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Headaches and clonazepam
I started having anxiety a yr and half ago. I am taking clonazepam. I get up with my head hurting awful. I deal with it all day It's really bad in the afternoons. Also, my dr told me I can take 2mg a day of clonazepam. I started out only taking a half of one. Instead of getting better with my anxiety, I found myself taking more and more of clonazepam. My head seem to hurt more and more. I also found myself crying more and more. It seems to me my medication is actually making my anxiety worse and causing my awful headaches. Does anyone have any experience with this? I have been in since bad shape for months. Don't bother to tell me to talk to my doctor. I have been to him month after month. A yr ago he said I would be off my medication in 6 mo. Then he changed and said I had an anxiety disorder. He tells me the pressure I feel in my head and the awful headaches are from anxiety. The problems is I can't control it with clonazepam. I really think my medication is causing me to be worse. I would appreciate any helpful comments.
I stopped taking the half of klonopin at night 9 nights again. I guess I'm having withdrawals problems. I have felt like I have a virus. I still take a half during the day at three different times. The not taking the klonopin at night has not increased my anxiety. I started taking my other half of hydrocodone about 10 at night and the anxiety is better in the morning. My question is how long will it take for the withdrawal feelings to get better from not taking the half of klonopin?
It will be 7 mo the 27th day of this month. I have no idea how long it will take for me to heal. He said the fusing takes 18 months. I think it may take longer to heal, since this is my 4th surgery in 5 yrs. I also know it will be harder for me to get off hydrocodone, since I have been on it for so long. I could never stop, because in the first surgery a disc fragment was left in my back, that was on a nerve that then attached to a bone. In the second surgery, the disc fragment was removed and the nerve was removed from the bone, stretched, and a coating placed on it. The failed fusion was also during this surgery. I stayed in chronic pain. The third doctor just chose to remove the rod & screws that were loose in my back. Then when I continued to hurt, he took xrays and showed us when I would bend, nerves were being rubbed, I don't know why he didn't know I needed another fusion when he removed the rods and screws. The fourth time I went to Emory Spine Center in Atlanta. This was an awful painful surgery. I said all that to say, I have not idea when I will stop healing and when my pain will get better. No, he never mentioned PT. He just said it had started to fuse and discharged me. He said it was unfortunate that I was still in pain. Hopefully it would improve in time. I hope so too. Thanks again
It seems to be making it hit me later in the day. I'm also cutting back on Klonopin. So it may be awhile before I feel better.
Thanks again.
It seems to be making it hit me later in the day. I'm also cutting back on Klonopin. So it may be awhile before I feel better.
Thanks again.
HI there again.
Sorry my reply was confusing.
What I meant was to try to see right now if you can pin down what's causing the issues you posted about (ie, playing with your dose of the hydrocodone, with your doc's okay of course).
The advice to try to supplement your narcotic pain medication was just more or less generally speaking. At some point, maybe after you've given yourself time to heal from your surgery, it would be a good idea to maybe discuss some other options with your doctor, in addition to the pain medications. Obviously right now, you're probably still having pain related to your surgery. How long ago was your surgery anyway? Did your doctor order you physical therapy?
The general point I was making is that the very pills given to you to help you (the hydrocodone) can end up causing more issues than they help after taking them, regularly for a significant amount of time. One of the more common issues is that they can actually exacerbate the underlying pain or even cause MORE pain. If at some point after healing, you could work with your doctor to devise a plan to add a non narcotic medication to your regimen, you may end up being pleasantly surprised at the outcome, you may end up having a much better level of pain. It's certainly not the easiest process, as there will be a period of adjustment where you may have an increase in pain, but after a few weeks or more, you should be able to assess the new pain levels. Just some food for thought.
How are you feeling today? Did you figure anything out?
Sorry my reply was confusing.
What I meant was to try to see right now if you can pin down what's causing the issues you posted about (ie, playing with your dose of the hydrocodone, with your doc's okay of course).
The advice to try to supplement your narcotic pain medication was just more or less generally speaking. At some point, maybe after you've given yourself time to heal from your surgery, it would be a good idea to maybe discuss some other options with your doctor, in addition to the pain medications. Obviously right now, you're probably still having pain related to your surgery. How long ago was your surgery anyway? Did your doctor order you physical therapy?
