# What time of day do you take your Benzo?



## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Ok so I've been prescribed Klonopin to take daily before bed, for anxiety, mainly SA, thing is I'm also on mirtazapine and it deals with my insomnia, and "at-home" anxiety fine, So I'd rather take my klonopin in the morning before I have to go out somewhere, to give me peak plasma levels for the situation. 

So to all benzo users, I'm curious to know a)what time of the day do you usually take your benzo? and b)does it cognitivly affect you to the extent where performing daily tasks such as driving, shopping, concentrating in class etc are majorly negativly effected?

Thanks.

(note: no need to warn me about risk of addiction etc, I'm well aware of the pharmacokinetics of this drug.)


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## Aleforge (Jul 8, 2009)

I use to take them before heading out, since they are shorter acting then say an SSRI you really don't wanna waste the effects on bedtime. Unless of course it helps you sleep.


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## db0255 (Jul 20, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Ok so I've been prescribed Klonopin to take daily before bed, for anxiety, mainly SA, thing is I'm also on mirtazapine and it deals with my insomnia, and "at-home" anxiety fine, So I'd rather take my klonopin in the morning before I have to go out somewhere, to give me peak plasma levels for the situation.
> 
> So to all benzo users, I'm curious to know a)what time of the day do you usually take your benzo? and b)does it cognitivly affect you to the extent where performing daily tasks such as driving, shopping, concentrating in class etc are majorly negativly effected?
> 
> ...


You can take a benzo everyday if the dose is low enough and not become addicted or have any withdrawal. Only when you take a high dose daily, or a low dose for more than 6 months will you experience significant withdrawal.

I take my benzo as needed, and yes I find that it does cognitively affect me to the point where I look at simple addition problems and take a long time to do them. So my advice would be to take when needed, Klonopin is the most potent and longest lasting (correct me if I'm wrong), so if you take it in the morning, it should help you through the majority of your day, however if you take it at bedtime, you'll have a restful nights' sleep. Whatever is up to you.

BTW, how much are you taking?


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I take Klonopin about an hour before I know I'm going to need it. So, the time varies.

When I don't have the time to let Klonopin kick in, I have a very limited prescription for Xanax as well. I take that and can feel it working in about ten minutes.


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## Drew (Jan 23, 2006)

Klonopin:
- Night dose
- Afternoon dose PRN (as needed)


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## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

since our anxiety level varies day to day, I would take them as needed only, disolved under the tongue works fastest, see 'sublingual' on the net

I would never take benzos every day just before bed, as this, IMO reduces your ability to fall asleep naturally

some docs say take before bed as a klonapin dose lasts 24 hours but I dont think any benzo lasts that long


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## Cast Away (Feb 12, 2009)

Dont take it before bed. Also if i was you i wouldnt take it everyday as benzos are not so much addicting but dependence and tolerance grows quickly for most people. I would try to find a ssri or maoi to take everyday and use your benzo for PRN use.


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## Ash09 (Apr 27, 2009)

I don't see why benzos are pescribed before bedtime for anxiety, by the time you wake up they will be wearing off, the only benzo that lasts that long would be chlordiazepoxide.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

db0255 said:


> BTW, how much are you taking?


Only 0.5 mg


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Aleforge said:


> I use to take them before heading out, since they are shorter acting then say an SSRI you really don't wanna waste the effects on bedtime. Unless of course it helps you sleep.


That's the thing, I don't really need it for sleep, because I also take Mirtazapine and that puts me to sleep.


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## RockiNToM (Jun 15, 2009)

There is one particular benzo called Zopiclone (well very similar to a benzo) you can take before bed, but I think this is from Cyclopyrrolones family and it retains a similar pharmacological profile of the benzo family. It's primary function is as a hypnotic agent for insomnia.

Still, I believe it also can cause dependency issues. Worth checking out for those who need to use a med to get to sleep.


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## finster (Jul 5, 2007)

Ash09 said:


> I don't see why benzos are pescribed before bedtime for anxiety, by the time you wake up they will be wearing off, the only benzo that lasts that long would be chlordiazepoxide.


I take klonopin as needed and the effect seems to last from 24 - 36 hours. I believe it's the longest lasting benzo out there.


