posted
Hi, I know that many of us are taking a benzo of some sort for sleep, anxiety, seizures, etc... So, I have a done a lot of research and it appears that there is concern over birth defects on the benzos (cleft palate etc).
I am taking .5 mgs. klonopin to sleep at night. My docs have differing views on this, and in many places I read, they say there is no problem with it during pregnancy.
I just found out that I am pregnant today. I am concerned about rapidly withdrawing (from even such a small amount, but to me is like God)...
Have any of you had experiences being pregnant with Lyme and concerns over benzos, antidepressants, etc? We are on so many things that it seems that there would only be so much we could handle coming off of so rapidly when we discover we are pregnant.
Concerned and slightly stressed.... Thank you Posts: 588 | From Rhode Island | Registered: Jun 2006
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I don't know about the pregnancy bit, but do be careful if you want to stop taking the Klonopin. There is a risk of seizure there with stopping benzodiazapenes. That said, congratulations and good luck with everything! Hopefully others here with a lot of wisdom will give you helpful info.
Cheers,
Alison
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I recently came off 1-1.5 mg of Klonopin, which I had been on for 12 years. I thought it was the only thing helping me get the meager amount of sleep I was getting, but it turns out I am sleeping better now that I am off.
My understanding is that the benzos really only help with sleep on a short-term basis, unless you are willing to keep increasing the dose as your body develops tolerance... and I'm not hearing that you want to do that, especially now that you are pregnant. I think you're fortunate to have a reason to get off it now, before it becomes much more difficult.
My advice would be to get a pill cutter and cut the .5 tablet into quarters and reduce your dose by 25% every 10 days to 2 weeks. Hopefully, the pregnancy will make you more sleepy and help counteract the insomnia that is a likely result of the withdrawal process.
Good luck and congrats on the pregnancy!
Posts: 164 | From USA | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
You are pregnant. You are not going to sleep for a long time anyway; lol.
Do come off the Klonopin slowly. It can actually cause the reverse effect if you go cold turkey. You will be awake for days. Just slowly go off of it.
You know I was on Lamactil for sleep for years too and accidently weaned myself off of it. I actually sleep better without it too. I might try weaning myself off the Klonopin to see.
Posts: 347 | From WV | Registered: Jan 2007
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posted
I have been on Klonopin for about 7 years (1mg nightly at bedtime) for restless legs. I didn't think that I would be able to function off of it, and we are hoping to conceive, so the teratogenic effects of benzos was a BIG worry for me. I stopped taking the Klonopin over just a few days time (cut down to .5mg for a couple of days then nothing). No problems at all...after hearing lots of horror stories of the difficulties people have had stopping. Not to stay that isn't true, but it turned out not to be a problem for me. My doc said NOT to cut down to .25mg because apparently at too small a dose, benzos can actually be excitatory and keep you from sleeping. With regard to the safety during pregnancy, from the research I have read, it is too risky. If you are taking benzos for sleep, talk to your doc about trying something else. If you are taking them for anxiety, seizures, etc, talk with your doc about weighing the risks and benefits of continued use. It is certainly not good for a fetus if you are having uncontrolled seizures. Also, I think that during the first 10 weeks of gestation, you are pretty safe in taking things, as the fetus doesn't share your circulatory system until about 8-10 weeks. Good luck! I know this is a really hard decision.
Posts: 393 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Thanks so much everybody. That part about the fetus not sharing my circulatory system for about 8-10 weeks is encouraging.
I am trying to find a complicated person OBGYN / obstetrician (sp?) to work with me on all of these things. I am trying to get answers wherever I can but it is very hard.
I get conflicting info everywhere and my LLMD's speciality is not pregnancy and benzos, my PCP is not suppportive of my Lyme treatment, and my psych doc says to come off the klonopin.... but then others say it is not a big deal.
I will start the weaning process tonight! Wish me luck.... I have been on for many years erghh... But it was encouraging to hear that some sleep better without!
Posts: 588 | From Rhode Island | Registered: Jun 2006
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