Posted by laima on February 12, 2007, at 10:19:16
In reply to Re: Klonopin king of Insomnia?, posted by Phillipa on February 12, 2007, at 9:56:24
Geez, I didn't mean to sound skeptical. I am happy you found some relief to a long standing problem with insomnia. That's a big deal. And there are tons of testimonials that indicate people's results vary.I feel I should elaborate a little about why I think klonopin didn't work out for me. First of all, I never heard of benzo tolerance or withdrawal until after about 4 years of use- I thought my worsening anxiety was just that, and no one offered a clue otherwise. As my dose kept going up, and at times other sedating meds were also piled on, the doctor I had at the time eventually put me on an awful lot of daytime stimulants to compensate. I mean a lot- like 80mg ritalin on top of antidepressentrs like effexor and wellbutrin, for example. On top of that I'd drink excessive coffee. Meanwhile, not understanding the drug effects well, I eventually did take on too many excessively stressful projects, no doubt creating excess stress for myself. I figured I could always turn off the effects of overstimulation at night with the more sedating meds. I also didn't relax enough or take much downtime. I really started using medications to adjust my energy levels artificially. When another doctor began suggesting I re-examine my lifestyle choices and excessive use of stimulating substances and common drinking, I resisted, because I didn't comprehend that there was any problem. And again, when tolerance began to show up, since I had never heard of it, I just kept compensating by piling on meds. By the time I became better informed, I was in pretty deep. (And switched doctors.) Being more aware than I was, no doubt your experience should be better. I still use a daytime stimulant, but it's a microscopic fraction of what I used to use. I'm sleeping not perfect, but alright for now.
poster:laima
thread:732068
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070207/msgs/732093.html