Clonazepam - Klonopin

Klonopin, a benzodiazepine, is available as scored tablets with a K-shaped perforation containing 0.5 mg, 1 mg or 2 mg clonazepam, and unscored tablets with a K-shaped perforation containing 1 mg or 2 mg of clonazepam. Each tablet also contains lactose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose and corn starch, with the following colorants: 0.5 mg: FD&C yellow no. 6 lake; 1 mg: FD&C blue no. 1 lake and FD&C blue No. 2 lake.

Chemically, clonazepam is 5-(o-Chlorophenyl)-1,3-dihydro-7-nitro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one. It is a light yellow crystalline powder. It has a molecular weight of 315.72. The molecular formula is C15H10ClN3O3.
Seizure Disorders: Clonazepam is useful alone or as an adjunct in the treatment of the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (petit mal variant), akinetic and myoclonic seizures. In patients with absence seizures (petit mal) who have failed to respond to succinimides, clonazepam may be useful.

In some studies, up to 30% of patients have shown a loss of anticonvulsant activity, often within 3 months of administration. In some cases, dosage adjustment may reestablish efficacy.


DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

Adults: The initial dose for adults should not exceed 1.5 mg/day divided into 3 doses. Dosage may be increased in increments of 0.5 to 1 mg every 3 days until seizures are adequately controlled or until side effects preclude any further increase. Maintenance dosage must be individualized for each patient depending upon response. Maximum recommended daily dose is 20 mg.

The use of multiple anticonvulsants may result in an increase of depressant adverse effects. This should be considered before adding clonazepam to an existing anticonvulsant regimen.

Pediatric Patients: Clonazepam is administered orally. In order to minimize drowsiness, the initial dose for infants and children (up to 10 years of age or 30 kg of body weight) should be between 0.01 and 0.03 mg/kg/day but not to exceed 0.05 mg/kg/day given in 2 or 3 divided doses. Dosage should be increased by no more than 0.25 to 0.5 mg every third day until a daily maintenance dose of 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg of body weight has been reached, unless seizures are controlled or side effects preclude further increase. Whenever possible, the daily dose should be divided into 3 equal doses. If doses are not equally divided, the largest dose should be given before retiring.

Clonazepam is used for the treatment of seizures. Notify your physician if you are pregnant or nursing. This medication may cause dizziness, drowsiness, or blurred vision; use caution while driving or operating hazardous machinery. Do not take any other sedating drugs or drink alcohol while taking clonazepam. Do not change the dose or stop taking clonazepam without talking with your physician. This medication may be habit forming. Seizures or withdrawal symptoms may occur after you stop taking it. This medication should be taken with meals to avoid stomach upset.

I have been wondering something about klonopin and benzos in general and was wondering if anyone could answer this .


I worry about tolerance/dependence so i use 1.5 mg every 3 days ( on the 3rd day ) , Is it worth doing this to try and avoid dependence or does dependence come from Cumulative usage rather then regularity or are both factors involved ?


Thanks

both factors are involved and at that rate, you will definitely get tolerant/dependent; especially considering the long half-life of clonazepam (klonopin). 1.5mg is also a pretty high dose, especially for a non-tolerant person.

The half life of Klonopin is 16-20 hours. If the poster is only taking Klonopin every 3rd day, physical dependence is not a concern. Psychological dependence may a different matter since that is an individual thing.

Of all the benzodiazepines, clonazepam is the safest for long term use. As for a correct dosage....depending on the disorder treated, usually between 1mg to 3mg daily for panic is the norm lately and up to 10mg for seizure disorder is not to uncommon. For someone with mild to moderate anxiety/panic .5mg two to three times a day will usually do the trick.

Good gracious! I'm haviong a had time finding a benzo that aggrees with me. I've tried Xanax, but that knocks me out. So, I deciued to try klonipin . Whoah did that make me feel seriously messed up. Maybe I took too much (2mg). Should I try a lower dose. And, I felt the after effects well into the next day. Can anyone help!!
I mainly need this need for anxiety when doing major presentations......

