Cannot Sleep Without Sleep Aids-Any Help?

[Sleepless in Tennessee]

I have been on 2 mg of Lorazepam and 10 mg of Zolpidem for over three years now. Religiously. Any night I try to stop, I don't sleep at all. I literally would be up all night and all day. I have MS and Fibromylgia which do add to the sleep problems. I have always had insomnia since a young child, but the problem did not exaserbate to this point until my family and I lived through a F-4 tornado from the closet. Ever since that night, sleep has been even farther from my grasp. I am to the point that I can not add anymore sleep aids. I need to begin weening myself from them. But, I am addicted, not to the medicine, but to sleep. Without those pills, I DON'T sleep! Help!

[Aller Simple]

Hello,

I recognize myself in just about every story on this board. One thing that I am now looking at more closely and that you have done is finding a proper shrink--more about this later.

So, am brand new on this site--found it as I was about to be a human subject in a sleep study, but got cold feet, knowing that for 12 weeks I may be on a placebo and would find myself unable to take a Lunesta 2 or 3 mg or on occasion an Ambien--nothing really works.... here's my current routine: two nights with a Lunesta, one night off anything. On pill nights, I am lucky if I sleep 4 hours of interrupted sleep. But I feel rested. When I don't like last night, I often do not sleep at all -- like last night or 90 mn at best, and always with lots of dreaming. Generally speaking, and that freaks me out big time, I am quite okay and productive at the office the next day, but today, a combination of rainy weather, a new desk lamp (removed the overhead) and over-eager heat thermostat, I was almost dozing off at my desk. So, I am going to take my Lunesta--do not trust the fatigue to be enough, and go on to bed, and hope for 4 + hours.... But even that is not sustainable as Target Rx just told me that a 30-day supply WITH insurance would cost me $111.00...! If only Ambien (generic) agreed with me--it makes me super anxious ans sometimes does not work at all.

I had a question regarding family: I have one brother who sleeps ok and the other one who is like me. Are you siblings also affected?