crazyjunior Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Hello Everyone, I am crazyjunior. I have been back to the shrink twice and we have agreed on 15mg of Lexapro at night along with .75mg of clonazepam for a sleep aid. It work well sometimes and puts me to sleep fast. However, lately I have been adding .5 mg of generic xanax to the mix to make me sleepy faster. I plan on tapering back to zero xanax within a week. I'd rather save it for those times when I'm feeling real anxious. I had been on 1mg of the clonazepam, but it carried through too much into the next day and made me tired during the day. Doc says this dosage of clonazepam will not be too bad to get off of if and when the time arrives. The xanax is something I decided on my own, as I had 60 extra tablets left over from my previous doctor. I'll tell shrinky next visit, just to be on the up n up. I have never taken more than the allowed amount of clonezepam and have no desire to. So, I think I'm okay there. When I was on the xanax regularly, I was allowed up to 3 x .50mg per day as needed. In the entire time I was on the drug, which was 150 days or so, I took 3 only twice that I can recall. Other than that, most days were one or two. I know these drugs can be very dangerous, so I am very careful. But right now, they are getting me to the place where I need to be. Sleep is very important. Best to all Crazyjunior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkendHour Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Sleeping meds can be funny, at least for me. Its hard to find the right ones/dosage that 1) help you get the sleep you need, and 2) doesn't make you sleep ALL the time. Right now I take Trazodone (which is an AD) for sleep. Some times I get a good amount of sleep, some times I sleep wayyyyy to much and still yet other times I can be up for a few days. I don't know about anyone else, but this drives me bonkers!!! To be on the safe side you shouldn't mix past meds with current ones without your doc's approval, even though it was ok for you to take them before you don't know what effect they could have added to the new/current meds that you are on. If the xanax is helping you maybe your current doc can just start prescribing them for you? As long as its not a dangerous mix I don't see why a doc would deny you something that helps. I've never been on the three meds you are talking about, so I really have no suggestions there. Just wanted to let you know your not alone, I understand how frustrating it can be when you need sleep but meds are not always working the way you want them to. Good luck, I hope you find the right combo to help you get your sleep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Why don't you just do 15mg temazepam instead of the 0.75mg clonazepam, and the addition of alprazolam? clonazepam is indicated as a daytime anxiolytic, and an anti-convulsant, not a 'hypnotic'. temazepam ("restoril" in the USA/Canada) is licensed as a hypnotic. Usually doctors try the 'on-label' remedies before going off-label. Both clonazepam and alprazolam are considered to be 'strong' benzodiazepines, and there is a pretty significant body of evidence that 'strong' benzodiazepines have much more difficult withdrawal, than the 'weak' benzos such as diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, temazepam, oxazepam, etc. BTW, mixing alprazolam with your clonazepam is pretty much the same as upping your dose of clonazepam. In other words, you're already down the slippery slope of becoming habituated to the medicine, if you're adding another benzo. Its like having a drink of whiskey, and then drinking a shot of rum -- benzos are benzos, and whiskey and rum are both alcohol, even though alcohol, just like benzos, come in different flavours and strengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjunior Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 Darkened, Thanks for the reply. MarkP, My PDOC is the one who put me on the clonazepam for help with sleep due to PTSD and MDD. I had been on generic xanax which my regular doctor put me on. The PDOC explained that the clonazepam has a longer half life and would be the better choice over xanax for sleep. He gave me the freedom to take up to 1MG per night for sleep. He also claims that when the time comes to get off this drug, at the current dosage, I will not have any problems if we do it slowly. I understand what you mean about the slippery sloap, which is why I am stopping the xanax. FWIW, the PDOC also told me that he has a good number of patients who are on up to 4 MG of Clonazepam per day. The only drawback with the clonazepam for me is that it takes too long to make me tired. That's why I added the Xanax kicker, it hits the system much faster. But, you are 100% spot on in your warning to me and I take it seriously. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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