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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 11:40:09
I've been posting on the Psychology board about my current issues with PTSD, depression, and anxiety. In the midst of some medication adjustments as a result:
Ambien CR 12.5mg for insomnia
Prozac 20mg every other day for depression and obsessive thoughts (I can't tolerate taking it every day, it upsets my digestive system too much and I get REALLY jittery)
was on Xanax 1.5mg for anxietywe had discontinued Remeron as it appeared to have pooped out after a year and a half :-(
a trial of Zoloft left me dangerously depressive and with suicidal thoughtsWhat prompted my call to my pdoc today was that since stopping the Remeron - which really hadn't been working as an antidepressant anymore, my quality of sleep has really degraded. I'm now waking up around 3:30am - 4:30am, in the full grip of a panic attack. This is a manifestation of my PTSD. We talked about maybe increasing the Xanax, but I understand that though it's quick acting, it also wears off pretty fast too - which is why I'm experiencing anxiety while my body is trying to sleep.
So we're switching me from 1.5mg of Xanax (which I understand is a kind of low dose) to Klonopin, .5mg, 1 tablet twice daily, and then 2 at bedtime. So, a total daily dose of 2mg.
I think I tried Klonopin a couple of years ago while I was still amongst the working people, and found it too sedating. Right now I'm too cranked up to care if I'm going to fall asleep or not - in fact, I welcome the rest.
Just waiting for the Prozac to resume doing its job (it had been working OK before we tried the Zoloft experiment) - it takes a while for this stuff to build up in my system :-(
Trying to hang on, meanwhile.
Comments are welcome.
Posted by Phillipa on December 10, 2008, at 12:49:32
In reply to Changing from Xanax to Klonopin for now, posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 11:40:09
PC first had no idea things were that bad. I'm seriously sorry. Especially that remeron stopped working. As you know benzos have been my saving grace for too many years to remember. Yes l.5mg of xanax is low. But in switching to klonopin I myself experienced a strange reaction I was taking less xanax and added klonopin and suddenly out of the blue felt suicidal but wasn't. It was so strange. Called pdoc and he took me off the klonopin and started only xanax again and the thought immediately went away. But you've taken klonopin before. Two mg at bedtime should get you to sleep. Same reaction to prozac as you when it was a new med and wasn't depressed then. Good luck . I'm so sorry your're having these problems. Seems a lot of us are. Keep posting. Love Phillipa
Posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 12:59:03
In reply to Re: Changing from Xanax to Klonopin for now » Partlycloudy, posted by Phillipa on December 10, 2008, at 12:49:32
Posted by cactus on December 10, 2008, at 13:56:27
In reply to Thanks. I'll keep posting. (nm) » Phillipa, posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 12:59:03
Hey Party Cloudy, sorry to hear things aren't going so well for you right now. A lot of people suffer from feeling more depressed on clonazepam but I'm not one of them. I have been on it now for over 1 and a half years and it's been a life saver. While it's not as uplifting as xanax can be, it will definitely get rid of the jitters and help you sleep. You might even be able to drop your nightly ambien once it builds up in you system. That's between you and your doc though. I've been able to stop my sleep meds since I started it too, but that took a bit of time. I too ended up reacting badly to zoloft so hang in there and good luck with the clonazepam, it's been one of my main life lines, and it's is more sedating so don't be surprised to experience a bit of extra sedation at first. It also takes longer to kick in than xanax does, peace c.
Posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 14:15:28
In reply to Re: Thanks. I'll keep posting. » Partlycloudy, posted by cactus on December 10, 2008, at 13:56:27
Thanks, Cactus. I had a long stretch of time without panic attacks, so this bout has left me gasping - literally. Since I no longer have the day to day stressors of work to face, I can accept having some time to let a medication work its stuff on me. As long as it works.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Posted by Justherself54 on December 10, 2008, at 14:37:43
In reply to Re: Thanks. I'll keep posting. » Partlycloudy, posted by cactus on December 10, 2008, at 13:56:27
I'm so sorry to hear you are experiencing panic attacks again. I have experienced them in the past (in grocery store lineups - go figure). I've never awoken to one..that must be terribly difficult to deal with. I take clonazapam (along with other meds at night)..it helps a lot with getting to sleep..I also don't feel more depressed on it.
I hope you can get some zzzzz's without waking up to an attack.
I so hate panic attacks. There's no logic to them. Best wishes to you for some restorative sleep!
Posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 14:47:05
In reply to Re: Thanks. I'll keep posting., posted by Justherself54 on December 10, 2008, at 14:37:43
> I'm so sorry to hear you are experiencing panic attacks again. I have experienced them in the past (in grocery store lineups - go figure).
That where I used to get my best ones! Those poor shoppers - those poor clerks; they never knew what was coming at them when I'd grab a cart and attempt to fill it. That resolved itself a few years ago, but the mind seems to find new tricks to play. Who knew that I'd be going back to my original playbook of panic attacks (about who knows what??!) in my sleep, to be continued upon waking.
What an awful way to start the day - and I don't recommend adding coffee, or at least not with caffeine, and then what's the point??
>
> I so hate panic attacks. There's no logic to them. Best wishes to you for some restorative sleep!
I like to think that I might have fewer wrinkles with better quality sleep - and my jaw will be better relaxed too.
Patience, patience. I have NONE by now.
Posted by cactus on December 10, 2008, at 17:27:29
In reply to Re: Thanks. I'll keep posting. » Justherself54, posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 14:47:05
Hey PC, I also have found that clonazepam works better for panic attacks because it stays in your system for so long and staves them off, unlike xanax, it keeps you at a much more level state. I have also found that clonazepam makes panic attacks weaker, if you still get one while taking it. I have still had a few but they are no where near as bad and generally not bad enough to make you flee a situation, you can generally finish what you have to do and then get to a safe place, relax and it finally goes away. Peace c
Posted by llurpsienoodle on December 10, 2008, at 21:23:41
In reply to Re: Thanks. I'll keep posting. » Justherself54, posted by Partlycloudy on December 10, 2008, at 14:47:05
heya partly, I took klonopin for over a year. It worked well for me. I found that xanax made me dysphoric and comatose, so? looks like we all react differently. These days I take xanax to go to the dentist, and that's it.
after about a year, I noticed that klonopin probably wasn't helping my mood any. I tried not taking it for a bit, and felt somewhat better. It was fairly straightforward to stop taking it. I was taking about .5-1mg daily.
Since stopping the klonopin, I will use a sleeping aid, ambien 10mg or sonata 10mg.
yeppers.
I hope this works for you. klonopin is a good drug.-Ll
This is the end of the thread.
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