Dr wants me to take 1 klonopin and 10 mg ambien for

Ok, the makers of Ambien recommend keeping the dose at 5 mg or less in females to avoid having too much of the drug build up in your system. Female patients actually metabolize Ambien more slowly than men, thus the lower recommended dose.

I understand your worries. Mixing two medications that cause sedation and could possible slow your breathing can be scary. You were on the klonopin long term, correct? And now does not seem to have the same effect in helping your sleep?

It is common for the effects of Klonopin (and all medications in that class) on insomnia to be reduced after a few weeks of chronic use. This is called tolerance.

Ambien also has the tolerance problem. Being on such a low dose of Klonopin, you could ask your doctor if you could just stop taking or taper down at this point as it is not working.

You could also consider using the Ambien a little more sparingly to reduce tolerance and preserve its effectiveness for you. Maybe using another medication with a different mechanism of action a few nights a week and using Ambien a few nights...rotating them.

It will reduce your mental alertness the next morning and could impair your ability to do tasks like driving.

That makes sense. Taking them together may enhance the effects of one or both medications vs taking each medication alone. Have you tried taking Ambien alone?

Ok, that sounds reasonable. If you get the green light from your doctor, see if you can stop the Klonopin. I can suggest a regimen for you. Have you tried any other sleep medicines (prescription or over the counter) besides Ambien or Klonopin?

If you have never tried Melatonin, that might be a good one to add to the Ambien. It has very few side effects and drug interactions and can be purchased over the counter. Doses of 3 mg up to 10 mg can be used. It is something that our bodies produce naturally to help induce sleep. It has very little or no "hang over" feeling the next day and can be safely added to most drug regimens.

I use Melatonin on occasion and I love that is gives the body a relaxed feeling...just a gentle signal that it is time to drift off:) And no hang over, dry mouth or constipation like with Benadryl. There is no tolerance gained to Melatonin, either. Benadryl, like Ambien and Klonopin, also has reduced effectiveness for insomnia when it is used chronically. There are also some prescription options (antidepressants that may help with insomnia) if you are interested in hearing about them.

Hi there...if you are thinking of something prescription...maybe Restoril or Halcion. These are both older benzodiazepines (like Klonopin) indicated for insomnia. The have a faster onset of shorter duration of action than Klonopin. I would not recommend adding these to Klonopin, but if you want to kick Klonopin to the curb adding Restoril or Halcion would be ok. If you still need Klonopin for a non-insomnia relate issue, consider taking that in the morning or early afternoon. If you want to stay away from benzodiazepines altogether, you could consider an antidepressant that also has an off-label indication for insomnia like Trazodone or Remeron (these have no tolerance or addictive potential).

Ok, Halcion is very similar to Restoril so I am not sure that will do it for you. I am not a huge fan of Dalmane because it has active metabolites that can hang around in your system for a long-time (half life of 100 hours). So this means you could have a hang over feeling for days after taking just one dose. If you don't like Klonopin, you probably won't like Dalmane. Belsomra is a new medication for insomnia...ever tried that? This medication is good because it has been study for long-term use and has no tolerance, addictive potential or withdrawal.

My pleasure...do you have anymore questions?

That would be ideal! The CR does have a longer duration than regular Ambien, so this might be good if you awake in the middle of the night.

I think we had a positive experience discussing your options for treating insomnia. If you think so, too, please take a moment to give me a positive rating before you sign off. Please know that my service to you does not end here. I will be happy to answer any follow-up questions regarding this issue...just come back to this thread and fire away!

Hello...I do not typically recommend antipsychotics for sleep unless you have another disorder that requires using an an antipsychotic. These medications come with a lot of side effects (high cholesterol, diabetes, muscle and movement disorders). That is very promising that you will be seeing someone who specializes in this. I would be interested in hearing about they can do for you.

It takes no time to build up. Restoril should work the first time you take it.

Yes, Restoril is FDA indicated for insomnia. 30mg is a high dose. You might be spent on benzodiazpines and may need another class of drug or a combination of two different classes of drugs.