I put off taking Klonopin for reasons you hint at. It keeps me from getting too manic, though, and is very useful. "But isn't that addictive?"...my therapist mentioned last session. Whatever. The doctor says just taper off if it gets to be a problem.

If I can't sleep, I take what will get me to sleep. Whatever gets me through the night, to quote John Lennon. I've seen me with lots-of-no-sleep and it's not pretty.

With regards to the previous comment - After having taken Klonopin for many years and through a few psychiatrists, one psychiatrist asserted that he would no longer prescribe it to me because it was addictive. The fact that it made it easier to cope with the anxiety associated with my OCD appeared to be irrelevant.

I still find his rational questionable since other psychiatrists I had seen never commented on my taking Klonopin and continued to prescribe it. I hope readers don't forget that for many of us changes in our prescribed medications can introduce their own set of travails.

I do the same dance with Xanax, also concerning sleep. I've been using Ambien for about 4 months to help my anxious brain chill out, but about half the time it doesn't do the trick, and I need to take a Xanax to knock myself out. Otherwise, like last night, I just lay there getting progressively more pissed off that I'm still conscious, and that doesn't help matters.

This makes me feel like I'm just dumping drugs into myself until something finally takes hold... but like the first poster said, me without sleep is a worse proposition than "giving in" (why do we still feel it's a weakness?) and taking what I clearly need.

Man, I loved Klonopins. They helped me through a really rough, emotional time and they were long lasting. I had been going through therapy ($100 a pop) and the Klonopins did what the therapy couldn't -- calm me down.
Then a doctor switched me to Xanax, which he said acts more quickly to break up my panic attacks. It's true, it works. Sometimes I take it so I can sleep but I found (no, I'm not a Scientologist) that exercising has really helped cut down my anxiety. Also, my life has calmed down but I still don't see anything wrong with using what's available to help me until I can help myself.

I used to feel like I was weak because I needed to take Xanax and Klonopins, but I've come to accept that sometimes I need a little help. I've also changed my lifestyle so I wouldn't need to be taking 6 a day. I eat better, I exercise regularly and I got a better paying job. While the anxiety is no where near completely gone, I now only need to take the Xanax about once a week. It's nice to take something only when I need it rather than take something everyday (the anti-depressants only seem to make me dizzy and nauseous). As a friend once told me: Viva la Xanax!