The general point I was making is that the very pills given to you to help you (the hydrocodone) can end up causing more issues than they help after taking them, regularly for a significant amount of time. One of the more common issues is that they can actually exacerbate the underlying pain or even cause MORE pain. If at some point after healing, you could work with your doctor to devise a plan to add a non narcotic medication to your regimen, you may end up being pleasantly surprised at the outcome, you may end up having a much better level of pain. It's certainly not the easiest process, as there will be a period of adjustment where you may have an increase in pain, but after a few weeks or more, you should be able to assess the new pain levels. Just some food for thought.
How are you feeling today? Did you figure anything out?
I'm confused at what you are telling me to do. You said to increase dosage on hydrocodone to see if it is the culprit. Then you said you recommend trying to supplement the narcotic pain meds with OTC analgesics. You also said right now is not a good time while I'm healing. Then you say while I'm waiting to heal, the less I take opiate, the better all around, it will improve the effectiveness of medication for pain and decrease tolerance issues. I can't do both. I have tried several times to take OTC medication, but it's like I haven't taken anything. I body does not respond to it now.
Please make it a little clearer to me.
Please make it a little clearer to me.
It sounds like it could be the hydrocodone, or the Lyrica as Paxiled said. I'm curious to see how you feel making the slight adjustment to the hydrocodone. Logically, it's possible that the headaches are popping up at a time when your body thinks it needs more of the pain medicine. Sounds like you're taking it fairly frequently, but then you have the big gap in time between doses. That could definitely cause your issues.
I don't agree with everything your doc said about the medications. It's not impossible that the hydrocodone could be the culprit here. If it is, a dosage increase will take care of things for a while, but unfortunately, in another couple of months, you'll have built up your tolerance again.
There's no easy answer when you need to manage pain. I would recommend trying to supplement the narcotic pain meds with OTC analgesics whenever possible. Obviously, right now it's not a reasonable option to try to eliminate the opiate, as your pain still needs managed with something stronger. Just while you're waiting for yourself to heal, the less you take the opiate, the better all around, it will improve the effectiveness of the medication for your pain and decrease the tolerance issues. For instance, try to set some parameters where if your pain is above a "5" on the pain scale, you would take the hydrocodone. If it's between 1-5, then you could try something like Tylenol or Motrin, whatever your doc would recommend.
Start by looking into the hydrocodone like we discussed, then if after a few days it isn't clear that that is the culprit, then exploring the Lyrica is the next logical step. I have a feeling you're going to figure this out with minimal work.
Hang in there!
I don't agree with everything your doc said about the medications. It's not impossible that the hydrocodone could be the culprit here. If it is, a dosage increase will take care of things for a while, but unfortunately, in another couple of months, you'll have built up your tolerance again.
There's no easy answer when you need to manage pain. I would recommend trying to supplement the narcotic pain meds with OTC analgesics whenever possible. Obviously, right now it's not a reasonable option to try to eliminate the opiate, as your pain still needs managed with something stronger. Just while you're waiting for yourself to heal, the less you take the opiate, the better all around, it will improve the effectiveness of the medication for your pain and decrease the tolerance issues. For instance, try to set some parameters where if your pain is above a "5" on the pain scale, you would take the hydrocodone. If it's between 1-5, then you could try something like Tylenol or Motrin, whatever your doc would recommend.
Start by looking into the hydrocodone like we discussed, then if after a few days it isn't clear that that is the culprit, then exploring the Lyrica is the next logical step. I have a feeling you're going to figure this out with minimal work.
Hang in there!
I was taking 50 mg lyrica twice a day. I was retaining so much fluid , so I cut it to one a day. I had to do this over several weeks. I hate having to take lyrica at all, because I know how hard it is for me to get off. I wondered if it would help to start back talking the lyrica in the afternoon, so I tried it for a couple of days. The headaches were not any better, so I didn't want to stay on it and get use to it again. It may have taken more than a couple of days to tell. I don't know. I probably would feel much better if I took 75 mg twice a day, but I am so not wanting to have to do that. I don't like this drug. If I miss one dose, I feel so awful. I don't like something that makes you feel that way. Of course, I feel better bad too if I miss taking hydrocodone. It would be wonderful to be off all of them. Since one of them may be causing me to feel so awful. I am going to take a whole hydrocodone at noon instead of the half, and see if my head feels different. Thanks for trying to help me figure this out.
