waitingforgodot Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I take Klonopin PRN for severe anxiety, and it drives me nuts because I feel like it either does nothing or makes me too sedated to function - e.g., drive a car - and there is just NO happy medium. Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncomfortable thoughts Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Advice:Wait.Just wait because Klonopin (Clonazepam) is a long acting drug.I start feeling the effects of it about 40 minutes to 1 hour after taking but I don't have the problems of it being very sedating even in larger doses.I give it at least two hours to see if I need to complement the initial dosage, sometimes you don't need the same dosage taking previously. keep in mind this drug is made to act for 6 to 12 hours, since it seems you don't have tolerance to it probably stays longer in your system and you can even be sedated on the next day if you take it too much.If you don't have problems with addiction I would talk with the doctor about some short-acting drug for severe anxiety, maybe you could benefit from smaller dosages of ativan or xanax than taking a larger dose of klonopin or valium. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waitingforgodot Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Advice:Wait.Just wait because Klonopin (Clonazepam) is a long acting drug.I start feeling the effects of it about 40 minutes to 1 hour after taking but I don't have the problems of it being very sedating even in larger doses.I give it at least two hours to see if I need to complement the initial dosage, sometimes you don't need the same dosage taking previously. keep in mind this drug is made to act for 6 to 12 hours, since it seems you don't have tolerance to it probably stays longer in your system and you can even be sedated on the next day if you take it too much.If you don't have problems with addiction I would talk with the doctor about some short-acting drug for severe anxiety, maybe you could benefit from smaller dosages of ativan or xanax than taking a larger dose of klonopin or valium.That is actually really good advice. I don't have an addiction history, and I am also very judicious in my use of benzos because I'm kind of tolerance-phobic. I think what may be happening is that I take a dose, it takes a while to work and makes me think it's NOT going to work, so I take a little more and then, when both doses kick in, I am too sedated. My doctor switched me from xanax to klonopin BECAUSE it lasts longer, but I didn't realize (at the time) that it also takes a while to work and expected it to help as quickly as xanax. I may ask for a benzo switch. I think you really hit the nail on the head. Thank you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 FWIW, taking it with food always made it work faster for me. I am currently on the ones you put under your tongue, but when I was on the pills I noticed an effect sooner if I took it with food. It didn't work right away, just quicker than the hour it did before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waitingforgodot Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 (edited) FWIW, taking it with food always made it work faster for me. I am currently on the ones you put under your tongue, but when I was on the pills I noticed an effect sooner if I took it with food. It didn't work right away, just quicker than the hour it did before.melissaw72, thank you! That's so helpful, and I have never even heard of these things before, e.g., to take it with food. And, I actually did not even know there was a sublingual form. Anyway, thanks so much! Edited October 21, 2015 by waitingforgodot Forgot to quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 FWIW, taking it with food always made it work faster for me. I am currently on the ones you put under your tongue, but when I was on the pills I noticed an effect sooner if I took it with food. It didn't work right away, just quicker than the hour it did before.melissaw72, thank you! That's so helpful, and I have never even heard of these things before, e.g., to take it with food. And, I actually did not even know there was a sublingual form. Anyway, thanks so much!IMO, at least for me, the sublingual one works the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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