Saturday, September 1, 2012

Xanax and a bump in the night

Because of all the stressors in our lives lately, I haven't slept well in a really long time. I would go to sleep easily, and stay asleep most of the night (except for getting up a couple times to get a drink or use the bathroom). But I never could get that deep restful sleep that would leave me feeling refreshed and raring to go the next day. Every morning was a struggle to get out from under the covers and multiple bashings of the snooze button. Until my doc prescribed xanax. Now I am asleep within 30-45 minutes, and sleep like a rock for a solid 8 hours. Great, right?

Maybe not. Mr 2A just told me a story.
Last night, around 2am he heard a crash in the kitchen. He sat bolt upright in bed, grabbed his gun, and sat pointing it at the bedroom door for a few minutes, listening. It wasn't the cat. She was laying on the bed at my feet. There's no one else living with us right now, just me and him.

When he didn't hear any other noises, he went to investigate, he found this on the kitchen floor.


This thing has sat in the same spot on top of the refrigerator for several months since it was last used. But somehow, it decided last night it was time to jump off the fridge.
Glad it wasn't anything more nefarious than a piece of tupperware.

But here's my concern.
I. Didn't. Hear. A. Freaking. Thing.
And pre-xanax, I would've done exactly what my husband did (except I would've woken up my spouse!).

So now the question I have to mull over is....which is more important?
Good, deep sleep? Or being able to hear that bump in the night?

9 comments:

  1. Tough question. But without quality sleep, you can't make good decisions. So don't beat yourself up for not hearing the ghosties dropping the cake carrier and rest up. If it had truly been something bad, you would have woken up.

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    1. Like a catch 22, almost. No xanax, sleep like crap, but could defend myself in the middle of the night if I had to (even against tupperware!).
      Xanax, sleep like the dead and hear NOTHING for a solid 8 hours.
      But the sleep has been wonderful!

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  2. I can't sleep. I can stay awake all night and cuss everyone in the neighborhood, knowing they're snoring. So, I take xanax.

    Last night, just like you, my dog started barking and raised such a ruckus my husband got up to investigate; came back to bed, and told me about it this morning.

    When he said our dog STARTED barking, then ran to MY side of the bed, still barking (to get me up) then ran into the living room barking, it truly has me concerned.

    In my youth, a hair fluttering across the floor woke me up. In my case, a lot of it is age related.

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    1. lotta- That's how I've been for years (pre-xanax). I heard everything. The fridge compressor kicked on? I heard it. Maybe it didn't wake me all the way up, but it at least registered in my brain.

      It's kind of freaky, isn't it? Your spouse telling you "such and such happened last night....." "Uh, WHAT? I didn't hear that!"

      I'm amazed that a barking dog didn't wake you!

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  3. Get a good sized indoor guard dog.
    A few months ago we had an issue with a late night visitor. My wife sleeps like a rock, but our dog alerted to the presence of "something wrong" and woke her up.
    She doesn't take Xanax, just sleeps VERY heavily. Without the dog, things might have turned out VERY differently.

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    1. We lost our dog in July to cancer. :( She was the biggest baby and not really vicious at all, but that would have made her growl, at least. I'm not quite ready to adopt another dog yet, but you're right, they would definitely be a good alert system. The cat sure isn't doing the job. ;)

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  4. Stumbled across your blog from the website sdcarry.com thought I would put in my 2 cents. I am a Physician Assistant, or PA (www.aapa.org for information). I provide primary care in a family practice. I cannot tell you how many people i have been working with to help them get off of xanax and other related medications known as Benzodiazepines. These medications are extremely addictive, are dangerous when mixed with other medications/drugs (including alcohol) and are not indicated for long term use, ESPECIALLY for insomnia.

    I strongly recommend you talk with your care provider about an alternative medication (if medication is the solution) for long term use for the treatment of insomnia.

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    1. My first assumption, based on the length of what you have written, is that your intentions are good. However, since you have chosen to post anonymously, there is a seed of doubt there.

      Firstly, if you read back through my blog posts at all that is going on in my life, perhaps you will see why I can't seem to turn my brain off at night, and why my doctor thought I may need some help.

      I am well aware that xanax is not a long term solution, and it was never intended to be. I do not take any other medications currently, and I very rarely drink alcohol. If I do drink alcohol (a glass of wine or two), then I don't need the xanax, as it makes me sleepy and I will sleep through the night.

      I have been taking xanax for a whopping 2.5 weeks, so at this point, I'm not too worried about addiction. I take it at night, and only at night.

      When the subject of poor sleep came up with my doctor, we discussed alternatives, and I made an informed decision.

      If concern is your true motivation here, then thank you. If you would like to discuss further, you are welcome to email me privately at twoamama at gmail dot com. However if additional comments turn ugly, I have no issue with deleting your post as well as any others like it.

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    2. real intentions...just stumbled across your blog and thought i would let you know about the risks if you weren't aware. There are other medications with indications for insomnia, xanax is not an FDA approved treatment for insomnia. Thought I would let you know is all.

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