klonopin

[summer7799]

My cardiologist gave me Klonopin to help with anxiety. I'm scheduled for an echocardiogram in 2 weeks. Not sure if something is wrong with my heart or if its anxiety. I have never taken anything like this before. It says its a seizure medicine! That's scary. Does anyone here take this drug? What does it do? Thanks for any comments!

[JGF25]

Hang in there...if it turns out to be anxiety there are other treatments than just klonopin.  There are the SSRIs and the SNRIs and cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) that all can be used to help combat anxiety.  I take an SNRI and klonopin and I'm doing great...just like the above people.  So the key is to KNOW that you can get better if it turns out to be anxiety.  

[summer7799]

Thanks everyone for your comments! I took a half pill at work today because I couldn't stand the chest tightness and wanted to see if the pill would help. I only took half. I noticed the tightness and pressure in my chest let up some. I did feel a little strange at work. Like I was zoned out a little. I'm a hair dresser so I can't be drowsy or loopy at work. I'm around clients all day. But now its bed time and the pill wore off and I feel like someone is sitting on my chest. I can't keep taking a pill every time it wears off. I really hope the Dr can find out what's wrong with me!

[mammo]

I take Klonopin for anxiety twice a day with excellent results.  Having you take it will help you feel better until your test and it may even show via testing if it is anxiety.  Anxiety can make your heart race, and this may be why he prescribed it for you.  He working on both the anxiety aspect and ruling out your heart at the same time....that's good!  Don't be scared, it's a widely used medication.  

[cj29]

I have taken in it in the past with good results.  It can be prescribed for various reasons, and I found it useful.  It is a longer acting benzo (like xanax and ativan which are shorter acting) and is sometimes prescribed for longer periods of time.  

Health anxiety is definitely frightening and confusing in the beginning, but many people go through it and get to the other side just fine.  It does take some work, but once you confront it and learn about it, you will see that with any challenge in life, it can be dealt with....keep us posted!

[JGF25]

I actually take klonopin everyday, 1 mg at night to sleep.  It is a sedative and makes you drowsy. It acts by enhancing the effects of the inhibitor neurotransmitter GABA in the brain.  When I am in an anxiety crisis situation, I would take 0.5 mg during the day to take the edge off my anxiety.  I try not to take it while I'm working.  So you should try it and see how it affects you.  A lot of medications work for different disorders.  For instance, the medications taken for anxiety and OCD are classified as anti-depressants but they work for these disorders as well.  As far as the benzodiazipines go, I find this one to work better than xanax.  Klonopin take a bit longer to start working than xanax but its effects last longer.  

Hope your echo turns out to be fine.