# Klonopin safe to take everyday?



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Well I saw this psych doc for the first time yesterday and he said that my social anxiety was "severe" and prescribed Klonopin for me to take twice a day and 4 hours anytime in between if I feel anxious. I told him that I was worried about the addictive nature about benzos, but he told me that this would help with my social anxiety and that I shouldn't not worry too much about being addicted to it.


----------



## Thunder (Nov 5, 2003)

Sounds like you have a good doctor.


----------



## apprentice1 (Feb 9, 2005)

Thunder said:


> Sounds like you have a good doctor.


Amen to that!


----------



## workman (Mar 5, 2004)

Well, would you rather have SA everyday for the rest of your life.


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Send your doctor over here!


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

You do what you have to do. Since doctors tend not to like giving out benzos on a daily basis, I'm going to guess that you've most likely tried SSRIs and quite possibly other meds that failed you before you ended up with daily Klonopin.

I take Xanax daily and I don't worry about the dependency/addiction issue, as I've tried most of the other possible meds and they all failed me. I really don't have a choice.


----------



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Well now I find myself falling asleep in class or even studying for an exam even if I don't want to fall asleep. I even find myself waking up later than I usually do. This is exactly why I didn't enjoy taking Ativan. Is it safe to take this drug with a stimulant like coffee or an energy drink like RedBull just so I have enough energy to keep awake?


----------



## JayJay (Nov 18, 2003)

My friend takes Klonopin and everytime I see him he is always drowsy and sleepy. I myself do not take any medication yet. Even if it does make you sleepy is it helping with the anxiety or depression?


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Drowsiness wears off after a week or so of sustained use.


----------



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Well I'm not so "antsy" trying to think of stuff to say when I'm in a group meeting for class. I also feel more relaxed and not worrying out going out of my room if I hear people in the hallway. It's just this sleepiness thing is killing me at the moment since I have to study for a mid-term exam that I'm taking later on today.


----------



## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

How much did he give you? (milligrams?) I'm going to guess that it's .5mg 2x daily, but I could be wrong. I would try to slowly increase the dose. I'd start with .5mg at night, let it knock you out. Do that for about a week or two. If that's enough to work, then that's great (although just between you and me and about a thousand people that will read this, I would not tell my doctor "Gee please prescribe me less of this highly effective drug." An emergency stash never hurt anyone.) 

After 1-2 weeks if you feel like it, take the second one. I would do it like this: break it in half, and take one half in the evening with the other pill, and the second half in the morning. (IOW, .25mg a.m., .75mg p.m.). 

For people like me, who have built a tolerance to the sedation caused by benzos, I take diazepam when I wake up and then again throughout the day, never at night. I get the most mileage for my buck that way. But when sedation is an issue, yeah, go slow and take it at night.

You can drink coffee or redbull with Klonopin. I can't offhand think of any stimulants that are contraindicated.


----------



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Caedmon said:


> How much did he give you? (milligrams?) I'm going to guess that it's .5mg 2x daily, but I could be wrong. I would try to slowly increase the dose. I'd start with .5mg at night, let it knock you out. Do that for about a week or two. If that's enough to work, then that's great (although just between you and me and about a thousand people that will read this, I would not tell my doctor "Gee please prescribe me less of this highly effective drug." An emergency stash never hurt anyone.)
> 
> After 1-2 weeks if you feel like it, take the second one. I would do it like this: break it in half, and take one half in the evening with the other pill, and the second half in the morning. (IOW, .25mg a.m., .75mg p.m.).
> 
> ...


.5mg x 2 is correct and as needed for anxiety every 4 hours in between. Will the medicine still be in my body throughout the day though when I get up from sleep or does Klonopin have a short half-life like Xanax?


----------



## christiem (Mar 1, 2006)

an er doc i recently saw switched me from ativan to klonipan. I take 1 mg 3 times a day. He said it will stay more consistent in my system without the drop off and rebound like the ativan. unfortunately for now i am pretty f-ed up on it, so i am hoping this passes in time. in fact, i hope this post makes any sense at all. :con


----------



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Well I found out that Klonopin has a longer half-life than Xanax so I don't have to worry about taking a whole lot of it to keep it in my system. I can see why Klonopin is highly rated at RemedyFind for Social Phobia even though I've been only taking it for a week. I'm far from being cured, but it does take the edge off of my SA a little bit and I don't find myself as lethargic as I am with Xanax or Ativan. I just wish there was a non-benzo type of medication that acted like this.


----------



## apprentice1 (Feb 9, 2005)

I take xanax and Parnate. The Parnate is great for depression, REALLY GREAT, but I still need the xanax for the S/A, unfortunately. I had to choose between xanax and valium and chose xanax, as I wanted something to take when I need it during the day and it works fast and then can go away and I don't take it unless I need it. Drowsiness has been a problem with me, too, though I never wanted to admit it might be the xanax, I did think it. Nothing works as good as xanax for anxiety for me and I don't want to give it up because of that. There are also other issues going on with me that could cause my daytime crashes. Friends have told me I have sleep apnea and I know I have narcolepsy as sometimes just before I fall asleep, I wake myself up with my snoring/breathing. It will be a couple of weeks still until I have an appointment to find out about that. They will give me some sort of a machine to take home and sleep with (at least something) and bring back the next day that apparantly can tell them everything they need to know about my sleep. I am anxious to find out. It will be the key to whether or not I can get Provigil on a prescription basis on the insurance...in the mean time, I know I shouldn't, but I may try enhancing the xanax with an extra dose of Parnate. I am only suppossed to be taking it two times a day, but have already gone to three some days, with minimal remarkable results...if I get sleepy in the daytime, nothing seems to be able to change that. The difference with me is that this was happening to me before the xanax, so I am betting on the bad sleep at night as being the culprit and keeping my mouth shut (so to speak) about the xanax. Nothing works for anxiety for me like xanax and the Parnate supports it quite well. Just Parnate by itself is (so far) not enough (not the right dosage at 20-30mg.?) for the anxiety. My doctor and I may have a go around about taking all three, Parnate, Provigil and the occassional xanax, but go around we will, I don't want to give up the thing that works and I haven't found any info that says one can't take all three. I am looking for information, I have two to three weeks before I have to go back. The only positive info I have have found so far, seems to be at http://www.socialfear.com/ Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) : Effective Treatment 2006. I guess it is time to ask Dr. Bob...


----------



## americandancer (Mar 19, 2006)

apprentice1, I read the article, but am having trouble understanding it. Is he suggesting effexor before other prescription meds? I know he says ssri's are not effective for sp, but he lists effexor at the top, but then later says it is not effective for sp. I'm new to a lot of this termonology...appreciate your help.


----------



## apprentice1 (Feb 9, 2005)

I think he is talking about treating social anxiety with multiple medicines. Often people with social anxiety also have other issues like depression or attention deficit disorders. I kind of rattled on in my post, sorry. For you I think the important sentence was that "... Klonopin remain the most reliably effective medications to treat Social Anxiety Disorder.", which you have been diagnosed with and as long as you can treat it successfully with Klonopin, I would stay with that. It is probably the safest way to go. Listen to your doctor.


----------



## americandancer (Mar 19, 2006)

Thanks, apprentice. I am going to the doctor tomorrow and will ask for k but I doubt he'll give it to me. He does give me alprazolam, though. I was just curious about the effexor part....I just recently quit effexor because I didn't think it did anything for my anxiety and then I saw in that article where effexor was listed first over any other ad's.


----------

