Xanax and Insomnia: What Users Say

• Wor...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 28, 2020

For Anxiety "I have severe anxiety panic disorder that started when I was a child. I have been taking Xanax for over 30 years now. Every day I take 4 pills, but on really bad days I take 6 pills. My doctor has retired, and now I have a new doctor who is cutting me off. Instead of taking 4 pills every day, they only gave me enough for half a pill per day. I'm never able to sleep due to extreme insomnia, anxiety, and panic attacks that plague me every day. I was shocked at how much they cut me off and so quickly. Right now, I am in critical condition. They say I exceeded my monthly limit. When I was given Xanax, I was able to function, sleep normally, eat, and live a normal life. I have been taking Xanax for over 30 years. It is truly inhumane. My body relies on taking medicine every day, and suddenly being cut off will be really hard on my body. Some people really do need Xanax."

• BWa...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 9, 2018

For Anxiety "Been on Xanax for almost 10 years. It has saved my life, and I mean that. I couldn’t function from the severe anxiety that I would get every day. I recently moved, and my new psychiatrist won’t prescribe it to me. I am just thankful I still have 3 more scripts I can fill. He’s trying to get me off it by putting me on Buspar. What a mess this drug is. I can’t sleep and am nauseous all day long. Still take a low dose of my Xanax while on it but it scares me having to give up the only thing that has helped me over all these years. People who abuse it have given it a horrible reputation, and it’s not available for the responsible people that really need it."

• Anonymous
• April 22, 2008

For Panic Disorder "Xanax saved me during my separation/divorce. We have one child and the realization that I would only see her on weekends destroyed me. I would have panic attacks and anxiety so bad I could not function in life. I lost weight, had nausea, could not sleep or eat and wanted to die. I was prescribed Xanax 0.25mg (the lowest dosage). I take half in the morning and half in the afternoon. Xanax has saved my life, I feel normal, can work, focus, and enjoy the time I do have with my daughter. It works!!"

• Sha...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 9, 2018

For Anxiety "Seriously, I would be dead without this medication. Pop culture has given it a bad rep, but as a prescribed user of this godsent medicine from the beautiful minds at Pfizer, I humbly thank you for saving my life. Had I known and addressed my severe depression, agoraphobia, anxiety, and PTSD (the alphabet goes on)... I would have NEVER SUFFERED FROM A STROKE IN 2010 DUE TO MY CONDITIONS that I had no idea there was a word for what's wrong with me. This is a quick-acting, short shelf-life in the system type of medicine, so it's a here-now, gone feeling. The low doses are like a mini invisible hug, the 2 mgs help me sleep and dream of a better life, and wake up to my Starbucks feeling alert as the medicine did its thing on my heart and mind. If during the day I feel sick with chest pain from anxiety, it offers immediate relief. I am responsible in my consumption. Thank you to the hardworking medical professionals for understanding the pain of the unseen sicknesses."

• Qan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 2, 2018

For Anxiety "I had severe postpartum anxiety to the point of no sleep for 3 months, which made me lose touch with all reality. I couldn’t take benzos as I was determined to breastfeed. Once I got through another bout of insomnia when I stopped breastfeeding, I was suicidal from lack of sleep and panic/anxiety. I was put on Xanax, .125 to .25 per day before bed. 4 years later, I still have anxiety around sleep, so I take half the lowest dose 45 mins before bed. I struggle with sleep at times, but I have not increased my dose over the 4 years and don’t freak out or withdraw if I miss a dose. My doctor hired a new nurse who seems bent on getting me off it, makes me plead my case to get refills. I don’t understand this thinking-a low dose of Xanax forever is better than a strung-out suicidal insomniac. I have tried all SSRIs, hypnosis, counseling, meditation, CBTI for insomnia, and hormone therapy. Nothing works as well as half a Xanax 45 mins before bed. It’s just reality for me."

• jos...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 22, 2020

"Stop smoking back 6 weeks ago after almost 37 years. This has brought on constant coughing with problems of getting rid of smoker's phlegm, plus depression, lack of sleep, and constant thoughts that I am going to die because my respiratory and chest are full of phlegm and short of breath. Finally getting Xanax 0.5 twice a day. Real different is that I am positive now. I can sleep almost 8 hours a night and have positive thinking of an ex-smoker, and my body is recovering slowly but consistently."

• dav...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 11, 2015

For Anxiety "It's been 3 months now off Xanax (was taking up to 4 mg a day for 2 years after my brother killed himself) and I'm just now starting to feel like myself again. Coming off the Xanax was the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to force myself to work and keep my job. I had good days and bad days (more bad than good). My symptoms were crazy. No sleep, headaches, shakes, twitching, pain everywhere, memory problems. If I knew how hard it is to come off benzos, I never would have touched it. Short-term use = okay. Stressful event = okay. If this helps one person, then yay. Please be careful! Don't end up detoxing off of a benzo and going through hell for weeks or months. Research this med. Not fun!"

