I'm addicted to OTC sleeping pills...

Hi all,
I've been lurking on these forums for years now and finally worked myself up to posting (I have social anxiety and even posting anonymously makes me nervous ).Not sure if this is the right board for this, but I was wondering if anyone else self-medicates daily with OTC sleeping pills. I dislike being awake so I am always taking sleep-inducing pills because sleep/feeling drowsy is what I look forward to. I'm also on effexor which has caused insomnia which isn't helping...can anyone relate/help?

Ok, confession time. I have been battling depression for some time now but trying to manage it on my own. And yes, a lot of that was self-medicating including those OTC sleeping pills. Because it is better to be asleep when you feel so bad.

Now I am no doctor and what I am about to say could be completely wrong, but if you keep taking stuff that makes you sleepy then what you're doing is just adding depressants to the mix. And that could just be making the anxiety/depression worse. Plus of course you have the "addiction" thing stressing you out. And some of those things, whilst fine for a few days, are not meant to be taken long term. They might have side effects that you haven't noticed. Too much antihistamine can also make you feel very anxious/agitated.

The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor. Be honest about it. Because it could just be all you need is a review of your medication and maybe a little extra help for your sleep.

I did that, I went to the doctor and told her what I had been doing. She didn't frown or yell or tell me off. She gave me some antidepressants and some sleeping tablets. And I just stopped buying the OTC sleeping tablets. I didn't even notice they were gone.

Scemi23 wrote:Hi all,
I've been lurking on these forums for years now and finally worked myself up to posting (I have social anxiety and even posting anonymously makes me nervous ).Not sure if this is the right board for this, but I was wondering if anyone else self-medicates daily with OTC sleeping pills. I dislike being awake so I am always taking sleep-inducing pills because sleep/feeling drowsy is what I look forward to. I'm also on effexor which has caused insomnia which isn't helping...can anyone relate/help?

I'm on 300mg. of Effexor. I'm also on 300mg. of Seroquel. The Seroquel really helps with my insomnia.
AND there is very little tolerance build up. I don't know where you live, but here in Ontario, Canada, my disability supplement covers my meds. Seroquel is kind of pricey.