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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by andyboy on February 25, 2002, at 13:06:26
Brand new to this site-really interesting though-thought I bring up a concern. Been on 2 mg of clonazepam (generic-1mg in am, 1mg pm) for just shy of a year now, and it has done WONDERS!!!! Havent had a panic attack (well a full blown one) in this time, and my head is just so much clearer. My concern is that lately, within the past 2 weeks or so, it doesnt seem as effective. Im thinking its because I'm kind of "normally stressed", Im starting a high profile job on Monday, and Ive been getting over a UTI. So perhaps the clonazepam is still working-its just the increase in everyday life stressors. Debating an increase just for the short term...
Anyway-benzo-phobics need to get the facts straight. This drug is a God-send for me and others like me who know how to use it theraputically and not recreationally. Have no intentions of getting off it any time soon, because its been awhile since I felt this good. Id love to hear from others success stories with this med (especially long-term!) I guess thats it!
Posted by Squiggles on February 25, 2002, at 17:10:53
In reply to Clonazepam-too good to be true????, posted by andyboy on February 25, 2002, at 13:06:26
All I know is that it is impossible and
folly to try to get off this drug; whatever
reason I was put on it for, must have been
a good one; as for your thoughts on increasing
it - best collaborate with your doc. on that
judgement; I did notice that the generic
was much weaker than the non-generic -- and this
was the case only for this particular drug,
not for other benzos I have been on.Squiggles
Posted by Alan on February 25, 2002, at 18:50:59
In reply to Clonazepam-too good to be true????, posted by andyboy on February 25, 2002, at 13:06:26
All I can say is ME TOO! It's been a Godsend. I take exactly the came dosage and add Ativan PRN if situational things pop up that increase my anxiety level to the point of panic (which the klon is not as effective for).
You could do it that way (adding another BZD PRN)or your own suggested way. I have fluctuated my dose of Klon over the years and it tends to trace anxiety provoking life events such as you are describing. Why wouldn't you expect to have to increase it temporarily? Just like any disorder - anxiety levels wax and wane too.
I just like the idea for myself of adding ativan since I have oft repeated situational panic that responds faster and with less half life than upping the klonopin temporarily....gives me more control. I'm not sleepy after the temporary event has passed.
Glad to hear of your success story. Too bad others are frightened away by all of the misinformation and exaggerations of the anti-benzo lobby - including many misinformed or under educated doctors!
Check out these links - they're great!
http://bearpaw8.tripod.com/pd.html
AND:
http://panicdisorder.about.com/library/weekly/aa031997.htm
Happy reading!
Alan
Posted by JohnX2 on February 25, 2002, at 21:34:52
In reply to Clonazepam-too good to be true????, posted by andyboy on February 25, 2002, at 13:06:26
It saved my life. I was having treatment refractory depression
with excruciating headaches and a doctor gave me some to
treat restless legs while taking Effexor. It totally stabilized
my mood (it is an anti-convulsant and hence good for bipolar
disorder) and it also fixed my myofacial pain. I don't have
anxiety disorder, it just pointed out that my treatment was going
in the wrong direction (unipolar vs. bipolar depression).
Anyways I was one of those horror stories where the medicine crapped
out fast and I escalated the dose from 2 mg to 6 mg in 2 yrs and the
medicine lost its effectiveness. Fortunately I have found that Topamax
is a really good replacement. It fixes my headaches and in 2 months I
was able to taper the Klonopin from 6 mg to 1 mg. The last mg has
been next to impossible.Regards,
John> Brand new to this site-really interesting though-thought I bring up a concern. Been on 2 mg of clonazepam (generic-1mg in am, 1mg pm) for just shy of a year now, and it has done WONDERS!!!! Havent had a panic attack (well a full blown one) in this time, and my head is just so much clearer. My concern is that lately, within the past 2 weeks or so, it doesnt seem as effective. Im thinking its because I'm kind of "normally stressed", Im starting a high profile job on Monday, and Ive been getting over a UTI. So perhaps the clonazepam is still working-its just the increase in everyday life stressors. Debating an increase just for the short term...
> Anyway-benzo-phobics need to get the facts straight. This drug is a God-send for me and others like me who know how to use it theraputically and not recreationally. Have no intentions of getting off it any time soon, because its been awhile since I felt this good. Id love to hear from others success stories with this med (especially long-term!) I guess thats it!
Posted by Alan on February 25, 2002, at 22:26:48
In reply to Re: Clonazepam-too good to be true????, posted by JohnX2 on February 25, 2002, at 21:34:52
>
> It saved my life. I was having treatment refractory depression
> with excruciating headaches and a doctor gave me some to
> treat restless legs while taking Effexor. It totally stabilized
> my mood (it is an anti-convulsant and hence good for bipolar
> disorder) and it also fixed my myofacial pain. I don't have
> anxiety disorder, it just pointed out that my treatment was going
> in the wrong direction (unipolar vs. bipolar depression).
