Please help me, anyone

I was on Seroquel and Klonopin for 13 years for insomnia. In June 2019, I was off seroquel. I was sleeping about 2 hours a night with just the klonopin 2 mg. I was working with cbti coach and tapered off klonopin. Got off Klonopin Aug. 26, 2020. After a week of 0 sleep, ended up in the hospital. I have already been on all psych and sleep meds to try to get some sleep. My original insomnia was bad too, but never this bad. So after about 1 month of practically 0 sleep, I was put on Ativan 3mg. This helped a bit at first. This was Oct. 2020. Then it started to become less effective in January. I tried to taper using the Ashton Manual. I was doing ok. I also used cannabis to help as I lowered it. Well, March 1, no sleep again. None. My doc told me to take my meds as prescribed. I was down to 1mg ativan and now I'm back up to 3. But, I'm still not sleeping. And I have heart palpitations all night that don't even let me rest. I started an AD, Fetzima yesterday. I am on here begging for help. I don't know what to do. Some nights, I feel the ativan helps and some I feel it does nothing. I has so much anxiety all day now, I fear never falling asleep again. I can hardly function, I'm in pain daily, shake, can't see, dizzy, migraines, and a feeling of inner jitteriness constantly and the heart palps. ER doc saw me, heart is fine. At this point I don't know if this is tolerance WD or just my own strong anxiety outpowering ativan (which it could be). I want to get off but I can't ever get sleep. I don't live any kind of life and am miserable. This was hard to type and I'm looking for solid advice. My doctor said she won't see me anymore if I don't do what she says, and all she says is take my meds as prescribed. She doesn't believe in WD and all that.. Been on trazodone, seroquel, etc... nothing helps. I literally can't do anything but pace, or sit and rock back and forth all day and night. I'm exhausted and scared.

Sounds like you need a doc who is more understanding for one.

 

2nd I’d recommend tapering off completely and to stop kindling and going back on the meds if your goal is to get off

 

I’d also recommend you stop worrying about falling asleep. It’s just keeping you up more.

 

Your going to fall asleep. Your body will get the rest it absolutely needs before anything bad happens

 

I’d highly recommend a magnesium supplement for the heart palpitations.

 

This one helped me tremendously during days where I didn’t sleep and suffered awful heart palpitations

InnovixLabs Advanced Magnesium, 150 Capsules, High Absorption Magnesium Malate & Magnesium Glycinate, Highly Bioavailable Chelated Magnesium, 210 mg per Serving, Soy & Gluten-Free, Non-GMO & Vegan [nobbc]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QSR9D9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_15F343VBPKS76MS5GC9H?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1[/nobbc]

 

Stick to a plan to get off no matter what. Exercise, eat decent and get your vitamins

 

 

Edit: Deactivated commercial link.

I do take magnesium. I feel like if I could get rid of the heart palps and get some sleep, even an hour, I would be fine. I can deal with the rest of the stuff. Not easily, but with sleep, things are much better for me. So do I just stay up and wait til I collapse? I've been up for a week before and was hospitalized and I don't want that to happen again. THen it will be more meds, etc.. If ativan isn't effective, should I just do a fast taper to get off? I feel like the symptoms I have will be similar... no sleep, anxiety, palpitations... whether I'm on it or not.

Your issues sound exactly like mine, seems like when I get no sleep my anxiety goes off the charts

And I pace up and down the floor, my anxiety started all  over a hernia I got in dec 2019”

I was put on Ativan because I couldn’t sleep took about 3 months  as needed .25 milligram

Then doc switched me to colozapam which I  was taking .25 milligram for sleep

Next 12 months as needed, on March 5 2021 I quit taking colozapam all together

On March 8 2021 over to remeron 7.5 milligram taken once a day at nite for sleep

It’s working every other nite, doc told me to up dose to 15miilligeam

I am trying my best not to reach for the colozapam

As I type this I am climbing the walls

Believe it or not all this anxiety came over a hernia operation

Which went fine, but it played with my head and made me anxious

I have no depression

Lack of sleep is my main concern

Hope everything works out for me and u

I do take magnesium. I feel like if I could get rid of the heart palps and get some sleep, even an hour, I would be fine. I can deal with the rest of the stuff. Not easily, but with sleep, things are much better for me. So do I just stay up and wait til I collapse? I've been up for a week before and was hospitalized and I don't want that to happen again. THen it will be more meds, etc.. If ativan isn't effective, should I just do a fast taper to get off? I feel like the symptoms I have will be similar... no sleep, anxiety, palpitations... whether I'm on it or not.

 

I feel the same with very minimal sleep. It makes it feel like I’m withdrawing all over again from step one sometimes

 

When I only slept 8 hours in a week and a half I felt like this would never end.

