I take 0.5 of clonazepam (klonopin) in the morning and 1.0 at night. It's just barely enough. My Pdoc wants me to quit using it altogether. I'm almost 65 and he said it can cause older people to lose their balance and fall. I can't imagine going off it. I've taken it every day since 1987.

In April my Pdoc was at a hospital emergency and I saw a resident instead. She cut my clonazepam dose in half. After a day or so I started to cry and couldn't stop. My anxiety was horrible. I went to see my Pdoc on an emergency appointment and he prescribed my normal dose again. My friend had to come with me to explain to the Pdoc what was happening because I was crying too much to talk or even think.

My Pdoc is determined to get me to stop taking it. He said it might take as long as a year to get off it safely. I don't want to stop it, but he's the one writing the prescriptions. I'm afraid that the anxiety will take over again. We've already had disagreements about it. I don't see the need to go off it and there's not much out there to substitute for it. I may have to start using herbal medicine again. Valerian, hops, passionflower, and fish oil help a bit.

Pdocs are far and few between here, so I'm stuck with him. My GP has made it very clear that he won't prescribe psych meds.