The Monster In Your Medicine Chest
If you've suffered long enough with insomnia, there is every possibility that you've ended up at the doctor's office and asked for a prescription to aid your issues, to provide that much needed rest and relief.
As insomnia cures go, there's nothing like popping a pill and being temporarily relieved.
However, the moment we take these pills we are instantly beginning to build a tolerance to the effects from these prescribed drugs, and unless they are used strictly for short term relief, the insomniac runs a serious risk of addiction/dependence on said medication.
This can lead to strong dependence, and eventually some of the worst withdrawal symptoms of any drug, whether prescribed or considered illegal.
Most sleeping medications are benzodiazepene class drugs, which is normally what a GP will prescribe for insomnia simply because these formulas work like gangbusters to combat a poor sleep regime.
Drugs like Ambien, Xanax, Valium, Ativan, e.
t.
c...
are all benzodiazepine class drugs.
In effect, with benzos you need only take a pill, wait about 30 minutes and presto, you're in la la land.
However, these "benzos" are quickly becoming one of the most abused substances of all the prescribed drugs.
What's worse is that many habitual drug abusers and alcoholics - people who have also taken benzodiazepines long term - have documented that a withdrawal from benzodiazepines is far worse than that of their drug of choice - be it heroine, alcohol, cocaine, e.
t.
c...
Essentially, the noted experiences of benzo dependent individuals, both addicts and normal folks alike, is that the worst part of withdrawal doesn't last days, it can literally last several months after they ceased the medication.
For a complete list of benzodiazepine drugs, Wikipedia has you covered.
You can find the list here.
If you already have a prescription sleep medication, do check the brand name and run it against Wikipedia's list to be sure of what you're taking.
Let's take a moment to look at what happens when the search for insomnia cures leads you to benzos as a long term solution: 1.
A patient can develop tolerance and dependence very quickly, eventually requiring a larger dosage to get the same effect.
In fact dependence can develop in as little as 10 days.
2.
Benzodiazepines cause enhanced GABA inhibition.
When this process is sustained for long periods, the brain and central nervous system responds by manipulating it's own GABA inhibition.
This leads to increased excitability of the glutamate system.
OK OK, explaining how these harsh withdrawals can occur in certain individuals is far too technical.
In layman's terms, the body takes a very long time to re-adjust it's normal functions when Benzos are ceased, and markedly more pronounced when ceased abruptly.
3.
The part of your brain that combats anxiety and regulates fight or flight responses can become so "out of whack" that without benzos, you experience the reverse of the pill's intended effect, multiplied exponentially.
In other words, when you stop taking benzos after long term exposure, you can potentially look forward to rebound insomnia that was far worse than before you took the pills.
You can also experience extreme bouts of anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, mania, e.
t.
c...
4.
Abrupt "cold turkey" withdrawal from long term benzo exposure puts the patient at a very high risk for seizures, which are life threatening.
Because any explanation I provide behind you not taking sleeping medication for long term assistance might come across as preachy, you really should find some recovery forums and read some examples from actual people who have become addicted to benzos.
What is truly alarming is that these sites document many people whom only developed such addictions from their quest for insomnia cures, or from an anxiety condition, as a result of their own GP's recommendation to use benzodiazepenes as a long term treatment.
I really should clarify at this point that I am by no means suggesting you do not listen to your Doctor and trust his opinion.
By and large they really do know what they're on about.
This article is only meant to show you the adverse reactions that can occur when a doctor's sleep aid prescription is taken over a long period, and only if that prescription is a benzodiazepine class drug.
So please, before deciding that the only way left to deal with insomnia is by taking prescription sleeping pills, just read some testimonials of people who have had horrible benzo withdrawal.
You will easily find them by searching around the web.
My goal is that you heed the words and experiences of people, some of whom were simply looking for help falling asleep, only to find their lives dramatically and negatively affected by the reliance on sleep and anxiety medications.
