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#81810 - 11/29/04 05:39 PM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Newbie
Registered: 06/11/04
Posts: 40
Loc: a nice place to live
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#81814 - 12/05/04 06:00 PM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Member
Registered: 04/13/04
Posts: 135
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Re: Klonopin for pain. I was originally prescribed this medication for anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress (they both amount to the same thing: paralyzing anxiety), but I've found that they also do help me with some awful lower back pain. Also, I get attacks of vertigo a couple of times a year, and recently had a bad bout, and I found that the benzo helped lessen the vertigo. It wasn't until I went onto the internet to do some research on inner ear problems that I found out benzos are sometimes prescribed to treat these conditions. So now I understand how they've helped me cope with vertigo and when that improves, just the general dizziness that remains. If I don't take the clonazepam, I'll experience more severe dizziness. I need to go get my ears checked, but in the meantime, this medication is helping me with my anxiety and also my inner ear problems...and my back pain. I suppose with my back, the benzo relaxes the muscles, and keeps them from seizing up. Makes sense. So I guess in some ways benzos are helpful for managing pain if the medication hinders whatever it is that's causing pain in the first place.
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#81815 - 12/05/04 11:14 PM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Veteran
Registered: 01/14/04
Posts: 453
Loc: New America
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How long have you been on the clonazepam? If it's only been a few days like your post states (this means all benzos, not just clonazepam) then quitting shouldn't be a problem.. but I ask this for 2 reasons: first, if you've been taking it for more than a few weeks you REALLY shouldn't just stop taking it abruptly. Among other things, the drug helps control seizures so if you quit cold-turkey you are left with a higher chance of having a seizure until your body readjusts and your chemistry returns to "normal." A second reason I ask is that the amnesia effect & also the morning hangover of sorts should go away after a few weeks of daily use. I used to use benzos to help with my insomnia but after 15+ years of being on them daily that aspect is long gone. For most folks, a few weeks' daily useage is long enough for this to happen and they return for the most part to normal functioning in the morning and throughout the day. Benzos may have a general negative affect on your ability to recall things, especially when you first start taking them, but for the most part it's minor (unless you're talking about benzos made for amnesia such as Versed which is used, among other reasons, so that you can be awake during an operation and not remember any of it ( generic name midazolam: an injectable or tablet form of benzodiazepine (trade name Versed) useful for sedation and for reducing pain during uncomfortable medical procedures http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn ).
The grogginess & poor lack of memory recall should fade unless you keep upping your dose or are hyper-sensitive to the med (or your dosage is too high and you probably need to inform your doc & see if your dose is just too high or whether a different med might work better for you. Anyway you look at it, if it's affecting your memory that badly and/or you continue struggling with daily hangovers then something needs to change or at least be investigated.
As to quitting all meds, i'd absolutely run that past your doc before doing such a thing... you may not like taking meds all the time, but if you stop the wrong meds you may end up in worse shape than you already are which is a Very Bad Thing indeed. Herbal therapy can work, depending on the herbs being used of course (i'm a medical herbal user myself, so I have a little knowledge on what is effective and what's bunk.) For me, the combo between my herbal med/suppliment and my clonazepam and pain meds works like a miracle. The herbs do wonders for regulating my system & sleep cycle and seems to have a synergistic effect with both my benzos and pain meds. Or maybe it's just placebo at work and i'm falling for it. Regardless, it works miracles for me. GOOD LUCK with the water therapy though.... I am not sure of the specifics, but somehow I don't think it'd do me much good other than maybe to wash out a wound or to kill my thirst. If I were going to attempt this, I think i'd give it a shot BEFORE finishing off the last of the meds so if it turns into another "looks great on paper but not in practice" situation you still have your meds to fall back on for relief. Sure beats relying on an untested idea that, if it backfires, you're going to be hurting badly or worse. Good luck to you and everyone facing these decisions because we all know it ain't easy.....
Personally, I'm hoping for a delivery from p-w very soon. Been almost 3 weeks, give or take day or 2, which is the longest i've had to wait for these folks. Although, int'l mail is notoriously slow during the christmas season (yeah, call me un-pc... I actually said Christmas and I don't care) so i wouldn't be surprised if it takes 45 days or longer. I sure hope not otherwise i'll be up that proverbial creek...
