Insomnia Forum Posting

Posted by Lynne on February 18, 2002 at 00:32:34:

In Reply to: Going Crazy!! posted by lori on February 17, 2002 at 21:37:28:

Lori, believe me, I used to be like you and I can really identify with your despair. However, I believe that all those drugs you take, over time, actually create the opposite effect of what they're supposed to, i.e. agitation, anxiety and nervousness. I have no scientific proof for this (although I have read some articles, based on research, saying the same thing), only personal experience.
I took trazodone for about 10 years (100 - 150 mg each evening), sometimes adding a benzo sleeping pill when I was really desperate (and prior to the trazodone I had taken benzos for a few years). When I finally reached the lowest I could go without dying (at least, that's how it felt), I said NO MORE and threw away the trazodone (I wouldn't advise everyone to do this, but it's what worked for me, eventually). You know what? Although I carried on not sleeping (as I knew I would) for three months afterwards, somehow I felt better, more energy and less nervousness and anxiety. That told me that the pills had actually altered my brain, and not for the better.
So do be aware that, although you feel that you need them, these pills in the long run just make you more nervous and anxious. Please read about my experience in previous posts, get informed about cognitive/behavioural therapy, start it (or use one of the books often referred to on this website - the one I used was Say Goodnight to Insomnia, by Gregg Jacobs, STICKING TO THE PROGRAMME RELIGIOUSLY) and do what you can to stop taking those drugs (tapering them gradually is usually recommended, although that didn't work for me).

It can be done - I and others here are living proof of this - so please be positive and hopeful and persistent and brave, and you will get through this. Just remember, it takes time and you must be patient and be grateful for every little step ahead, and not be put off by little setbacks, as they are normal. Good luck!

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