[jaded]

Hi all,

I've had DR for 2 years now (got it after smoking marijuana heavily for a week when I was 19). I since got on Zoloft, which makes the DR worse, but did cure the anxiety (I've had anxiety/panic since I was very young).

My question is about Klonopin. I'm in the middle of a move right now and the DR is making me go insane. From the second I wakeup, well, you know. I can't go to a doctor now (or for quite awhile), so I've decided I'm going to start taking it without guidance from one. I also know it can have a hardcore withdrawal, etc. I just wanted to ask how much I should take and when, and what I should look out for while doing so.

You won't talk me out of trying it without a doctor, so I'd really appreciate advice only.

 

[comfortably numb]

Well id be a total hypocrite to tell someone not to take drugs prescription or not so im not going to talk you out of it. The only problem is you better have a steady supply of benzos because once you get in the higher doses this is one group of drugs you can't run out of. If i where you and i was gonna treat myself with benzodiazepines illegally id keep a stash of them away preferably a long acting one such as clonazepam, valium or even librium. There is always a day when everything goes wrong and you can't get your drugs.

Why can't you go to a doc now anyway? If you don't wanna tell me over the board PM me. Clonazepam shouldnt be that hard to get off a doctor as long as you explain your symptoms and the fact that you have read up on the fact that alot of people have reported good results with this med.

Anyway a good starting dose would be 0.5mg's a day initially. Then if your still anxious up the dose after a few days to 0.5mg's twice a day with one pill taken in the morning and one pill taken in the evening. Make sure your doses are atleast 8 to 12 hours apart because the effect's of clonazepam last about this long for most people. Starting at this dose you are unlikely to run into side effect's except maybe some daytime drowsiness but this will go away in time and is usually not a big problem for most people.

Some people also run into memory problems at first but this will go away as well and is usually the result of starting at too high of a dose anyway. Remember one dose does not fit all everyone is individual. We all react differently to different drugs.

You may have to up the dose or you may not. The anti-anxiety effect's pretty much stabilized for me at 2mg's a day but i had to up the dose to deal with some other psychiatric issues as well as some chronic pain issues. I now take 2mg's 3 times a day and ive been on that dose for almost a year now and im doing fine.

Ive been on clonazepam for a year and a half now and it totally cured my dp/dr, brain fog and anxiety 100%. It's still working as good as it ever did and i have no intensions of coming off it anytime soon.

As for the withdrawal issues it's really no different then coming off a anti-depressant. In fact coming off a benzo especially at a low dose can be easier then coming off some anti-depressants. Id take benzo withdrawal any goddamn day over effexor withdrawal. As for the hardcore benzo withdrawal symptoms such as seizures and hallucinations there really only a problem at higher doses. It's also much easier to taper off a benzo with a long half life such as clonazepam then a shorter acting one such as xanax or ativan. Those generally have harsher withdrawal symptoms.

I would really suggest you do this under a doctors care though. Im certainly not a doctor and im not going to play one on the internet either.

 

[jaded]

Ok, thanks a lot.

Like I mentioned, I'm taking Sertraline (generic Zoloft) and it cures my anxiety almost 100%, so I'd only be taking the Klonopin for DR.

I'm still unsure if I'll take them. I've been staring at the bottle for a couple days now. I'm just worried if it does cure the DR, I'll continue to take them indefinitely... and that brings up my fear of losing my edge (if that happens, my job is lost -- it's 100% dependent on my creative ability).

I'm assuming these drugs don't have to build up in your system like anti-depressants? So I wouldn't have to take them for 2 or 3 weeks to see the benefits?

 

[comfortably numb]

Klonopin like every other benzodiazepine kicks in as soon as you take it so there's no waiting peroid like with the ssri's and most other anti-depressants.

It may take a few day's for your DR to lift though. When i first started taking klonopin it took a few day's for my dp/dr to fully lift. Like you my main symptom was derealization and before i went on the clonazepam i had horrible DR. I was like a walking ghost. But the clonazepam cleared that up within a matter of day's.

