Question about benzos: Can I take Zoloft + Clonazepam?

@paulyvincent hi I can relate to you as far as being concerned about taking the Clon. Yes take it if you need it to get you through the rough parts of your medication transition. It sounds like you are being cautious about taking it so that’s good. Yes if you need it take it. As far people giving you grief about taking it, I wouldn’t tell a soul, you know what you are doing at least it sounds like you do so don’t worry about what anyone thinks, jeez that in itself can add to your anxiety issues. Your I’m assuming family needs to mind their own business. All the best to you. I’m thinking about going on Zoloft because I’ve been on lexapro for 25 yrs and feel like it’s not working as it should be. So I’m debating on making the switch.

@paulyvincent Obviously sometime in the past you had a doctor prescribe clonazepam 2 mg for you, and the doctor is willing to prescribe it in the future too. But, you must match it up with the other Rx meds you take so you so do not overload with conflicting meds. Certainly clonazepam 2 mg will help you sleep better at night, and it is the longest acting of the benzos there is. But you must face it if you are possibly going to have a physical as well as psychological addiction effect if you take it on a daily basis for a long time. I've taken clonazepam 2 mg before bedtime for several years, and it takes my anxiety away. I've tried tapering off of it, but that apparently is a 1 to 2 year tapering off period you must face. I', 78 years old and I think I would have few side effects if I tapered off of it, but the doctors and literature say many have a tough time getting off it. I'm 78 years old, and I don't see me getting off of it ever.
You must ask your doctor, but I also find I like to take over-the-counter doxylamine succinate (brand name "Sleep Aid" at Costco 25 mg) before bedtime. Also you can find it under one variation of Unisom, look carefully at the ingredients). It is an antihistamine that is pretty strong, so to avoid feeling groggy in the AM, you would need to ramp up the dosage carefully from 12.5 mg and up over period of time. Do this only under your doctor's supervision first ! There's a lot of worry on the part of doctors with any benzo, same sort of reaction with zolpidem tartrate (Ambien), and I don't know if your doctor would rather you take that instead of clonazepam. I took that generic Ambien for many months and had no trouble stopping it. The reports of having nightmares and sleep walking side effects with Ambien have been discredited by the Mayo Clinic, but most doctors don't care. as they like the bogus sleep walking stories. Ambien is certainly less addictive than clonazepam.

I’m currently starting Lexapro for anxiety and depression and I also take Ativan for over 20 years so I’m quite dependent on it, I was assured by the doctor and also research that they can work together without any issues, I have always had anxiety about antidepressants and tried to avoid them but it’s been very difficult to keep doing so, I have some side effect from the Lexapro and the Ativan helps me to calm me down, I hope that once I get fully adjusted to the medication I can reduce my Ativan again since I had to increase it during the adjustment, it’s not uncommon to use another medication to help you get settled in with a new medication, lastly, it’s not in your best interest to take heed in other people’s opinions, it’s your health and the doctor is the person you should listen to, best wishes.

Sorry about your family not being supportive. I had to cut my family off 6 years ago. Sister became Dr Google and my aunt never asked me how Im doing, just talked about how her house keeper doesnt listen to her right after I had an anxiety attack, which landed me in the 5150 ward more than one occasion. I get you.

@laughlin1947 i did have a sleep walking episode on ambien. I had two ppl tell me i went to bed, got up 30 min later walked into kitchen like i was drunk (i dont drink) ate a new quart of cottage cheese, babbled for 20 min then stumbled back to bed with absolutely no recollection of it happening when i got up in the morning. Sorry, but to me that sounds like sleep walking to me. I stopped ambien immediately and havent did anything like that again.

@darkflowa23 Thanks for your reply. It must v=be such an infrequent side effect, but I guess it does occur. May I ask what dosage of Ambien you took that night? Maybe a dose like 5 mg is one that is more commonly prescribed. I always took 10 mg of zolpidem tartrate before bed.