Xanax as a sleep aide?

hormones are crazy! i never had problems sleeping until after i had a hysterectomy.  i was prescribed Ambien and love it.

Also, if you are conserned about taking a medication that is old, you can ask your pharmacist if it can hurt you.

yeah I'm hoping once the IUD is out (next week i hope), the insomnia will stop! I've never had a problem with sleeping until I had my 3rd baby last April and got this IUD in. Most women I've talked to say it takes only 2 days with the IUD out and they feel back to normal!!!

I agree Altheda, I need to be careful about the drugs I take and there is a reason for me having insomnia and to get to that core reason. I believe it's hormonal because like I said, I've had no problems before this with sleeping.

I also think after I had this baby (first post op baby and last kid we are having), my hormones are all wacky with me weighing 120 lbs less and are more sensitive to any hormonal bc I am taking!!!

 After the RNY I had a sudden desire for induced sleep.  Before RNY I had problems with pain from gallstones in my CBD and they prescribed Vicodin.  I had taken Vicodin before and knew the risks of dependency and I threw the stuff away immediately after my gallbladder removal.  But this time, the pain was so intense and lingered on...I found myself taking more of it than before.  I got rid of the pills and was fine.  Then I had a 3rd surgery after RNy to remove another stone from my CBD and the episodes of pain before surgery were frequent and intense.  This time they gave me Vicodin liquid (went right to the head) and then at hospitalization they gave me Oxycotin liquid and intermittent shots of percocet (I think).  Well, I never felt SOOOO GOOD IN MY LIFE.  LOL.  Really relaxed, pain free!

When I got home I took the oxycotin for about 2 weeks and disposed of the rest, but I struggled with going to SLEEP as restfully as I did when on the prescriptions.  So, for a few weeks I drank a little wine to help me sleep.  That stopped being effective and I added melatonin.  That was fine, but didn't always work and then I did some sleep aids.  But, I realized that I was really trying to mimick that old sensation that I got from the prescriptions.  Now, I simply go to sleep with a good book or maybe some melatonin and a sleepy time tea.  It does the trick.  

Point is, the drugs have a feel good sensation and deep down inside....that's what we all want.  We just got to watch our step and be careful not to slip into addictive behaviors that are similar to the samee addiction we had for food.

the thing is, I get a little weird and anxiety creeps up on me if I don't get a good night's sleep after about 2-3 days. I have a 1 yr old, 4 yr old, and 8 yr old to take care of and that stresses me out if I can't sleep because I won't be able to take care of them the next day if I'm dead tired. So I have to make sure I get a good night's sleep at least 4-5 nights a week or I'll be crazy. I'm hoping this IUD removal will help, it just sucks that my ob/gyn only is in the office Tues/Thurs/Fri and can't talk to him until at least Tues, so 3 more days.... sigh.

maybe u need a low dose of zoloft which would help with anxiety (in higher doses it is used more for depression) and u would take it everyday.  That way it would be in your system everyday and if u needed to u could take your sleep aides as well.  No interactions between the 2.

I worry about u taking the OLD xanax as well.  Hard to know how the absorption may be affected by yhte normal breakdown of the med over time.  IF you feel u must take xanax then get a new prescrition from your md.

Another good medication to take for sleep is Trazadone.  It sorta shuts the brain down or puts it in slow motion so that all the worries of the day sorta float out of your head and allows u to sleep better.  No groggy feeling. 

I was on Xanax for 2 years before Lexapro. Switched because the X wasn't doing it any longer. I must have built an immunity to it. I use it periodically as well for sleep aid. It works great. If you take it longer than 2 weeks straight you have to ease off of it for a week by taking a half dose to get it out of your system. I didn't get addicted to it, but Im one of those people that can take oxy and vic's, at the same time and prefer advil cause I get better results. I am immune to most of the so called pain relievers.

I work at night and Its hard to sleep during the day,so I tried lunesta,ambien,those just got me sooo depressed.Now I take restorial and ativan and it knocks me out.I realize they can be addicting but without them I cant sleep.Ive tried tylenol pm,melotonin,valerian,lavender,hot baths,ear plugs and black out curtains,nothing worked til restorial and ativan.eventually Im gonna get a day job and wont need them.

Oh I was on Zoloft 25 mg (the lowest dose) back last April-Oct for post partum depression after I had my baby and that stuff makes me wayyyyy too tired (during the day) and makes me have the munchies and gain weight. I was glad when I got off that stuff. And it's not that I have anxiety, because I sure know what that is, I just have trouble falling asleep because I think of this stupid IUD and the hormone crap.

My Mom's doctor suggest she take a 5mg melatonin 5 hrs before bed because some people's bodies take longer to break down the seratonin or whatever is in that, and she says it works for her. Melatonin normally doesn't work for me, I've tried the 3 mg and 5 mg just before bed at 9pm and it didn't work. 

So I took it at 4:45 pm yesterday and... well either I was dead tired last night or it worked, because I went to sleep at 9pm and didn't wake up till 6:30 am- slept like a LOG!!!  Going to try it again tonight and see if it works!!!