Clonazepam - I'm Scared...

Hi there,
I've been diagnosed with having a Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia, My Dr put me on Paxil, I took one pill and had every side effect there is short of a seizure, I was so very sick and confused for 4 days after that he right away discontinued it and has prescribed Clonazepam 0.5mg however due to the terrifying reaction i had with paxil I'm afraid of taking another med any suggestions or reasonings for me to help me feel 'ok' to try something else, I cannot live with panic anymore cause well.. i dont live! but I'm so afraid of drugs, especially after my reaction to Paxil... thanks for reading

I had a particularly bad reaction to Zoloft. Once that got straightened out and a little time passed, I tried another med and did not have a bad reaction.

Everyone varies in their responses and all the meds are different, so giving things a try until you find the right meds for you is very very worth it.

Maybe remind yourself that you are worth this effort, that if one thing doesn't work you can try another just fine. Maybe you can work up some positive statements you can tell yourself to help feel calmer about this process. Those strategies work well for me.

I have no idea, I'm on my first drug ever, and still waiting to see how it goes; but I'm here if you need anything.
Sorry for not being of more help.

Klonopin (Clonazepam) is not the same kind of med like Paxil I personally do not think you'll have a problem with it, and at that low dose, things may work out well.
My pdoc gave me that and told me use as needed, it's fine for day use for me, Ativan (Lorazepam), which is in the same class of meds, I use as needed, in the evening near bedtime, I find it relaxes me enough that I can sleep.
Don't be afraid to give this med a try, it's not in the same category as Paxil.
Lots of luck with this.

I had tried many many meds before finally being given Klonopin (Clonazepam)......and it gave me my life back. I am very med sensitive, but starting at a lose dose was not a problem for me, except it made me very very sleepy at first. I was told to take it as bedtime because of the sedative effect. It has a long half life and stays in your system , so you would still get the benefits the next day if it makes you sleepy at first. I know how hard it is to take a new medication after a bad reaction, but as someone else said, Paxil and Clonazepam are very different type meds and having a reaction to one, doesnt mean you will to another. With that said, some of us who are a bit afraid of medications do seem to have more side effects , but if you can be open to taking it, telling yourself this one will work and not harm you, it may go a bit easier ! Good luck and I hope you get the wonderful benefits from it that I did !

Thank you everyone for your responses! I cant tell you how much I appreciate it I keep reading about seizures being a side effect of withdrawal so if its coming out of my system in between uses, then what are the risks.. silly enough one of my 'fears' is that im going to have a seizure, i dont know why, its completely irrational however its a real fear for me.

Hope Clonazepam is working out for you! Like others have said its nothing like any SSRI's. Its just going to tone down certain over active centers of your brain. If anything with Clonzepam a seizure should be the least of your fears as thats what the medication is mainly used to treat.

Clonazepam is indeed a different kind of med.
It is a benzodiazepine and those are known for... Helping prevent seizures. So you shouldn't have problems with seizures on that one :-)

I had a reaction to prozac. That was the first psych med I ever took and I was afraid of taking another one... But I've only had reactions to two different meds and I've taken a whole heap of different meds over the years.

I have just come off clonaz and must admit it was the last med I came off (apart from the 2 that I will prob always have to take). I used to take 2 diff meds for my panic attacks but wasn't told the diff ways they worked for a long time. Once I had sussed that out I was able to choose the one that would most help me at the time. Clonaz is the one that had the greatest effect with the least side affects. I hope that you have success with it- it really helped me. Good luck

angelic i once took paxil also i was 15 back i swore i would never take meds again because i went through with it but i too have panic disorder with agoraphobia and 8 years later my symptoms came back so desperate for help i went to see a pdoc and he prescribe clonazepam 0.5 mg as well it was really good and was not to strong hey it was not strong enough for me so he bumped it up to 1mg and added lexapro 10 mg to my meds i have been on both since feb i'm so happy with the results give it a chance maybe it will be great for u too *** for i think clonazepam is the bes t loves and hugs stephy

sorry i when i looked at what i wrote i realized i wrote *** instead of as for me lol sry

well i still havent taken it, although wednesday i will start my doc wants me to take .5mg ONCE every other day for 5 days, then .5 ONCE every day for 5 days then increase til im at .5 2x a day... do you think that at such a low dose, i will be alrigght?

Hello

Klonopin is the only drug I CAN tolerate...

I was worried about the side effects too...the worst it did to me was make me feel dizzy, but that was when I was taking a much higher dose than you are going to take...

It doesn't work the same way as Paxil...Paxil is an SSRI - it prevents serotonin (the chemical that makes you happy) from being reabsorbed in you brain, and it takes weeks to work...SSRIs tend to have more side effects - nausea, dry mouth, etc. It depends on the person.

Klonopin is a benzodiazapine...it works on a totally different chemical - GABA...GABA helps make you calm...and these drugs work right away. I can feel the effect in 20 minutes...

As far as withdrawal effects...you will not have a seizure unless you stop suddently after taking a high dose every day for an extended period. If you end up taking it daily, your doctor will help set up a schedule for you to reduce the dose gradually so that you experience as few withdrawal effects as possible.

I hope this helps!

Don't be scared!