When did you start the Lyrica? Have you altered that dose in awhile? I know more about a prior drug, Neurontin, and I know that drug poops out regularly at the high doses needed for pain control. Lyrica could also be a culprit here, as it's basically shooting GABA right to your brain, and GABA has a major effect in relaxing us. It's what klonopin is targeting. That's why I mentioned it could also be the combination. And it could be anxiety. Since the one thing you can control is what Nursegirl suggested, the medications, that would be the logical place to start. Good luck.
Paxiled, I have anxious feeling too at times. They are not anything like they were in the beginning. I had full blown panic attacks. I felt like I was going to die.They were brought on by a pain specialist changing me from hydrocodone to stronger medications(which I couldn't take) and then going back to hydrocodone. I was finally put on Ativan, which seem to be the miracle drug for awhile. Then I started having adverse reactions to it. Very similar to the way I feel at times with Klonopin. That's why I think the headaches and crying could be because of taking more of it. I get depressed at times. Also, during all this I had the rods and screws removed from my back.
Nursegirl, I have been on hydrocodone for most of 5 yrs. (10mg now 7.5 for 3 and a half years) I take one 10 mg in the mornings with 50mg lyrica. Then each 3 hrs I take a half of a pill until 6 p.m. I have another half that I can take, but I usually don't. It's not because I don't need it. I was hoping after this last surgery I could stop taking them. This last surgery was another attempt at a lumbar fusion. The last one didn't fuse. I was told by my doctor that it has started fusing, but it will take 18 months to fuse 90%. I hope soon of this pain will get better after the fusion is complete. It may not happen, but that's what I'm praying for. This was an awful painful surgery. I also had an incision in my hip to remove part of the pelvic bone. I still have pain in my hip as well as my back. I have heard all that you had to say about the pain being caused by the hydrocodone. Believe me, I would love to know if I could stop taking it, the pain would go away. I really don't think it would. I have had chronic pain for 5 yrs. I did ask my doctor if me waking up feeling anxious was caused from not taking anything for 12 hrs. He said he didn't think so. I never felt this way before they changed me from 7.5 and put me on the stronger drugs and then back to 10mg hydrocodone. I have not been well since all this happened to me. I asked my doctor about going back to the 7.5, but he said he didn't think it would take care of my pain. I may try taking another whole pain pill in the afternoon and see if the headaches get better. Then I will know if I'm needing more pain medicine. I do hurt must of the time even with taking the pain pills. Thanks again
Nursegirl, I have been on hydrocodone for most of 5 yrs. (10mg now 7.5 for 3 and a half years) I take one 10 mg in the mornings with 50mg lyrica. Then each 3 hrs I take a half of a pill until 6 p.m. I have another half that I can take, but I usually don't. It's not because I don't need it. I was hoping after this last surgery I could stop taking them. This last surgery was another attempt at a lumbar fusion. The last one didn't fuse. I was told by my doctor that it has started fusing, but it will take 18 months to fuse 90%. I hope soon of this pain will get better after the fusion is complete. It may not happen, but that's what I'm praying for. This was an awful painful surgery. I also had an incision in my hip to remove part of the pelvic bone. I still have pain in my hip as well as my back. I have heard all that you had to say about the pain being caused by the hydrocodone. Believe me, I would love to know if I could stop taking it, the pain would go away. I really don't think it would. I have had chronic pain for 5 yrs. I did ask my doctor if me waking up feeling anxious was caused from not taking anything for 12 hrs. He said he didn't think so. I never felt this way before they changed me from 7.5 and put me on the stronger drugs and then back to 10mg hydrocodone. I have not been well since all this happened to me. I asked my doctor about going back to the 7.5, but he said he didn't think it would take care of my pain. I may try taking another whole pain pill in the afternoon and see if the headaches get better. Then I will know if I'm needing more pain medicine. I do hurt must of the time even with taking the pain pills. Thanks again
I also wonder if the culprit could possibly be one of your other medications? Most definitely the medications you're on could all be on the list of possible causes. The one that stands out to me the most, even more so than the Klonopin is the hydrocodone.
How long have you been on the hydrocodone, and how much do you take, and how often? As I'm sure you know, opioid medications come with tolerance and dependency issues, which could be causing you w/d symptoms.
If you take that regularly (every day), when was the last time your dose was increased? The symptoms you describe would be consistent with mild to moderate opiate w/ds....headaches, feeling anxious/uneasy, etc. The other aspect that stands out to me is the fact that you said after you get your morning dose of meds in you, you begin to start feeling better. That would certainly be the case if you were suffering with chronic opioate w/ds.
