’t have enough information in your post to give any other advice other than the standard sleep hygiene stuff you’ve already been told.
Trazadone was pretty intolerable with all the dry mouth side effects, plus it didn’t really help sleep a ton. I have a lot of problems with stress and anxiety. From a stressful job, to an insane family and some horrific life shit that happened over the past years. It’s tough to get my mind to stop racing sometimes. I’ve depended too much on substances in the past to manage it, and I know that probably means something habit forming may backfire. Honestly I’m always tired, but at times I’ll just lay there, tossing back and forth. Without restrictions, I can normally sleep from about 10PM-6AM, that seems to be the pattern for this point in my life. I’ve recently tried to start going for a hike at sunrise and that did help. Going to get back to doing that soon.
I know it feels tangential to getting a good night’s sleep when you haven’t had one in a long time, but if you have access to therapy consider making an appointment. Any one of those would be worth time with a therapist, and mental wellness definitely affects your sleep quality. This isn’t to say it’s all in your head or your fault you can’t sleep or anything like that, just that your mental health is as important a contributor to your wellness as your physical health.
I’ll definitely consider it again. I’m not a people person and find it extremely hard to trust people. But I also don’t talk much and things just end up festering.
All therapists aren’t the same, if you don’t click with someone after a session or two that’s completely a valid reason to dump them and try a different one. I know it can be disheartening if you have to go through a few, especially when getting to the point that you’re in therapy to begin with is already so much work. But from personal experience I would say it’s definitely worth it.
Be sure to bring up that you have a hard time opening up and trusting people, it’s definitely relevant to why you’re there and it’s a pretty common problem to have when seeing a therapist. Any good therapist will be able to help you find strategies for ways to work around it, like writing things out ahead of time if that’s easier for you.
It sounds like you’ve had a hell of a rough time with it, I hope you get some good rest and healing soon.
Thanks for the advice, have a good weekend
This. Anxiety has a lot of solutions now but a medical doctor (as opposed to a psychiatrist) probably isn’t the place to get them. A simple combo of things can work minor miracles. Good luck!
Thanks