CLONAZEPAM

[DONNA C]

MY DOCTOR JUST PUT ME ON CLONAZEPAM. HAS ANYONE ELSE EVER TAKEN THIS MEDICATION. DOES IT HELP. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT NEXT MONTH FOR A FULL BLOOD WORKUP ANDD EKG. I SURE HOPE THEY CAN FIND SOMETHING TO HELP ME. I HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THIS FOR 40 YEARS AND LATELY IT IS A NIGHTLY THING. I FEEL LIKE I AM LOOSING MY MIND AND I AM VERY SHORT TEMPERED WITH MY CHILDREN NOW. HOPEFULLY SOMEDAY SOMEONE WILL REALIZE WHAT A HUGE PROBLEM THIS IS AND FIND A CURE.

[becat]

I'm sorry your having a rough time. I know your pain. It's tough to be without sleep for so long, things just get away from you. Try to take a few moments for yourself. As, for having an appointment next month, good deal. Arm yourself with as much knowledge about your symptoms when you go. If you feel like it keep a lifestyle journal to take with you. If you feel that you past the point of suffering, call your Doc. and ask for help. A month can feel like forever. I waited three and half weeks this last time, and my body and my family paid dearly for it. You do not have to suffer. Call your Doctor and ask for so help.
As for Clonzepam, I was on that for one cycle, being a month and half. I personally did not find any benefit. However, there are many I'm sure that do relief. You will surely get some anwers back have good results.
Don't worry too much we're all in the same boat. What works for me, might not for others, vica versa. This is about finding the right RLS "cocktail" for you. That "cocktail" my be medications, vitamins, whatever. This will take some time and you need to make up your mind to outwit the RLS.
I send a hug and a shoulder anytime you need it.
Hope you have a better day today.

[jumpyowl]

Yes I take clonazepam occasionally 0.5 mg at night in addition to Hydrocodone. It does help with the sleep. You have to be careful as it has a long half life and can make you drowsy the next day. What dose do you take it at and how much does it help?

[overthehill66]

I was diagnosed in the late eighties or very early nineties with restless leg syndrom after a sleep test for sleep apnea. I apparently had a mild case of SP as I would wake up with a snort in the middle of the night to catch my breath. My wife had read about sleep apnea and felt I should get tested again. (The first test was inconclusive.) After the second test, my doctor sent me to a nerologist who prescribed clonazepan. I have been taking this ever since. It does help me to get a full night's sleep without my legs having to constantly move, but I often feel tired during the day and have to have at least one nap in the afternoon. While I was working I fell asleep at my desk constantly unless I was involved in something that took my complete attention.

[overthehill]

Anytime you see this name on a submission it is actually from overthehill. When I made my first couple of entries or responses I had not logged in so I could not use my regular user name. I just added my age to the name and entered as a guest.

[sardsy75]

I take 2mg Clonazepam every nite, in addition to everything else I'm on. HOWEVER, i started out at 0.25mg but had to work my way up when I was weaned off codeine a little over a month ago.

When I first started on it, i was fairly groggy the next day, but I have become used to that. The only time I have problems is if i've "overdone" it the day before and am particularly tired when I go to bed; the next day I find myself fairly well "not with it" at all and have even had to draw the line at driving.

However, at the moment, even tho my legs aren't quite sure what they're doing, I'm still sleeping like a baby .... once I get settled that is lol.

[lyndarae]

Hey All..............Jumpy, sounds like we are on the same cocktail.....I'm starting on the clonazepam on thursday night and have to withdraw from ultram for one week and then on to hydrocodone...............are you Nadia,or Jump taking mirapex too??? With this combo???? My doc is nervous because Ive lost too much weight he thinks the mirapex and the levothyroxin 88mg have jumped me into hyperthrroid instead of hypo???? I don't know what is going on. To be honest when I went to see him my mind was on something else and I didnt pay enough attention.... Guess I should call him tomarrow and tell on myself~~~~~~~~~~~Lyndarae

[jrowley]

I was on klonopin which is clonazepam and i slept good at night but still had the jerks. It also made me very very sleepy during the day to the point that I was afraid to drive for fear of falling asleep. So I got put on 250mg depakote but that wasnt working so i have a upped dose of 500mg. But I have been on .25mg and .5mg of mirapex, and neurotin and none of them have worked by themselves. My neuro is now trying the upped dose of depakote and if doesnt work I will get the pleasure of trying sinement. I wish they could find something that will work though. I'm pretty sick of trying med after med.