Rev. Listvøer (that's me! Look it up sometime)
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#81817 - 04/07/05 11:23 AM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Newbie
Registered: 01/14/04
Posts: 28
Loc: Southwest
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Can someone please tell me how 2mg clonazepam compares to 10mg diazepam. I have read that it has a shorter half-life, but it has been years since I have taken it myself. Dr. seems to think I can take the 2mg. Does this sound right to anyone? I take 5mg to 10mg valium at night as needed, and during the day only when I am having excessive anxiety. They act in a subtle manner (for me) and I can function as necessary. Should I start with half? I don't want to be knocked for a loop (Xanax bars do that to me and I don't like it). Thanks for any advice...I think you guys are great and pay WAY more attention to questions than my doc. Wishing that some DBers would go into medical practice  . Have a pain/anxiety free day! Thanks, BB
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#81823 - 04/28/05 02:48 PM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Journeyman
Registered: 02/24/04
Posts: 51
Loc: D.C.
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Quote:
Quote:
Unless its insulin, nothing should be taken your entire life!
This has to be one of the most ignorant statements I have ever read. As skytalker said, there are MANY conditions which require medication for life. Thyroid is a great example.
D.
Wonderful, I'm glad you were paying enough attention to nitpick my comments and completely ignore the sentiment behind them. How about...medications should not be taken for your entire life unless its for a chronic disorder--I felt my example was a pretty no sh*t statement. Feel better? Let's include diabetes, thyroid conditions, Wilson's disease (look it up), cystic fibrosis, small cell osteosarcoma, etc. There are thousands of diseases! Jeez--I just picked one! Calm down...tranquilo...
 Cheers, P
_________________________
The last time somebody said, "I find I can write much better with a word processor," I replied, "They used to say the same thing about drugs."-Roy Blount Jr.
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#81824 - 05/07/05 09:44 AM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Member
Registered: 02/10/05
Posts: 121
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Quote:
On the subject of weird side effects from taking Klonopin, mine just happened to include compulsive spending, if that makes any sense at all.
I was taking 1 mg Alprazolam prior to that, and I guess because my doctor was coming under heat for prescribing it too much (I wasn't the only patient she was prescribing it to), she decided to switch me to 2 mg Klonopin instead. I was taking half in the morning and half at night, as directed by my doc. That lasted for about a month, and in that month, I managed to drain most of my bank account and maxing out my credit cards ordering stuff off of ebay that I most definitely didn't need. That's not even getting into the strange, vivid dreams I was having while I was on it, either.
After coming out of my Klonopin induced haze, I went back to her and demanded to be put back on Alprazolam. She was pretty accomidating with that for me, but then I lost my job/medical insurance. Life's a "female dog" when you're dealing with anxiety disorder, let me tell ya.
~Eeyore
I can't believe you said that! Boy, did I have a thing for spending! That's what happened to me, too. That side effect can make a person pretty poor, pretty fast! Haha But seriously, It got me into alot of trouble. Once off of it, I was fine.
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#81829 - 09/17/05 06:08 PM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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GRAND Pooh-Bah
Registered: 04/02/02
Posts: 2113
Loc: Southwest U.S.
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Quote:
I'm currently taking 1 mg of Klonopin in the morning and 1 mg of Klonopin in the evening (at bedtime). I've only been on it for about 10 days now.
My question is, how long will I be able to stay at this dose without becoming extremely depressed/agitated - and will I be able to stay at this dose for at least the next several months without increasing it?
I use it as an adjunctive therapy with an antidepressant for anxiety and insomnia (in place of the antipsychotic Risperdal which I used to take for my insomnia). Anyone who has been on Klonopin long term before with positive results, please let me know.
"Several months"? Maybe forever. Some people don't develop tolerance to it, even with many years of use. It seems to be different from all the other benzos in that respect.
I've been on it for six years at the same dose: 1 mg BID. Before the Klonopin i was on Ativan 1 mg PRN, but soon developed anticipatory anxiety and a psychiatrist switched me to twice-daily dosing, which is perfect because i never notice it wearing off and it causes no sedation or euphoria. It's like being wrapped in an invisible warm and fuzzy anti-anxiety comfort blanket. The only thing i need to be careful about is alcohol, because it makes me a cheap drunk.
Klonopin made me feel sleepy for the first few days but that soon went away for good. The drug has been a life-saver for me. It prevents the anxiety from escalating and it has no detrimental effects on ability to think or remember things. In fact, just the opposite. Because of the lack of anxiety, i'm able to concentrate and remember things better than ever.
The longer you're on Klonopin at a steady dose, the easier it should be to find new doctors to prescribe it. I'll probably be on it for life and that's OK. However, doctors and nurses can be totally arrogant when it comes to controlled substances. It was a small pleasure, but i did get some satisfaction that they had to eat crow when they called in that second 30-day scrip to the pharmacy just ten days after the nurse yelled at me on the phone like i was just another lying drug seeker saying "NO MORE BENZOS FOR YOU!" after they give me a scrip for a measly 7 days worth and i then had the gall to have the pharmacy fax them a refill request before it ran out. Oh yeah??????