• Luv...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 11, 2017

For Depression "I started Xanax 14 years ago after taking Klonopin for years. My life changed for the better instantly. Before Xanax, I was trapped in my own mind, constantly worrying instead of enjoying my family! It has now become a curse. For years, I've been on 4 mg daily, and I have severe panic attacks, depression, and insomnia. 50 mg of Trazodone for insomnia is not helping, so I use my Xanax to sleep, then, I run out early, leading to detox. I'm just going in circles! I discussed with my family about going to a detox center and starting over with other meds."

• Whi...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 26, 2013

For Anxiety "Xanax was a godsend in the short term. Nearly immediate peace from all anxiety and panic symptoms. The longer I took it, though, the more problematic it became. Constantly increasing the dose for effectiveness, switching formulations. Finally, addiction and dependence - it didn't matter if it was called this or that. Discontinuing Xanax was painful. Like weeks-long, restless, climbing the walls, no sleep. I'd still call it useful in a low dose, well-supervised situation."

• Gra...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 11, 2019

For Depression "For anxiety, I give it a 10, but for depression, a 1. It is very good medicine for GAD, but after a couple of months, you get addicted. If you stop, insomnia is terrible and the brain doesn't function at all, so be aware of that."

• Mag...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 13, 2018

For Anxiety "I have my life back because of Xanax. I have suffered from anxiety my entire life but somehow kept it manageable until my fifties. I was getting more and more agoraphobic and afraid to drive. Finally, I found myself pacing the house, unable to sleep and scared that I was actually going to harm myself. I have been on .5 mg Xanax XR up to three times daily for almost two years, and I am fully functioning again."

• Swp...
• January 1, 2016

For Depression "My wife uses Xanax. She is bipolar II. She has a lot of depression and anxiety but not much hypomania. She takes two 1 mg when she is having a really bad day, which is about every other day. It knocks her out for about four hours. Oftentimes, she will wake up, and then about four hours later, she needs to take another Xanax. It helps in emergencies but does nothing for the underlying cause of her severe depression and anxiety. I'm glad it's there for emergencies, though. I wish it did something to decrease the frequency of emergencies."

• Naz...
• September 22, 2016

For Panic Disorder "Please be very careful, and I repeat, very careful. My doctor prescribed Xanax to treat my panic disorder from underground stations (London) phobia of being under the earth's surface. I was managing fine with other medication such as Vistaril, which did a great job but was keeping me tired. Almost two months later, I asked my doctor to take me off of them because Xanax just makes me want to sleep and sit on the couch doing nothing. We tried all dosages, and I still felt sad inside. Here is the shocking part: only eight days after my last dose (which was weaned slowly over two weeks), I had my first ever seizure at the age of 29. I never had seizures, no family history. Never ever will I touch this stupid medicine again, never."

• Cal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2017

For Anxiety "STAY AWAY FROM XANAX. Please! It will help you-in the moment. But literally hours later, the rebound anxiety and insomnia will hit you and make you regret taking it at all in the first place. And before you know it, you'll go from half a bar to multiple bars just to sleep at night. Oh, and the increased depersonalization and dark thoughts are not potential 'side effects'-they are some of the many very real, consistently DIRECT EFFECTS of taking Xanax. Benzos should be used as rarely and as short-term as possible. Even in these cases, the withdrawal is VERY real...it hurts just to live. Please, take my word for it. I'm going through it for the TENTH time right now. ADDICTIVE."

• Ctf...
• September 6, 2011

For Depression "Have panic attacks approximately twice per year, emerging with breathing problems. Resulted in depression, with sleep hours falling from a normal 8 hours to 2-3 hours. I fight depression with citalopram hydrobromide (Exenadil 20 mg). Xanax helps me sleep whenever I feel I will miss my sleep. My schedule: take depression medicine every two months for a 6-month period. Take Xanax ONLY at night before sleep WHENEVER I feel I will miss my sleep. Fight my ugly morning wake-ups by my own doing the most favorable things of the day in the morning."

• Anonymous
• September 20, 2009

For Anxiety "I had anxiety so bad from work I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I didn't take it until I got home from work because it made me sleep. I was on it for 6 weeks and I noticed I had an addiction to it. I was hurrying home after work to take it (no, really doctor, I can stop it any time I want to). My doctor said to stop taking it. I was awake for 3 days, but I did it. I know now that I needed to reduce it a little at a time because I had been taking a high dose for a while. It's a lifesaver for bad anxiety, just watch the dosage and be careful about how long you are taking it. If you keep those 2 things in mind, it's the best anti-anxiety medicine."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 26, 2021

For Anxiety "I read most of the comments and see myself in them. I am 76 years old, was on Xanax for 12 years. My doctor also retired, and right away the PA working on me to give up Xanax. Just 4 days ago, I finished with the withdrawal, what a nightmare. Can't sleep, had anxiety attacks, hot tingling feeling in my chest area. They started me on Effexor, was on for 3 days, got myself off, can't deal with this."

