Hi all,
I hope everyone is doing well.
I have a problem.

I find this to be a huge problem for me lately.
I take Clonazepam....as some of you know.
It is not working for my anxiety very well at all.
I do not know why?
I get a small RX from my doc..so potency is not the prob..as I do order it as well..to have the proper dose.
Especially to have extra in case of emergencies.

But, it is no longer working for my anxiety attacks, panic attacks and GAD or agoraphobia...to name a few.....

I take 2mgs or 2 1/2 mgs when I feel the extreme panic coming on. Other than that, I do not taken anymore than that, (like no amount, just to take it during the day--only when I feel an attack coming on do I reach for the bottle)....my tolerance has decreased immensley.

But it just does not work???
Can anyone shed some light on this....??

Btw, Valium DOES work. Very well, I might add.

I will obviously order that.
But in the meantime, all I have is the Clonazepam only to help me...which it is not doing!
Thanks for your help guys, in advance!
Sharky

I think it could be a psychological thing, it was for me. I used to take the "banakins", that stits is always touting here, to sleep. I did this for 3 yrs, off and on, and it worked like nothing I'd ever taken. 1 yr ago, my local Dr. wrote me an Rx for the .5's, to be taken up to 3x/day, for anxiety. I took probably 5-6/week. When my insomnia started to get bad and the Ambien he gave me stopped working he told me to take 1-1.5mg of the klonopins with the Ambien, they did nothing.

I think because I had started to associate them with day time use I tricked my brain into believing they weren't so potent anymore. Now I can take 4mgs and not get that knock out effect, they've lost their mystique.

Maybe something similar happened with you and your klonies. If valium works get some from your Dr. or an IOP or NROP/ROP. It's important that you have absolute faith that those meds are going to work, when you reach for that bottle, in a time of need.

That's just my opinion, hope it's helpful.

Mr.Charlie,
That actually makes a helk of a lot of sense.
I take them mostly at bedtime to help me sleep with a 1/2 of a Melatonin.
Except when I need to take them during the day for the reasons I said in my post.

I think you may be onto something.
When I started taking them to help me sleep....they stopped really helping me during the day.
That makes sense. To me now ..they are a sleep medication..not an anxiety med.

I'm at the very least, until I have valium, going to stop taking them at bedtime.
thank you for your insight and thoughtfulness.
..as well, you make sense..so that certainly helps!!!

Sharky

Shark, that is a very typical reaction with Kl. Please call your Dr. asap and tell him/her what is happening. You are going through the adjustment of the drug, and you need to raise the level of the drug in you system. you are actually, in effect, experiencing "withdrawal", even if you are still taking the dr. prescribed amount. Do not just quit on it or start taking it erratically. Klonopin's effectiveness depends on an equal discharge of the chemical, otherwise you just get tired. In my opinion, you have not found your "level" yet. 4 mg/day at intervals is a very common and effective dose.

cb

Hey SharkGirl, I take it as well.It is working great for me,but I did have to have my PCP up the dose a bit.Klonopin works well when you take it everyday at the same time.It should be taken on a regular basis in the dose appropriate for you.For example,I take it 3 times a day.As soon as I wake up,at 6pm and again at midnight.As tolerance builds,the dose should be increased gradually.If you have tried this and it is not working at all,try a different Benzo all together.Or, maybe take a small dose of lorazepam for breakthrough anxiety/panic along with the klonopin.Your best bet is to ask your Dr.Tell them that it isn't working like it used to.Good luck.

have you tried Xanax...

I sure have.
They work like magic for all of my anxiety issues!!!!!

Magic, I tell you.

Prob with them is the addictive qualities and short half life.

I tapered slowly..(still am-for as long as it takes--just not on enough to actually help with the anxiety) off of them...but I cannot depend on them at all...or I will go through the same horrible withdrawal pain if I run out of them.

If I knew for certain that I'd never run out, then I would definitley take them!...and I know they would be the only benzo I would need.

Again..they are magic little pills for anxiety..the best there is.

Sharky

I may just ask my doc to switch to xanax..that way I will not run out, and not have to deal with xanax w/d's ever again! That's a thought, I wonder why I never thought of asking him before? Aside from the fact that he's anal and a jer*!!

For me, Xanax never worked. It made my body relax but my mind was still racing at 1000mph. Ativan is my "turn to" drug of choice for anxiety, sleep disturbances and, to some extent, even depression. That's probably because it was the first benzo I was prescribed, in 1991, for anxiety.

Ativan has never caused psychological addiction, for me, either. I know this is going off-topic for a sec, but could someone please explain what it is that makes Xanax so addictive and "trendy"? It seems to be nearly everyone's benzo of choice, lately.

Ativan makes me relaxed, at the 1mg level. Slightly euphoric, at the 2mg level. Just plain tired and sometimes euphoric, at levels of 3mg and up. Is this the same for others and Xanax? I don't want to steal 4sharkgirl's thread, so please PM me with any thoughts on this.

4sharkgirl you mentioned that Valium works for you. Is it as addictive for you? I know how hard it can be to have to take a med that you can easily let spiral out of control. If Xanax does that to you shouldn't you try something else before tempting yourself like that? I'm not trying to be a smartaz, just trying to help. Please don't take that the wrong way, but I've been berated before for saying less.

Hope you find something that allows you to function, stress free soon.

xanax was far from magic. Paranoia, disorientation, need I say more? Not for the meek.
CB

you know if you are addicted. You will stockpile. you will obsess. and you will be sorry
CB

Exactly!
I don't bother. Am I addicted to valium?
I think that after taking benzos for more than 15 years, I am seriously dependant on them and I am not going to stop taking them, nor should I.
I have enough medical conditions that warrant the use of benzos. When I wrote the post about Xanax being "magic" to me..I was very serious that it was, in terms of how quickly it worked and how effectively...but I was also being "dreamy" about it...as they were just too frightening for me.
Valium works for me very well. Ativan does too. Many of the benzos do.
I think the main point is why is the Clonazepam, that was working wonders for all of my anxiety issues, no longer helpful?
I think I understand now....
...another thing is, I took a Clonazepam 2mgs, this a.m. and I also took 10mgs of Diazepam..the combination worked perfectly. So, I think I have my answer.
Plus, I'm sure that if I substitued the valium for an Ativan, I'd have the same honestly beneficial effect.

So, I have my answer. For the time being, at least, I need to substitute another benzo in along with the Clonazepams.

Thanks for your help guys!
It was very appreciated,
Sharky

Glad you've found something that works for you. I've found that if I want to use Ativan to sleep, the whole night, I have to combine it with a small amount of Valium or Clonazepam. I'm not sure how safe combining them is but I'm still here. There's no shame in admitting that you need to take a pill, for the rest of your life, in order to live your life.

I was taking clonazepam for a while and it really helped, but I had the .5MG and my doc told me to take up to 3 as needed. But all the sudden it stopped working. I am going through a divorce which is in my opinion one of the most stressful thing one can go through and the klonopin wasnt working, so my doc prescribed my 1MG XANAX and it is helping more than the klonopin, but lately I have been taking up to 3 or 4 a day and I am not one to take xanax much for the fear of addiction but this divorce mess has took a toll and I have been taking it daily.

I am worried it will not work like the klonopin eventually. I did find the xanax to work better if I took 2mgs at the same time instead of 1MG then an hour or 2 later another.