Get your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM BlogQuestions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction

Suggest Remedy For Sleeplessness Even After Taking Lorazepam

I have had a problem sleeping for a couple months now I was taking 1/2 mg of Lorasepam and tried to taper off of it but couldn t sleep at all . Now I am taking 1 mg each night and still having trouble sleeping. I need help and I don t know what to do.
Tue, 8 Sep 2015
Report Abuse
  User's Response
Hello!

Thank you for asking on HCM!

I understand your concern and would explain that your symptoms are related to the side effects of prolonged use of lorazepam : tolerance and dipendence.

Tolerance means that higher doses of the same drug are needed after a chronic use (more than a month) to reach the same effect as in the begining of the therapy.

Dependence means that your symptoms get worse by the abrupt interruption of the drug intake (you couldn't sleep at all when you first stopped it).

I recommend consulting with your attending physician to consider the possibility of starting an antidepressant like amytriptiline or trazodone, which are very helpful in sleep disorders and have not side effects like tolerance and dependence.

You should continue alprazolam for the 2-3 first weeks of starting any of these drugs (as they begin to show their effect) and than gradually lower the dose until stopping (to avoid exacerbation of insomnia).

Hope to have been helpful!

Best wishes,

Dr. Aida
I find this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer. For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service [Sample answer]
Share on
 

Related questions you may be interested in


Loading Online Doctors....
Suggest Remedy For Sleeplessness Even After Taking Lorazepam

Hello! Thank you for asking on HCM! I understand your concern and would explain that your symptoms are related to the side effects of prolonged use of lorazepam : tolerance and dipendence. Tolerance means that higher doses of the same drug are needed after a chronic use (more than a month) to reach the same effect as in the begining of the therapy. Dependence means that your symptoms get worse by the abrupt interruption of the drug intake (you couldn t sleep at all when you first stopped it). I recommend consulting with your attending physician to consider the possibility of starting an antidepressant like amytriptiline or trazodone, which are very helpful in sleep disorders and have not side effects like tolerance and dependence. You should continue alprazolam for the 2-3 first weeks of starting any of these drugs (as they begin to show their effect) and than gradually lower the dose until stopping (to avoid exacerbation of insomnia). Hope to have been helpful! Best wishes, Dr. Aida