Klonopin: For Those With Experience

Hi, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder many years ago. In addition, I have severe anxiety (especially as autumn sets in, even though I love the autumn). The anxiety might be a "dysphoric mania"...in other words, during the spring and summer months my mania is "up", whereas during the fall/winter months the mania turns to intense anxiety. It might be SAD.

Whatever it is, the anxiety is completely disabling...it never lets up, except while I'm asleep (with the help of Seroquel). The anxiety takes the form of constant, relentless, spinning worry about everything. Everything from someone I love getting terminally ill to feeling anxious about the way the leaves on the trees move in the breeze. I feel a sense of doom. I am sure I will become homeless. I start having an increase in OCD symptoms (I've had moderate OCD sice I was a child). On and on.
I am also told I have PTSD.

Right now I am on these medications:
* Lamictal - 175mg/daily.
* Gabapentin - 600mg/daily.
* Seroquel - 50mg/daily.
* Paxil - 15mg/daily.
* Klonopin - 2mg/daily (1 a.m., 1 p.m.)

Lamictal is helping to stabilize my moods. Seroquel helps me sleep, although I will be dropping it down and going off of it eventually - I have gained 125 lbs. on it (medically frightening), and at higher doses it didn't do a single positive thing for me.
Gabapentin takes the edge off the anxiety, but not amazingly so.
Paxil...not sure yet. At 20mg. I had a manic reaction, so we're not touching that for now.

Which brings me to Klonopin. I have been taking the same dose of Klonopin for about 20 years: 2mg./daily. During that time I have tried twice to come off of it. The first time I did so way too fast and became very ill. Even walking was very difficult.
The second time I was determined to stop taking Klonopin, so I titrated it down extremely slowly over about 9 months. I was able to get down to .5mg. Things seemed okay for quite a while, then I began to have vicious anxiety. Either it was the old anxiety returning, or it was rebound anxiety. Who knows. Pdoc told me to go back on the 2mg./daily.

Another fall is here, and bang! Here comes the anxiety and feelings of doom again. I saw my pdoc last week and told her I have got to have help, that I cannot go through another season like this. She raised my Lamictal slightly (that has helped my moods). She also suggested that I take 1mg. of Klonopin in addition to the regular dose I'm already on. One afternoon when I was battling the damned anxiety I went ahead and took the extra K-pin. I felt like a blanket of calm came over me. So much so that I felt concerned. I am not happy about being on K-pin for so many years. Yet, there is no other medication that has helped me so much (and I have been on at least 35 meds, I'm serious).

Somebody(ies) help me out, here. Please no "War on Drugs" BS - I am well aware of benzos being off-trend right now (they used to be the gold standard, back in the day; now Seroquel is being handed out like Halloween candy; it's the *in* medication). I am already terribly afraid of my next pdoc, or the one after that, ripping me off Klonopin because it's "addictive".

For those of you with Klonopin experience, how was it for you? Being on it... going off of it. Should I go with my gut instinct and tell my pdoc that I want to increase my dose to 3mgs. per day, or it that a bad choice? Ideas?

I took Klonopin years ago. No addiction , but it did cause a slight hand tremor. I take Librium now, an older drug. It helps, but I see my pdoc on Thursday and I'm going to ask him to switch me to something else or increase the dose because I too am having panic attacks. Maybe you are right and it's the change in seasons. I don't know, but like you I want relief. Stuck with the Klonopin for now if it's helping.

Thank you. Perhaps one way to look at it is that I can take the additional K-pin at least for the next couple of months until my mind and body adjust to the changes in weather, light, and all of that.

Wow, sure does sound like sadd unless you become less active every fall or there is some other correlation. I definitely get hypomanic in the spring. Do you have the sadd lights? I too am trying to use more of my benzo, Xanax. I’ve never used mine enough (hardly at all). I forget them because they r not part of my daily routine. I think the reason benzos are out of favor is that a lot of the opioid deaths are from people taking painkillers w benzos. I guess docs are afraid people will forget to tell they have started a painkiller or whatever meds indiscretion. The only time I have had the feeling u r describing was from risperdone or latuda. Those antipsychotics don’t agree w me, but everyone’s different.

