Well said Bec.... exactly what medication is for.... to give you breathing space to work like hell on your trauma, then you reduce and learn to do the same without them, OR, with a lesser dose to remove any residual and permanent anxious edge. Very well stated.

People need to know though, medication is firstly meant as a TEMPORARY treatment, secondly it is a matter of TRIAL AND ERROR to find the right ONE medication to treat PTSD. There is no requirement to be taking five or more medications when you are talking about PTSD alone. If you have another injury, yes... but that is not PTSD. PTSD alone requires usually one or two medications at most, anxiety and maybe depression. The rest are bullshit and of little use 99% of the time. You cannot treat symptoms of PTSD such as sleep or flashbacks with different medications, it doesn't work. If you lower the anxiety and the medication is working correctly for you, then you should actually be doing ok in most areas, sleep included, because the medication has correctly lowered your anxiety / panic levels to a more manageable level.

If you are knowingly taking medication which is treating side effects of another medication, then YOU'RE ON THE WRONG MEDICATION to begin with and need to withdraw from one and try another. Repeat the process until you have the right one for you.... and there is quite a range of SSRI's to treat anxiety and depression uniquely.