• Kur...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 30, 2016

For Anxiety "I had only taken Xanax a few times as needed and losing it (oops). Sometimes it works right away, calming me down and everything, but this one time I was a mess and it took a while to work. But, on the bright side, I have very bad insomnia, and it made me sleep better. I do not take it as a sleep aid, that was just one instance where it was nighttime."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 30, 2017

For Panic Disorder "Took Xanax for a month for anxiety and panic attacks. I took it 3 times a day (the lowest dosage) 0.25 mg in the morning, 0.25 mg in the afternoon, and 0.50 mg in the evening. The first week seemed fine with little to no changes, but after that was torture. Horrible insomnia, nausea, and panic attacks got WAY worse. My psychiatrist added Adderall to the mix because of my ADHD. This is when the nightmare really started. I couldn't sleep for 4 days straight-- I had to miss work, I was threatening suicide in front of my family-- I was LOSING it. Couldn't keep anything down. The best way to describe it was like a bad trip that you were certain was never going to end. I tapered off of it and felt normal again after 2 weeks. Please use caution."

• Boo...
• August 21, 2009

For Panic Disorder "I have taken Xanax now for six months, and it has been the best six months in a long time. I have finally been able to go out in places where before I absolutely would not go for fear of panic attacks. I was on 8 mg Ativan and 60 mg Tranxene before, and all I did was stay in my house and sleep. Thank goodness my doctor prescribed Xanax."

• Mrw...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 26, 2016

For Panic Disorder "I have been on a fairly high dose of this medication for over 6 years now. I cannot tell you enough that it is an extremely horrible idea for long-term use, 2 times daily or more, or even less. Any long-term use of this drug, to me, is almost a death sentence for that person. It is probably the most difficult thing to stay off of if used for more than a month or 2 straight. I'm trying to get off them now myself, but I am so very deep in a hole it's almost hard to see the end. Once you stop, say goodbye to sleep for a while and feeling like complete psychosis for the next few weeks or months till your brain comes back from the hole you dug for it. If I could go back and never take a benzo, I would in a heartbeat. SSRIs and SNRIs never worked for me."

• Ken...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 26, 2019

For Anxiety "So I took Xanax at the hospital for my anxiety. I had it for at least two days before going in, and it didn’t seem to really work. It would make me go to bed for about 5-10 minutes, and if I woke up from anxiety again, I would get no sleep. If I did, I’d wake up with anxiety again, so I don’t know if there’s something wrong with me, but I didn’t feel better at all after I took a Xanax."

• Pup...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 21, 2022

For Panic Disorder "Xanax literally saved my life. I normally am not a pill popper, so it might be easier for me to control. Where it may not be good for someone else. But I have severe insomnia to the point of sleep deprivation for weeks and months at a time. I mean like nine years of zero normal sleep patterns. To the extreme, I would go a week to two weeks with zero sleep all the time, only to catch five or six hours and then go another week. And I was not in mania, it's not bipolar. I was sick because I couldn't do anything. I couldn't think clearly at times, I would crawl on the ground because I was so weak I couldn't walk. It was like something just broke in my brain. And it would not turn off. It's still broken. I've got EEGs scheduled coming up. Misdiagnosed me a million times because no one sees anyone go this long without sleep, so they think it's something else always. Of course, not sleeping for that long makes you crazy, so you can't diagnose somebody until they've slept. And try to explain that to a doctor."

• Pup...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 21, 2022

For Panic Disorder "Xanax literally saved my life. I normally am not a pill popper, so it might be easier for me to control. Where it may not be good for someone else. But I have severe insomnia to the point of sleep deprivation for weeks and months at a time. I mean like nine years of zero normal sleep patterns. To the extreme, I would go a week to two weeks with zero sleep all the time, only to catch five or six hours and then go another week. And I was not in mania, it's not bipolar. I was sick because I couldn't do anything. I couldn't think clearly at times, I would crawl on the ground because I was so weak I couldn't walk. It was like something just broke in my brain. And it would not turn off. It's still broken. I've got EEGs scheduled coming up. Misdiagnosed me a million times because no one sees anyone go this long without sleep, so they think it's something else always. Of course, not sleeping for that long makes you crazy, so you can't diagnose somebody until they've slept. And try to explain that to a doctor."

• Cai...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 4, 2023

For Anxiety "I was sexually abused for years. I deal with horrible, horrible insomnia. Xanax helped me sleep, but sadly, after 3 years, it now stopped working. I even increased the dose, but still had no sleep. So yes, it worked for some time, but it does not work anymore!"