clonazepam

is it ok to take .5mg of clonazepam for the rest of my life............its the only thing that gets rid of anxiety?

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

have you tried klonopin, its a great med and your body will not need more and more with it . its a long term med. is clonazepam is that ativan if so than no, its a short term drug and after awhile your body will demand more of it , it will stop working so you need more and more until you really on a large dose and its not good. if that is ativan. you need a long term med like klonopin check into it , good luck.

[Psyc786]

clonazepam and klonopin are exactly the same medication!

also, it is a benzodiazapine and it is a long-acting benzo as oppossed to a short-acting such as xanax or ativan but it is still a benzo so you will eventually build tolerance to it and your body will require more of it.  the benefit of a long acting benzo is that you will not build as much tolerance to it compared to xanax and also that it will be harder to get withdrawl (withdrawal) symptoms from it if it were to be stopped.

you can take it for the rest of your life but you may not even have to if you were to learn one of the many techniques to control your anxiety. 4mg daily is the maximum dose so you are no where near that :)

let me know if u have any more questions.

God bless,
Psyc786

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

no, your body will not need more of it , yes it is a benz and yes if you go off of it you will have to wing off of it , but no its not like ativan and your body will not want more of it . i know i have took both, ativan is not long term /klonopin is .

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

i see it is klonopin,you know i took .25 in am and .25 in pm it worked great for me i never had to move up to the .5, my mom takes the .5am and pm and shes been on it for years with no problems, so dont worry about it take it if it helps, if you can go down to .25 twice a day thats great, take it as long as you need to you can wing off of it , and yes i do agree with psyc its good to learn ways to deal with it  if you can , i did and am med free. good luck

[Slappy3243]

Why do people just assume that because it is a benzo, that people will build a tolerance to it? You have to be more specific. Yes, most people will build a tolerance to their hypnotic effects but there anxiolytic seen to remain intact for the long-term, even with Xanax. Have you tried Xanax XR? I have been on it daily for over a year and it helps me. I have not needed to increase the dose.

-Adam

[Psyc786]

here is why people assume that benzo lead to tolerance and dependence:

"Clonazepam may be habit forming. Physical and/or psychological dependence can occur, and withdrawal effects are possible if the medication is stopped suddenly after prolonged or high-dose treatment. Do not stop taking clonazepam suddenly without first talking to your doctor if you have been taking it continuously for more than 5 to 7 days. Your doctor may want to gradually reduce the dose."
(see link https://online.epocrates.com/u/10a846).  

it is true that there is less tolerance and dependence compared to a short-acting benzo. but it works on the exact same neurotransmitters (GABA) as does any other benzo and in theory can lead to tolerance and dependence.  

and i wouldn't let that stop me from using it as the benefits outweight the small risk :)

[mimimimi]

thank you for your replies x

[Slappy3243]

I agree that you must taper off slowly from any benzo like the article you quoted says. Howevever, I am speaking from a purely tolerance point of view. Many people have been on a short acting benzo like Xanax for many years without the need for a dose increase because its anxiolytic benefits remain. The longer acting benzos like Clonazepam and Valium also tend to cause more depressive symptoms than a short acting benzo like Xanax because they build up in the blood supply. That is another factor to consider when choosing a benzo as well. That was the case for me when I was on Klonopin.

Basically my point is that there have been studies done and a significant portion of mental health doctors have no problems giving benzos for the long-term because so many people do not build up a tolerance to the anxiolytic effects and can remain on a maintenance dose.

-Adam

[Psyc786]

good point. i guess to answer the main question, it is OK to take it for the long-term. its a great medication, and why not take it if it works :)

God bless,
Psyc786

[david85]

Slappy,
I have also been on xanax xr for about 8 months and have actually been able to decrease my dosage from 2mg to .5mg. The only side effects i have right now are some minor muscle twitches.I have to say Klonopin also made me depressed and didnt do anything for anxiety, same with Valium.Tried all of the ssris also made my anxiety worse.I'm also curious what dose of Xanax are you on slappy?Has it helped with your irregular heart beats?
~David

[Slappy3243]

David,

I answered your questions much more in depth via private message but the Xanax XR itself does not help the irregular heartbeats. Having less anxiety can prevent them. So, Xanax XR can indirectly help with the palpitations or PVCs by preventing or reducing your anxiety levels. There are some medications used to treat PVCs but I suggest avoiding them unless your PVCs are really interfering with your life. Toprol XL (a beta-blocker) can help to prevent PVCs. I tried it but it just made me tired.

-Adam

[mimimimi]

i dont want clonazepam to make me feel depressed!! im taking remeron for depression!

[Slappy3243]

That is why doctors will usually prescribe an anti-depressant while precribing Klonopin for the long-term. :)

[mystruggle]

in someone that is clinically depressed, klonopin my exhasberate the symptoms, but in someone without depression, this VERY rarely occurs.in the clinical tests on K, depression was noted a tad more than placebo and this number was very low for both placebo and Klonopin.

i think it's obvious to say that if someone's base problem is anxiety and that makes them feel a little bit depressed and the klonopin allevies the anxiety, the depression will probably subside also. i'm no doctor, but that is a very logical view point.

i spoke with my dr. about it and he said the same thing.

i also think that docs that put someone on an ssri also use klonopin to stunt the initial side effects of the ssri. if your anxious or depressed and take a med that  makes you anxious and irriated for a few weeks, you are less likely to keep taking it. being that these ssri's take a long time to work, they prescribe a benzo to relax the person till the ssri hopefully starts to work.


in my honest opinion, they say benzo's mask symptoms of axiety and panic. i truley believe that ssri's do the same thing. one one relaxes you thus less anxiety, one adds seratonin which encourges a better happier mood, which is masking if you ask me. both need tapering and can cause withdrawl (withdrawal) symptoms. both can lead to tolerance. just seems that ssri's have way more side effects.....again i'm speaking from a panic/anxiety standpoint.

depression is another story. you don't need relaxed really, you do need that boost of seratonin to help out. they do work for some people, but you have to find the right one for you, it's alot of trial and error from what i hear. againi think it masks the problem, unless it's purely a genetic or true chemical imbalance.

use what releives the symptoms, THEN GET TO WORK ON THE ROOT CAUSES!  get a therapist and get to work and learn some self help strategies like CBT and make lifestyle changes. diet, exercise etc....

[david85]

mystruggle,
I agree with you 100%, i dont think any medication is a cure whether your taking an ssri or benzo.I have a feeling that most docs prescribe antdepressants because there is more
money as the pharmaceutical companies push these docs to prescribe these new drugs such as effexor and cymbalta.Theres more money in these meds especially since many of these new medications do not come in generic.It was funny when my doc said that ssris are not habit forming unlike benzos. This is complete nonsense. If they were not habit forming then that means one day you can just stop taking the pills?I don't think so.