[sardsy75]

are you Nadia,or Jump taking mirapex too??? With this combo???? My doc is nervous because Ive lost too much weight he thinks the mirapex and the levothyroxin 88mg have jumped me into hyperthrroid instead of hypo???? I don't know what is going on. To be honest when I went to see him my mind was on something else and I didnt pay enough attention.... Guess I should call him tomarrow and tell on myself~~~~~~~~~~~Lyndarae

Hiya Lyndarae

No, i'm not on mirapex ... it's not available in australia. I've just switched myself from symmetrel (amantadine hydrochloride) 200mg/day back to cabergoline 2mg per day as a bit of a self-induced drug holiday. Now all I have to do is get my mother to stop nagging me, and it should work

Take care of you
((((hugs))))

[jumpyowl]

I am going to meet the psychiatrist, whom I met in the hospital tomorrow. I am getting ready for a royal battle. I hope I will answer some of the questions here while describing this drug problem that started when three "cooks" were trying to prepare the cocktail: one neurologist, and two psychiatrists. And I thought that regular M.D. do not know pharmacology!

So I prepared a bit of presentation for him, some of it here follows:

Mood Stabilizers
The treatment of choice for bipolar disorder is one of the mood stabilizers especially in patients who display symptoms of violent aggression, impulsivity or agitation. (This is not me but incorrect diagnosis does not seem to bother him. )

Classification of Mood Stabilizers
There is no agreed-upon definition of the term mood stabilizer. We all use the term, but it is nowhere officially defined.

There are about 4 major classes of drugs that are being used as mood stabilizers:

Lithium Anti-convulsives Anti-depressants Antipsychotics

Lithium (carbonate or citrate) for acute bipolar mania (effect on dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine neurotransmitters)
Quite toxic. However, it works probably the best for a broad spectrum of disorders

Anticonvulsants:

Valproic acid also Depakote (sodium valproex) I am taking it in the extended release form (first week, 500 mg/day, second week: 2x500 mg)=1000mg. Unfortunately thids is the maximum dose and it has known to kill people by shutting down the liver and causing pancreatitis).

Gabapentin (Neurontin) I have taken that in the past for the treatment of RLS/PLMD at the daily dose level of 600 mg. (2x).
It works somewhat for RLS but usually in combination with something else. When I stopped taking it and continued on Mirapex, severe vertigo was the result lasting for several days.
The major advantage of gabapentin in using it for RLS is its relative safety. It is useful in the presence of peripheral nerve pain. It does not work as a mood stabilizer.

Topiramate (Topamax). Topiramate is yet another anticonvulsant with mood stabilizing effects for some patients. Recently it has been also used for managing RLS at very low doses (25 mg/day). (I must have been among the first ones who used it - the company knew nothing about it).

It is of interest to note that one of the common side effects of this drug is paresthesia(!). It seems to help with anxiety and a number of eating disorders. It is being used clinically to counteract the weight gain caused by valproic acid.

Antidepressants

There are seven distinct classes of antidepressants:

monoamine oxidase inhibitors
tricyclic antidepressants
serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors
dual serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
serotonin-2 antagonism/reuptake inhibitors
alpha-2 antagonism plus serotonin-2 and -3 antagonizers
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.

Disadvantages: they work slowly
they interact negatively with other drugs (e.g. Mirapex)
they must be used carefully in bipolar depression
(tendency to push the patient into a manic episode.)
They are also bad for RLS! As we all know!

Mirtazapine (Remeron)
Mirtazapine has a weaker antidepressant effect than other drugs, but it seems to be more effective against anxiety disorders. Mirtazapine is associated with significant weight gain early in therapy.