i'm in the same boat as you; 72 yr. old female who's been taking 1/2 of 0.5mg. klonopin for prob. 20 yrs. in the am w/other meds/vitamins. i live in az. where there's non-stop sun year round so don't have issues when seasons change and i've got a bp2 diagnosis (hypomania, no depression for almost 40 yr.); my anxiety kicks in around 2pm every day (maybe that's when the 2 meds i take every nite to sleep wear off) but i've been fortunate enough to have primary care dr. as well as psych nurse continue to prescribe. we are traveling 15 hr. to get to barcelona to then begin a 12 day cruise oct. 1 and the last few mo. have been absolute terror w/no excitement whatsoever. i also have crohns/colitis and medical mj is legal here so i either take another 1/2 klonopin in the afternoon or take 3 hits off my vape pen...i think over time and with age, my anxiety and sleep issues have worsened, so i will continue w/klonopin. i don't judge...and i'm here to emphasize with you and have offered my experience only.

Thank you for your reply.
My pdoc suggested light therapy. I have heard so many people say that light therapy really helps. The strange thing is, I hate bright lights. I feel like LED light is the most unpleasant type of lighting there is, and I've avoided it. I absolutely love dark, rainy days...yet they cause me to feel anxious and depressed.

The whole package drivers nuts. I suspect that, even though I don't like bright light, I am accustomed to the high-in-the-sky, blindingly bright-white light of the California sun. When that light drops, something in my brain goes wonky.

*sigh*
I'm trying to figure all of this out.

TRNRMOM, your reply is invaluable. I am so sorry that you clearly know so well what it is like to do battle with this monster. I so hope that your cruise is enjoyable - and I so understand the anxiety you are feeling at this time.

I have also considered medical mj. Traditionally, I have resisted it. But desperation is calling me to consider the options.

i am very aware of every emotion i feel; lithium over 30 yrs. destroyed thyroid, parathyroids and when kidneys got involved, quit lithium. recently tried lowest doses of lamictal and then geoden and couldn't get past trying either one for 2 days as the side effects were horrendous...so maybe being off a mood stabilizer is causing more anxiety to seep through and at least psych nurse and i have figured out that temezepam and seroquel work best for sleep and i need to medicate every nite. i know how i respond to every stressor and am happily married to the most patient man for 32 yrs. but since we made the reservations for the cruise for 17 days beginning oct. 1, my anxiety has been at its worst; have researched anything related to travel, time zone changes (did lots of int'l travel when hubby was working and entertaining clients yrs. ago) but i'm really way off the charts with the anxiety. i prob. will never try to get off the klonopin as i know the tapering takes months and is not pleasant so i've come to accept that at 72, this is where my mental illness has brought me and at least 95% of the time, i have great sleep but the anxiety has taken on a life of its own, yet 30+ yrs. ago while on 450mg. of lithium, i was a legal secy for 25 yrs. and studied to be an alcohol/drug counselor making all a's....so i know i didn't have those issues then. many of my friends (in 60's and 70's) all use medical mj and i've made the conscious decision to stay w/the 1/2 klonopin during the morning and when the anxiety raises its ugly head, hit my vape w/the mj specifically purchased for `sleep' (i can't take anything activating so i ask for indica/sedating vape oil) and if 3 hits chill me out and i'm functional, so be it. let me know how you are; i read this forum many times a day cause i'm compulsive!!!!!!!!

Thank you for your wonderful honesty, TRNRMOM.

I take Klonopin and have for many years. I know the withdrawal is hell, but what's the alternative? You can't live with that anxiety. My T told me 1) Im not abusing it
2) I TAKE IT FOR A GOOD REASON
3) IF I need to come off of it, the doctor ca help me do it safely.
If I were you , I would do what I need to feel safe i.e take the Klonopin and trust the doctor on this one.

Thank you very much, Calla lily. Your advice is excellent...it's true; I cannot continue with the extreme anxiety. If I do, no - I will not feel safe. Thank you for your reality check .

hi. i had a hellish experience with Klonopin. I think its because I was immature and also...the taper was a ==nightmare==. but...

ive seen other people take fluctuating doses (say, 2mgs/ most days, occasionally up to 3+) with no major problems. i will say...

valium is easier to get the dosage right, its more sedating, long half life, acts quickly, and I don't think it causes depression as much as Klonopin does. problem there is...for a while, most shrinks were not prescribing it. I guess it was the whole Mother's Little Helper stigma? but...

yeah. ativan...also difficult to taper, but it lasts longer than xanax (not really saying much there, LOL), acts quickly, and is good for anxiety that goes into straight up agitation territory. now and then, people are on both...klonopin for long term, ativan as needed/prn. of course...that was before the DEA delcared war on controlled substances, so...I don't know if most shrinks will do that...

anyway, try not to worry too much about it. If you have ongoing probs with depression, I'd personally see about a switch to an equivalent (or slightly higher) dosage of a different benzodiazepine. helped me tremendously, personally. there's a xanax xr now I think...1 or 2 pills daily, sometimes actually helps lift the mood a bit.

hope this helps.

