Oxazepam and Drowsiness: What Users Say

• Gra...
• June 16, 2019

For Anxiety "I was in several inpatient mental health wards over the past 8 years, both public and private. Initially, they diagnosed me with schizophrenia and depression (then later anxiety). I think there aren't many benzodiazepines I have not tried. During inpatient treatment, I was given high doses of Lorazepam, which was somewhat difficult to cease, Lorazepam more so than Xanax! Following this, I was prescribed Diazepam for years as an outpatient. I abused it, but with little consequence! I stopped taking it abruptly and had no withdrawals. Then my psychiatrist prescribed me Oxazepam, and well, it is difficult/pointless to abuse for me personally, but excellent for managing anxiety symptoms without much sedation or amnesia. I currently take 30 mg mane daily and rarely 15 mg extra nocte. This magic pill (Alepam/Serapax) has also reduced my desire for other drugs of abuse, both medical and illicit. Thank you, Lord, for oxazepam!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 13, 2012

For Insomnia "I was prescribed this medicine for sleep-maintenance insomnia. When I first started taking it, I found that 15 mg wasn't enough since I had bad anxiety related to the stress of not being able to sleep, and I still woke up for long periods. I took 30 mg, which was effective, but I felt dopey during the day and had a headache for a few hours when I woke up. After taking it for 2 weeks, I now can take 15 mg and get a pretty good sleep with no side effects."

• Ter...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 16, 2020

For Anxiety "I use oxazepam only to help me fall asleep, and it does work for me. I tend to take half of a 10 mg tablet (I only took the whole 10 mg tablet a few times in my life as it has too strong effects on me) in the night or early morning after I wake up. So I try to train myself to fall asleep on my own initially in the evening without the drug. But I have big problems falling asleep again (meaning if I wake up between 2-6 am). When I take it after waking up, just 5 mg, I tend to fall asleep within an hour again. I used to take it only twice a week or so, but I am doing an experiment in taking it daily (during the night) for about a week now. I feel good, waking up rested, though a bit drowsy. I think that any drug works for me in small quantities. Even the 10 mg would be too much. And I can't believe that there can be even stronger dosages than 10 mg. I would be so drowsy if I took that. I need to catch up on sleep before I want to withdraw from taking it."

• Jes...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2023

For Anxiety "I have previously been taking Xanax for 20 years, but my doctor is trying other medications, like oxazepam, to get me off Xanax and also to find something that's longer acting. I see that this medication has many positive reviews, but that was not my experience with oxazepam. I took 15 mg and it did nothing for my anxiety. 30 mg still was zero help with my anxiety, but it did make me slightly drowsy. I suspect it's because I've been on such a powerful medication for so long. I also had zero negative reactions or symptoms."

• Joh...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 4, 2020

For Alcohol Withdrawal "I've been on a high dose of opioids for the last 3 years, generally 4 x OxyContin 80 mg daily, plus liquid hydromorphone, so I got on oxazepam for high-dose opiate withdrawal. I've since attempted to cease, and the restless legs at night are unbearable. I cannot sleep for more than one hour if I'm lucky. This has been going on for 2 weeks, and I'm exhausted. I tried clonidine with my doctor, I tried pregabalin, gabapentin, pramipexole, rotigotine, but no resolution. Oxazepam helps very minimally when taking it every 4 hours, but alprazolam for me tends to work more effectively to stop the restless legs at night to finally relax those restless legs. Nothing will stop them but more opioids or alprazolam. Oxazepam made me feel slightly drowsy but no real benefit for me, unfortunately."