 

I’m going to find a post that helped me by a gentlemen “TheWay” on here .. I’ll link it

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=235100.0

 

This helped me tremendously. I accepted what I could. And did you what I could during the day to get my body naturally tired even if it was an hour. That would be an hour more than I got the previous night

 

I’m currently in a wave now but it’s not as bad and I’m sleeping maybe 2 -4 hours a night

 

But the shit sucks regardless and can get extremely frustrating

I was on Seroquel and Klonopin for 13 years for insomnia. In June 2019, I was off seroquel. I was sleeping about 2 hours a night with just the klonopin 2 mg. I was working with cbti coach and tapered off klonopin. Got off Klonopin Aug. 26, 2020. After a week of 0 sleep, ended up in the hospital. I have already been on all psych and sleep meds to try to get some sleep. My original insomnia was bad too, but never this bad. So after about 1 month of practically 0 sleep, I was put on Ativan 3mg. This helped a bit at first. This was Oct. 2020. Then it started to become less effective in January. I tried to taper using the Ashton Manual. I was doing ok. I also used cannabis to help as I lowered it. Well, March 1, no sleep again. None. My doc told me to take my meds as prescribed. I was down to 1mg ativan and now I'm back up to 3. But, I'm still not sleeping. And I have heart palpitations all night that don't even let me rest. I started an AD, Fetzima yesterday. I am on here begging for help. I don't know what to do. Some nights, I feel the ativan helps and some I feel it does nothing. I has so much anxiety all day now, I fear never falling asleep again. I can hardly function, I'm in pain daily, shake, can't see, dizzy, migraines, and a feeling of inner jitteriness constantly and the heart palps. ER doc saw me, heart is fine. At this point I don't know if this is tolerance WD or just my own strong anxiety outpowering ativan (which it could be). I want to get off but I can't ever get sleep. I don't live any kind of life and am miserable. This was hard to type and I'm looking for solid advice. My doctor said she won't see me anymore if I don't do what she says, and all she says is take my meds as prescribed. She doesn't believe in WD and all that.. Been on trazodone, seroquel, etc... nothing helps. I literally can't do anything but pace, or sit and rock back and forth all day and night. I'm exhausted and scared.

 

First, IMO, do not trust any doctor that doesn't understand Benzo WD and almost all of them do not.

Second, Avoid ERs...they are for stabilizing care not the treatment of insomnia.  I went to 4 different ERs in 4 different cities over a 1 month period and the all provided ZERO help (except more drugs) and drugs are the cause of ALL of your symptoms and sleep issues.

Third, you reached tolerance...where the drug stops doing what's it supposed to do at the current dose and that's why you had to go even higher (up to 3mg) with still not much relief!

Fourth, after you reach tolerance, your only options are to get off (taper or CT, although CTs are not recommended) or keep increasing your dose, which is a dead end road that will make things much worse in the long run.

 

Be advised that stopping and starting Benzos or Z-drugs can make subsequent efforts to get off much harder and cause a longer more intense WD for some?

 

The Klonopin is the cause of ALL of your symptoms and lack of sleep...guaranteed. 

 

Unfortunately the only way to get your sleep back is to get off of the K-pin and let sleep return on it's own.  It will take some time, but sleep returns. 

 

I did the same thing you did but over 6 months instead of 13 years.  Towards the end I was taking 3-4mg of K-pin along with 30mg of Temazepam and 15 - 30mg of Mirtazapine (Remeron) only to get an hour or 2 of sleep and then it turned into zero nights.  Zero nights or nights of no perceived sleep come and go as your get your sleep back.  You might not have any for days or weeks only to get hit by a nasty stretch of them.  Sleep returns like a roller coaster ride...very UP and down for some time until it evens out.

 

I suggest your look through the as many posts as possible on this insomnia page.  Lots of good advice.

 

I also suggest reading the success stories on this forum.  It will give you hope and let you know others were right where you are now and made it to the finish line.

 

Unfortunately there are short cuts or remedies to speed up healing.  Time is the only healer.

 

You can do this.  I did it and so did thousands of others. 

I went to 4 different ERs and 4 different cities over a 1 month period and the all provided ZERO help (except more drugs) and drugs are the cause of ALL of your symptoms and sleep issues.

 

You got more than I did. I just got the 3rd degree. "Why am I here for insomnia? Why aren't I talking to my GP, or following their instructions? We can't do anything for you, so just go". I got offered nothing else. I hate the Canadian Health Care system.

Well two more nights in a row of no sleep. Despite taking 3mg ativan and dayvigo, a sleep med. My heart races and pounds all day and night and my doc just keeps saying ativan will help that at night for sleep. Well it doesn't. I can't fucntion at all. I literally get 0 sleep almost every single night and can't sleep in day. My body is a shaking mess constantly. I was put on this for sleep, never had anxiety before. Now anxiety is crippling. At this point, do you think a CT is best because idk how staying on any dose is helpful. Maybe I should split the dose morning and night? I just started zoloft also in the mornings to try to help with the crippling anxiety but it's only been 2 days and not feeling anything yet. I don't even lay down ever and rest because of the uncomfortable feeling of the palpitations. Im so exhausted i can hardly breathe anymore. I don't eat, soon I prob won't even be able to get up to get my meds so it'll prob end up being cold turkey. I don't have any help.

I am in a similar situation, I started on Ativan was on it for around 3 months, it was real short acting

So I asked doc to switch me to colozapam that helped for awhile

I was having high anxiety which was being exacerbated by trrrible insomnia

I more or less cold turkeyed the .25 milligram I was taking in colozapam and switched to

Remeron that had helped with sleep most nites and appears to be helping with anxiety

I have only been off the colozapam since March 5

If I can get my sleep issues under control I am going to switch to buspar

For awhile and then I hope to be med free

I have one suggestion that a friend of mine that had been on colozapam for about 4 years

The nites it didn’t work or help me sleep he said you might be fighting it

Just let it be

 

We are not allowed to give "medical advice" but in my opinion, adding an AD into the mix is like pouring gasoline on an already out of control fire!