posted
Yes, but more addictive than Ambien...I'm pretty sure.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Lauralyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15021
posted
Thanks folks! Definitely concerned about addiction
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
I've been on it for probably eight years and can't sleep without it. However, I have reduced my dose in half recently from .2 to .1 mg.
I hope to wean off completely, but it's a slow process. It is addictive.
Whenever I try to go cold turkey, my heart races and I've even had chest pain.
Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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MariaA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9128
posted
I have taken it on and off for about 10 months in TINY doses- cutting a regular sized pill (can't recall dosage, it's small) into quarters (my one single 30-pill bottle lasted for 10 months this way). I had brutal insomnia for part of that time due to other medication and due to my Lyme symptoms.
I don't think I had any addictiveness issues at that dose- obviously, from the fact that I stretched out one bottle for that long. However, I think that those tiny doses not only helped me sleep but had good effects on the quality of my sleep.
My LLMD was concerned about prescribing it- a different Lyme patient had told me about using it for insomnia and in the 1/4 pill doses- and the LLMD said that yes, it puts you into Stage 4 sleep, which is what I was worried about attaining at the time of my bad insomnia.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
Lauralyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15021
posted
Maria what dosage was that which was cut into quarters?
I've been cutting zopiclone in half but I seem to wake up too early in the morning. Sounds like your idea will keep me in a deeper sleep.
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Others seem to do okay with very small doses but I tried Clonazepam (Klonipin) several different times - over a long span - years ago. But, with each trial, even with a very tiny dose, vertigo got much worse and my legs could barely support me walking to the bathroom - I fell each time I tried it. And my bladder also failed due to the way it super-relaxed my muscles.
Later, I found out that Clonazepam uses the Cytochrome P-450 liver detox pathway which is often very stressed for those with lyme.
Anyone doing the KPU/HPU treatment should avoid this as it can actually make all kinds of porphyria worse, even in small doses.
MariaA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9128
posted
looks like they were 1 mg tablets. There were a few times that a quarter of a mg didn't work, and I would have another, but usually it was enough to make me doze off well.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
posted
I also take Klonopin as needed when I cannot sleep. I take it for tachycardia too. It works fast to slow my heartrate down, especially when I wake up with my heart racing. I have 2mg tablets and take 1/4 of it. I am out within a few mintues and I sleep really well.
-------------------- The advice I give, should not be considered medical advice. My opinion comes from years of research and experience. Posts: 233 | From Somewhere | Registered: Sep 2009
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posted
I have been taking temazepam for several years (15 mg @ bedtime). It helps get me to sleep & keeps me asleep, plus it temporarily allveiates most of my symptoms.
Posts: 213 | From ohio | Registered: Jul 2006
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i have taken Klonipin for years when i need to sleep. some months i take it one or two days a month and others I take in 4 or 5 days a week. I do not find it to have any addictive qualitites for me. Some months when the sleeping isn't too much of a problem, i can take just a half of a half of a pill and it'll get me to sleep.
This summer I had a bottle of 30 .5 mg tablets last me four or five months.
I have tried every RX sleeping pill as well as natural ones and in the end, Klonipin is really all that works for me.
i'm sure it's different for all of us, given our different chemistry, but that has been my experience. it doesn't make me drowsy the next day either, like some of the others.
it has been a savior for me. hope it helps for you.
-------------------- Misdiagnosed and untreated from 1993-2008. - iGenex positive western blot for LD: 9/08 - Clinical diagnosis for Babesia: 2/09 - Positive blood smear for Bartonella: 3/09
Started treatment: 1/09 Posts: 91 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Jan 2009
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posted
it works great for me. Been taking it for 4 years off and on. No addiction issues but I am very careful. I have .5mg tablets which I use for sleep, anxiety, depersonalization, and panic attacks.
It really helps bring me down several notches when I'm in a bad way anxiety wise.
The trick is to remember how long it stays in your blood stream, thats how it and its friends (valium, xanax, etc) can become addictive.
