Klonopin & Gabapentin for sleep
Hi, I am 78, almost 79 & have been taking klonopin, .5 - 1mg for almost 30 yrs. Now it isn’t working so well, so Dr added gabapentin, 2-300mg.
It is working, but I understand the dependence w/ klonopin & in the past have tried to quit, but it has been too hard. Just would like to hear from others if anyone else is taking both of these meds, & what people think about their safety.
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I took seroquel 15 mg and may have reached 25 along with sertraline 25 and it helped me.
So sorry you’re going through this. I have been able to work with a sleep medicine doctor and sleep therapist and we finally found a med that works for me, a very low dose of mirtazapine and melatonin. Tried CBTi but that didn’t work for me.
Highly recommend sleep professionals. Good luck!
Just saw this as I have been out of town! If you didn't notice any withdrawl symptoms with the klonopin, good for you. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones as it obviously affects everyone differently. It truly messed me up while taking it and after stopping. The fact that 6 docs would not prescribe it should tell one something. I had my regular doc along with 2 sleep docs, and a nuerologist tell me they would never have given me the klonopin. The only reason I saw the neurologist is because I thought I might have something more serious coming on from the body vibrations so wanted to make certain. He told me he saw no signs of anything during his evaluation but NO to klonopin. While mine wasn't for anxiety, it was for a sleep issue. While it did seem to help me sleep better, the side effects were very bizarre for me to ever consider continuing this med. Really messed with my central nervous system. Best to you!
Hi
Was wondering what side effect you got from trazadone?
I am on my 3rd nite and it causes ringing in my ears but helps me sleep
I felt zombied the next day
The natural self was gone. Just felt weird!
I'm glad you figured out that healthcare in the U.S. is a business. I've been all over the globe as an international pro surf bum. In the industrialized countries I visited, they ALL had socialized healthcare, universal healthcare, or similar care for not only their citizens, but even passersby like me. And in the countries that didn't, I paid cash for whatever care I needed; and the cost was always far below what doctors bill you for here.
I can relate well to your post. In fact, at first I thought I was reading something that I'd written and forgotten about. That's how closely your story is to mine. I once asked a psychiatrist who I was seeing reply when I asked him about the long-term effects of Depakote, Zoloft, and whatever Benzo he had me on, he gave a terse reply while typing his notes, not bothering to even look at me, "Can't be good." These days, I'm having to fight for my rights from the VA with whom it takes months to see a neurologist, and usually a quack, in order to get a diagnosis for Parkinson's Disease; probably a result of Agent Orange exposure while serving in Vietnam or drinking toxic water when I was stationed in Camp Lejeune. The young enlistees are being advised on how to get disability claims even before their enlistment period is up. It seems as if everyone one of them got severe PTSD no matter what occupation they have or had while in the service. I'm a Purple Heart vet and these kids enlisted. I'm receiving a 20% disability, which is not much. And the VA is ignoring Vietnam veterans like me, waiting for us to die. I'm currently experiencing withdrawal from years of taking Benzos which were prescribed by the VA, and the VA doctors, acting as gatekeepers tell me my illness is not service-connected, but as a result of bipolar med's I took over the years. Talk about a Catch 22. At my age, it really wouldn't matter much if I was prescribed as little as half a mg of Klonopin, but I am unable to find a doctor who will even consider prescribing benzos. I didn't expect nor did I want to live beyond eighty, but as I close in on that day, I'm wishing someone would put me out of my misery. I'm no longer able to drive, public transport is nonexistant where I live, and I sit at home all day, alone and isolated. This is not a way to live out one's life.