![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by offsleepmeds on February 28, 2005, at 18:12:27
I am on meds for insomnia and have gradually weened myself to what, compared to what I used to take, are small doses. Now I am on 225 mg per night of Trazodone, 100 mg (down from 800mg, which did not a thing for me!) of Seroquel, and 1.5 grams of Klonopin.
I have weened myself from 3 to 1.5 mg. per night of Klonopin gradually, albeit more quickly than usual withdrawal schedules with the support of the precursor to tryptophan, 5-HTP(50-100 mg per night), 1500 mg GABA per night, and 500 mcg of melatonin.
By tapering off Klonopin, the other meds, and by adding the above--along with the addition of some central nervous system-support minerals during the day, my sleep has improved tremendously. I now experience more REM sleep, can remember my dreams, and feel more rested.
My problem is that I tend to need at least two hours in the morning to really get going.
When I was on 3 whopping mg. of Klonopin per night and was busy tapering my doses of Trazodone and Seroquel, I was able to quite coffee in the morning. Now that I am taking the 'natural' aids to get off of Klonopin, I have to have a cup of coffee in the morning to get going.
Why get off the Klonopin and not continue getting off the Trazodone and Seroquel completely before tackling Klonopin? I have done the research, and finally seen a psychiatrist who has been frank with me about how long it takes to undo what Klonopin does to the brain chemistry. Therefore, I have decided to get off the Klonopin and then proceed getting off the Trazodone and Seroquel.
By the way, yoga, good diet, and better sleep hygiene have helped with everything.
I am mainly concerned with going off of Klonopin safely, and with using the 'natural' adjuncts that I am using in the safest manner.
I welcome your suggestions.
Thanks.
Posted by Dr. Bob on February 28, 2005, at 21:07:50
In reply to Going Off Klonopin, posted by offsleepmeds on February 28, 2005, at 18:12:27
> I am mainly concerned with going off of Klonopin safely...
Welcome, and sorry if it's confusing here, but I'd like to redirect this thread to Psycho-Babble Withdrawal. Here's a link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050228/msgs/464665.html
Thanks,
Bob
Posted by willyee on March 2, 2005, at 0:21:58
In reply to Going Off Klonopin, posted by offsleepmeds on February 28, 2005, at 18:12:27
The comment you made about what klonopin does to your brain chemistry....were you provided any links to share?
As far as natural.......i think this whole idea is overated.
Most people,myself one of them who try natural routes are taking yess natural substances,however are far far from taking it in a natural way,or providing it to the body and brain in a natural way.
Over loading vitamins,minerals,aminos,herbs, etc are still altering the normal process of the brain.How does one see over loading on gaba,providing the brain with an abundance of it,consider this natural.This is the idea behind a drug,to alter the brains normal sequeance to achieve a feeling.
Bodybuilding groups often talk about how neccasry it is to cycle amino loading,so as to resotore a balance and give the brain time off from a "unnatural" abduance of a chemical.Yess drugs carry more toxicity from the syntheics of it,but herbs in various amounts,over laoding aminos as in taking in 1-2 grams a day,etc are far from natural.
Anything that can reach your brain will affect it,this doesent exclude natural,and unless we are having tests to measure amino ratios,then like drugs we are just taking in random amounts and hoping for the best.
If anyone has ever partipated in a nutrion news group you will see fast how even natural substances must be taken carefully,and are not without their risks.
I personaly think messing with amino acids is something you want to keep at a mininium .
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.