Insomina for a year now

[mitch53]

53 YO Male - I took ambien every day (10mg) for about 7 years with no problems. Late last year I went through a short bout of depression and insomnia kicked in - and still persists. I weaned off ambien and for 2 months took no meds, and got about an hour of sleep per night.  I then tried anti-depressants, lunesta, melatonin, hypnosis, acupunctire all with no affect. Eeventualy I restarted amiben and alsstarted taking Xanax as well to help with the anxiety, and was getting about  5 hours of broken sleep. 5 weeks ago I tried using just the xanax with no ambien, and I am getting the same amount of sleep. I have issues falling asleep, staying asleep, and I am up by 4am every day no matter what I try. I am using about 1.5mg of xanax per night. I have tried some of the sleep hygiene techniques, but one issue is I am too exhaused to even attempt any exercise.   My question is after using ambien for so long, how long might it take for my brain to totally readjust to not needing it - I am hoping that this is part of my issue that will improve with time.

[mariaterzian]

i take 12,5 of ambien every night and let me tell you it will only give you 5 hours of sleep max. Melatonin is good but its natural, its like drinking warm milk. Have you tried any anti anxiety med during the day ? clonazepam is the most common one. But i do have to say i agree with churnman you should check whats going on during the day.

[churnman]

Who are you getting advice from on these medication changes?
I have had sleep problems for years and found it more effective to look at what is happening during the day that may cause the sleep problems.

Without sleep the gremlins come out for me that is why I watch sleep closely and seek appropriate medical/psychological help when necessary.