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## katnip43 (Jul 10, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Ok so I've been prescribed Klonopin to take daily before bed, for anxiety, mainly SA, thing is I'm also on mirtazapine and it deals with my insomnia, and "at-home" anxiety fine, So I'd rather take my klonopin in the morning before I have to go out somewhere, to give me peak plasma levels for the situation.
> 
> So to all benzo users, I'm curious to know a)what time of the day do you usually take your benzo? and b)does it cognitivly affect you to the extent where performing daily tasks such as driving, shopping, concentrating in class etc are majorly negativly effected?
> 
> ...


First of all you will hear no warnings from me about benzo addiction. I can't stand when people preach that crap.

I was on Klonpoin for a while but it didn't really do the job for me. I suffer from panic attacks and it would seem like forever before it kicked in. That and the only benefit I got was being able to sleep soundly. I was prescirbied 1mg 2X day as needed. So I tried taking it before leaving in the morning, not a good thing; I was drowsy as heck. And as far as the panic attacks, I managed to have a full blown one after taking 1mg prior to going to the overcrowded Walmart here. Anyway, I had no choice but to go back to Xanax. Some docs refuse to prescribe it. One Pnurse I talked to at VA said it was " dirty drug" and had all these side effects and potential for abuse. Well, heck they alll have the "potential" to be habit forming, even Ambien, the sleep med I take sometimes.

I guess what I'm getting at is everyone is different as far as their reactions to certain benzos. I had to just stop taking Klonopin in the morning because it would make me so drowsy. Xanax, on the other hand is quicker acting but has a shorter half life and doesn't seem to have quite such a sedative quality, but keep in mind, that's me!

I don't know what dose of K you're on, but if you already have the other drug that helps you to sleep I would do my best to forgoe it in the morning. Of course this is coming from someone who has been unemployed for almost two years due to mental illness so you might do just fine. I think it's a lot of trial and error and it all depends on the person. I take Xanax (only .5mg at a time) for anytime I have to go out into public. I've been given 60 1mg pills a month, and it's been a life saver for me since I have really bad agoraphobia, as well as SA. When I was on Klonopin and was taking 1mg before going out, again, did nothing for me but make me sleepy.

So again, it all depends on you, what your situation is and what you're dealing with, etc. Just keep in mind that Klonopin (at least form me) takes like an hour to kick in.

Hope this is of some help at least.

Kat


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## katnip43 (Jul 10, 2009)

finster said:


> I take klonopin as needed and the effect seems to last from 24 - 36 hours. I believe it's the longest lasting benzo out there.


Sheesh..must be nice..I think the longest Klonopin lasted for me was like 6hours!


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## Cast Away (Feb 12, 2009)

Ive took 6mg of klonopin before and it lasted maybe 4 hours


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## Ash09 (Apr 27, 2009)

finster said:


> I take klonopin as needed and the effect seems to last from 24 - 36 hours. I believe it's the longest lasting benzo out there.


The longest lasting benzo is Flurazepam followed by chlordiazepoxide, for most people clonazepam lasts 8 hours at most.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

katnip43 said:


> First of all you will hear no warnings from me about benzo addiction. I can't stand when people preach that crap.
> 
> I was on Klonpoin for a while but it didn't really do the job for me. I suffer from panic attacks and it would seem like forever before it kicked in. That and the only benefit I got was being able to sleep soundly. I was prescirbied 1mg 2X day as needed. So I tried taking it before leaving in the morning, not a good thing; I was drowsy as heck. And as far as the panic attacks, I managed to have a full blown one after taking 1mg prior to going to the overcrowded Walmart here. Anyway, I had no choice but to go back to Xanax. Some docs refuse to prescribe it. One Pnurse I talked to at VA said it was " dirty drug" and had all these side effects and potential for abuse. Well, heck they alll have the "potential" to be habit forming, even Ambien, the sleep med I take sometimes.
> 
> ...


Hey Kat, thanks for your message, I found it helpful, I agree that I'll just have to try it out at different times of the day, and see which is most effective by trial and error. 
I'll only be taking .5 mg, so it may make me less sleepy than 1 mg, not sure.


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