Posted by KaraS on June 28, 2004, at 0:40:53
In reply to Klonopin/Ambien/Sonata, posted by anxiety_free on June 27, 2004, at 21:40:45
> > Anyone here developed tolerance/addiction with any of these meds? I only took a small amount of Ativan for sleep for a short amount of time and then went through hell trying to get off of it. I realize that Ativan is shorter acting than Klonopin and that Ambien and Sonata are in a different category altogether, but because of my experience with Ativan I have never had the nerve to try any of these other drugs (though there were plenty of sleepless nights when I wished I had). Am I being overly cautious?
>
> I take Klonopin and have for about 2 years. I'm tolerant in the sense that I now use it for day time anxiety and not sleep, but not in the sense that I need to up my dose for anxiety relief. As for addiction...if you take a benzo for a month or so, its safest to assume some level of chemical dependency; that's why docs usually do slow tapers with long-term benzo users and may use anti-convulsants, blood pressure meds, and anti-depressants to smooth everythig out. As for Ambien and Sonata...those two aren't benzos, but they're very benzo-like; fortunately, they're easier to stop taking (I stopped Ambien cold turkey after 2 1/2 months and all I needed was Benadryl for few nites to take care of the rebound insomnia). Personally, I think Ambien is much better than sonata (slightly longer half-life, a little more "oomph"). If you're very worried about addiction, try using something "off-label" for sleep; trazadone, neurontin, seroquel, for instance, can help a lot. Remeron is good for sleep as well, so if you're depressed/anxious you might want to give that one a whirl.
>Thank you. It's wonderful to know that the only problem with getting off of Ambien is the rebound insomnia. (I'm assuming it's the same with Sonata.) Now I won't be so afraid to use either of them if needed. In terms of the Sonata, I think that it's supposed to be shorter acting. I think it was concocted for someone who needs to get some sleep but it's already 2:00 am ...
I don't really want to go with Neurontin or Trazadone or anything like that. I've tried both of them before and they made me so nauseous. Also, even though I sometimes have sleepless nights, my problem is mainly that I'm lethargic and lack motivation - so Remeron wouldn't be good for me in that respect. I used to take doxepin and then maprotiline for several years - just low doses to help me sleep. They did that but they also caused me to put on weight and added to my brain fog. I think I'll try Ambien or supplements like Valerian for now. BTW, Why did you go off of the Ambien if it was working well for you?
poster:KaraS
thread:361070
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040627/msgs/361207.html