MayoClinic.org
Falling! Side effect of anxiety medication (clonazepam)?
Hi all ….. I don’t know if I told you all this, but for the passed year+ I’ve been taking ffalls…. big ones. The other night I did a flying leap across the living room floor, hit a little stand, then the TV stand, and landed on my right side, hard. I just laid there and cried. I finally got up laid on the sofa with my right cheek on an ice pad and fell asleep. When I woke up I looked at the Mayo site which lists all the meds and their side effects, and low and behold 2 of them did cause unsteadiness and falling.
So, when I talked to my Psych., he told me which one was most likely to be causing them ….. the Klonopin. So, instead of taking 1-1/2 in the AM, I just take 1, and see him in 3 weeks. Yesterday and today I’ve already noticed a difference. This would be wonderful if that was the answer.
abby
Hi @amberpep, I moved your message to the Depression & Anxiety group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/depression-anxiety/
This should bring more people into the discussion, like @jody01 @helenfrances @njp1013 @sears @lindagirl who have experience with clonazepam (Klonopin).
Indeed drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, and unsteadiness are all potential side effects of clonazepam and may well be the source of your recent issues with falling. How have you doing these past couple of days since reducing the dosage?
Definitely contact your prescribing doc about that. Benzos can impair motor skills if dose is too high for you.
My experience has been with Xanax not Klonopin.
I take Lexapro and Klonopin. I find Lexapro really helps depression. I have to take 2 Klonopin at night with a sleeping pill to get to sleep.
I take clonazapam 1 mg, 1 in the morning or afternoon and then 2 at bedtime. I have been on it a long time. The one med that made me fall was Prozac. I hope the lower dose helps, I know it's not fun to fall. TAke care of yourself.
You’ve been on Klonopin for many years? Have you noticed any tolerance? Are you on the same amount for all this time?
How are you doing?
I’d like to know too.
I can' remember how many years. It still works for me. But I'm going to be having surgery and will be put on Percodan, toradol, and valium. lilypaws
Make sure they know exactly what/how much/how often you are taking this, because mixing WITH Valium would be a big no-no, eek! (Former RN here.)
As I think I mentioned, I did talk to my Psychiatrist about this and he told me it was common with Klonopin. He reduced the 1-1/2 I was taking to just 1 and upped the Propanalol from 1 to 2, which helped with the shakiness. It's worked really well, and I'm no longer flying through the air!
abby
@amberpep that is certainly good to hear, that your shakiness is going away or is lessened and your fear of falling it's not so strong! That's got to make you feel better all the way around, right? Hope you are doing well with all of the other medications now and that your life is starting to show a little bit more sunshine.
Ginger