Plainly, my fair and gentle readers, be extremely careful to exhaust any and every natural and behavioral insomnia cure before heading down the pharmacological road.
As insomnia cures go, there's nothing like popping a pill and being temporarily relieved.
However, the moment we take these pills we are instantly beginning to build a tolerance to the effects from these prescribed drugs, and unless they are used strictly for short term relief, the insomniac runs a serious risk of addiction/dependence on said medication.
This can lead to strong dependence, and eventually some of the worst withdrawal symptoms of any drug, whether prescribed or considered illegal.
Most sleeping medications are benzodiazepene class drugs, which is normally what a GP will prescribe for insomnia simply because these formulas work like gangbusters to combat a poor sleep regime.
Drugs like Ambien, Xanax, Valium, Ativan, e.
t.
c...
are all benzodiazepine class drugs.
In effect, with benzos you need only take a pill, wait about 30 minutes and presto, you're in la la land.
However, these "benzos" are quickly becoming one of the most abused substances of all the prescribed drugs.
What's worse is that many habitual drug abusers and alcoholics - people who have also taken benzodiazepines long term - have documented that a withdrawal from benzodiazepines is far worse than that of their drug of choice - be it heroine, alcohol, cocaine, e.
t.
c...
Essentially, the noted experiences of benzo dependent individuals, both addicts and normal folks alike, is that the worst part of withdrawal doesn't last days, it can literally last several months after they ceased the medication.
For a complete list of benzodiazepine drugs, Wikipedia has you covered.
You can find the list here.
If you already have a prescription sleep medication, do check the brand name and run it against Wikipedia's list to be sure of what you're taking.
Let's take a moment to look at what happens when the search for insomnia cures leads you to benzos as a long term solution: 1.
A patient can develop tolerance and dependence very quickly, eventually requiring a larger dosage to get the same effect.
In fact dependence can develop in as little as 10 days.
2.
Benzodiazepines cause enhanced GABA inhibition.
When this process is sustained for long periods, the brain and central nervous system responds by manipulating it's own GABA inhibition.
This leads to increased excitability of the glutamate system.
OK OK, explaining how these harsh withdrawals can occur in certain individuals is far too technical.
In layman's terms, the body takes a very long time to re-adjust it's normal functions when Benzos are ceased, and markedly more pronounced when ceased abruptly.
3.
The part of your brain that combats anxiety and regulates fight or flight responses can become so "out of whack" that without benzos, you experience the reverse of the pill's intended effect, multiplied exponentially.
In other words, when you stop taking benzos after long term exposure, you can potentially look forward to rebound insomnia that was far worse than before you took the pills.
You can also experience extreme bouts of anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, mania, e.
t.
c...
4.
Abrupt "cold turkey" withdrawal from long term benzo exposure puts the patient at a very high risk for seizures, which are life threatening.
Because any explanation I provide behind you not taking sleeping medication for long term assistance might come across as preachy, you really should find some recovery forums and read some examples from actual people who have become addicted to benzos.
What is truly alarming is that these sites document many people whom only developed such addictions from their quest for insomnia cures, or from an anxiety condition, as a result of their own GP's recommendation to use benzodiazepenes as a long term treatment.
I really should clarify at this point that I am by no means suggesting you do not listen to your Doctor and trust his opinion.
By and large they really do know what they're on about.
This article is only meant to show you the adverse reactions that can occur when a doctor's sleep aid prescription is taken over a long period, and only if that prescription is a benzodiazepine class drug.
So please, before deciding that the only way left to deal with insomnia is by taking prescription sleeping pills, just read some testimonials of people who have had horrible benzo withdrawal.
You will easily find them by searching around the web.
My goal is that you heed the words and experiences of people, some of whom were simply looking for help falling asleep, only to find their lives dramatically and negatively affected by the reliance on sleep and anxiety medications.
Plainly, my fair and gentle readers, be extremely careful to exhaust any and every natural and behavioral insomnia cure before heading down the pharmacological road.