Hi Bluewonder,

2 mg sounds like a pretty high dosage, i can imagine why you felt messed up! I have severe GAD, panic disorder, and agoraphobia, and i take 1 mg of Klonopin per day...half in the morning, and half at night. It doesn't make me feel messed up, dopey, or sleepy at all, and controls all the panic/anxiety stuff very well for me.

If i can be of further help, please feel free to PM me.
Best wishes, Tyler

Hi there.
2 mg of Clonazepam (especially taken in the day time)is quite a high dose. I take 0.5 micrograms, sometimes up to 1mg no higher, at bed time , for RLS and spasticity associated with my multiple sclerosis.

If you have to take it again, especially in the day, I would take perhaps 0.25 mcgs, up to 0.5 mcgs. You can cut the 2mg tablet into four, or get the 0.5 mcg tablet. It's available in 0.5 mcgs strength, as well as the 2mg tablet.
Better luck next time & hope this helps.
Dee

Thanks for the responses. I've cut all my pills in half and will begin taking half of those (1/4) during the day. Geez....I just don't want to feel like that again and I realized that I took too much. Those little pills can be deceiving.
Thanks for all your help!!!!

i just got a script for restoril. i have tried ambien, xanax 2mgs and simply sleep. i cannot sleep through the night( thay's why im still up. i just took a xanie bar and hopes that works. ambiens used to be the charm. also, trarazone worked for a while. any suggestions for a sleep deprived mother. at least it's summer and the alarm doesn't go off.please help. there's got to be somethinh i didn't try yet!!!!

Thanks,

ann

Hi Anniegirl,

I don't know if you've actually tried the Restoril yet, but i found it worked really well for me. I typically don't take any kind of sleep aid, but a while back a close family member passed away, and i had a LOT of trouble sleeping. My regular doc prescribed Ambien for me, and it was just way too intense for me. I called her back and asked for something less powerful, and she prescribed Restoril, which did work very well for me during the week that i took them.

Anyway, hope that helps, and if not, hope you find something that does!

Best wishes,
Tyler

I just started the klonopin...WOW is all I can say. I slept through the night, but I think I over did it on the amount, since I am not used to it.
I have 1mg and I ended up taking two. I think from now on, I will use the pill splitter and half them.

Live and learn!

I'm using klonopin for sleep/GAD as well. Its mostly for the sleep, for some reason my doctor considered restoril and then went with the klonopin. I think it might have to do with the half life, because I notice that taking klonopin at night helps me sleep and controls my anxiety for a good part of the next day. Like trixxie, I was surprised by the potency. I was used to ativan and took the 1mg pill the first time and was a little loopy. Also, it takes a little longer to set it, which makes it deceptive. Now I split it in half and take .5mg when I feel like I'm not going to be getting any sleep that night. So far I like it a lot.....hated ativan, think its a worthless drug.

My experience is as follows, xanax is very over whelming when you take 2mg off the bat and majority of people get tired versus having some high off it. I think Klonopin is the medium benzo at 1mg it calms me just right with a very comfortable feeling of function. Now the next step down I would say is Ativan as for as strength for size.

Not a real world conversion but my seat of the pants feel is
1mg xanax=2mg klonopin
1mg klonopin=2mg Ativan
To get some idea at least my experience.

I prefer Klonopin over all. Very comfortable feeling along with function at my anxiety levels. Mind you if you have no anxiety, you are getting hit harder than a person with anxiety, so keep this in mind wwith personal reviews.

On average, about 40 hours.

It's probably propranolol, or some other beta-blocker. Nephro's male, by the way, though he is somewhat pretty. From certain angles.

actually, according to tests done by "dr. bob"
10mg of diazepam (valium) is equal to
.5 mg of alprazolam (xanax) is equal to
.25 mg of clonazepam (klonopin)


http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/bzd.html

That is elimination half-life,.. For purposes of total elimination. -- More accurately 19-50hours is a better range. Or 2 full days to be 'safe'.

