Has anyone taken a dose of Klonopin for four or five years, become dependent on it, then tried to get off of it. I have noticed that it was absolute misery for about two months as I went through various withdrawal symptoms. This occurred when I reduced the dose by one-fourth of a milligram, one-fourth of my total dose. It seems like the anxiety goes away gradually and I learn better and better how to cope with it. However, it is a surprise to me how strong a hold this drug can have on you.

Since reducing Klonopin, I also seem to have panic attacks, or at least high anxiety symptoms that are almost like panic attacks, on random days. Last Sunday, eight days ago, I became very, very tense, my heart started beating, I became upset, I started crying. After I calmed down I was very tired. I'm still afraid this will come on every one or two weeks. But it has been eight days.

Anyway, reducing this drug is difficult.

The reason I reduced the dose was that my muscles were too relaxed. I was too relaxed, to the point of being resigned. I was depressed, usually, too often for no reason. My cognitive functioning was a little off. I would try to make a decision between doing two things. I would sit in my room trying furiously to decide whether to eat breakfast or make my bed first in the morning, for example. I lived like this for several months. It took me a long time to get through the day often because of this problem. Then I reduced the Klonopin, and it went away.

Are problems with cognitive functioning common with Klonopin when they are taken for significant periods of time? Is depression commonly a problem after a while? Both of these side effects were unacceptable because I often can't handle anti-depressants (especially with Klonopin in my system), I am prone to severe winter depression and regular depression whenever I get stressed year round. I also have some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Making decisions is hard enough for me with anxiety and depression. Plus, living like that seems to have made me content to live in a very limited way. It has also made me learn to live in a limited way. I realized today I have to learn to live without the cognitive impairment and learn to live in a more varied, interesting, somewhat more ambitious way.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if these are common Klonopin side effects or problems, especially taken everyday long-term.