If you're on Klonopin long-term and they become hinky about it in any way, get a copy of your records ASAP because in my case a simple chart error turned into a major problem with all kinds of aggravation for them, and me being banned from treatment there. All these investigations are probably going to cost them more in wasted staff time than all my charges for treatment there. That's OK. Their antidepressants were unbearable poisons.
So ... if these people were so ridiculous about continuing to prescribe me the least abusable benzo tranquilizer, what are my chances of getting a prescription for an antidepressant medication that will actually lift my mood instead of poisoning me? About 0%, i think.
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#81831 - 09/17/05 06:46 PM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Veteran
Registered: 01/14/04
Posts: 453
Loc: New America
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Very true... I was/am on klonipin, but recently thought i'd try to switch over to Valium again (due to $ and logistical problems) and the usual issues seem to be coming back, such as that old anticipatory anxiety and the memory affection, so I fully intend to switch back to klonipin as soon as I can find another source that doesn't charge an arm and a leg or require me to buy and deposit friggin' GOLD in an an account thru an online gold broker! eGold, and I thought WU was a pain  . At the moment the best supposedly reliable source for clonazepam (the ingredient in Klonipin/Rivotril of course - clonazepam) that i've found charges about $150-$175 once shipping/W.U. fees are factored in. That's for 150 Indian-made generic tabs with which I have had terrible luck potency-wise. I had been using Judy at pharmacy wholesaler with the much better deal of 300 roche-brand 2mg tabs for around $160 so it kills me to pay twice the price for half the meds that seem to be half the strength to boot. Switching from Klonipin to Valium is interesting, as i've been on so many different benzos over the years that my system is apparently in a complete state of anarchy when it comes to benzo tolerance. Valium mostly does the trick, as long as I take about 20-30mg of Valium in substitute of 2-3 mg of Klonipin, but too often I feel the great urge to take 'just 1 more' valium because I still feel just a little "off kilter" (some of you know what I mean i'm sure). But if I take just .5 - 1 mg of klonipin from my small emergency supply that urge quickly goes away. Now I remember why I like klonipin and stayed with it for so long after trying just about everything - xanax, valium, ativan, mogadon, bromazepam, serax, rohyypnol, and more such as triazolam and midazolam which pretty much just knocks you off your feet. With the klonipin everything seems stable with no desire to add to the dosage. On the rare occasion that happens I feel stupid because it doesn't feel any different except that it might make me sleepy so IMO i just wasted hard-acquired meds needlessly. My advice to anyone 'fighting' with benzos would be to try klonipin as the consensus seems to be that it's the least tempting of the bunch. IME I would have to call it the opposite of xanax in that regard  ! Good luck to all... I can't wait to finish this latest Valium order and get back onto klonipin again! I loathe the idea of depending on a med for any long-term period, but if it has to be one, and a benzo at that, klonipin seems like the safest option for me. L
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#81833 - 11/02/05 10:26 AM
Re: Clonazepam - Klonopin
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Member
Registered: 06/20/03
Posts: 158
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I have a very nice doctor and called him the other day and told him about my sleeping/anxiety issues increasing and he called in a prescription for klonopin the same day.Anyway, with my limited experience with benzos, I like klonopin the best so far.
I'm also on Lamictal (for mood swings/possible bipolar) and 400 mg a day of bupropion (wellbutrin)
I've tried xanax (which is crazy and makes you want to take it all the time because you feel so good, even though you're totally out of touch with reality)
I've tried valium (works well, but still made me feel a little out of reality)
Tried ativan (horrible, did nothing for me)
Klonopin for three days now and I've liked it a lot. I take .5 at night and have found it much more potent than expected. Takes a little longer to kick in, allows me to maintain normal brain function and fades out of the body slowly. I sleep nicely, but don't wake up in a total haze, and find that it controls my anxiety and extreme irritability during the day because of the long half life....doctor told me to take another .5 or 1mg if needed during the day, but to be reasonable. All in all, it seems to be the best combo with all the different drugs I'm on right now. Daytime mood and energy has actually improved during the day, once the initial grogginess wears off. I'm 23 years old now and in college, so I use my memory and concentration every day and have had no problems. It sucks being 23 and likely being on at least one of these drugs for the rest of my life, likely the lamictal....I think its saved my life, pharmaceutical companies aren't so evil. But, thats another thread.
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