Posted by Rick on April 21, 2004, at 3:58:35
In reply to clonezepam made me more anxious! why?, posted by TheOutsider on April 19, 2004, at 10:34:28
> I feel like such a freak, I took 0.5mg of generic clonezepam, and half an hour later I began to feel panicky.
First of all, it's absurd to feel like a "freak" because of some response you had (or failed to have) to a med.
Now that that's out of the way...
Clonazepam usually takes a good 45 minutes or more to begin "working." According to the monograph, peak blood concentrations are achieved 1-4 hours after dosing. I think the same is true for diazepam, but maybe you were just naturally feeling less anxiety when you took the diazepam...or maybe your own body chemistry metabolizes diazepam quicker than clonazepam. Regardless, these things can always vary by person, and for some meds it can also vary by whether you ate anything shortly before or after taking it (I'm not sure if food delays the absorption of clonazepam).
Also, maybe you need 1 mg of clonazepam instead of .5. You didn't say if this dose has proven adequate for you in the past. The most typical dose of clonazepam for panic disorder is 1 mg taken as a single or two divided doses daily, with some people needing to titrate up to 1.5-2, or occasionally even more. (But on the flipside remember that taking a BIGGER dose than you need is ill-advised and can actually REDUCE effectiveness). Finally, some people say that certain generic versions of Klonopin have seemed subpotent. I take Teva, and find it as potent as the brand-name. I've seen more criticism of Purepac (which Walgreen's dispenses around here) than other generics, but even so, other people have said it works fine for them.
Rick
poster:Rick
thread:337716
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040417/msgs/338313.html