Posted by KaraS on June 28, 2004, at 19:45:47
In reply to Sonata vs. Ambien, posted by anxiety_free on June 28, 2004, at 3:30:20
> > > > 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?
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> > > 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.
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> > 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 ...
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> > 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?
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> Hey! I stopped taking Ambien b/c my insurance company has a cap on how many sleeping pill fills it will pay for...and I didn't learn this until I tried to get a refill. As you can imagine, I was VERY happy. I tried to get my then-doc to call their # for Drs. so he could explain why I was taking sleeping pills for an extended period of time, but he kinda refused to do it (he's not my doc anymore, needless to say). Instead he offered Trazadone or low-dose seroquel...I told him thanks, but no thanks, and just used Benadryl for the rebound insomnia, which only lasted a few nights anyway. After that, I got a new doc. Have you tried 5 HTP? In terms of supplements, its awesome...a tablet or two an hour or so before bedtime has a nice sedating effect. Its also supposedly a natural antidepressant (I tried it for that; it worked reasonably well.) Good luck!That's awful about your doc not renewing the prescription because of your insurance company. I know that lots of people take benzos for long periods of time. Hopefully you have a better doc now. I've tried 5-HTP a few times but I didn't take it the right way (on an empty stomach) so I didn't get much of a result. I'll have to take it the right way next time. I like the idea of taking something nonaddictive and not requiring a prescription in order to sleep. I think I'll also try Valerian and GABA. It's probably a good idea to have a few things you can use so that they don't stop working for you.
poster:KaraS
thread:361070
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040627/msgs/361449.html