Side effects of klonopin

[LorrieNY]

My daughter is currently taking a combination of depakote, lamictal, and abilify for a mood disorder.  However, her doctor feels the overwhelming problem with her is an anxiety disorder that is not being addressed by the current meds.

The doctor wants to ween her off the lamictal completely and start her on klonopin wafers.  I am concerned about the "drowsiness" side effects.  Do these eventually go away?  Also, since patients can become dependent on this med - is it good for long term use?

[LorrieNY]

My daughter will be 12 next mo.  She did try buspar for 6 mos but it seemed completely ineffective.  She can't take ssri's due to her mood fluidity, not sure what paxil is.  I guess I was just hoping to give her the klonopin (without making her a zombie) just long enough for her to have a reprieve from her constant high level of anxiety.  If she can feel peaceful and calm for a period of time perhaps it would be enough for her to regain some confidence and be able to build on coping skills.  Thanks for your input

[suzi-q]

May I ask how old your daughter is?  When I first started suffering with depression and anxiety, I was put on paxil and depakote.  I took the klonopin as needed even though it is mostly used for long term.  I know that the drowsiness does go away and as I stated, it can be used for long term, however you definitely become dependent and need to be weaned off.  Also, has your doctor said anything about buspar???  Now I take Paxil and buspar (2x a day) and Klonopin when needed (which is hardly never).  I weaned off the depakote after one year.