Posted by Viridis on January 5, 2004, at 1:11:01
In reply to Re: Long Term Klonopin Usage, posted by Kon on January 4, 2004, at 17:41:27
My memory and cognition are infinitely more severely impaired when I'm very anxious and/or depressed than when I'm on a benzo like Klonopin. I'm also much less functional on SSRIs etc. Klonopin (and Xanax) just make me feel normal, period. I did have a little sleepiness and short-term memory loss at the very beginning, but this disappeared very quickly.
As for withdrawal -- it's the same old thing -- is the anxiety that you feel when you go off a benzo really any worse than what you experienced before? I went off Klonopin a few times early on, but when my pdoc asked if the "withdrawal" was worse than what I'd experienced prior to its use, honestly I couldn't say yes (I doubt it was -- I think I was just back to my previous mental state).
I'd never advocate that a long-term user of these meds stop suddenly (this could actually be dangerous), and I don't doubt that withdrawal can be very real. I just wonder how many ex-benzo users really went through serious withdrawal, and how many simply forgot how badly off they were before using these meds.
poster:Viridis
thread:295342
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031231/msgs/296574.html