For pragmatic half-life information, for effects, and such. Klonopin peaks, in serum levels at ~2hours, Sometimes between 2-3hours. If you dose everyday, it reaches a steady-state in the body after 5-7 days. It has a 'building block' effect in therapeutic relevance due to the long half-life.

So for the people trying to pass drug tests,. Give yourself 50 hours, or 2 FULL days. Three to be safe if you've been taking it for years everyday. (If that is the case, just have your prescription ready to show them). [Also coupled with the fact that acute benzo withdrawal is VERY dangerous and quite unnerving]

For others curious about how the drug is effecting them, or will effect them. The Serum levels, and steady-state information is most pertinent.

It is a very good Benzo,.. I would argue the best/safest Benzo on the market. (Least abuse potential compared to the short acting medications)

klonopin has a medium half life. Xanax a short one and valium a long one. But they can all be addictive if taken incorrectly.

Hey all: I just got a scrip for Clonazepam to help me sleep. I've had valium/diazepam before. Is it comparable to that? I'm assuming it's more potent since it's only 1mg. Anybody able to tell me how it's like/unlike valium?
Thanks!

I sure wish I could find a doctor who would RX me benzos for sleep. The most refreshing sleep I have had in my adult life was when I was given ativan years ago. But, the docs always tell me that is isn't used for sleep.

The main difference I noticed between valium and klonopin is that valium also seems to work as a mellow muscle relaxer.

Thanks for your opinion GtheB!

I have not been able to find anything about the half-life of klonopin in relation to dosage. If a person is taking a higher dosage, will elimination take longer?

Hello all,

I have taken Xanax and Valium for GAD for significant time period, my doctor has recently had me on Xanax and am trying to taper down my dosage, so he gave me a presciption of Klonopin to try, given the longer half life. I like the Klonopin, but have built up a tolerance to all benzo's, so none of them make me feel loopy, just helps me manage anxiety.

My question is this,

I have developed some skin rashes, don't know if it has anything to do with Klonopin, my doctor says no and since none of the other benzos did, I tend to think this has nothing to do with Klonopin, just a coincidince.

Has anyone else experienced skin rashes/hives with Klonopin?

Thanks,

JM

My Dr. put me on 1mg. Clonazepam several months ago to help me get to sleep and possibly help my muscles relax more to aid in reducing my pain. Well it never worked as far as the pain goes and it seems to not work with getting to sleep anymore, so I just quit taking it Friday night. I finally fell asleep for a few hours at 5am and felt like sh*t yesterday, last night I fell asleep early and woke up early and felt [censored]*y this morning, but seem to be snapping out of it. I hope the worst is over and I'm surprised at how dependent I had become on it.

Wow, after reading this post i am somewhat concerned. I had my F2F appoinrtment last Friday. I uusally take Soma for muscle spasms but the Dr. i saw said he didnt like that medication. HE said for sleep issues and muscle spasms he wanted me to try
klonipin.
HE said that we would talk again at my i month consult to see how i was doing. THe script said 1/2 to 2 tablets at bedtime. He told me to see if it made a difference. I like the fact that he is willing to try other things. HE also said that if i didnt feel like taking the meds he rx'ed that was up to me. He said i was the ony who knew my body best, he was just trying to find something that works. HE also told me that if i didnt like it or it didnt work, we could switch back to the Soma.

I am for whatever makes me better so i am trying the klonopin. Only been 3rd day. I take 1/2 at night. I still wake up to use the bathroom two or three times a night. but i do feel the sleep i am gettng is better. I just dont like the foggy head i have first thing for awhile.

Will that decrease with time?

Dixie: It did for me. Your experience sounds a bit different than mine. I slept thru the night when I had previously had to get up once to pee. Maybe you should ask your Dr. if it's okay to take a whole 1mg. per night??

This forum is not to discuss suppliers. This thread is to discuss Clonazepam - Klonopin and not the companies offering it.

Thanks for your support

This medication seems to do wonders not only for anxiety, but for mild depression as well. I don't believe it is marketed for that, but it works for me.