Another Klonopin question please

[cnote]

I've been taking Klonopin for over a month now. I started at 1mg for the first week one a day. Then cut down to .5mg for a couple weeks then to .25mg that's where I am as of now. I only take it before bed... But today I had to take a .25mg bc my anxiety came back some bc I've felt SO fatigue the past 4 or 5 days. It's wearing on me to where I feel depressed. My appetite has been low... My back feels Achy like the skin sometimes. But I'm not sick. Been having IBS symptoms too.

My question is is taking the amount of Klonopin that I've been taking for a little over a month now, is that too long to be on it? I was tapering bc my anxiety was getting better... I'm also taking Lexapro 10mg for the same amount of time as the Klonopin.

Am I going to withdrawal from it for only being on it for a little over a month? I may increase my dose again? Bc my anxiety has spiked a little since my fatigue feeling hit me about 5 days ago.

Also I was taking Ativan OFF and ON when needed for 3 years .5mg and quit taking and went straight to Klonopin. Do you think yhe Ativan is out of my system? And all I have in it now is Klonopin and lexapro?

[cnote]

I saw my therapist today. He told me he wants me off the Lexapro 10mg. He said he thinks this is what's causing my fatigue. Since I'm on about 6 weeks of it now, and this all started about a week ago... he said it could be b/c its at its effectiveness... and  it may be too much for me. He said to wean off, and just take the Klonopin when needed.

Hope this works. =)

[whitecat78]

Whenever I take any kind of benzo it causes severe rebound anxiety and it also makes me fatigue and fall asleep. I get anxiety and depressed for being so fatigue and tired because when I am in that kind of state it is hard to be productive. My boyfriend took it to fall asleep, he doesnt have a anxiety disorder but he claimed after taking a xanex, the next morning he felt very anxious, he claims he never feels anxiety ever. The benzo withdrawal might cause flu like symptoms, I know SSRI withdrawals do. The only thing that has helped my anxiety is increasing my SSRI dose. Also your fatigue symptoms might be caused from a minor flu bug or bacterial infection.

[ajg33]

i want to give my 2 cents lol! U think maybe by altering your meds could make u feel the fatigue? i feel we should not mess with the meds on our own and maybe u should just stick to the original dose u were prescribed? just some input my friend!
im here for u bro!
Anthony

[cnote]

Remar, thank you for your response. I go back to my therapist tomorrow, will ask him about the klonopin. B/c he said take it when needed, as little or as much as 1mg or 2mg a day. But the thing is, I've never experienced FATIGUE before. Or extreme TIREDNESS non-stop.

I used to just take 5mg of Lexapro, and .5mg of ativan back in the day. So lastnight, I thought, maybe the Lexapro 10mg is too much for my body? Maybe it's just now getting to it's full potential therapeutic effect? And maybe it's too much on me? So I went down to 5mg.

As to Mammo,  I know messing around with my dosages can be a mistake. But as far as I'm concerned, my Dr. is out of the country. So I'm trying to take less of whatever til he get's back. He's my primary Dr. The other Dr. who gave me Lexapro 10mg didnt even care to do a follow up.

And my therapist just seemed to not care about me taking the Klonopin. He said take what you feel when needed. But not as in "over dose and take 5mg" or something like that. lol.

I was doing great for a bit, but my appetite never came back in full. My stomach is having digestion issues... now my appetite is completely gone again... but I'm eating a couple meals out of the day.

Maybe my nutrition is messing with me? I dunno. I just feel SOOOO tired and FATIGUE.

And I keep thinking about it, which is making me anxious, but usually when I'm anxious I'm wired... not fatigued. So it's a mixture of feeling anxious in my stomach, but feeling so fatigue that I can't get motivated to do anything!

I also catch myself forgetting silly things like where I put my wallet, and where did I just set my drink down at?

I dunno, I know nothing is physically wrong with me... it's either the meds or depression or the weather or my body is telling me to take it easy. I dunno... but I'm at work right now, and my eyes feel so heavy... I HATE THIS.

Can't wait to see the therapist tomorrow... and DEF can't wait til my primary Dr. get's back out of the country!!! Miss him! lol.

[mammo]

It sounds like the Klonopin was helping you, I wouldn't decrease the amount.  You have to be careful messing around with the dosages on these medications without the supervision of your doctor.  You're probably fatigued because with the reduced dosage you're not sleeping as well.  I've been on Klonopin for 2 years, and will continue until it stops working.  Anxiety is like any other medical conditon, if you were diagnosed with diabetes, you wouldn't think twice about taking the medication needed daily for that, and this is no different.  You're creating more problems for yourself by not taking the prescribed amount.  You need to not worry so much about the medication if it is helping you, as this is the ultimate goal right now.  You said your anxiety was better and this is why you started to taper off of it.  The Klonopin and it's dosage is why your anxiety was better, and you need to stay on it.  Lexapro and Klonopin is a good combination and should be all you need, so let the medications do their job so you can relax and not fall into depression.  Playing around with the Klonopin dosage is keeping you on an emotional roller coaster and you don't need this.  Take care.

[remar]

It sounds like your anxiety is coming back because you've lowered your dose of Klonopin. Have you thought about upping it again to maybe .25 twice a day to see if that helps? If it does'nt then you can always up it to .50 twice a day.
I also take Lexapro 10 mgs and it does'nt help my anxiety very much. I was at 20 mgs and that seemed to be helping but I was so tired I had to cut back on it.So I also need an anti anxiety med.
Why don't you try going back on your meds like when you first started them and see how you do? I think the combo of Lexapro and Klonopin, at the higher dose, is really going to help.  Remar