I have, even at my worst, always put 48 hours between doses. There have been times when i took it a couple days in a row, but I would make sure to then put a good 3 days or so in between my next dose.
I find that a small dose, like.25 mg, really makes my mind feel almost human again. Its just a nice vacation sometimes.
map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
I've been on ambien for maybe 5 yrs now. It's worked and I did lower my dosage to 6.50 because I'm concerned.
One of my goals is to nix the ambien this year. I can't believe the improvment in my sleep since I started rifampin a month ago.
I had thought insomnia was bart and I'm so glad things are so much better. One thing at a time.
Tutu, are you still taking trazadone for sleep? Dosage?
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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IckyTicky
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 21466
posted
I've been on it for a year or so. .5 mg twice a day. Mine is for myoclonus, seizure activity and to help me sleep. I haven't had any problems on it and it started helping me immediately. I haven't had the heart racing either..I wonder if it's due to the clonazapam or the abx treatment. Interesting. I've been told NEVER to stop it cold turkey. It can cause seizures if you do.
-------------------- IGM: 18+, 23+, 30+, 31+++, 34+, 39IND, 41++, 58+++, 66+, 83-93IND IGG: 31+, 39IND, 41+ Also positive for Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and RMSF. Whole family of 5 dx with Lyme. Posts: 1014 | From Texas | Registered: Jul 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Lauralyme ,
As ambien was mentioned above and just in case you might consider that, you might want to read these articles first.
I tried ambien years ago and had terrible reactions. Some do fine. It's good to read all about it first and try other methods that are safer.
There have been many incidents of "ambien accidents" and drivers being charged DUI for ambien in the bloodstream. Having lyme, and the liver being compromised by that, It might take longer for some of us to process this.
The protective effect of dl-tetrahydropalmatine against the development of amygdala kindling seizures in rats.
Lin MT, Wang JJ, Young MS.
Department of Medical Research, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Yung-Kang City, Tainan Hsien 710, Taiwan. [email protected]
The influence of dl-tetrahydropalmatine (THP), an active component isolated from a Chinese herbal medicine corydalis, was tested on the development of electrically kindled amygdala.
The seizure activity was quantified by a ultrasonic system for vertical motion measurements. Intraperitoneal injection of THP (20 or 30 mg kg(-1)) 30 min before applying the daily kindling stimulus prevented the development of the kindling process.
The behavioral seizure score and the motion responses which normally develop during electrical kindling were reduced below their initial values.
The results suggest that THP is a very effective antiepileptogenic and anticonvulsant agent when applied to electrically kindled rats.
Shixiao San, Jin Lingzi San, Liang Fu Wan, and Baishao Gancao Tang
by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
excerpt:
. . . Corydalis is added "to increase the pain-relieving effects of this prescription."
To compare Shixiao San and Jin Lingzi San, it is helpful to examine two of the main ingredients. Yang Yifan (9) compares corydalis to trogopterus (wulingzhi):
Corydalis and trogopterus enter the liver and spleen meridians. Both are able to promote blood circulation and remove congealed blood. They are very effective for relieving pain.
This is an excellent formula, intended for use before going to bed (follow instructions and caution with driving until you get used to it. Do not mix with sedative or alcohol).
Ingredients; Corydalis root, jujube seeds and Schisandra fruit.
Jujube is also called zizyphus. Schisandra is also spelled schizandra. Both can be searched at PubMed and at The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook ( http://oneearthherbs.squarespace.com )
posted
My son takes it as needed for anxiety (he's 14) and has no issues with addiction. He's been taking it for 2 1/2 yrs or so. Usually he's taking it from mid August - November or December on a daily basis, and then only when really needed after that. We've always left it up to him though as to whether he needs to take it or not. I've even offered it at times and he's said no he doesn't need it.
My daughter (lyme) tried it for an unrelated condition, and it gave her the tremors so bad that she had to quit taking it.
It really depends upon the person.
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