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AngelicEnigma said:
well i still havent taken it, although wednesday i will start my doc wants me to take .5mg ONCE every other day for 5 days, then .5 ONCE every day for 5 days then increase til im at .5 2x a day... do you think that at such a low dose, i will be alrigght?

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As the others have said, klonipin is a great medicine for anxiety/panic issues.

I do want to add that even though .5mg sounds like a small dose that is equivalent to 10mg of valium.

They do make a .25mg pills and you can even try breaking them in half to see how you do on a smaller dose.

I am encouraging you to try this medication as it has helped so many people get their life back.
bizi

Hey! I had that happen too with Paxil. It was to replace Prozac. That medication is what started my having anxiety attacks in the first place. I was getting them 24/7 until I stopped taking the meds (8 days total). I haven't stopped having anxiety attacks since, and am now on Clonaz - 2mg! per day. I have also been isolated for quite some time, but this is more of a choice isolation (I can go out when I need to, I just don't like to or want to, if that makes any sense). There is an upside(?) I no longer get migraines now that I have anxiety attacks.


Clonaz works for me in controlling my anxiety quite well. I haven't noticed side effects per se (I'm always feeling crappy so I can't tell what med is doing what to what part of my body). Definitely works when I need to be in crowds. More than 2 people, sometimes, is a crowd to me!


Know where your comin' from. I have extreme anxiety all the time. It is wearing me out. I have been like this (just anxiety) for about 7 years now.

And, ummm, this may seem like it's getting a little creepy(?), but really, I'm not following you around the site! Honestly, I look at the post subject, not the postee!


Altered State

rofl AlteredState its okay follow all you like, you are wonderful and your posts (along with the rest of the amazing people here) are VERY appreciated and gives me a better understanding on alot ofthings, im so glad to have found this place and be able to embrace it and the people who come with it THANKS!

oops!! i got the dosage wrong, i dont know if that effects my question, its .25mg every other day for a week, then .25 everyday etc.etc. when i read the post about cuttin it in half i was like hmm, so went to look and its .5mg tabs (orange?) but yea i have to take 1/2 tab to start etc... anyways not that it matters im sure but thought id correct that one.

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I do want to add that even though .5mg sounds like a small dose that is equivalent to 10mg of valium.

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NO WAY! Is that true? I was told by my physician that it was not as powerful as valium.

Oh man, I told AngelicEnigma it was not as powerful as valium. And wow, if .5mg Clonaz = 10mg Valium, then I must be really, really high all the time, because I take 2mgs/day or 40mg valium(?) and it is still not enough at times. I know I am on a rather high dosage compared to others I know who take it, but geez....

Better check this out again! (me, I mean).

I know this from experience....
Klonipin has a longer half life than xanax which IMO should never be prescribed for long term use due to the rapid dependency issues and very short half life and the hardest to get off of when if/when you try to do that.
the problem with benzodiazipines is that eventually you can have rebound anxiety...more physical symptoms...that you were trying to treat in the first place.

It is very upsetting when the doctors so readily pass them out without really telling you how they may become a problem...and they are so cheap!!!!!!!!!
bizi

Bizi............I took Xanax at a very large dose for many years. Had absolutely no trouble coming off of it by doing it correctly, under the care of a PDoc who specializes in medications for Panic and Anxiety. I also have taken Klonopin for 16 years, with no increase in the dose. And luckily no increase in any symptoms. I DO understand that some folks have issues with benzo's as you mentioned, however, many do not. IMHO, benzo's get bashed a bit too often, and since everyone reacts differently, we should be mindful of the affect what we say might have on those who are leary of taking them. With that said, I am shocked to learn from your post that Doctors readily hand benzo' s out, and them being cheap - cause that sure is not the case in Virginia !

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I got this off the internet... and this is about what I paid for klonipin and xanax was cheaper.
The generic mind you.
I think I also said this MAY happen to you and
not it WILL happen to you.
When I posted what I said about doctors I should have said MY pdoc was happy to prescribe klonipin for me and then keep me on it and raise the dose...I was the one to suggest learning different coping skills and get off of it. Which I too had no difficulty getting off of at all.
I did this slowly with out any side effects.
So I am sorry if my post affended you... and i will edit my post.
bizi

I tried to edit my past post and it would not allow me too.
bizi

Why edit? Nothing wrong with your post! Am I missing something? Wow, you provided so much information and that is so cool! I don't get why you would edit? Of course, I don't "get" alot of things, but still...

Don't know about anyone else, but I like having lots of info!

, bizi

Altered State

Obtaining drugs from doctors is not that difficult - even narcotic-type meds. It's how one goes about it...

Meds are cheap too, but then again, I live in Canada.

Don't blame you for being scared... but would it help you to know that I take clonazepam and I have NO side effects from it? I'm also on .5 mg but sometimes I take a whole mg. That's not very strong, you know. Sometimes I wind up taking 4 in one day because my anxiety gets hard to control.

I hear it's better than Xanax because it's not as habit forming, although I never had that problem with Xanax. It seems to work "better" for me than clonazepam. Zaps the panic quicker.

I took Paxil for a while and it never did do much for me at all!

You could cut the pill in half and see how it goes.

Good luck! The kind of meds we need to take are all trial and error, I'm afraid. What works for one, won't work for the other.