> Anyways I was one of those horror stories where the medicine crapped
> out fast and I escalated the dose from 2 mg to 6 mg in 2 yrs and the
> medicine lost its effectiveness. Fortunately I have found that Topamax
> is a really good replacement. It fixes my headaches and in 2 months I
> was able to taper the Klonopin from 6 mg to 1 mg. The last mg has
> been next to impossible.
>
> Regards,
> John
*************************************************
Perhaps with all of the blessings the klon sent your way, the fact that you aren't/weren't taking it for an anxiety disorder is making the last MG impossible? Or that you have some small amount of underlying anxiety that the med is simply treating and going off of the med leaves it untreated? Just guessing.Best,
Alan
Posted by TSA West on February 25, 2002, at 23:17:27
In reply to Clonazepam-too good to be true????, posted by andyboy on February 25, 2002, at 13:06:26
I was thinking that as long as you don't see an extreme need to seek clinical help in preparation for your new job, you can keep this new anxiety sub-clinical: perhaps you might benefit from Valerian root some hours before a social or otherwise stressful situation.
Posted by JohnX2 on February 26, 2002, at 0:10:28
In reply to Re: Clonazepam-too good to be true???? » JohnX2, posted by Alan on February 25, 2002, at 22:26:48
Hi Alan,Basically before I became tolerant to the
medicine it took 2 mg to treat my headaches.
Its mainly been the headaches that have been
bothersome. They are just so terribly excruciating.
I don't get particularly anxious when tapering
the Klonopin, I never had an anxiety disorder and
that's probably part of the reason I was good
at tapering the 1st 5 mg. The Topamax allowed me
to taper the 1st 4 mgs really easy. The next 1 mg
was hard due to rebound headaches. The last was
really going rough due to insomnia and just too
excruciating headaches. So I decided to restart
Serzone. Serzone was the only other medicine
besides Klonopin and Topamax that releived my
headaches. Don't know why. In fact the last time
I took Serzone it made me so tired and drowsy
I just gave up Klonopin almost without thinking
about it. This time it isn't making me dizzy, probably
because of Lamictal interactions, but does seem
to be kicking in its anti-headache properties.
So hopefully it will also help with the insomnia.
I should be in good shape to go after that last 1 mg.I think once you get hooked to a benzo, its just
really tough to get off those last crums. One
should use all the tools available to relieve
symptoms while tapering. I used zyprexa and
neurontin to help with anxiety and tingling. It
helped a lot. Topamax helped to alleviate the
rebound headaches.I actually thought things were going to be
much more rough than they have. Although the
1st 4 mg went so fast I was expecting the last
2 to go quickly , then I was surprised how
horribly I got stuck!Regards,
John
> >
> > It saved my life. I was having treatment refractory depression
> > with excruciating headaches and a doctor gave me some to
> > treat restless legs while taking Effexor. It totally stabilized
> > my mood (it is an anti-convulsant and hence good for bipolar
> > disorder) and it also fixed my myofacial pain. I don't have
> > anxiety disorder, it just pointed out that my treatment was going
> > in the wrong direction (unipolar vs. bipolar depression).
> > Anyways I was one of those horror stories where the medicine crapped
> > out fast and I escalated the dose from 2 mg to 6 mg in 2 yrs and the
> > medicine lost its effectiveness. Fortunately I have found that Topamax
> > is a really good replacement. It fixes my headaches and in 2 months I
> > was able to taper the Klonopin from 6 mg to 1 mg. The last mg has
> > been next to impossible.
> >
> > Regards,
> > John
> *************************************************
> Perhaps with all of the blessings the klon sent your way, the fact that you aren't/weren't taking it for an anxiety disorder is making the last MG impossible? Or that you have some small amount of underlying anxiety that the med is simply treating and going off of the med leaves it untreated? Just guessing.
>
> Best,
>
> Alan
Posted by andyboy on February 26, 2002, at 14:02:32
In reply to Re: Clonazepam-too good to be true???? » Alan, posted by JohnX2 on February 26, 2002, at 0:10:28
Wow-I cant believe how everyone has responded so quickly-its really encouraging. I just wanted to hear from some "real" folk instead of all that medical/scientific bulls**t that is on every other website that scares the crap out of you. As far as upping the dose short-term, I realize that yeah, it is okay. I mean, if you had a really bad headache (no reference to John...), wouldnt you maybe take an extra Tylenol just that once? No harm done. Plus-my new job-duh???? That would make even a non-anxious person pretty nervous. Thanks guys-keep posting!
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