Clonazepam questions

[royerlraph79]

Hello, I have been diagnosed with OCD about half a year ago and I've been prescribed Prozac antidepressant (40mg for now) and Clonazepam as needed (1.5mg for now). My questions, or my obsessions should I say, about the Clonazepam are the following:

Yesterday, I was extremely anxious so I took my usual 1.5mg dose of anti-anxiety. I don't normally do that, but since yesterday was different than the other days, I felt like 1.5mg was not enough so I decided to take another 2mg a few hours after I took my 1.5mg dose. What obsesses me here is that the second dose I took barely worked! Why didn't the 2mg dose work?? Is it because my system was already starting to eleminate this molecule from my system?

Also, when I take 1.5mg I start to feel anxious with little effects of the med like 2 hours after the onset of the effects. Does that mean my dose is not strong enough? The pharmacist told me it was supposed to last from 6 to 12 hours…

Thank you :)

[Dahila]

clonazepam takes a long time to work, 1- to 1.5 h for me. I am on the smallest does 0.5 mg for years. How is it possible that you have such high dose. IN situation like that you do not take double does of clonazepam but take additional ativan so it stops the panic.
Just when you think, I know sh888t, for your information. I am dealing with anxiety for over 5 decades. There is nothing I had not try..........nothing
OCD is difficult to control, a friend from here is suffering with it, but he meditates, he takes natural supplements, eat healthy, and he is off his meds for years.
we have tons of clonazepam threads and people share their experience with that med on this subforum http://anxietyforum.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?17-Medication

[royerlraph79]

clonazepam takes a long time to work, 1- to 1.5 h for me. I am on the smallest does 0.5 mg for years. How is it possible that you have such high dose. IN situation like that you do not take double does of clonazepam but take additional ativan so it stops the panic.
Just when you think, I know sh888t, for your information. I am dealing with anxiety for over 5 decades. There is nothing I had not try..........nothing
OCD is difficult to control, a friend from here is suffering with it, but he meditates, he takes natural supplements, eat healthy, and he is off his meds for years.
we have tons of clonazepam threads and people share their experience with that med on this subforum

I was not prescribed Lorazepam so I can't take it :p the reason why I have such a high dose is because I don't feel my antidepressant is working right now and lower doses of Clonazepam are not enough for me probably because my anxiety is so severe I suppose :( by the way, I know it takes time for Clonazepam to kick in. The second dose just barely worked and that's what concerns me. Do you have any answers to both my questions by any chance?

[Dahila]

maybe your AD is not good for you. I can not take any AD they are not good match for me. I one of those people who can not take it............... You need to talk to doctor please. we are not qualified enough to give you a medical advice, but clonasepam in this dose is too high in my opinion

[Kirk]

Medications can work differently on different people. One drug does not necessarily fit all as mentioned previously.

[royerlraph79]

I already talked with my psychiatrist and of course she told me it was a very high dose, but agreed to prescribe it to me anyway. If this is too much, I know I'll have to lower the dose.

[Dahila]

go down gently, take your time , every two weeks cut the dose 0.5 mg so you do not get withdrawal issues. Go slow till at least 1 mg is enough for you. Clonazepam works anywhere from 6-12 hours:) good luck and do it, the dose is high. What happen when you need 5 mg a day?
With high dose of benzo unfortunately short term memory tend to give us trouble

[royerlraph79]

go down gently, take your time , every two weeks cut the dose 0.5 mg so you do not get withdrawal issues. Go slow till at least 1 mg is enough for you. Clonazepam works anywhere from 6-12 hours:) good luck and do it, the dose is high. What happen when you need 5 mg a day?
With high dose of benzo unfortunately short term memory tend to give us trouble

Oh, I'm not trying to stop it and I only take it when needed, but thanks for the support anyway :) I've been taking it as needed for only a few months now and do not experience any withdrawal symptoms. Right on the begining, 0.5 and 1 mg were not enough to calm me for that 6 to 12 hours, it only did its job for like 3 hours :p now on 1.5 mg I feel the effect for the desired time, but after about 3 hours the effect is not strong enough to keep me calm anymore. Knowing that, I suppose 2 mg should do the trick and be the maximum dose I ever take.

[Dahila]

yes men need more than woman. I do not advice to quit it , just to go down a bit. I take it every day (0.5 mg) at the same time, so it help me sleep and calms me down before my anxiety starts to act, it is usually around 7pm
My DH is a tall man, and the highest when we had dealing with insurance company was 3x0.5 a day

[Kirk]

Each individuals dosage may need to be different to have the desired effect.

[Kirk]

Valium always has worked best for me when I needed it as it was very fast acting and did the job for me.

[Dahila]

Kirk please do not advertise the meds. I think the goal of that forum is not to give encouragement for more meds, but to give help no to rely so much of meds. We have the tools here to help others.....

[Kirk]

I am not trying to give encouragement to anyone. It is up to each individual to make their own decision in consultation with their physician.
My internal medicine physician has told me it is best not to rely on any medication if possibe.

[royerlraph79]

By the way, what's the proper way to take clonazepam so I can experience the most of its effect? On the morning while I have nothing in my stomach? Eat then take it? Take it then eat?

