Posted by westernjoe on September 16, 2008 at 14:25:27:In Reply to: Anyone with benzpdiazpine withdrawa posted by NoDozer on September 16, 2008 at 13:33:13:
Nodoz:
The VERY first Dr I saw for my sleep problem prescribed Xanax. It definitely helped me sleep but I was convinced it was covering up a bigger problem and didn't take it long. Another Dr prescribed me seroquel which I toke for several months and it helped too but when missing a dose caused an awful headache. I was able to taper off slowly over 2 weeks.It's possible at 3mo post-op you still have some swelling that is causing those symptoms. I had terrible sleep starts and finally traced them to caffeine. After 2 weeks of being off they went away.
Another thing is that sometimes our brains need to adapt to sleep after years of struggling with apnea. This might just take some time.
My suggestion is to start tapering off. 5 days at 3/4 dose, 5 days at 1/2 dose, 5 days at 1/4 dose, 5 days at 1/4 dose every other day. And, sleep sitting up and other things to make sure your airway is as open as possible such as taking steamy showers before bed, and possibly using a nasal spray and/or a thinner such as Guaifenesin (Mucinex). Check with your Dr first on these.
Another thing that helps me sleep a little better is 5htp. OTC.RA