# Does clonazepam (klonopin) make you more confident?



## Raptors (Aug 3, 2009)

I just got a 7-day clonazepam script to test it out. 

Took 0.75mg but felt nothing. 

How was it for you?


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

slows down my racing heart. thats about it. didnt do anything for my thoughts.


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## John_in_SF (Mar 1, 2009)

Clonazepam works on a build effect. So, the more days you take it, the more you feel it.


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## Raptors (Aug 3, 2009)

John_in_SF said:


> Clonazepam works on a build effect. So, the more days you take it, the more you feel it.


I only got 14 0.5mg pills and they were a pain in the *** to obtain.

I thought they were to be taken as needed.....am I wrong?


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## John_in_SF (Mar 1, 2009)

"As needed" is more the Xanax route.


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

Raptors said:


> I only got 14 0.5mg pills and they were a pain in the *** to obtain.
> 
> I thought they were to be taken as needed.....am I wrong?


ya as needed is the best way. I'm sure it varies person to person, but I didnt feel anything untill i took up to 1.25mgs.


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## Chuckleberry (Jan 19, 2010)

Raptors said:


> I just got a 7-day clonazepam script to test it out.
> 
> Took 0.75mg but felt nothing.
> 
> How was it for you?


Yes, it does give you a sense of confidence, because it helps you have a decent night's sleep. However, it is very addictive. When I was your age a GP prescribed Ativan for confidence or SA. Ativan is really frowned upon these days. It is just an opinion but I think a person's blood type plays into whether a med works for the benefit of confidence.

:idea:sas


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## John_in_SF (Mar 1, 2009)

Ugh . . . I agree about Ativan. Left me with a very ugly feeling, unlike Klonopin (clonazepam). The most Klonopin I've taken is 1.25 mg when it was very bad. But watch out . . . all benzos, Klonopin very much included, INCREASE depression when taken over time.


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

Just because kpin has slower onset of effects and a longer half life doesn't make it a "daily" med. That's a slippery slope. It would seem to me that you would simply need to take it further in advance of whatever anxiety provoking event you have. One hour does wonders for me and its a less drunk feeling than xanax or ativan for me, but everyone's different.


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## when will we be new skin (Aug 18, 2009)

I LOVE this med. It makes me more confident, for sure. I take 0.5 mgs twice a day. Well I'm supposed to, but sometimes one pill is all I need. :]


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

tony0306 said:


> It's my understanding that they calm you by slowing your heart (tranquilizer). If your heart can't race you can't panic and if you can't panic you probably will stop fearing what causes your panic, become desensitized to the fear, taper off the med, and bingo you're cured. In theory at least, that's how I understand it. It will not change your thoughts directly, or overnight. Your thoughts change over time by exposing yourself to your panic triggers and not panicing.


What your describing sounds more like beta blockers, which can help physical symptoms of anxiety by slowing the heart etc. Benzodiazapines have a more mental effect by enhancing the effect of GABA-A in the brain, which inturn enhances the inhibitory effects of GABA in the brain which inhibits neuronal activity presumably in amygdala-centered fear circuits to provide therapeutic benefits in anxiety disorders, this ofcourse can have secondary physical symptoms such as muscle relaxation and slowed heart rate.


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## epril (Mar 24, 2009)

tony0306 said:


> John in SF is right. Klonopin is a daily med and Xanax is an as needed med.
> 
> Both are addictive. It's my understanding that they calm you by slowing your heart (tranquilizer). If your heart can't race you can't panic and if you can't panic you probably will stop fearing what causes your panic, become desensitized to the fear, taper off the med, and bingo you're cured. In theory at least, that's how I understand it. It will not change your thoughts directly, or overnight. Your thoughts change over time by exposing yourself to your panic triggers and not panicing.
> 
> My doc gave me 30 days and then another 30 days of Klonopin for a specific reason and we both knew I'd come off it after 60 days. It was successful.


Klonopin can be prescribed on an as needed basis too, as happened in my family.


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

They sell klonopin in dissolving wafers for a reason you dolts. The drug itself when ingested orally may have a slower onset (although the wafers actually kick in faster... or you can just chew up (or leave intact) and dissolve the normal pills under your tongue). And it definitely lasts longer (and again, the ridiculousness of this argument is demonstrated by the fact that Xanax XR even exists in the first place), but Klonopin is able to work effectively on an as-needed basis, just like any other benzo...

Xanax is generally better suited for unanticipated panic attacks that don't last very long, while Klonopin (orally ingested, anyways) is probably preferable when you know you have an anxiety-provoking situation coming up within 30-60 minutes or so and you can expect to be in anxious situations for many hours to come, rather than a just a short-lived panic attack...

Although, with the newer, still under-patent formulations that I mentioned earlier of Klonopin wafers and Xanax XR, these roles are becoming much less distinct.

But it's absolutely silly to say that Klonopin MUST be taken as a daily med and really, that sort of advice is a bit reckless. You're still MUCH better off taking it only when you actually need it.

