Hypoxia and Medicine

cannot sleep!?

hi im 15 and i cannot stay asleep at night. i keep waking up. i have no medical conditions. my mother has bad insomnia, as does my brother, and as i do. i was prescribed xanax, and it works like a charm, but i dont want to take it because its addicting, sadly. my doctor prescribed me rozerem, a sleep aid, but it makes me feel weird, and doesnt help me really. any tips on how to make myself sleep. i literally tired everything. i feel worn out even as im typing this.

Public Comments

1. Try drinking warm milk or hot chocolate before you go to bed. That always helps me. =]
2. You could try Hypnosis or self-hypnosis (you need practice for self-hypnosis). Hypnosis is effective for many conditions. Also acupuncture could be beneficial. All the herbs and natural remedies don't really work for bad insomnia. Check this out http://www.hypnotherapyforlondon.co.uk/treat_insomnia_with_hypnosis_article.htm If you don't have any issue with hypnosis (some people do) you should give it a try.
3. you and me both, but after 5 oclock i realized it was hopeless and only got 2 hours of sleep...so i feel for ya kid. oh do you go to a pediatrician for xanax? regular doctors are idiots when it comes to mental health issues and medications. first off, xanax is for anxiety, NOT anything else. of course, it may be prescribed to take when a person is going through a bad butt break down [i was almost gonna take it cause m depression from BDP got so bad last week] and well anyways, you need to stop taking xanax all together, throw it away asap and go to a psychiatrist. i was prescribed trazodone and that stuff worked like a charm. or just go to the store and get some tylenol pm. but you should STOP taking xanax. yes it is addictive, VERY addictive. and you do not even need it for insomnia. it's meant for anxiety, like i said. so either take tylenol pm or other over the counter sleep aids like Sleep-Eze, Sominex, Nytol, and Unison but they are not meant for long term use.... or you can go to a psychiatrist.
4. Next time you see your doctor, ask him about a medication called Trazodone. Originally, it was a depression med, but it only made people sleep and did very little for depression so now, it is used primarily as a sleeper.
5. About your age I got addicted to Xanax and sleeping pills without realizing it. The doctors just prescribed more and more and I took them as they instructed. I didn't realize until one night I wrote in my journal after taking all my sleep meds and I realized they were making me hallucinate. It was a terrifying experience and was incredibly hard to get off the meds. Sleep meds (except Rozerem apparently) all are addictive because after you take them one night, you can't get that same sleep the next. So you keep needing it. Its an incredibly frustrating process. The best thing I did was practice great sleep hygiene. I cut out all caffeine, including chocolate after 12 pm. I have no TV in my room, I don't do anything in my room except sleep and sex (you may be too young for that last part), I have a ritual to help me relax. I do deep breathing and meditation before bed. All in all, it now takes me about 30 to 40 minutes to fall asleep. At 15 I was only sleeping once ever three days because of medication I was on for ADD (I never had it, once again regular doctors should not diagnose or prescribe these meds to kids). At 17 I slept about 3-4 hours a night and by 19 I had gone to a sleep clinic and learned about sleep hygiene. Good Luck!
6. My family suffers from insomnia too. It's just in the genes. Yes, you are very tired when you try to function without the proper amount of sleep. Over the counter meds might work on helping you get to sleep, but sometimes you can't maintain that sleep throughout the night or you feel lousy the next day. Some doctors do prescribe Xanax for sleep, and yes it's for anxiety, but some medications work for other symptoms besides just one. But it is highly addictive. I take Ambien, the lowest dose, and even split the pills in half. This works better than taking a whole pill for me. I've tried Ambien CR and that was too strong. Ambien is what many of my friends who suffer from insomnia take and we really like it. You don't feel groggy when you wake up and you maintain your sleep for the 8 hours. I started taking it years ago and no longer feel tired when I wake up. See if your doctor might try you on this. Also, relaxation techniques can help too. Check them out. Hope it helps!