Has Anyone Tried Balsomera or Trazedone for Sleep?

[[ps...]]

I have built up a tolerance to my 1.5 mg klonopin taken for 20 years. Whenever I go to taper I go into sever insomnia which lasts for days and can only be stopped with an up dose which defeats the purpose of the taper. Is there anything that works for withdrawal insomnia? I've even tried baclefen, a muscle relaxer which works occasionally, Help!

[[Re...]]

Honestly, and you won't want to hear this, you are better off experiencing insomnia than adding in other meds. It will eventually pass and you will get back on track. Any med that you add in during withdrawal could turn on you and you could have to taper it later and experience more insomnia than you would now. Usually whatever cures also causes the same thing in medicine. it is a double-edged sword. You could try melatonin. Some people have luck with it, others do not. I know there is a thread tonight about it causing symptoms in people with withdrawal. But taking that is better than Trazodone or Belsomra imo. Everything has side effects. But pick the lesser of evils. 

[[Bi...]]

I tried Trazadone and it worked well for sleep. However, I had a very difficult withdrawal process when I Didn’t need it anymore. It’s not supposed to be hard to stop, but I had a tough time.

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Trazadone worked for me for a while, but then stopped working. I also left me feeling hungover. I had better luck with melatonin -- only 1mg worked very well for me. But eventually it stopped working also, so I took a break and it worked well again. A 50 mg CBD gummie was good, but as with  melatonin, I had to take a break. I drank gallons of camomille tea on my taper and that was effective also. Another possibility: Unisom sleep tab. Half a 25 mg sleep tab gave me a good night's sleep. But your body gets used to it and you need to take a break.

 

I agree with Rebecca that an updose of your K might not be the wisest idea, but I disagree that a few nights of insomnia are bearable. You insomnia sounds, well, unbearable. If it were me, I wouldn't add in another med you have to taper from. Maybe try something from the list above? It might help.

 

Best,

 

Katz

[[Be...]]

I use 300 mg gabapentin, 20 mg Belsomra, and hydroxyzine 50 mg 2 to 3 times a week for sleep. I get broken sleep with the first two, adding the third gives me more restful sleep. Hydroxyzine is a prescription antihistamine that is sedating, so it is used as an anxiolytic and a sleep aid. Any antihistamine, and hydroxyzine in particular, should not be use nightly and for a lengthy period of time. You eventually acclimate to the sedative effect, and they stop working altogether, so you need to take a break for a bit. 

 

Gabapentin helps, but I will have to taper off it, though at doses like I'm taking, it's not all that difficult.

 

Belsomra is not as effective for sleep as benzos and z-drugs are, but it does not cause dependency. It doesn't alter anything in the brain, it doesn't attach to, or stimulate, any receptors. It is an orexin-blocker. Orexin promotes wakefulness. My former PsychNP added it for sleep. she noted that it does not have any serious reactions with the other meds I take for sleep, it can cause more sedation when mixed with other sedating substances. I started using it when I reached 7 mg of diazepam.  I did fine with gabapentin and hydroxyzine from about 10 mg diazepam. Above 10, the diazepam itself made me sleepy.

 

Some people report hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis with it. I haven't had either. It's half-life is about 7 hours, and there is no interdose w/d or anything like that. It doesn't accumulate in the body either. Belsomra might give you between 3 to 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. For me, after that, my sleep was broken and fragmented. If I did wake up during those 3 to 4 hours, I quicky fell back to sleep.

 

Not that many people report finding it helpful. It's a very mixed bag. I don't think by itself it would help much, the glutamate excitotoxicity is what keeps us awake. Which is why updosing works, but if you keep doing that, you won't make progress getting off.

 

I tried Trazadone, it made me feel too zonked, and I just didn't care for the fact it messes with serotonin. I didn't feel well, but others have found it helpful. It also gave me dry mouth, eyes, etc.

 

Baclofen can help, but taking high doses, or using it for more than 2 months max, increases you chance of becoming dependent on it. At that point, it can be as hard as benzos to taper off of. Benzos are used to help people wean off baclofen, and then you gotta wean off the benzo, you get it. Use it sparingly, and not longer than 2 months