As for working by slowing down your heart... that's absurd. That's not how benzos work at all. It IS, however, often one of the benefits of taking beta blockers for physical anxiety symptoms.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

epril said:


> Klonopin can be prescribed on an as needed basis too, as happened in my family.


It really doesn't make any sense in most cases to pick Klonopin out of the benzo collection for as-needed (PRN) use.

After all, why for PRN use would one need or want a benzo that is as slow & long-lasting as Klonopin? Is it for when you need to give a speech that lasts hours?:stu A faster short-acting benzo like Xanax would clearly seem better suited to the duration of the typical performance event that's over pretty darn fast.

The reason Klonopin is popular with doctors is because it lacks the negative reputation that Xanax & Valium have. Klononpin lacks a bad reputation because it has no reputation at all with the general public. Unless you're in the medical profession or have anxiety, you most likely have never heard of it and wouldn't know if a klonopin was a pill or part of your car's transmission.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

Raptors said:


> I just got a 7-day clonazepam script to test it out.
> 
> Took 0.75mg but felt nothing.
> 
> How was it for you?


Complete crap, no confidence increase at all as with every other benzo.


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## MissMay1977 (Oct 25, 2008)

It does not do much for me. I am glad others have found sucess with it.


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## citizenerased1987 (Oct 17, 2009)

It just makes me calm, I mean really calm and I see things clearly and less irrationally. More confident, well I find if I am calmer and rational I naturally become a little more confident, so yeah a little bit.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Benzos don't really make me more confident, unless you call apathy and retardation confidence.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Klonopin does help, but it tends to make me too tired at adequete doses, so it's use in social situations is a bit limited for me. As for what worked best for me personally, probably alcohol, although I no longer drink. Though I've never personally tried amphetamine or derivatives, opioids, GHB, DXM and most of the other stuff thats been mentioned here nor do I have any intintion of trying them, so I can't really compare to those.


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## Raptors (Aug 3, 2009)

Took 1.5mg today. 

All it did was make me drowsy and loose balance. Absolute nothing for SA.


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## Honeybee1980 (Jan 29, 2009)

try it with a betablocker like propranolol(inderal), either one taken seperately doesn't do much for me, but taken together it knocks out most of the SA symptoms and allows me to socialize fairly easily.


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## inVis420 (Jul 15, 2009)

It doesn't really make me more confident (that's what the adderall is for) but it gets rid of all my usual fears in social situations. I can actually enjoy myself is public since i'm not constantly panicking about everything.


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## shimmer1221 (Feb 18, 2010)

This is the best medicine I have ever had to control my anxiety. I only take them when i really need it. I fear if I take them everyday, that they will lose the effect of helping me when i really need it. If I know i am going to be in a fear/anxiety provoking situation, I will take 2mg about 30-60 minutes prior ... and i am calm and i can be social and have no fears. However, the down is always crashing or usually. sometimes after the 4 hour duration that the medicine works for... i will just fall asleep for a few hours.

I only take it when i really really need it though. I started with .5mg and found that the more i took them, the higher dosages i needed. so im at 2 now and i dont plan to increase any higher because of the dangers that may come with such high dosages. But it works for me ... going on 2 or 3 years about now...


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## Trixy13 (Jun 23, 2009)

Klonopin is by far one of the best meds that I have taken for SA. I previously took Xanax a few times a week to control my panic attacks but it was so short acting. I take Klonopin twice daily at 0.5 and Ativan as needed. The Klonopin does give me a sense of confidence in that I am actual able to relax without my heart racing, my voice cracking, shaking hands, feeling continually nauseous with a lump in my throat and the million other physical symptoms I used to experience with my SA. I would also attribute the Klonopin in helping me actually get a sufficient amount of sleep which I was never capable of doing before due lying awake at night with anxious thoughts playing over and over in my head.


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## when will we be new skin (Aug 18, 2009)

Honeybee1980 said:


> try it with a betablocker like propranolol(inderal), either one taken seperately doesn't do much for me, but taken together it knocks out most of the SA symptoms and allows me to socialize fairly easily.


A few weeks ago, I went out on a "date".. not labeled a date, but it kind of was. Anyway, I took 1.5 mgs of Klonopin and 10 mgs of Propranolol. I was a little nervous before the date began, but once it started I was talkative like I have never been in my LIFE. Oh, and it helped me get 100% on my last college presentation back in November. Absolutely fantastic combination for me.


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## Honeybee1980 (Jan 29, 2009)

when will we be new skin said:


> A few weeks ago, I went out on a "date".. not labeled a date, but it kind of was. Anyway, I took 1.5 mgs of Klonopin and 10 mgs of Propranolol. I was a little nervous before the date began, but once it started I was talkative like I have never been in my LIFE. Oh, and it helped me get 100% on my last college presentation back in November. Absolutely fantastic combination for me.


that's awesome how much the combo has helped you too!  These medications have definately improved my quality of life, I'm glad I got up the nerve to ask my doctor about them last year. I encourage other people not to wait and suffer needlessly as long as I did.


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## NicoShy (Jun 11, 2009)

I take it for work m-f. It keeps the lump out of my throat and slows my panicy chest. I feel more comfortable talking to people.


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