# Is it safe to take Klonopin and Ritalin together?



## dax (Nov 19, 2004)

Is it safe to take Klonopin and Ritalin together, at the same time? I'm not on any other meds.


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## Bullheaded (Jul 30, 2009)

Meaning you pop the pills back to back? I can't see how that would be beneficial in anyway, except to maybe your toilet water's volume.

Klonopin is a knock-you-out benzodiazepine. Ritalin is an on-your-feet stimulant. NO.

However, my psych knows full well that I want to try out ADD medication when we get my anxiety under control, and he just prescribed me Klonopin, so maybe it's safe to take the Ritalin in the morning after the Klonopin's peak concentrations are over.

You should still be asking a psychiatrist, though. Why haven't you?


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

My psychiatrist did prescribe using meds like that but not swallowing them at the same time. I took the stimulant in the morning to wake up cause it was very hard for me to be motivated and have energy especially in the morning and then take the benzo as needed through the day to manage anxiety. Taking both meds at the same time does seem counter productive. Benzos will make you calmer and sleepier not more active and they also can have a negative impact on your ability to concentrate. They do help if your concentration is ruined by anxiety but everyone I know who's gone on benzos has had their work quality go down even though they felt better. While I don't think anything really bad would happen I'd look into alternatives to this combo simply because I doubt it's effectiveness.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I do this very often, and have never experienced any ill effects from it. I take .5 to 1 mg of Klonopin, and either 20-30 mg of Ritalin or 54 mg of Concerta. I take ADD medicine every day, and benzos 3 or 4 times a week, so I've used this combo *a lot*.


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## IllusionalFate (Sep 10, 2008)

Mixing benzos with stimulants is very safe; I'm prescribed 4mg clonazepam + 10mg Adderall XR daily. I rarely take the clonazepam though since magnesium supplements kill the amphetamine-induced jitteriness and anxiogenesis.

Now with Ritalin, since it's a pure reuptake inhibitor I suggest combining it with selegiline. This will allow you to use much smaller doses, should prolong methylphenidate's duration of action, and will make the positive dopaminergic effects much more prominent than the acute noradrenergic uptake inhibition. The Klonopin could be used much less often in this case and it would be a far superior regimen for treating SA.


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## dax (Nov 19, 2004)

bezoomny said:


> I do this very often, and have never experienced any ill effects from it. I take .5 to 1 mg of Klonopin, and either 20-30 mg of Ritalin or 54 mg of Concerta. I take ADD medicine every day, and benzos 3 or 4 times a week, so I've used this combo *a lot*.


Do you take them both at the same time or pretty close together, like less than an hour apart?


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## pinokkio (Sep 8, 2010)

*My Experiences*

Every body is different and everyone's brain has different wiring. Sometimes it may take a great deal of trial and effort to reach a desired effect. I have suffered from extreme anxiey which has been much relieved by the addition of ritalin to my regimen. Oddly enough, I was able to stop all my anti-depressants because the ritalin appeared to have reduced and/or eliminated the sadness that I once felt with the chaos and darkness that I constantly felt in my head. When I am suffering from an extreme anxiety attack, I have found that taking a combination of both 20 mg of ritalin and 2 mg of clonazepam has a combination effect that works very well for me. For those who are already hyperactive, the idea of administering amphetamines is to speed up one's already speeding brain so much that it actually slows down from my understanding. Otherwise, for someone who is truly hyperactive, amphetamine administration should not hype someone up but provide different effects than those who take amphetamine substances simply for it's "up" properties. I often find that I need a nap about 30 minutes after taking my ritalin, with or without the addition of clonazepam. It just has that effect on me in mellowing me out and prying me off of the ceiling.



Bullheaded said:


> Meaning you pop the pills back to back? I can't see how that would be beneficial in anyway, except to maybe your toilet water's volume.
> 
> Klonopin is a knock-you-out benzodiazepine. Ritalin is an on-your-feet stimulant. NO.
> 
> ...


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I've taken them at the same time many times over with no problem. Though I find stimulants treat most of my anxiety oddly enough so I don't need Klonopin often. It might be cause I got ADD-I.


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## Suut (Jun 18, 2013)

This would be fine if the stimulant was XR and you take the benzos for anxiety or if you have any shaking problems or discomforts from the stimulant but I don't see any problem with it if taking in small doses. 

Taking them together is also fine if you are feeling body problems when taking Adderal, I assume dax has a tolerance to both chemicals, for benzos at-least I would assume if you take daily doses for anxiety reasons or insomnia or side effects. 

Keep the stimulant dose ether XR or low IR with benzos and you should be anxiety free and focused. 

Take care and low benzo doses (Nothing more than prescribed anyway) if you are taking together with a stim, just if you wanna me on the safe side. (I take 7 - 2mg Diazepam daily and 40mg temazepam at night) I would just make sure I don't go taking more and more, its a problem sometimes when taking other substances.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

Wow, such an old post.

I would kind of recommend a benzo with a stimulant. That's just to keep you calm as the stimulant can be kind of intense. I am taking Focalin which, from what I hear, is like an enhanced Ritalin. I probably wouldn't be able to handle the stimulant without a benzo to keep me calm.

Just my opinion


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## T800 (Jun 13, 2013)

What's stronger? Klono or Lorazepam?


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

clonazepam (klopnopin). Ativan is kind of like the begginners benzo in my opinion, although im sure some people would disagree with me.


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## T800 (Jun 13, 2013)

So this means lorazepam is a weak benzo? This makes me sad. 
I want a strong benzo. A kick *** benzo. How about xanax vs lorazepam which one is stronger?


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

Safe to combine? Yes. Although, stupid to combine these two medicines. You are losing the benefits of the medicines. Its smart to just take one medicine.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

T800 said:


> So this means lorazepam is a weak benzo? This makes me sad.
> I want a strong benzo. A kick *** benzo. How about xanax vs lorazepam which one is stronger?


Xanax would be stronger than lorazepam.


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## T800 (Jun 13, 2013)

How much stronger? You mean you need less xanax to get the same sedation?


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm

It looks like 0.5mg of xanax and clonazepam are equivalent to 1mg of Ativan.


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## T800 (Jun 13, 2013)

Ok, and how much xanax do you usually need? I mean if you usually take 0.5 xanax then you could as well take 1mg lorazepam with the same success.


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