Klonopin Use
I’ve been struggling with anxiety for over 7 years. In addition to taking Desvenlafaxine, i also have been taking klonopin, an average of 3-4 milligrams a week. Usually separated by a couple of days (but occasionally back to back). I’ve been cutting back the last couple of weeks and am struggling. Could i be addicted using this small of a dose? My psychiatrist (only used for med management) says no. He said I’d need to be taking much more and daily to be addicted. Any answers?
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@arthur57
Can you share what dosage Klonopin your were on and how you got off ... what percentage down and how often. Any issues, etc? I think that would help people here and in future alot.
My brother, age 70, is on 1.5 to 2mgs a day of Klonopin,
and I can't convince him to get off, and am really worried about him. He has ADHD (untreated),
and I think he has difficulty understanding things or reading through that LONG manual.
Thank you to anyone who can help out here.
PS: My brother has suffered chronic insomnia for many years.
I think he was told he has sleep apnea. He also has anxiety and depression and thinks this drug is the Holy Grail.
I guess if it works for your brother, then he is one of the lucky ones. Seems to have various effects on everyone but I am convinced that most people are dependent on this medication in short order, they just don't realize it. The evidence is quite clear to me, if you have trouble getting off of any drug/alcohol etc. you are dependent on it, your body has become used to it etc. Klonopin was never intended for long term use.
That said, I was only on .5mg per day for 7 months which was also prescribed by an old sleep disorder doc. When my primary found out he was not happy and told me to get off of it, it's no good. I already knew that because after only 6 or so weeks, I noticed changes in my central nervous system, eye twitching all the time, tremors, first while sleeping and then throughout the day. Felt like I was sitting on a running AC unit at times. Of course my sleep doc downplayed this and said, no can't be the klonopin so I believed him so kept taking it. Ended up seeing a neurologist because I didn't know what might be coming on? He found nothing but when I mentioned the klonopin, he asked why he prescribed this?? BTW, I went to a three more sleep docs ( yeah crazy I know) and all of them said "no way" to klonopin, should only be prescribed in few situations. Nobody has ever been able to diagnose my sleep patterns so I just gave up with that noise. All that said, after I became painfully aware the klonopin was the culprit I quit cold turkey. Not good but didn't matter as it was already messing up my CNS, so why taper. I wasn't concerned or afraid of seizures etc. I was just concerned about continuous tremors ruining my otherwise healthy life. Eye twitching vanished within a couple of days, tremors last for a 18 months, although they slowly improved over time and are now history. Sleeping was difficult to say the least and took months to improve. But it took that long with only 7 months at .5mg. People here take multiples of what I was on. I'd be in a coffin at those levels, but everyone's system is unique. Poison to me, while others need it. I will never take any Benzo ever. I am 67 and only take 10mg of atorvastatin. I wish everyone the best, feel sorry for those who are fighting this med. I talked to a retired pharmacist, he said it was a drug from the 70's, was surprised it was still being prescribed. I asked another pharmacist about it at CVS a few months back and told her my issues that it caused, and she smiled and said it's not a good drug, but I've seen worse?? I just walked away shaking my head. Younger docs will NOT prescribe this which should tell folks something, it's the old guys who still push it, my doc told me that! Best of luck to you and your brother.
Yes you do need to taper off I have done that and they even make a either a 5 and maybe even a 25 mg yeah you can do this but do it slowly and I can't understand why you didn't take klonopin everyday I've always taken it every day now I'm tapered down from a high of three for a very short time I'm down to 1 mg as I'm able to control things that happen and deal with them rather than just being terribly anxious