Can Discontinuing Klonopin And Gabapentin Cause Sleeplessness And Defocused Attention While On Trazodone?

Posted on Tue, 12 Sep 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 12 Sep 2017 Answered on

Wed, 4 Oct 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I have found that the combination of trazodone 50 mgs and gabapentin 150 mgs is extremely helpful correcting the sleep problems cause by parnate 20-30 mgs. I also take Lamictal 100 mg and klonopin .25 mgs (at night) both of which I have taken for 5 years or more.

Last night I only took my trazodone (no gabapentin and no klonopin) My sleep wasn't as good and I felt unfocused and strange later in the monring...HOWEVER the avoidance of responsibilities and desire to drink and smoke that increasingly would come at the end of the day was not there today.

I assumed these behaviors (apathy and highly focused pleasure-seeking) were products of the parnate. They definitely fire up after my last dose of parnate, but the only change was the omission of gabapentin and klonopin.

tonight I stayed late at the office, did some long-neglected tasks, and had no cravings to drink bourbon and smoke into the night, as I have been doing regularly now for weeks.

Are the two working together to make these symptoms worse? Is Klonopin or gabapentin the cultprit? What are the concerns with stopping gabapentin after 4 months?

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhary (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It is safe to quit gabapentin slowly

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.

I read your query and understand your concerns.

First of all I like to inform you that it is always better to stop medications in gradual manner rather than cold turkey unless there are serious side effects or something similar. Regarding gabapentin I will request you to go down by 25 mg every week so there is proper care of sleep and no withdrawal effects.

Regarding the last night poor quality of sleep I assume that it was effect of life style (more work, working till late night) rather than gabapentin alone. So it is important to take care of your working schedule.

If you ask me about the gabapentin and klonopin I think gabapentin was more likely cause for problems as dose of klonopin is very low to cause any side effects.

I hope this helps you.
Feel free to write back to me if you have more questions.
Thanks and regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana