Long Term Xanax/Amien Use

Hello all - long time lurker, first time poster. These boards and posts from the members have been invaluable as I have been navigating my issues with depression and anxiety disorder. So thank you to everyone that takes the time to share their problems and advice. They both help.

I was on a very low dose of lexapro (5mg) for almost a year approximately one year ago. At the time, I also was given a prescription for xanax (for bouts of anxiety) and ambien (to help me sleep). While I needed to rely on all three at first, I quickly found that the Lexapro was enough to make me functional and to get through my day.

Because of various personal and professional issues, I have found myself again dealing with both depression and anxiety. This time, I am on 10mg of Lexapro. More disturbingly, I am finding that I need to rely on both the ambien and the xanax much more. On most weekdays, I find that I really need to take 0.25mg of xanax (I break a pill in half) to "get the nerve to dive into the day". And most nights I find that I really need to take 0.25mg of Ambien to really fall asleep. It is coming up on about six weeks now that I started on the Lexapro so I am assuming it has fully kicked in.

I know that, relatively speaking, these are small doses. But I am still worried about whether I am building up a dependency to the Xanax and Ambien. Anybody have any experience with this?

Thanks for writing back, Hibee. Always reassuring to hear people say to not worry (or frankly, feel guilty) about taking the anxiety and sleep aids daily.

Funny thing about the Lexapro is that I have tried taking it in the AM and the PM. I generally have found that the evening works better for me than the am. although I have also found that my anxiety is worst first thing in the morning. I keep thinking about whether I should try taking it in the am again for a bit to see how I do. Perhaps I will give it a few more weeks first before I muck with anything.

Thanks again for the response!

I would not worry at all about the tiny dose of xanax you're taking. I took .5 mg for several years. You're taking hardly anything at all. Always good to be careful and mindful of it though.