To be clear my p-doc did not deny the physical addiction. She confirmed that, but said that the physical addiction to Klonopin is ultimately less dangerous than the side effects of Seroquel and other antipsychotics, Depakote, and even lithium.

I probably should have mentioned that I have been on Remeron (mirtazapine), BuSpar, Lamictal, Tegratol, Trileptal, all of the ssri's - to name a few. I've tried all of them at least twice, some three times. Some four times. Every one of those meds kick off the terrible mania. I mean, it is BAD. I have waves of panic, dread, phobia, delusional fear, etc. I cannot live like that. The options at this point are increase the Klonopin or go on another antipsychotic (Geodon, for example).

I know that BuSpar is an amazingly helpful med for many people, but for mixed-state bipolar it can be devastating. The idea of taking the increased Klonopin dose is a last-ditch effort, as far as psych meds go.

I just saw this on another thread about Klonopin dosing: http://www.drugs.com/dosage/clonazepam.html According to this a Klonopin dose for bipolar can go as high as 20mg/day. Even for panic disorder 4mg/day is recommended. The problem being, of course, the eventual tolerance and physical addiction...it's all good until you try to come off the medication.