Can long term benzo use make anti-depressants more difficult to tolerate?

[[Oc...]]

I’ve been on Klonopin for 30 years and anti-depressants for most of those 30 years. When I retired I got off the anti-depressants. About two years into the retirement my depression and insomnia returned. My doctors prescribed various anti-depressants, but I developed bad anxiety and had to stop.

 

Why is this happening? I hope to return to better sleep and a better mood so I can be strong for a future Klonopin taper. Thanks for any ideas or even sharing a similar experience.

[[Cr...]]

I’ve been on Klonopin for 30 years and anti-depressants for most of those 30 years. When I retired I got off the anti-depressants. About two years into the retirement my depression and insomnia returned. My doctors prescribed various anti-depressants, but I developed bad anxiety and had to stop.

 

Why is this happening? I hope to return to better sleep and a better mood so I can be strong for a future Klonopin taper. Thanks for any ideas or even sharing a similar experience.

 

Hi Oceanfiddle!

I'm not a long-term benzo user but from my experience, I could not tolerate Paroxetine or Paxil whilst on Valium. I was four months into taking Valium and tried just ONE Paxil, and it threw me into Serotonin Syndrome. I would not wish that on my worst enemy. It was benzo withdrawal x1000.

In answer to your question, the CNS becomes far more sensitive, so the minute you add or take away any drug, like an anti-depressant, it throws the CNS out of balance.

Dave. 

[[Lo...]]

I had the same thing happen to me. I was on an antidepressant alone for 13 years. Then on an antidepressant and intermittent benzo for 3 years. It was at this point (late 2013) that I started to feel weird taking Prozac which never gave me any sort of trouble of this magnitude before.

 

I got off of Prozac in late 2013 but remained sensitive. I couldn't quite stop taking ativan. Felt more anxious than ever. Tried restarting antidepressants in late 2014...my benzo dose got higher since antidepressants caused much anxiety. Haven't been able to tolerate a single antidepressant since.

 

This makes it very difficult because every doctor I have worked with has Rx'd me an antidepressant, even though I tried hard to explain that they just don't agree with my brain/body chemistry anymore. I end up not taking them, but it makes me feel crummy that there's this assumption that I should still be able to tolerate them even though I don't anymore.

 

 

[[Te...]]

I’ve been on Klonopin for 30 years and anti-depressants for most of those 30 years. When I retired I got off the anti-depressants. About two years into the retirement my depression and insomnia returned. My doctors prescribed various anti-depressants, but I developed bad anxiety and had to stop.

 

Why is this happening? I hope to return to better sleep and a better mood so I can be strong for a future Klonopin taper. Thanks for any ideas or even sharing a similar experience.

 

Maybe the ADs were masking the real problem - which is the Klonopin. Many people have depression and anxiety/panic attacks, and insomnia, among a host of other symptoms, from Klonopin. It's a very heavy drug. If you decide to get off of it, go very, very slowly, at least to start off to see how you feel, because your CNS needs time to adapt to the changes going on in your brain.

[[Dr...]]

This is the exact same thing I have been experiencing!! I used to have no problem taking antidepressants and then since coming off of the benzos 8 months ago, I cant tolerate even a crumb of an antidepressant. It is very frustrating and scary. Wish I knew more about what causes this.