Clonazepam

[Bourdain1]

Hi there everyone; this is my first post although I've been referencing this forum for the last month. The entire month of December has been a nightmare. My anxiety/panics attacks began to occur the last week of November; while working at my former job. I was working fast paced retail at Johnston & Murphy.. Holiday hours; 48+...yoga/Pilates, when time allowed , all while juggling the daily domestics around the house and tending to my 4 1/2 yr old & husband. There was Also a lot of tension in the workplace because of my 25 yr old manager whom I felt had it in for me. She made it almost a hostile environment to work at. I always got the impression that she was trying to run me out of there. But I think I brought it upon myself; however there was a "trigger" leading up to it, that involved an issue that my mom is currently facing. I think that traumatic news + my job contributed to my out of control anxiety. Ultimately I chose to quit my job dec. 2nd.
Dec. 3 hospitalized: given Alprazolam 0.25mg
Dec. 5 hospitalized: Blood work-checked out fine
Chest X-Ray- checked out fine
EKG- checked out fine
Given Lorazepam 1mg
Dec. 19: doctor prescribes me Citalopram 20mg
Dec. 20: I take one tablet of Citalopram at 7:30am....... And it FUCKED me up. (Sorry for the language) but it was the worst/scariest feeling ever. I was jittery, anxious times TEN!!! Paranoid, felt I was literally going to DIE. Didn't sleep a wink the ENTIRE night. It was so bad that I had to call EMS the next morning. And they took me to the hospital.
Dec. 21: hospitalized: no sleep. Heavy chest. They prescribed me Lorazepam 1mg (again enough for 10days)
Dec. 26: I'm starting to feel more like myself. Go see doctor for a follow up. The Nurse Practitioner sees me; give me Abilify. Wtf???
Dec. 27: I demand to see a doctor who will refill my Lorazepam. Instead he suggests & prescribes me CLONAZEPAM 0.5mg to be taken at bedtime.

I'm frustrated. Mainly because I feel like a damn experiment; and I've never like taking meds. And now all of a sudden I'm given this an that left and right?!
My question is to whomever has taken clonazepam.. what's it like? Will it even help? Or will it make things worse??
I wish I could just stay on the lorazepam for a while because I KNOW it WORKS. I'm not taking more than one med at a time. That's just how I feel about it.
Any insight would be nice. Thanks for reading ☺️

[Enduronman]

Abilify is fuggin awesome!!! YES!!! Don't give up,..did you get it??????

[Enduronman]

PS: You're bringing on all this "flurry of medicational activity" yourself, you just can't see yourself doing it friend...

Welcome btw..

EMan. :)

[Bourdain1]

They told me to hold on to it. I only took half a tablet on Thursday; on top of the lorazepam. So you can imagine how groggy I was the entire day. Maybe I need to give it another try by itself?
Thanks E-man😊

[Bourdain1]

E-Man* (oops)

[Enduronman]

Yes, the Abilify is really great alone,..it works in an area that no other mood stabilizer does. Yes, try it again, alone...:)

[Enduronman]

At least your Doc and staff are willing to help you!! Geeze I see post just the opposite of this alllllll daayyyyyy lonnggggggg....So, be thankful and you got some #1 stuff on the first shot! YAY!! :)

[artaud]

My question is to whomever has taken clonazepam.. what's it like? Will it even help? Or will it make things worse??️

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines

If viewing on a mobile phone or tablet, open the Dose Equivalency tab.

In the U.S., drugs are commonly (not absolutely) grouped by certain characteristics of their Generic Names.

Propranolol, Atenolol, Nadolol, etc. All of these feature a suffix of "olol", indicating that they're Beta Blockers.

For Benzodiazepines, the common suffix is (am). Many of your meds bear this suffix. They would be chemically similar. Look at the Half Life on this table, you can see that the duration of their effects vary greatly.

I've taken Klonopin for years, to me it's very effective and the half life is long, so the benefits last longer than, say, Alprazolam.

[Dahila]

I am taking clonazepam for over 4 months and works much better on me than lorazepam. I do not have the feeling of drugged and it seems that my brain works ok ;))
0.5 is the smallest dose, and my doc told me that she has patients on it for years and they never up their meds. When I look at all benzos I was on for years , clonazepam seems the best one.. what is the best the pill works for like 8-9 hours

[Bourdain1]

I guess you're right. I'm just a little scared. Before the anxiety/panic episodes came about I was on a pretty good health streak. Juicing,exercising regularly, organics...So maybe I need to put all of my doubts aside & accept that these drugs are meant for a reason.

[Bourdain1]

Thanks Artaud!
I read up on it myself; but I've also been told to be careful when taking it. Apparently it makes you "loopy". Is Klonopin the same as Clonazepam? Or is it something else?

[Bourdain1]

Thanks Dahlia!
I hope it works as well for me. But you're right I think. My doctor told me that Lorazepam works like "BAM!", instantaneously, but has its waves throughout the day; whereas the clonazepam is suppose to take a while to take effect but once it does its suppose to last "longer". Oiiii! :)

[Bourdain1]

So TWO ekg's, TWO rounds of blood work, & TWO chest x-rays...checked out fine. Am I going nutts? When will this inner tension and anxiety dissolve?!
Well, the Lorazepam does wonders for me...I have one tablet left and then I begin to take the clonazepam tomorrow (Sun.) night. I'll let everyone know what happens!

[artaud]

Is Klonopin the same as Clonazepam? Or is it something else?

One in the same, Clonazepam is the generic name, Klonopin is a Brand. The drug may have several Brand names but only one generic. And the generic name is given to it from the start, we tend to think the generic name is for the cheaper prices for medications after they've been on the market so many years.

