Addicted to sleeping pills?

[ericaaa]

When it nears bed time, my heart begins to beat excessively, and I have a permanent anxious/nervous feeling. I try to sleep and my mind thinks about everything and will not calm. My doctor suggested Melatonin and I've been taking it for some time, however now it has lost it's effect. I recently, during the course of the summer, have begun taking my mom's sleeping pills, which are called clonazepam 0.5 mg. I take half and it usually does that trick. I assume I'm addicted to them now, because if I do not take them, I cannot calm down one bit even if I'm exhausted. My question is how do I gradually get myself off of them? And should I go talk to my doctor about prescribing my own sleeping pills?

[ILADVOCATE]

Definitely don't take anyone else's prescription and as Klonopin can be addictive it would be dangerous to go off it all at once so speak to your psychiatrist about it. One new option as regards sleep aides that is not addictive is the FDA approved medication Rozerem that works like melatonin to adjust the sleep cycle. You could ask about that.

[Paxiled]

Klonopin isn't a sleeping pill, it's an anti-anxiety medication.  It's also not one to quit abruptly.  It has to be tapered down slowly under the care of a psychiatrist.  There are many things you can take for sleep, but if you don't solve the underlying reason for why you're so anxious at bedtime, you'll eventually get used to any of them.  Are you in talk therapy to figure this out?  And what dose of melatonin were you on?  The best dose for you would probably be .5 mg.  You can also try homeopathic remedies or herbal remedies, but eventually you need to face this head on and find out why so you can move on.