Zzzquil and clonazepam?

I’ve started my slow taper. Really it hasn’t been much of a change. I think I took 5% off of my Klonopin but it’s something, I guess. But I’ve been having trouble sleeping and the clonazepam I’m taking now helps with getting me to doze off but not to stay asleep. I wake up every couple of hours and melatonin has not worked for me the past three days. Last night I only received three hours of real sleep and it’s killing me. I think it’s causing some mild depression. I bought some Zzzquil which the active ingredient is Diphenhydramin, an antihistamine. The only other time I’ve ever taken a benzo with an antihistamine was when I was going through a terrible terrible withdrawal after going cold turkey and I took a Xanax after the hydroxyzine I thought would’ve worked, didn’t. The ER doc said it was fine as long as they weren’t taken together.

 

I don’t want to make a habit of this but I desperately need sleep and am willing to even skip a dose of clonazepam if I have to have a full dose of Zzzquil in order to finally get a full nights rest. I’m suffering at work and it’s making me a bit depressed.

 

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

When I stopped taking benzos, I tried Zzzquil (diphen) and it didn't work very well for me.  It would give me a couple hours of sleep, but that was about it.  It's not as strong as the klonopin.  Melatonin worked less effectively than the Zzzquil.  Unisom (doxy) worked slightly better than diphen for me, but still not nearly as well as the klonopin.

 

You're probably better off just taking your klonopin dose at night and getting however much sleep you get.  Insomnia is often an issue during withdrawal - it's unfortunately something a lot of us have to work thru.

 

One bit of advice...  When you find yourself awake at 3 am, don't get upset.  Emotion only makes it harder to get back to sleep.  Just try to relax until you nod off again.  Fragmented sleep is lousy, but it's better than no sleep.

When I stopped taking benzos, I tried Zzzquil (diphen) and it didn't work very well for me.  It would give me a couple hours of sleep, but that was about it.  It's not as strong as the klonopin.  Melatonin worked less effectively than the Zzzquil.  Unisom (doxy) worked slightly better than diphen for me, but still not nearly as well as the klonopin.

 

You're probably better off just taking your klonopin dose at night and getting however much sleep you get.  Insomnia is often an issue during withdrawal - it's unfortunately something a lot of us have to work thru.

 

One bit of advice...  When you find yourself awake at 3 am, don't get upset.  Emotion only makes it harder to get back to sleep.  Just try to relax until you nod off again.  Fragmented sleep is lousy, but it's better than no sleep.

 

UPDATE: took Zzzquil and got some good quality sleep for the first time in four days. I’m ecstatic. But I can tell that it probably won’t work for too long.  It really only gave me about 5 hours of really good productive sleep, then I woke up and did as you said, I didn’t get all emotional about and laid in bed long enough to sleep and got 2 more hours of quality sleep.

 

I’m gonna try to rely on the Klonopin only but only after I get a few nights of sweet sleep in. Last night was great, no nightmares or night sweats or indigestion.

 

What is Unisom or Doxy? I have a prescription for hydroyzine, the super Benedryl. If it ever got too bad I could probably take that, no? I remember that in combination with Xanax was the only thing that put me to be bed after an ER level non stop heart pounding panic attack that last for hours. But for a restless night it would seem overkill no?

I'm glad you had a good night's sleep.

 

So you took the Zzzquil in addition to the klonopin or instead of the klonopin??

 

Doxy (doxylamine succinate) is just another early antihistamine that tends to make people really drowsy.  It's found in Unisom (and NyQuil cold medicine).

I'm glad you had a good night's sleep.

 

So you took the Zzzquil in addition to the klonopin or instead of the klonopin??

 

Doxy (doxylamine succinate) is just another early antihistamine that tends to make people really drowsy.  It's found in Unisom (and NyQuil cold medicine).

 

I took the Klonopin and the a couple hours later took the Zzzquil. I am wondering if I could use the zzzquil at night instead of the Klonopin to take out a nightly dose and just dose in the morning bringing me to one .5mg dose instead of 2 day and night. Or would that lead to really bad withdrawals in the morning? That seems like a massive drop from 1mg total to .5

 

And doxy is better in your opinion? Why? And is it safe to take with Klonopin, at least hours apart?

Doxy worked better for me, but don't base any decisions on one person's input.  Everybody's different.

Doxy worked better for me, but don't base any decisions on one person's input.  Everybody's different.

 

It’s amazing what good quality sleep will do for some. That made all the difference. I finally feel that I can get out there and not even rely of caffeine.

How often do you think you'll take the Zzz??  I wouldn't advise taking it every night.

How often do you think you'll take the Zzz??  I wouldn't advise taking it every night.

 

I’ve only taken it the past two nights. I’m not going to rely on it this weekend for sure since I don’t have to get up early for work. I’m gonna try not to take it every night.