Insomnia

[cornyguy]

I am on Xanax tapering from 1 mg since 2 weeks(guided by my psychiatrist).I had been taking 1 mg Xanax since 2 months and before that 0.5 mg since 2 years.Right now I am taking 0.75 mg Xanax and am sleeping very little with early morning awakenings at 3 am.I wanted to know for how long these sleep problems(insomnia and early morning awakenings) could last as my Psychiatrist has no answers.I have 6 more weeks to bring down the Xanax to zero.Is the sleep problems going to persist till then.Pls let me know?.

[cornyguy]

Thanks for your reply.What additional medication could I take for the insomnia?.Please let me know names of a few medications for insomnia which I could discuss with my Psychiatrist so that he could prescribe it for me.Thanks

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? Side-effect profile of xanax (alprazolam) is benign. It may occur to some patients and not necessarily to all patients. This depends on your underlying medical conditions or immunity. In your case, since you've been tapering this, you may want to discuss this further with your doctor. Additional medication may be indicated for the insomnia. Take care and do keep us posted.