PLMD Clonazepam alternative for Sleep Problems

[Ganadaramabasa]

Hi, I have PLMD without RLS.

On days I can sleep, I sleep with no medications. I manage to get about 3 hours of deep sleep (thanks to weighted blanket), but for the remaining 5 hours or so, fragmented sleep due to PLMD. I plan to visit and ask a doctor abroad for gabapentin or pregabalin in the future. I cannot get them now because no doctors in my country will prescribe them for me.

On days I cannot sleep, I am taking 0,5mg of Clonazepam.

Before I get my hands on gabapentin or pregabalin, is there any alternative sleeping pills that are safe for people with PLMD to take? Are they all benzo type pills?

I have read somewhere that Clonazepam will hasten dementia so I want to stay away from it.

Thank you, and reply would be greatly appreciated.

[SueJohnson]

The problem with clonazepam is it has a long half life of 40 hours. Not knowing what country you live in, it is hard to advise you since some aren't available in some countries, so I will ignore that for now. No they are not all benzodiazepines. The ones I will mention aren't. I take Lunesta which I would recommend but it is not available in the UK. Zopiclone is used by many in the UK but is not available in the US. Then there is Ambien and Ativan.

[Ganadaramabasa in reply to SueJohnson]

Hi Sue, thank you for you reply.

I read from Bard the main difference between Lunesta and Zolpidem is the half-life (Lunesta (6~8 hours) and Zolpidem (2~3 hours)), with Lunesta being beneficial for those staying alseep through the night and Zolpidem being beneficial for those trouble falling alseep.

What is your reason for taking Lunesta over Zolpidem?

Are you currently taking gabapentin/pregabalin with Lunesta?

Are you taking Lunesta daily or on a need basis?

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I plan to get either pregabalin or gabapentin, and zolpidem only on nights I have trouble sleeping. Does pregabalin/gabapentin help stay alseep through the night? (without waking up constantly from PLMD?)

[SueJohnson in reply to Ganadaramabasa]

I took Zolpidem but didn't sleep through the night so switched to Lunesta . Gabapentin and pregabalin do help with sleeping but not as much as sleeping pills. I take 1500 mg gabapentin plus 2 mg of Lunesta every night. I have pulsatile tinnitus which is so loud I can't sleep which is why I take Lunesta.

[Seaux]

I didn't/don't have PLMD so don't know if or how well it works. It didn't work very well at all for me and my RLS.

[Hoochybaby]

Hi my experience with pregabalin are mixed they do help with my rls but my sleep patterns are horrendous I'm lucky if I get a few hours the side effects are weigh gain and worst of all is my balance I'm all over the shop walking down the street if I'm drunk!