I would be more inclined to question the hydrocodone first. Just IMO. The GOOD news is, if it's the hydrocodone, it would be fairly easy to determine, with a dosage increase. If you indeed determine with your doc that the opiate is the culprit, then you will need to reassess your regimen, as opiates can end up causing MORE issues than they help in the long run. No doubt it can be difficult to manage chronic pain, and the appropriate meds used to treat it come with their own issues.
Just an FYI...some people who are on long term opiate pain meds end up finding out that the regular use of those medications have actually increased their pain levels. There is a phenomenon called opioid-induced hyperalgesia where basically consistent use of pain meds cause an increase in the perception of the severity of the pain and a decrease in the pain threshold. That typically occurs more often in people taking higher doses of more potent opioids, but anyone taking pain medication long term would be at risk. Just something to throw out there, brainstorming.
I agree with Paxiled that it could be another medication. It might be something as fairly straight forward as making some adjustments to one medication at a time, to try to nail down the offending medication. I agree that you need to keep addressing this with your doctor until you start figuring some things out.
I'm sorry you're going through this, I sincerely hope you get something figured out soon. I'm sure it's terribly frustrating and upsetting. Please keep us updated, let us know when you find something out.
How long have you been on the hydrocodone, and how much do you take, and how often? As I'm sure you know, opioid medications come with tolerance and dependency issues, which could be causing you w/d symptoms.
If you take that regularly (every day), when was the last time your dose was increased? The symptoms you describe would be consistent with mild to moderate opiate w/ds....headaches, feeling anxious/uneasy, etc. The other aspect that stands out to me is the fact that you said after you get your morning dose of meds in you, you begin to start feeling better. That would certainly be the case if you were suffering with chronic opioate w/ds.
I would be more inclined to question the hydrocodone first. Just IMO. The GOOD news is, if it's the hydrocodone, it would be fairly easy to determine, with a dosage increase. If you indeed determine with your doc that the opiate is the culprit, then you will need to reassess your regimen, as opiates can end up causing MORE issues than they help in the long run. No doubt it can be difficult to manage chronic pain, and the appropriate meds used to treat it come with their own issues.
Just an FYI...some people who are on long term opiate pain meds end up finding out that the regular use of those medications have actually increased their pain levels. There is a phenomenon called opioid-induced hyperalgesia where basically consistent use of pain meds cause an increase in the perception of the severity of the pain and a decrease in the pain threshold. That typically occurs more often in people taking higher doses of more potent opioids, but anyone taking pain medication long term would be at risk. Just something to throw out there, brainstorming.
I agree with Paxiled that it could be another medication. It might be something as fairly straight forward as making some adjustments to one medication at a time, to try to nail down the offending medication. I agree that you need to keep addressing this with your doctor until you start figuring some things out.
I'm sorry you're going through this, I sincerely hope you get something figured out soon. I'm sure it's terribly frustrating and upsetting. Please keep us updated, let us know when you find something out.
I often say to people, if you don't feel anxious, if you're not feeling scared for seemingly no reason, you probably don't suffer from anxiety. Anxiety sufferers feel anxious. Yes, there are physiological symptoms, but they follow from the constant fear and stress. You seem to be saying you don't feel anxious, you have mostly physiological issues. I will tell you I had an adverse reaction to Xanax, another benzo, which made me much more anxious, but i was also taking klonopin at the time so it might have been that -- doctors aren't always all that bright and what did I know? So yes, any drug can give a person a bad reaction. If you start taking a medication and soon after get symptoms you never had before, doctors will very often pooh pooh it but it certainly makes the most sense -- it's the most recent change in things, so the most likely candidate for the new problem. Just common sense. On the other hand, you're on two other drugs with many side effects, so it could be the combination or one of the other two drugs. And it could be something else. Follow your instincts and keep questioning is my view until you find an answer.
