New Alazopram user - Insomia, dependency, and possible withdrawal (short term use).

[Osremerm]

I'll make this as brief as possible as this is a topic discussed frequently, but I'd love to hear from anyone in a similar situation.

I've struggled with insomnia for the majority of my life (28yo male) and I've never used any drug to help with sleep aside from melatonin and DPH, but never routinely...until now.
I have the biggest interview of my life coming up in a week, and my anxiety and sleep issues have been compounded tremendously. I first tried Lunesta and Ambien, but my sleep quality was atrocious, so I gave Xanax a shot...Whoa! What a relief! I've been using anywhere from 1mg-2mg for sleep in the evenings (I'm a decent sized guy - 6'2 220) and it has worked like a charm. I wake up feeling refreshed and amazing, it almost feels too good...like something bad is around the corner. I don't plan on using Xanax long-term, but as someone who struggled mightily with coke/adderall years ago, the last thing I want is to be reliant on drugs again.

Will I face any long-term struggles after stopping this stuff? I've never slept this good in my entire life, I almost feel like I'm high during the day. I know this is not a long-term solution.

I appreciate the help! I hope this is the right place for this.

 

[aihfl]

Will I face any long-term struggles after stopping this stuff?

Depends on how long you decide to use it. I am prescribed Ativan for panic attacks and I do use it as a sleep aid but my doctor discourages it because of tolerance issues, not to mention if you do use it consistently then stop, you are going to have wicked rebound insomnia and anxiety. You mentioned that you've tried Z drugs but if you're a chronic, lifelong insomniac like me, there are less problematic options out there like sedating antidepressants (trazodone, mirtazapine or doxepin) or a strong antihistamine like hydroxyzine. I take doxepin almost nightly. It doesn't put you out fast, but once you're out, you are out. And mirtazapine used to help me fall asleep quickly, until it no longer did, but I have pretty pronounced depression so I still take it anyway.

 

[Osremerm]

Depends on how long you decide to use it. I am prescribed Ativan for panic attacks and I do use it as a sleep aid but my doctor discourages it because of tolerance issues, not to mention if you do use it consistently then stop, you are going to have wicked rebound insomnia and anxiety. You mentioned that you've tried Z drugs but if you're a chronic, lifelong insomniac like me, there are less problematic options out there like sedating antidepressants (trazodone, mirtazapine or doxepin) or a strong antihistamine like hydroxyzine. I take doxepin almost nightly. It doesn't put you out fast, but once you're out, you are out. And mirtazapine used to help me fall asleep quickly, until it no longer did, but I have pretty pronounced depression so I still take it anyway.

I will only be using for ~1week from today, after I finish my interview. I forgot to mention, I tried Trazadone and that gave me an even worse sleep quality (woke up drooling and very disoriented, plus I couldn't stop eating).

I have not tried an antihistamine stronger than DPH, but I'm certainly interested. Maybe I should opt for something like that. Those are all prescriptions in the US though, right?
Thanks for the response! I'm worried about rebound issues.

 

[aihfl]

Yeah, I had issues with trazodone as well. I'd have to wake up a full hour than I ordinarily would have just to be able to function. I don't have that issue with mirtazapine and doxepin. And yes, hydroxyzine needs to be Rx'd. The trade names are Vistaril or Atarax if you want to do more research.

 

[Osremerm]

I will mention those to my doc this week.
Thanks again!

 

[Osremerm]

Shameless bump