Insomnia > xanax > seroquil > elavil > trazadone > ?

I suffer from the ability to get to sleep due to racing thoughts, is what the doctors call it. I just can not turn my brain off. And waking after only a short amount of time and tossing and turning so bad that in the morning my fitted sheet has worked it's way off my mattress.
This is nothing new. A few years ago I began taking Xanax ordered off the internet from another country. Then my doctor was willing to give me Xanax, 1 mg before bed time. It saved me about $100 a month over internet bought. I also had a sleep study done. I tried Ambien but it stopped working after awhile of use. I asked the sleep doctor about Xanax. He said he would not prescribe Xanax for insomnia. But, it seems if I am taking Xanax for anxiety and it helps with sleep why not?
I was prescribe Seroquil by another doctor and would take that before bed, let it do it's own version of drowsiness. Then if I awoke around midnight, I'd then take the Xanax to finish it off. Xanax helps my heart rate slow down so I can get to sleep. It's affect is about 3 hours no matter who or why or when it is taken, but when I do awake 4-5 hours later I usually get back to sleep. The seroquil was fine but then bad side effects. Un-wanted thoughts of suicide, as if I needed to grab a knife or gun right then and I mean within 5-10 minutes of taking it. I told the doctor I need to stop taking it. I have real suicide thoughts myself, I do not want some drug to give me suicidal thoughts that are not my own. So, we switched to 50 mg Elavil. I'd taken 100 before and it knocked me out. The 50 did nothing and I tried 100 and it did nothing. Now I'm taking trazadone 150 at night and the doctor wants the Xanax taken in the day time so the two of them are not taken at the same time. The trazadone makes my heart rate go up, not very high but maybe 80-100 which is the opposite of how Xanax helps me sleep, lower heart rate. I only get to see the doctor 4 times a year, so I have told her about it and stopping the trazadone and going back to the Xanax alone at night. Xanax alone seems not enough. I'm having to take an extra 0.5 mg or 1mg and with only a 30 day supply, I end up short. What other drowsing medications could I discuss with the doctor to combine with the Xanax?…..take one before bed time and then take the Xanax upon waking in the night.

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