Klonopin not keeping me asleep long enough

[TheBear77]

For the last 10 weeks I have suffered from anxiety that was starting to control me at times. An old friend of 28 years ago when i used to have panic attacks. The onset was dizzy like unsteadiness and I feared the worse. After a Brain MRI came back normal. I was still suffering with obsessive thoughts anxiety. After being on xanax .5 to 1 mg for 28 years a new Doc took me off Xanax and put me on Lunesta. After 11 moths although I slept really well I had an anxiety meltdown almost to point of an emergency room visit with a panic attack. I went back to my former Doc and he put me back on Xanax. But it wasn't working like before as the med would wear off in 3 to 5 hours. It became a clock watcher drug. My doc suggested a physc. The Phys put me on Zoloft and switched me to Klonopin. Man what a difference. I almost immediately had lasting relief. The dosage prescribed was .5 in the am .5 in the afternoon then 1mg at bedtime. The only problem was it was too much sedation to function efficiently. So after 2 weeks i tapered off of the daytime doses and just used 1 mg for sleep since it appeared the Zoloft had kicked in. Unfortunately the 1mg at bedtime is not always keeping me asleep long enough. So I started taking .25 zanax when I would wake up at 3 or 4 am and could get back to sleep for 2 or 3 hour more. Does this seem radical or is it safe being they are both benzo's? The reason I use the zanax then as opposed to the klonopin when i awaken is the xanax seems to wear of quicker allowing me to be not as sedated when I get up. YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED

[birdie0907]

I have taken 10 mg of doxepin (which is 1/7 of the recommended minimum dose as an antidepressant) every night for about 10 years (except for brief periods when I experimented to try to go without it) as a sleeping aid. I had an itch initially so the doxepin was for that with advice that it might help my sleeping too.
The itch disappeared after 5 years, but whenever I quit doxepin it is a recipe for sleeplessness. I went off it for 6 weeks last year and in the end decided it wasn't worth it so went back on. I can sleep normally about 5 nights out of 7 when I am off it, but the other 2 are time wasters because I start waking up halfway through the night more and more often through the night until I have been in bed 10 hours trying to get 4 hours of sleep.

[TheBear77]

I agree with you but I need to crawl before I walk. I am meditating daily as well as exercising. I have been reading some good books and I have monthly sessions with a psychologist and a psychiatrist. I have only been taking Zoloft and Klonopin for 4 weeks. When I feel I have the anxiety under control my goal will be to get back to natural sleep. Hopefully that's possible after 28 years of relying on sleep aids. Nevertheless thank you for the dtailed response.

[anxiety860]

You could also try melatonin to help you sleep.. but I agree with above post.

[Paxiled]

Klonopin lasts a long time in the system, and mixing benzos isn't generally a good idea.  Nor are benzos a sleep remedy, which is how you're using them.  They are an anxiety remedy, with sedation an unwanted side effect.  Part of the problem is these are addictive drugs if you use them regularly, as you're doing.  Part of the problem is combining two drugs that target the same neurotransmitter might overdo it.  And these drugs, while sedating, can interfere with REM sleep and affect magnesium levels, and thus lead to worse long-term insomnia, if that's what you have.  What you ideally want to do is get to where you can sleep without drug aid, though I know that's easier said than done.  There are natural remedies that are not addictive that are gentler that might work, might not work.  Melatonin is one that often helps, at low dosages.  And are you combining therapy and relaxation techniques or just relying on medication?  I'd speak with your psychiatrist about this, and if you're not in therapy I'd give it a try.  I'd also look into exercise and meditation to see if they might not help you sleep better.  Good luck.