Clonazepam never dulled my creative edge one bit in fact it's the opposite. My brain feels a hell of alot sharper now that im on clonazepam then before i went on it. I think it's mainly because i no longer live in a total fog. My derealization, brain fog and anxiety where awful before i started taking the drug. When all that went away it was like seing the world through a different set of eyes.

So id say atleast take the klonopin for abit and see what happens. You can always stop using it.

 

[Guest]

Comfortably Numb... I've been on clonazepam for one mouth now @ 0.5mg... although I feel my same self yet i'm more dizzy and I tend to bang into things (more often)... May I ask what mg you're on please? and are you on anything other then clonazepam because my docotor told me it mite work better while on a SSRI.

thanks.

 

[comfortably numb]

Im on 6mg's a day. 2mg's taken 3 times a day. Im on morphine and gabapentin which is a anti-convulsant used for nerve pain with it but it has no effect on the clonazepam except to add to the drowsiness.

I had good results taking amitriptyline which is a tricyclic anti-depressant with clonazepam. It helped the dp/dr, brain fog, anxiety and depression alot. Ive been thinking about going back on that combo or maybe lamictal or lithium.

My moods are all over the place lately but im still 100% dp/dr and brain fog free so i guess thats something.

 

[Guest]

You're on 12x the amount i'm on?... *thinks bout it*... time for a increase???... lol. Thanks mate.

 

[Guest]

Don't go there D.
I know, each to their own but they will make things worse in the big picture.
That is just my personal opinion *Shrugs*

Greg

 

[comfortably numb]

Don't go there D.
I know, each to their own but they will make things worse in the big picture.
That is just my personal opinion *Shrugs*

Greg

They can make things worse for some people but clonazepam has helped me more then any other drug ive tried. Im not on 6mg's because of my dp/dr and anxiety actually, im on that dose to help with some chronic pain issues i have. My dp/dr, anxiety and panic attacks disappeared totally at 2mg's a day and leveled off there.

You could up your dose if you think it would help you your on a little baby dose that i couldnt even feel. But then again i can't feel 6mg's a day and i couldnt notice any side effect's in the increase in dose so im not a good person to go by. The only thing i can feel off the clonazepam is it's anti-anxiety effect's and it's still doing that job as good as it ever did.

I don't subscribe to the whole benzos are addictive so you shouldnt take them idea. Benzos arent really addictive in the true sense anyway as they are pretty much totally devoid of euphoria. They do create dependence though but so do the ssri's, or much worse the snri's. Most other anti-depressant's create dependence to various degrees as well but that's still no reason not to use them because they are very useful in treating depression.

It's no different with the benzodiazepines such as clonazepam as they are very helpful in treating anxiety, panic attacks and often dp/dr and brain fog. The ones with the shorter half lifes such as alprazolam (xanax) create worse dependence then the ones with the longer half lifes such as clonazepam and valium though. But the shorter acting ones are really only supposed to be taken in emergencies wheras the longer acting ones are good for everyday use.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your warning Greg.

comfortably numb: "on a little baby dose" lol. You're quite right thought. Due to feeling "real" at some points during my time on Clonazepam, I beleive it's fair to say an increase towards 2mg would be worth while... I haven't felt any addiction yet... due to me nearly forgotting to take them at night (although does the addiction kick in when you stop taking them, do you "need" "kick" of them after going cold turkey?)...(although I wouldn't go cold turkey... I'm going to come off them steady like Tigersuit did.... Come off them when i'm ready).

Thanks guys.

 

[joepert]

I'm going to try clonazepam too, have an appointment with my psych tuesday to discuss it.

 

[comfortably numb]

I believe Greg had a bad experience with alprazolam if im not mistaken so i can hardly blame him to be warning people about the dangers of benzodiazepine use. That's about the hardest benzo to withdraw from. But no way would i taper using alprazolam id switch right over to a equal dose of valium no matter how high the dose had to be and taper down from there. It would be much easier and safer that way.

