# Klonopin for obsessive thoughts



## InterestinglyInteresting (May 7, 2010)

Current medications: Efexor 187.5 mg and Klonopin 1 mg

one of my most troublesome obsesive thoughts is permanent brain damage/abnormalities from ssri usage as a kid. i understand whats done is done but also i am still doing as now i am on efexor. it helps me be less crying and less emotional on the sad side at least.

the klonopin i took today first time 1 mg and it definately removed anxious feelings and *REVERSED MY ANHEDONIA*. I.e. i actually felt pleasure again. i am not sure how or why this happened.

*The problem is this: once in a while..like once every 20 minutes obsessive thoughts would strike in my mind and a mini-surge of the fear region of my brain would go off. *

*Do you think a higher dosage of klonopin, i.e. 1.5-2 mg would be more helpful. *

i understand benzos are short term but its okay with my pdoc because i am completely unresponsibe to serotoninergic medications and cbt therapy.

*the doc only gave me 0.5 mg to take once a day but i will definately only use prn so i can save up to get good sized dosages like 1.5 mg
*
klonopin itself isn't too hard on the liver right?


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

You worry too much about your meds, you start obsessing if you are already not, no medication is perfect, professional help is a must. I don't believe nobody here about meds reviews, it is just useless.

"Do you think a higher dosage of klonopin, i.e. 1.5-2 mg would be more helpful. "

Nobody knows this. So if i told you hmm 1.3 mg would be good, the other person will say 5 mg or more. And if you tried both it didn't help hmm lets try another med it is a constant cycle that feeds your obsessive thoughts.

My point is take med or medication combo that helped you the most in the past or present and stick with it and remember no medication is perfect if you need you can go to psychologist for that even little extra help. Life is hard but it is also sometimes good, Keep fighting like everyone else.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

InterestinglyInteresting said:


> Current medications: Efexor 187.5 mg and Klonopin 1 mg
> 
> one of my most troublesome obsesive thoughts is permanent brain damage/abnormalities from ssri usage as a kid. i understand whats done is done but also i am still doing as now i am on efexor. it helps me be less crying and less emotional on the sad side at least.
> 
> ...


Try seeking out some ERP form of CBT psychotherapy. ERP = exposure response prevention, works the best IMO for all forms of OCD except maybe Pure 'O'. If you need a better antidepressant instead of Effexor XR that is focused on just treating OCD, there is Luvox Cr, Anafranil(hands down the best OCD med out there), or you could give Memantine a try.


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## InterestinglyInteresting (May 7, 2010)

Well psychotherapy for me is bunk because there isn't one word or train of thought a therapist can make me follow to slow my mind down.


also serotonin doesnt have significant anti-anxiety properties for me. ive tried tcas and ssris. serotonin=no anxiety relief 


i prolly did burn out my serotonin receptors/syntethesis or it just isnt the problem.
------------------

GABA seems right for me i need to kind of tune down the cognitive parts of my brain, strangely that makes me feel happier. I will soon try taking 1.5 klonopin


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

Luvox CR


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

InterestinglyInteresting said:


> Well psychotherapy for me is bunk because there isn't one word or train of thought a therapist can make me follow to slow my mind down.
> 
> also serotonin doesnt have significant anti-anxiety properties for me. ive tried tcas and ssris. serotonin=no anxiety relief
> 
> ...


Did you try Luvox Cr or Anafranil? They don't work the same exactly as the other SSRI's(Luvox Cr) nor TCAs(Anafranil). After that give Mematine a try. Don't give up till then.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

No, I don't think more benzos would be particularly useful here. 1 mg is high enough.


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Under17 said:


> No, I don't think more benzos would be particularly useful here. 1 mg is high enough.


Why do you think 1 mg is enough. Why not 1.5 or 2 mg and how do you know what is enough are you a chemist or a doctor or you just guessed 1 mg is enough.


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Dr House said:


> Did you try Luvox Cr or Anafranil? They don't work the same exactly as the other SSRI's(Luvox Cr) nor TCAs(Anafranil). After that give Mematine a try. Don't give up till then.


Can you tell us how differently luvox cr works than other ssri??


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> Luvox CR


why luvox cr??


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

newboki said:


> why luvox cr??


Luvox CR is approved to treat symptoms of ocd


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

newboki said:


> Why do you think 1 mg is enough. Why not 1.5 or 2 mg and how do you know what is enough are you a chemist or a doctor or you just guessed 1 mg is enough.


I am just giving my own experience. But since you mentioned it, benzos are generally ineffective for OCD and don't have much of support behind them for this. Nobody would say "5 mg or more" because taking 5 mg of klonopin all the time without a tolerance is ridiculous and not something you want to do, especially for a condition that benzos are not hugely effective for. In general, most studies find that the therapeutic effects of klonopin do not dramatically increase past 1 mg. If he feels no relief at all from 1 mg, then a higher dose won't be of much benefit. 1 mg and 2 mg mg of klonopin simply isn't going to be night and day in terms of effectiveness, but it will produce more side effects.


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> Luvox CR is approved t treat symptoms of ocd


So is paxil and anafranil an many others


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Under17 said:


> I am just giving my own experience. But since you mentioned it, benzos are generally ineffective for OCD and don't have much of support behind them for this. Nobody would say "5 mg or more" because taking 5 mg of klonopin all the time without a tolerance is ridiculous and not something you want to do, especially for a condition that benzos are not hugely effective for. In general, most studies find that the therapeutic effects of klonopin do not dramatically increase past 1 mg. If he feels no relief at all from 1 mg, then a higher dose won't be of much benefit. 1 mg and 2 mg mg of klonopin simply isn't going to be night and day in terms of effectiveness, but it will produce more side effects.


reasonable answer. What would you recommend for ocd paxil, luvox cr, anafranil, cipralex, zoloft.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

newboki said:


> Can you tell us how differently luvox cr works than other ssri??