Bupropion (Wellbutrin), a norepinephrine (and dopamine) reuptake inhibitors patient has taken it for major depression as an antidepressant being compatible with RLS . It is less likely than other antidepressants to induce mania in bipolar patients.

Anti-Psychotic Drugs (Neuroleptics)

These are not really mood stabilizers, but in practice they are used short term and in low doses to control some of the symptoms that accompany mood disorders. These drugs have significant long-term side effects and risks so they are not commonly used as a maintenance drug in mood disorders. Geodon is apparently an exception as this was the first drug I received in the hospital with scary results.

Geodon (ziprasidone)
Geodon (ziprasidone) is an antipsychotic medication—one of a group called "atypical" to distinguish these newer drugs from older medications. The FDA approved Geodon as a treatment for schizophrenia in 2001. It helps manage schizophrenia’s "positive" symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations, delusions, and thought disturbances. Geodon may also help in treating the "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia, which include social withdrawal, apathy, lack of motivation, and an inability to experience pleasure. Geodon is presently being studied for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Still no reason to give it to me especially with taking Mirapex! I am still amazed that the first medication he thought of was an anti-schizophrenic drug that was contraindicated by the main drug I was taking.

How does Geodon work?
As with other atypical antipsychotic medications, Geodon may reduce symptoms of schizophrenia by blocking the action of serotonin and dopamine,(!!!!) two neurotransmitter chemicals, at specific receptors in the brain. Geodon may also inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine into brain cells, which may improve depressive symptoms in people with schizophrenia.

Interactions with other drugs

Pharmacodynamic Interactions

Ziprasidone may antagonize the effects of levodopa and dopamine agonists (such as Mirapex). (No wonder I felt like dying for about six hours.) What do they mean by mincing the words "may"? It blocks the D2 receptor sites firmly!

Lyndarae! I have not heard that Mirapex would affect the metabolic hormones. However, you are taking quite a bit of tyroxin hormone. They should measure the whole tyroxin spectrum including the antibodies (in case you have Hashimoto's or something similar among the autoimmune diseases and also the TSH and another one from the brain.

Right on, Nadia. Mother knows best, but you have to leave her out of your drug experimentation otherwise she will adversely influence the results.

I will need some sleep tonight to be in shape for tomorrows weight-in!

Hugs to all of you!

[dedewayne]

Hey Donna,
I am new to this site as of tonight. It is 3:15 and for the past week I have not been getting anymore than a few hours of sleep, one night I did not sleep one wink. I am on 1mg of clonazepan. I started at .5mg and went up to 1mg about 6 months later. It is oviously not been working or I wouldn't be up typing this message! Need to check with my doctor for other options, but clonazepan did work for about a year for me.
I never new that this was a real issue, I just thought that I was going crazy and happened to mention it to my doctor and he informed me that I have RLS.
Good Luck!
Laura

[islandlife4us]

Hello,
I have RLS, I thought I was going to go crazy also. No sleep makes for long days!! I take 0.5mg of klonopin and 10mg of flexeril every night about 30 minutes before I go to bed and it works great for me. My sister takes merapex and that works for her. Hope this helps someone else.

[Mylo]

I took 0.5 mg Clonazepam for about 2 months before it stopped working. It lessened my symptoms a little bit, and put me into a delightful sleeping state.

My doctor has me on Sinemet 25/100, I've been on that for 2 months so far and am responding very well to it. He wants me to keep on it for the next 6 months and see what happens. The Sinemet has put a damper on the symptoms, unless I delay dosage (which happens from time to time, I'm a shift worker).

The nice thing about the Sinemet is that it doesn't leave me feeling overly groggy in the daytime.

[beckya]

I was on this Clonazepam for a while and it really helped unfortunely it also made me 'loopy' (it's a controlled substance). It isn't expensive but it did helped. I'm not taking it anymore because my prescription expired and I can't afford to go to the doctor regularly. But it did help.

Becky

[cmg61]

I take the Clonazepam on really bad nights. First I take .75 Mirapex and if that doesn't work or if I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep is when I take the Clonazepam. It does make you loopy, but at least you can sleep.