Darren you probley wouldnt feel withdrawal from just 0.5mg's of clonazepam a day but some unlucky people do. It's mostly just rebound anxiety and things of that nature if you get withdrawals from that dose though. Usually you have to be taking a high dose for years before you would develop the really nasty withdrawal symptoms such as seizures. Although i imagine if you already had a seizure disorder you would be more suseptible to that.

Darren if you don't feel the need to take your clonazepam just to catch a buzz then your not addicted. Addiction rarely happens with benzos in fact as they lack euphoria unlike the opiates which have plenty of euphoria. But you can become physically dependent on them and since clonazepam has a half life of 2 days you wouldnt feel the full withdrawals until those 2 days are up.

I once went almost a whole 2 days without taking any clonazepam because i was so goddamn sick with a stomach flu i couldnt hold any pills down. I didnt feel any withdrawal symptoms but i was so sick i wouldnt have noticed if someone had kicked me in the balls. I did start to get scared of going into withdrawals though so i finally went to the doctor and got a shot of a anti-nausea drug so i could hold my clonazepam and other meds down and possibly some water as well .

 

[Guest]

Thanks again for the info comfortably numb. I?m going to see my doctor on the 23rd of this month because he?s on holiday. So till then I?m going to carry on taking the 0.5mg. Then when I see him I?m going to ask to be put on a SSRI (Any recommendions? Seem Fluoxetine is a winner) and increase my Clonazepam to 1mg although I?ll taper it up .125mg a day.

I need to snap out of this dream? ?wakey shaky!?? heh.

Thanks again mate =).

 

[17545]

d...

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry to hear clonazepam has coursed you a great deal of shite mate.

Wow your new avatar is a "Winner!"... I love surreal art! =D

 

[17545]

.

 

[comfortably numb]

Darren i can't really tell you what ssri is the best because everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to different ssri's. Then again alot of people get no therapeutic benefit from any ssri because serotonin is not the problem with their depression, anxiety, OCD or whatever.

Fluoxetine would be a good ssri to start with though because of the fact that if it doesent work it generally doesent cause much if any in the way of withdrawal symptoms. So you could drop it pretty fast if it doesent work. It takes a long time to work though even compared to other ssri's and i think your supposed to give it a full 2 months to see if it's the right med for you.

Escitalopram (cipralex, lexapro) is generally regarded the fastest acting of the ssri's and is supposed to be a good ssri for anxiety and major depression. However it has a harsher withdrawal then prozac does due to it's shorter half life. Whatever you do do not take paxil (paroxetine) first as it has the second harshest withdrawals out of any of the anti-depressant's. It's only beat out in that catagory by effexor.

Take into effect that all of the ssri's can cause sexual dysfunction and since your a guy this effect could piss you off. Ive never been on a ssri and i don't intend to go on one as i was on effexor which is a snri with the same shitty sexual side effect's only maybe a ltttle worse and that was enough for me. That side effect alone actually made me depressed even though i was only taking it for anxiety not depression.

I think im going to try remeron (mirtazapine) or possibly a tricyclic such as amitriptyline for my depression soon. I was on amitriptyline before and it caused no sexual dysfunction at all. From what ive heard from my doc and from people who have taken the drug remeron causes basically no sexual dysfunction either.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info mate... I'm thinking about taking a month of clonazepam to see how I feel with out it... because today while playing badminton with the service users... each time I went to pick up the shuttlecock I nearly lost my balance. It felt really weird... as if i'm were drunk... and it's started to make me feel uncomfortable going out. Because I feel unsteady on buses.

The sexual dysfunction does not matter to me... my banana is already numb...

 

[Steve Cronin]

I was on Klonopin 0.5mg twice a day for about two weeks but didn't notice any improvement. It made me really tired as well. So my Doctor took me off of it.

I've had Chronic DR for over a year - I'm guessing it might take more than 2 weeks to get rid of this?

Steve.

 

[jaded]

Well, I started taking .5 mg twice a day. All I can say right now is I feel dizzy as hell. I'm totally anxiety free, but... my head is spinning. Hoping this will go away. The DR is still on in full force.

I'll try it for a week, but I definitely cant go on being this dizzy. It's making everything super weird.

=(