No, I never run out of my prescription. One bottle lasts forever with me. I was taking half of a pill at night like he said. I usually go to sleep and do not wake up during the night with problems . I still wake up with anxiety in the morning. I would take a fourth of a pill before work. I also take hydrocodone and 50mg of lyrica in the morning because of 4 back surgeries. They seem to help to settle me down. It's awful waking up every morning and feeling so uneasy and bad. It takes me awhile in the mornings after I take my medication before I feel like getting ready for work. During the day I really don't have anxiety as much as I have awful pressure in my head and headaches. I have been told that could be anxiety too. When this starts I take a fourth more, but it ready doesn't seem to help with the pressure. The only thing that seems to help with the pressure is for me to take a fourth of a lunesta. My doctor told me if it works to take it. I don't understand why I get this going on with my head every afternoon starting around 2 p.m. Sometimes when it's really bad, I will take another fourth. He told me I could take as much as 2mg a day, which I never do. I don't want to get use to taking that much. I wasn't having to take this much before I had my last back surgery 6mo ago. Since I have been taking more during the day because the pressure and headaches are so bad I just seem to be getting worse. I have noticed I have been feeling so awful at times I start crying and can't stop for awhile. I have never been someone to cry easily. This is why I have started to think the medication is making me worse. I don't know. I wish someone could figure out what is going on with me. I am miserable. I'm afraid to plan anything at night. When I know I have somewhere I have to be at night, I am so worried. My son's 40th birthday party is this Saturday night, and I am so worried about how my head is going to be. I just really want to stop taking this medication and see if I could get better without it. I live in a small town and don't know of anywhere to go for therapy. I have never been able to take antidepressant. I have tried different ones, but I get very very sick in a few hours after taking. I'm unable to function at all. My doctor did tell me if I wanted to get off the Klonopin I would need to reduce it by taking a fourth three times one day, then two one day, and fourth the next and then stop. That may be too fast for me. I have started trying to cut back already. It's 2 p.m. again and my head has started feeling weird. I took a fourth of Klonopin. I had taken a fourth this morning. The last two nights I haven't taken the half. Just trying to cut back and see if I can get to feeling better without it. I had a CT of my sinus and head 3 wks ago and I had a sinus infection. Everything else was alright. You have responded to me before and I always like to hear from you. Thank you for trying to help me.
Hello there!
Sorry to hear that you're struggling so much! It's very frustrating for sure.
Just a few clarifications, when you say you found yourself taking more and more Klonopin, were you doing that on your own, or was the doctor instructing you to increase your dose? What is your current dose, and how do you take it (ie, once daily, twice, etc?). Do you ever run out of your script early, or find yourself self medicating with the Klonopin, in an effort to get you feeling better?
The thing with Klonopin is that it's a long acting anxiolytic, so in order for it to work optimally, it usually needs to be dosed 2-3 times a day. It could be that you taking it once a day isn't allowing enough "coverage" of the med per se, which could be causing w/d-like symptoms. Do you typically feel much better shortly after you take your nightly dose?
I agree with remar that it's probably a good idea to find a new doctor who can reassess you and offer some suggestions, as it doesn't sound like your current doctor is very receptive to listening to your concerns. I agree that it's very likely that the Klonopin could be making you feel worse.
Besides the Klonopin, what else have you done to address the anxiety? Have you participated in any therapy? Tried any other medications, like an antidepressant?
Sorry to hear that you're struggling so much! It's very frustrating for sure.
Just a few clarifications, when you say you found yourself taking more and more Klonopin, were you doing that on your own, or was the doctor instructing you to increase your dose? What is your current dose, and how do you take it (ie, once daily, twice, etc?). Do you ever run out of your script early, or find yourself self medicating with the Klonopin, in an effort to get you feeling better?
The thing with Klonopin is that it's a long acting anxiolytic, so in order for it to work optimally, it usually needs to be dosed 2-3 times a day. It could be that you taking it once a day isn't allowing enough "coverage" of the med per se, which could be causing w/d-like symptoms. Do you typically feel much better shortly after you take your nightly dose?
I agree with remar that it's probably a good idea to find a new doctor who can reassess you and offer some suggestions, as it doesn't sound like your current doctor is very receptive to listening to your concerns. I agree that it's very likely that the Klonopin could be making you feel worse.
Besides the Klonopin, what else have you done to address the anxiety? Have you participated in any therapy? Tried any other medications, like an antidepressant?
Some anxiety meds can actually cause depression. That's why many Drs will prescribe an antidepressant instead of just an anxiety med. It can treat both depression and anxiety.You may want to think about seeing a different Dr and having some tests done for your headaches.
It's true that anxiety has a very long list of possible symptoms and headaches are on that list. You could be suffering from allergies or something else though. That's why I recommended seeing another Dr.
It's true that anxiety has a very long list of possible symptoms and headaches are on that list. You could be suffering from allergies or something else though. That's why I recommended seeing another Dr.
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