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Insomnia, Zoloft and Ambien withdrawal

Posted by gabrielle on November 14, 2001 at 16:48:25:

For years I have suffered from lack of sleep. I think I psychologically got used to it and I just kept going. Three years ago when I moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) he was concerned I had sleep apnea. He mentioned I would wake myself in the middle of the night several times. He suggested a sleep study which he also agreed to do.

The sleep study was unsuccessful as I was not able to sleep. I was beginning to think I was just so stressed out from working so much that the anxiety was keeping me from having a successful night sleeping. I had no problems falling asleep but wouldn't stay asleep past 1 a.m. and once I woke up my mind would reel for hours on end. Oddly, I would continue to have successful days working, not tired or sleepy and alert, until I came home.

We have tried several over the counter propaganda snore stop,breathe right,dental appliance, throat spray, combination benadryl, tylenol pm, melatonin, valerian and meds wise, nothing seemed to work without the drowsy after effect. My next stop was my physician. My appt. was the first of Sept. and told her I was stressed at work and having trouble sleeping. She said that it was most likely pre-menopausal and stress related and would prescribe me Ambien to sleep and Zoloft to take the edge off and that I would see her in 3 - or 4 months for my annual visit and we could talk about how they were working. We started on 5mg of Ambien and 25mg Zoloft and after a week increased to 10mg Ambien and 50mg Zoloft.

I had quit my stressful job.

I don't think I ever felt the affects of the Zoloft except for occasional nausea, tiredness and rapid heartbeating which generally didn't happen all at once.

The Ambien knocked me out for awhile, I'd wake 2-3 times in the middle of the night but go right back to sleep. I never took the ambien until I was in bed. I've been taking both these drugs for 3 months straight. I finally decided to stop taking the Zoloft as I didn't feel like it was doing much. I'd been thinking that I did not want to get addicted to Ambien as a sleep aid,(even though the Dr. said it was non-habit forming). I began to get concerned that maybe these meds were covering or masking a more serious problem. I also noticed my memory was going and I was becoming catatonic. I couldn't remember anything. Concerned, I began searching online and I came across these forums and was amazed at the information I had read.

It has been 3 days since I've stopped taking these drugs, cold turkey and I don't sleep. I'm trying to stay calm, relax and drink herbal tea prior to bed. I have laid awake in bed 3 nights in a row and wake with a heaviness behind my eyes the size of a brick.

I want to be able to sleep so badly and I realize the anxiety of not being able too is not helping the situation. I want to start looking for work but not before I get my brains back.

I have an appt. to see the Dr. next week for my annual and I am apprehensive to take any further drug recommendations. I do not want to depend on sleep aids or depression aids for sleep.

Any suggestions for reading to reduce sleep anxiety or success stories for sleep would be much appreciated. Thank-you all for sharing your experiences.

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  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


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