[Pughead]

I think I am psychologically addicted to xanax for sleep. It has a short half-life, so if I were physically addicted, I'd need to take it every few hours to prevent withdrawal symptoms between doses. But I just take it once at night before bed. 3mg in one shot. If I take any less than that, I think I psych myself out and I don't sleep well. But I also think that maybe physically it messes with my sleep if I take less than 3mg. My pdoc is trying to use depakote to level me out so that I can sleep without the benzos. I think it's definitely evening me out, but I can't break the habit of needing the xanax to sleep. Sometimes I've tried to go with a lesser dose. What happens? I psych myself out after two hours, I get up and take another 1mg. But the half life is so short, I get up in another hour or two and take another 1mg. Some nights I'll just take a benadryl to augment the sedative effect. I always feel groggy in the morning and I'm sure the benzos have a great deal to do with that. It would be nice to get off them, as they are not recommended for long-term use...and it's just not a good habit to get into.

I successfully quit smoking, but I had an AD to kinda help psychologically, and the patch to help with the physical symptoms. I'm not sure what to do about the benzos. I like that fact that I get knocked out within 20-30 minutes of taking them. I have sleep apnea, so the faster I get to sleep with the mask on, the better.

I guess because the sleep is significantly altered for the worse, I do have some sort of physical addiction to them. I don't think I would psych myself out during sleep, so if I wake early, which I do when I lower the dose, I think it's a physical thing.

What does your psychiatrist say?