Are these withdrawl symptoms?

[Ucla_bruin_Acsw]

i am a 29 y/o male with history of heart disease. i had a heart transplant in 2005. i am on immunosupressents medication. I was also given ambien a few years ago, and i've been on 10 mg for about 4 years and also 10 mg of lexipro and .50 of xanax. i ran out of xanax and ambien last week, ive had difficulty falling asleep. going cold turkey on the last 2 medications has been difficult but im managing, i want to know if this new symptom of tingleing in my hands are from the withdrawl of the xanax? i was only taking xanax for aboiut 6 months and the last 2 months it was nightly.

i hope that makes sense.

Thanks,

[Paxiled]

Well, she won't see you for free anyway -- I just recommended her because her writings suggest a deeper understanding of this stuff than most psychiatrists.  She's very expensive, though -- I live across the country so I couldn't see her if I wanted but I did contact her.  And I graduated 40 years ago, so that shouldn't stop you.  And just for the record, Kaiser, which I was raised on and belonged to in both northern and southern Cal, is higher rated in the south of the state than the north.  I felt care was great both places, but I did find the docs in the south to be more accessible in their bedside manner than in the north because southern cal is just more gregarious a place, I think, though a lot less attractive.  Just sayin'

[Ucla_bruin_Acsw]

Thanks nursegirl6572,  I ordered my refills with enough time... to this date i have not recieved the medication, i went to the pharmacy today to order them there instead of getting them in the mail. i asked for another doctor of mines to auhtorize the medication. So hopefully i can get it tomorrow. Last night i didnt take my dosage of the Lexapro beacause now im out of that too. the tinglng feelings have gone away, but now i constantly have a headache... I plan to stay off the xanax, but i do want to restart the ambien as my sleep is still messed up, i will also be continuing with the lexapro.

i'm a kaiser pt and kaiser here in suthern CA is pretty bad. i receive better service in northern CA where im followed my my transplant team.


Paxiled i graduated from UCLA a few years ago. i dont keep in contact with the professors.

I'm going to try a lot of mindfullness exercises before bed today in hopes of that helping my insomnia.  

[Paxiled]

By the way, I just noticed your handle -- if you're indeed a UCLA Bruin try and find Hyla Cass, a psychiatrist who teaches there.  She uses natural medicines in her practice and wrote a good book on the subject, and might be a good resource for you.  I graduated undergrad from UCLA, by the way.

[nursegirl6572]

If it's been a week without these medications, and you'd like to try to stay off of them, then please go in to see your doctor and have a discussion about it.  Medications for insomnia really are tricky, because if they're taken with any kind of regularity, or for a long enough time, they end up making the initial insomnia worse when it comes time to stop taking the medication(s).  That's called rebound insomnia, and it will occur with Rx sleep medications, and OTC medications.

A lot of people swear that antihistamines like Benadryl will help them sleep, and if they're only taken here and there, there shouldn't be too much of an issue, except again, the possibility of rebound insomnia. Diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl) is often used as the active ingredient in OTC sleep remedies.  I would encourage you to try to find ways to deal with the insomnia without medications of any kind, if possible.  It would be preferable to try something like Melatonin over Benadryl IMO.  

With your significant medical history, I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping your doctor(s) abreast of your situation at all times.  Definitely don't abruptly stop taking any medication without talking to your doctor first.  Make an appt so you and your doc can devise a reasonable plan moving forward as far as how to handle these two medications, whether you're going to just continue on without them, or whether you're going to resume the medications.  If you DO decide to resume them, I would strongly recommend keeping your usage to an "as needed" basis only, taking them only when you REALLY feel you need them.  That will pretty much eliminate the issues of tolerance and dependency, plus the medications will maintain their effectiveness better that way.

To answer your initial question, about the tingling symptoms, that could be a result of coming off the Xanax and Ambien, but again, with your medical history, I wouldn't assume anything without seeing your doctor.

Good luck, let us know how you're doing!

[XxBrokenInsidexX]

Hi,
       First things first, I do not recommend using benadryl as a sleep aide as it too can cause neurological side effects and it can become addicting causing your body to need more and more of the medication. I would recommend stopping the benadryl immediately! I think it is best that you get back on your regular meds if you are still experiencing difficulty sleeping and if you want to come off them I would talk to your doctor about tapering down off of them rather than stopping cold turkey. Again, I cannot stress enough to you the importance of stopping the benadryl before it really affects your body!

[Ucla_bruin_Acsw]

i didnt plan on stopping both meds like this. i had ordered my refills but they got held up by my doctor, i didnt insist on getting them and thought 'd try and stop now.... its been 1 week off them today im sleeping a lil better, i got some over the counter sleeping aide(benadryl) and i did order the medicine again, we'll see when they  come and how my sleeping is doing then...

[Paxiled]

It could be.  Cold turkey off a benzo is a bad bad idea, and since it targets GABA, which also affects how nerves function, it certainly could be.  Going off ambien at the same time means withdrawal from two drugs.  Rough way to do things, especially with a history of heart disease.  Why did you do this the risky way, if I may ask?