A change of meds if always a hard call to make. I am on 1.5 of Klonolpin per day. .5 in the am and 1mg at night. I am also on Seroquel at 100mg a night that used to be 50mg. You know you the best and what might work. Maybe you could ask the P'doc about increasing the Seroquel to 75 mg at night. But I know you know that both of these meds are pain in the butt to get off. Good luck.

Hi Laurie--That's a tough call. I recently went to another pdoc for a second opinion on my meds, and he said that if I'm getting breakthrough anxiety that requires a benzo, then my AD/AP probably isn't working as well as it should and the meds should either be changed or the dose of one of them increased. He is one of those docs that really doesn't like benzos. My original pdoc, on the other hand, doesn't mind me being on a benzo and is more concerned about the AP long-term (even though he prescribed it to me). So the professionals aren't going to provide a clear answer. My approach to these types of questions is to ask whether I've done everything I can outside of meds to cope with the issue, and if I have but I'm still having symptoms, then I give myself permission to use the meds. My guess is that you've tried non-medication approaches such as therapy, exercise, etc, and now the question is whether you should increase the Klonopin or use another medication to combat the anxiety. And based on what you've described, increasing the Klonopin seems the best option. If I were you, I would run my reasoning by my pdoc.

Thank you so much, still_crazy, for sharing your experience. I used to take my mother's Valium back in high school (she never used it, so didn't notice the missing pills). Yes, I was self-medicating - but I did so because I needed to decrease my anxiety and mania. It wasn't until six years later that I saw a pdoc and was properly medicated. So those teen years were my only experience with Valium.


Ativan- I reacted to that one oddly. I had complete black-outs from it. Scary stuff. Did things, normal things, then would "come to" after a few hours with zero memory of what I'd done.

Xanax...I recall being prescribed Xanax many years ago. I think it was alright. Klonopin just seemed like the benzo that truly helped me the most. I'm thinking that I might do well to stop fearing the future ("what will happen if a pdoc forces me to go through withdrawal") and deal with what works now.

And yeah - the War on Drugs and All Controlled Substances - when is the government going to accept that it is an enormous failure....

Thanks possum. Seroquel just doesn't help when it comes to anxiety. HIgh dose, lower dose...it helps me to sleep well, but nothing else (except major weight gain). Pdoc is currently taking me (slowly) off Seroquel because of the concern about my weight gain from it.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I've tried, and still work with, all the tools to decrease anxiety. Listening to music helps the most. Nothing seems to work as well as Klonopin does, though. AD's/AP's haven't decreased anxiety and I, too, am concerned about using AP's as much as pdocs are these days.
I will definitely speak with my pdoc at length with regard to this issue when I see her next week. This thread has really helped to clarify the situation for me, and what I need to bring up next week.

Good luck, Laurie. For what it's worth, I still struggle with how much to lean on Klonopin. I'm going camping with friends for a week, and even though I'm excited about it, I've been feeling very anxious the past couple of days. It's like a part of me is a little boy who is terrified to go to school for the first time or something. I'm trying to resist taking any Klonopin and instead use my skills from therapy. But my pdoc just told me, "Don't hesitate to use it. It will help break the cycle of anxiety." It's a real balancing act, trying to use the meds wisely.

I think I was allergic to klonopin. I was on it twice for about a week each time. The side effects were too bad. Both physical and mental. I swear by Ativan.

I took Klonopin many years ago. It helped and also helped me to sleep. I was forced off of benzos by the doc where I go to because of the "war on benzos." I so much wish I could get them again. It would help. I have been vaping cbd oil now which helps the anxiety.

Yup weight issues are rotten with Seroquel. Fingers crossed that you can get off Seroquel eventually.