All SSRIs have slightly different effects due to differing affinities for different receptors. Fluvoxamine, in addition to being an SSRI is a sigma-1 agonist, and has the highest affinity for the sigma-1 receptor out of the SSRIs, which is probably why it can be the most effective for OCD.

This came up on a google and says pretty much the same thing, so it might have more information http://crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds.Luvox


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Under17 said:


> All SSRIs have slightly different effects due to differing affinities for different receptors. Fluvoxamine, in addition to being an SSRI is a sigma-1 agonist, and has the highest affinity for the sigma-1 receptor out of the SSRIs, which is probably why it can be the most effective for OCD.
> 
> This came up on a google and says pretty much the same thing, so it might have more information http://crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds.Luvox


What about anafranil is that sigma 1 receptor also because it is good for ocd.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

newboki said:


> reasonable answer. What would you recommend for ocd paxil, luvox cr, anafranil, cipralex, zoloft.


Hmm I don't really like tricyclics so I'd save those for last. Luvox is probably a very good place to start since it has minimal side effects (especially compared to other SSRIs), I think I might try it myself. If that didn't work then I'd go with prozac or cipralex. If two SSRIs didn't work, I'd look into adding memantine with fluvoxamine or whichever SSRI had least side effects. Or you could go with anafranil at that point. But memantine is worth trying I think, I believe its starting to help me a little.

Supplements you could try are low doses of lithium, NAC (n-acetylcysteine), and inositol (in high doses like 10 g). I'd go for NAC first and add more stuff later if its not effective enough.

OCD is wickedly hard to treat.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

newboki said:


> What about anafranil is that sigma 1 receptor also because it is good for ocd.


Not that I know of. But that's not the only or even best key at treating OCD.


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Under17 said:


> Hmm I don't really like tricyclics so I'd save those for last. Luvox is probably a very good place to start since it has minimal side effects (especially compared to other SSRIs), I think I might try it myself. If that didn't work then I'd go with prozac or cipralex. If two SSRIs didn't work, I'd look into adding memantine with fluvoxamine or whichever SSRI had least side effects. Or you could go with anafranil at that point. But memantine is worth trying I think, I believe its starting to help me a little.
> 
> Supplements you could try are low doses of lithium, NAC (n-acetylcysteine), and inositol (in high doses like 10 g). I'd go for NAC first and add more stuff later if its not effective enough.
> 
> OCD is wickedly hard to treat.


i had very bad ocd you know what cured it seroquel cipralex lithium. Even though i tried everything else.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

newboki said:


> i had very bad ocd you know what cured it seroquel cipralex lithium. Even though i tried everything else.


That's unfortunate but it's good that you found a combo that works. It's definitely best to start small though before jumping into antipsychotics. I'm not sure how I'd rank things like antipsychotics, benzos, and gabapentin/lyrica in terms of safety and tolerability but I reckon antipsychotics are the most effective and have the most side effects. Some people can get lucky with benzos and not have stuff like protracted withdrawals, but memory impairment is a major drawback. Lyrica is kind of mild so far, but sometimes makes me feel down.


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Under17 said:


> That's unfortunate but it's good that you found a combo that works. It's definitely best to start small though before jumping into antipsychotics.


I know i love my seroquel even though a lot of sa people don't like it. It is life saver for me. My combo is what got my sa ocd in remmission. So i must be lucky that antipsychotic works for me when it doesn't for many people.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

newboki said:


> I know i love my seroquel even though a lot of sa people don't like it. It is life saver for me. My combo is what got my sa ocd in remmission. So i must be lucky that antipsychotic works for me when it doesn't for many people.


They seem to be pretty effective for OCD when combined with an SSRI, it's not just you, although I think its unusual an antipsychotic would help social anxiety so well.


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

Under17 said:


> They seem to be pretty effective for OCD when combined with an SSRI, it's not just you, although I think its unusual an antipsychotic would help social anxiety so well.


Listen now that i found this combo i don't care how medication works what is it called nothing it helps me that is it. But this is all thanks to my good psychiatrist. I hope you find a combo that resolves your problems like i did.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

According to this Psychiatrist:

http://www.askdrjones.com/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/medical-treatment/



> The Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, SSRI's, remain the number one choice for the treatment of OCD. All people with OCD have some abnormalities of the brain neuromodulator serotonin - some are high and others are low. Some types of OCD are effected by the brain modulators dopamine and/or norepinephrine. Frequently more than one medication is needed to help get back to normal. The FDA studies of medications for OCD focus on getting better, but not well. In order to achieve full recovery from symptoms one medication may not be adequate. If a medication is not working try something else. TMS, brain stimulation, or surgery may be effective if all else fails.
> *
> OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER MEDICATIONS*
> *
> ...


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## newboki (Sep 13, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> According to this Psychiatrist:
> 
> http://www.askdrjones.com/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/medical-treatment/


Thx for the info


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

I just got some Klonopin yesterday and it is my first time having some
I tested it out last night and took 2.5 grams and I felt really tired and went to bed early 
Now it is 14 hours since i took them and I am wondering if someone can tell me if it has been long enough to take my normal dose which is 1mg ? Also how long does it usually take to make an effect ? Its 8:30 am now and I have to go out for a interview thing in 5 hours so will that be good timing ?


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