[Kirk]

I just called my wife at home as she does not have to be at work until 3pm and she works for a large national retail pharmacy chain and she is a pharmacist.
She said that it depends on what the physcian tells you and how it makes you feel. For example, if it makes you sleepy, it may be better
to take it at night. She said to call your physician to see how he wants you to take it. She said to take the tablet always with a full glass of
water. She also said it can be habit forming. My friend used to take it as he suffered from bad anxiety and it helped him a great deal. She also said it is not typically
used long term unless the physician approves it.

[royerlraph79]

Thank you for taking the time to call your wife for this. However, my psychiatrist didn't specify anything related to the way I should take it, so that's why I'm confused.

[Kirk]

I would call your psychiatrist and get the instructions from him/her.

[Two One]

The dosage of medication varies for everybody. The recommended dosage depends on an individual's sex, age, weight, etc. Perhaps it is simply not the right medication for you. I also suffer from OCD and several other anxiety disorders. I am on 40 mg of Prozac and 0.5 mg of Klonopin as needed. I've been on that 0.5 mg dose of Klonopin for nearly two years and it still does its job. As Dahila said, Klonopin is not a fast acting benzo like Xanax or Ativan. It usually takes an hour to an hour and a half for it to take effect for me, but once it does I feel much better. I would recommend you talk to your psychiatrist about switching your medication. What works best for someone may not work for another. Unfortunately psychopharmacology is trial and error. Good luck.

[The Intolerable Kid]

It worked for me, but I needed a higher dose than the 1.5 mg.

[tlonist]

That is a pretty high dose. Have you tried any others like Ativan or Xanax for comparison?

What sort of anxiety symptoms are you having?

[Dahila]

xanax or Ativan are short lived benzos then more addictive, you need them take more often. Clonazepam will calm you down up to 12 hours. I take my 0.5 mg a day at 8 ish, to help me sleep later on. I am on this dose for years. sometimes I take 2x daily but only when I am stressed out, which lately does not happen more than once in two weeks......
to take any meds on empty stomach is not good idea, however I take my beta blockers as soon as i wake up before I go downstairs to make aaaaaaaaa huuuuuuuge cup of coffee more like 4 of them ;))

[tlonist]

xanax or Ativan are short lived benzos then more addictive, you need them take more often. Clonazepam will calm you down up to 12 hours. I take my 0.5 mg a day at 8 ish, to help me sleep later on. I am on this dose for years. sometimes I take 2x daily but only when I am stressed out, which lately does not happen more than once in two weeks......
to take any meds on empty stomach is not good idea, however I take my beta blockers as soon as i wake up before I go downstairs to make aaaaaaaaa huuuuuuuge cup of coffee more like 4 of them ;))

Um... have you thought about cutting down the coffee to see if that helps not needing the meds? Just a thought. Chasing a beta blocker with caffeine seems a bit counter productive if it's for anxiety.

[Dahila]

tionist I have anxiety for over 50 years, you think you have more expierence , go ahead give me more advice, and I was joking btw:)) I am old woman, there is not much I do not know, at least about depression, anxiety, panic attacks
You beta blockers are not for anxiety, they are to lower blood pressure, many people make a mistake thinking beta blockers are to help anxiety. It is only effective when there is a very high heartbeat.........
Coffee will higher your BP a bit but not much. In the morning I hardly reach 108/59 so coffee is a must. I got nocturnal spike in BP, but maybe you do not know about this :)

[tlonist]

Dahlia -- Many people have high pulse as a symptom of anxiety and beta blockers do help with that.

I was suggesting if that was the case for you 4 cups of coffee may not be helping. If not the case, then great.

[Kirk]

I have been on a beta blocker since I was 50 and will be 60 next month. It has helped me with anxiety and
also with heart palpitations I used to get more often. My physician said they are usually well tolderated and the
only side effects I have had are fatigue and vivid dreams. The dreams are sometimes worth it. They are typically
prescribed after a heart event such as MI.

[Kirk]

There was also a study done where it showed the use of beta blockers inhibited breast cancer progression.

[tlonist]

Kirk -- Yes, when I get anxiety related pulse resting pulse increases these are a huge help. Will go from 95bpm to 65 in and hour. Really works.

I have a lawyer friend who uses them before trials for nerves. Many also use for public speaking.

In the right circumstances they are defintiely a great anxiety medication.

[Dahila]

BB slows the heartbeat but do not cure anxiety, it is a helping tool only, at the same time normalize the BP which I tend to have spiking like crazy, of course it is worse when i am panicky. The thing Beta blockers may cause swelling in ankles, which is not so nice. Vivid dreams , yes ;),

[Kirk]

You are correct that beta blockers don't cure anxiety. They help block the bodys reaction to anxiety.
Of course it is better not to be on them, but sometimes we need medication so we can try to live as
"normal" of a life as possible.

[Jazzums]

Yeah Klonopin can be very therapeutic. I guess one of the main reasons for it not being used, is because of how difficult it is to get off of it. A very effective medication though, in my experience.

[Dahila]

Yeah Klonopin can be very therapeutic. I guess one of the main reasons for it not being used, is because of how difficult it is to get off of it. A very effective medication though, in my experience.

I am on it once a day for the last 3 or 4 years. When I remember. I am on lowest dose though, I was on and off benzos for the last 50 years, the way they push on you guys the "addiction" it is bs pure bs. I had never any problem to stop meds. I do it slowly ......Klonopin is working for a long time in the body, so you do not need as much as xanax or ativan (it makes me feel like zombie) very effective