Posted by Daveman on March 26, 2001, at 2:56:11
In reply to Re: Effexor side effect or Xanax Rebound?, posted by AnneL on March 25, 2001, at 16:58:58
Anne,
I've tried both. I could not take trazodone bacause it caused heart palpitations for me, which precipitated a panic episode (my father died of a heart attack). I understand this is not a terribly common side effect, so I wouldn't assume you'd get the same thing (my bad luck)
Remeron-now there's a story. First night I took it at midnight, was in bed thinking "I wonder if this will work". Next thing I knew it was 11:00 the next morning. Seriously! Remeron is extremely sedating the first few nights you take it, particularly in low doses, 15 mg. or less (for most people, Remeron gets less sedating the larger the dose- sounds ridiculous but it's true). Remeron is what allowed me to taper off Klonopin completely. Unfortunately, I've now been on it for about 6 weeks, and it does not do much to sedate me anymore. Again, for some, the sedation never wears off, but for me it did. My docs don't want to give me any other sleeping med right now, so I'm trying "natural" remedies (chamomile tea, GABA, valerian, Kava, and OTC stuff (Unisom, dramamine) with decidedly mixed results. I still have the klonopin for occasional use to break an insomnia cycle, but I've been getting enough sleep (barely) and my panic is well blocked by the Celexa I'm on, so haven't taken Klonopin in about 5 weeks (but I'm not afraid to take it occasionally in small doses).
Sorry to have rambled on. Hope some of this was of use. Give either or both of them a try, if for nothing else to help get you out of the benzo habit. It's not good to rely on a benzo regularly for sleep, the benzos disrupt your sleep cycle. Ambien, a non-benzo which interacts more selectively with the benzo receptor sites in your brain, is actually much less disruptive of your natural sleep cycle- unfortunately it has little anti-anxiety properties (there I go rambling again- over and out:)
Dave
> >Dave,
>
> I think you hit the nail on the head. I see my pdoc this week and will discuss alternatives to Klonopin. I've read up on Remeron, but no little about trazadone. Have you tried either? What was your experience? Thanks, Anne
poster:Daveman
thread:57460
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010319/msgs/57551.html