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Why is gabapentin+klonopin effective for sleep apnea, central apneas?

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physicsstudent13

Senior Member
Messages
611
Location
US
did my neurologists try to harm me with klonopin+gabapentin? I noticed gabapentin with the asv didn't work well and klonopin never seemed to give me deep sleep. I've switched to trazodone now and it's pretty effective it seems.
 
perchance dreamer

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,699
Hi, Eliot. You didn't go cold turkey off the Klonopin and Gabapentin, did you? I don't know about Gabapentin, but with Klonopin, if you want to stop, you need to do it very carefully and slowly, under the direction of a doctor experienced in helping patients taper off benzos. It can be dangerous to quit benzos cold turkey.
 
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physicsstudent13

Senior Member
Messages
611
Location
US
why is it dangerous to go off of benzas I don't know anything about these drugs? I have horrid sleep apnea, even before I took klonopin I was unable to read sentences because I was brain damaged maybe and my memory was so bad the fog was so severe

I don't know why these research neurologists suddenly took me off of a benzo given the documented cases of brain damage?

http://www.nanobes.com/intensive-sleep-retraining/
 
Last edited:
serusaert

serusaert

Messages
79
Location
Seattle
i also have intense sleep issues - i never sleep more than 2 hrs at a time. and i also get amazing sleep from benzo + gabapentin.

given the addiction/tolerance/withdrawal issues with benzos, i am a bit scared to use this combo more than a couple times a week. i would add that i also seem to occasionally have an obstructive apnea due to small/blocked sinuses. my sleep clinic intake is in a month.

i find that (for me) trazodone causes a worsening of CFS symptoms. i can see my resting/active pulse go up and a marked increase in OI when i take it.

so, for me, benzo+gabapentin = great sleep + scary dependence issues and i am afraid to use it more than a couple of times a week.

re klonopin, i have never tried it - my doc is resistant to giving me an RX for it and gives me lorazapam instead and she is watching my fills to make sure that 28 pills lasts me a couple of months. i'm thinking she's correct in being careful with benzos, and, having worked in psych hospitals during my 20's, i have seen my share of people going thru benzo withdrawal. it's not pretty. they have seizures and all sorts of issues. it's medically quite dangerous - just as dangerous as alcohol withdrawal. so, yeah, benzo+gabapentin works really well for sleep for me but it also scares me. and i don't really think there are any good solutions from here - but if anyone has some, i would greatly appreciate them.

thanks!
 
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