I was in Pharmacy Technician school, finished 5 of 6 months, but got a job in an unrelated field before I finished. A Pharmacy Tech just fills the prescriptions, they are not Pharmacists, they don't make big money.

My point is something we were told, always know your medications by the Brand and Generic. For example, and I have seen this happen. You're at the doctors and they ask you what medications you're on. You say Zantac, but they write Xanax. If I say I take "Zantac, you know, Ranitidine", it clarifies the issue. It will be of help to you as well when you get a prescription filled, since you can be confident that they gave you the correct medicine. (My prescription bottles, when generic, have the Brand name written in small type near the bottom).

Hope it helps. If I take some today, I can still feel the effects tomorrow. It has a long half life. Valium (diazepam) has even a longer half life, I didn't realize it was that long.

[robotcat]

I take .5mg at night of Klonopin to sleep. It works well for me and lasts a long time.

[Dahila]

I think doing exercises , good organic food, fresh air, it will help you to keep the meds on very low doses. I take also Vitamin D3 after some talk with doctor she told me to up to 4000 u a day. People with anxiety believe somehow that it will dissapear. Not exactly, when you have it , you have it. yOu change your life style it may help to control it better, but as soon as you are under the stress it will come back. I know what I am talking about. I am dealing with it for over 40 years.

[acetone]

All benzodiazepines(lorazepam, clonazepam, alprazolam) work. They are excellent meds. I have taken Clonazepam and Alprazolam. Clonazepam is better for anxiety round the clock which does not spike. Alprazolam and Lorazepam are better for anxiety which spikes(leads to a panic attack).

[Dahila]

Agree with acetone, I take Lorazepam in case of panic attack, but with taking clonazepam once a day and gabapentin, it seems to control it. I got a panic attack after my best friend passed away, I got a few of them but anyone would be in pieces after something like that. ....I think..

[PanicPhobia]

Lorezapam and Clonazepam are both benzodiazepines and do basically the same thing. The difference is their half-life -- Clonazepam lasts much longer in your system so you don't have to take it as often. Benzos are your "quick fix" for anxiety but they cause physical dependence and you don't want to be on them long-term if you can help it.

But, yes, you are an experiment. That's just the way it goes with us folks. We have to experiment until we find what works.

Celexa (Citalopram) is an SSRI. If it made you feel really bad, then there are many others your doctor can try. Zoloft is one of the best for anxiety so maybe give it a try. Paxil and Prozac are other options.

[Dahila]

Panic Phobia my doc tried 6 kinds of meds SSRI on me. They generally higher blood pressure and it is a problem with me. I am very agitated after taking it and she started me on really low dosage. Not everyone can take them
of course I am depended on benzos, I am on them for over 30 years. Still kicking :)

[Bourdain1]

I want to thank each and every one of you, (Dahila, Artaud, E-Man,Acetone, Panic Phobia, & Robocat)!! Really; thanks for taking the time to write genuine responses.
Sorry for not responding sooner; Ive been having many technical issues logging into this forum from my laptop. Now that that's situated, I want to let y'all know that it's been approximately 10 days since I started taking my prescribed Clonozepam. With the exception of taking it on NYE. I anticipated drinking &having a good time and didn't want to comprimise my health even further by mixing the two. I know..I know, I'm bad!! haha
Well as it turns out, I think it's safe to say that I am about 98% back to my normal self!! :D
By "normal" I mean that my anxiety is no longer restricting my driving, play time with my daughter, and yoga. Upon taking my first round of clonozepam, I woke up for the first time in what seemed like a long time WITHOUT a feeling of heavy weights pressed up against my chest and shoulders. I could actually get out of bed and walk straight and tall without a heavy feeling. I actually 'wanted' to get out of bed and seize the day. Though I was scared at first that it wouldn't last long; it has. I'm not crying as much either. I was never "depressed" but I'm just a very emotional person, & while I had the anxiety it only made me cry waaaayyy more often.
Let's see... I've also discovered my "triggers".
And I'm back to my yoga & Pilates classes. I was out about a month; that was devastating enough. Good thing is I now have a yoga "guru" named Jenda. I took her advice and ran with it. And that was "To live in the PRESENT and to forget the past and future" or something along those lines. Basically, many of us have the tendency to over think things when it comes to our future. Ex. our deadlines, our schedules, our appointments, and everyone else we put ahead of ourselves...husband, kids, family, friends,work..ect...and when we do that for too long and so hard, it sets off those anxiety's; those worries. However, the flight or fight responses we gather from our attacks/episodes or whatever you call them, they're actually good for us too. wow. what a catch 22 huh?!
Excuse me for the lengthy rant, but this is where I'm at. As I'm recovering I think. I now know the sources of my anxieties & panic. And eventually I'll have to address them without the meds. Until then, this is working pretty fine.
Thanks for reading! :D

[PanicPhobia]

How much Klonopin are you taking per day and what doses? Just curious because I am on it too.

[Bourdain1]

I take .5mg as well 👌☺️

[Bourdain1]

I take .5mg as well ☺️

[Dahila]

So do I beside gabapentin, Clonazepam is a good medication. Not so invasive, I do not feel sedated, I feel calm.
"To live in the PRESENT and to forget the past and future" this was a topic of my discussion with psychiatrist yesterday, she was explaining me that she realize how difficult it is and she was trying to show me how to stay in present. It was a good hour.
I am happy it helps you. Sometimes we need a bit of help to rediscover us. to be ourselves, which is difficult when that **** takes over, I mean anxiety;))

[GeneAllen]

My question is to whomever has taken clonazepam.. what's it like? Will it even help? Or will it make things worse??


You'll find it more effective, now and later too. I have, and works great, much better than the other. Peace ;)

[Dahila]

So far I took maybe 4 or 5 ativans in the last few months. It is good. Clonazepam keeps me calm.