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

[physicsstudent13]

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]

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.

 

[physicsstudent13]

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/

 

[serusaert]

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!