Took Klonopin last night, woke up bad anxiety

[mary m]

Ryan, I took 1/4 of a 0.5 Clonazepam ast night along with my half of a Flexeril,(5.0) and woke up with really big bang anxiety. So I this morning I had to go back and take a .05 Ativan and I also took half a 0.5 Clonazepam. Should I take both for a while? For how long? Or jus increase the Clonazepam and stop the Ativan. I get such pains in my back and shoulders and neck. I think it's from no Ativan. What should I do?

[mary m]

Gina Thanks for your words. I took .25 last night and .25 this morning. I have anxiety. I'm so scared. I wish I knew what to do to comfort myself. Mary

[mary m]

I took .25 last night of Clonazapam at 11 pm and slept through the night. I took .25 this morning at 7 am. It's  10 am and I'm fighting the anxiety. I don't know if this matters, but I'm on HRT too. I wasn't sleeping and getting night sweats. I use the Vivelle patch and have to take progesterone for 10 days, 10 mgs. I'm so scared.

[mary m]

Quick question. If the last Ativan that I took was yesterday around 1 in the afternoon, would't it be out of my system by now?  Why do I have anxiety if I'm taking the Clonazapam? Does it target different Gaba receptors or something?

[Ginasouthcarolina]

No the ativan isnt out of your system yet it is slowly decreasing thats why you are having breakthrough anxiety..The klonopin has to reach steady state to work to its full potential it does not work like ativan its slow acting and stays in your body longer the ativan works instantly thats why you are feeling this way TRUST ME stick with it its only anxiety your feeling nothing else...i was the exact same way my first few days i would take my firs dose then 3 or 4 hours later i would feel like i had to take another...its not that the klonopin is not working its just the ativan is slowly decreasing and the klonopin take alittle longer to reach steady state and as i said before you are left vulnerable for a few days till the klonopin works to its full potential and trust me when it does you will be so happy you stuck it out...when ever i would feel anxious after i would take my first dose and i was counting the hours till i could take my second dose i would keep myself busy thinking about it makes it worse....

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

wtg mary for getting off of it , hang in there ryan is a great guy and gina they can help you get through this. gina just went through it and knows what your feeling and ryan well hes 25 years old and knows more than most drs and so sweet and kind to come on here everyday and help us out, he was great with me . you can do it take it day by day or hour to hour like i did when i was so anxiety i could not stand myself. but the klonopin helped me out so much and got me back to myself. with your dr and ryan i would take it like it should be took dont skip a dose, and try to take at same time every day so it gets a steady state. good luck i know you can do it and am pulling for you . yes you are going to have more anxiety while changing over but hang in ther its worth it . Barbara

[mary m]

I am going to chronicle my journey, hoping that it will help others. First of all, I want to thank Ryan; I don't know what I would do if I didn't find him and this group and that goes for Gina and Barbara too with their words of encouragement. Today is Day 1. The morning was bad with anxiety. Besides the ever-droning anxiety, I got more intense anxiety. I felt it diminish a little bit around noon, maybe a little of the Klonopin was working. I felt better from 1 to 3 o'clock. I have made it until 3:00 PM and have taken my .25 at 3:00.  What makes my anxiety break through is that the kind of anxiety I have is health anxiety. I'll get an ache or pain and it is so intensified and then I begin to think it's something I should see a doctor about, and then I start obsessing. Some of my issues are bonified. I have some bulging discs in my neck and a degenerative disc in my lumbar.  I was working out, running and lifting weights, doing really well...and then I got a pain in my back in May which turned out to be an old stress fracture in my T6 vertebrae.  I've just been a train wreck since then.  I go to physical therapy, but I can't get back into exercise. I'm scared and I know I need to exercise, but right now, I think I should concentrate on just getting off this Ativan poison, stabilize myself on the Klonipin, and then start tapering off of it down the road, and then worry about exercise. People just don't understand this disease. It's so hidden and when you talk about it, they just don't get it.  I have had anxiety for over 20 years, all related to supposed health issues - lump in throat, shortness of breath.  I have been off all summer and this doesn't help much because I have all this unstructured time in which my mind is not occupied.  Then, my father who is 89 is dieing of esophageal cancer. So, as I write this, I hope it tells you a little bit about my plight.  The Ativan was given to me 2 years ago, not by the regular doctor, but someone who filled in for him.  Then last summer, my regular doctor didn't like that I was on Ativan and said  I needed to see a psychitrist. I could write a thesis about all the drugs he tried and didn't work.  I knew something was wrong with the Ativan because I felt like I was taking it to control the anxiety brought on by the Ativan wearing off. I felt like I was feeding a hungry beast.  I'll keep you posted on how the night goes. I am hoping the window between the Ativan and Klonopin won't be too many days because I tried to control how much I was taking. Please keep me in your thoughts.

Ryan, Since I did ok last night on .25, should I do .50 or .25 tonight?  Will the .50 help me to be more stable after I wake up? Thanks, Mary