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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Ambien Be Taken For Insomnia While On Morphine And Xanax?

I have chronic anxiety, it is much worse than my spinal stenosis, I have had 15 years of relief after my anterior lamenectomy, this is a chronic condition that Ican deal with. I am on 30 mg. Morphine 2x daily. I have both knees that are both treated with orthovisc which is a dream, relieving all pain. The main problem is anxiety that Itake 2mg. Xanax ER 2mg. Every morning. I was taking 2 regular xanax every night to sleep. Insomnia seems to be the worst I am dealing with, is it a good idea to switch to ambian to sleep. I can. Go 48 hours without sleeping if I take nothing. This is continuous.
posted on Mon, 2 Oct 2017
Twitter Sun, 1 Apr 2018 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 2 Apr 2018 Last reviewed on
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Neurologist,  's  Response
Hello,

Ambien is a drug popularly used for insomnia. However while not in the same class it acts in a similar way to Xanax, so in your case given your long history of Xanax use, with probable tolerance building it might probably not be very effective. The fact that you have anxiety doesn't help as Ambien doesn't address the anxiety issue which contributes to insomnia. For that reason, I would suggest rather a sedating antidepressant. Antidepressants are the first-line treatment for chronic anxiety treatment. A sedating antidepressant like amitriptyline or mirtazapine which promote sleep would help with anxiety and insomnia at the same time. Their action may take a few weeks to kick fully in, but in the long term, it's the best option.


Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Olsi Taka
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Can Ambien Be Taken For Insomnia While On Morphine And Xanax?

Hello, Ambien is a drug popularly used for insomnia. However while not in the same class it acts in a similar way to Xanax, so in your case given your long history of Xanax use, with probable tolerance building it might probably not be very effective. The fact that you have anxiety doesn t help as Ambien doesn t address the anxiety issue which contributes to insomnia. For that reason, I would suggest rather a sedating antidepressant. Antidepressants are the first-line treatment for chronic anxiety treatment. A sedating antidepressant like amitriptyline or mirtazapine which promote sleep would help with anxiety and insomnia at the same time. Their action may take a few weeks to kick fully in, but in the long term, it s the best option. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Olsi Taka