rowan77 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I take clonazepam 0.5mg in the morning and 0.5mg again in the afternoon and 1mg at bedtime. My pdoc has insisted I don't drive whilst on this medication but I feel absolutely fine. At the beginning I did feel slightly sedated but not at all now. The thing is that I feel ready to return to work but the only way to get there is drive. I see my pdoc tomorrow and will see what he says. My question is…. Do others drive safely on benzos??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I have never been able to drive without benzos mostly to be honest. I drive with them a few times a week now. I used to be so anxious I couldn't drive for years. Now I can go to a few places I know the route to very well with no inclement weather whatsoever. They don't make me drowsy either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heilmania Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 48 minutes ago, rowan77 said: My question is…. Do others drive safely on benzos??? Not only have I driven cars and trucks on benzos, I've never even had a parking ticket, let alone an accident. Not only THAT, but I even drove HORSES on benzos. I think once you're adjusted to your dose, you're totally fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I did drive when on benzos (xanax and klonopin) and agree with heilmania that once you are adjusted to your dose you will most likely be ok. NOT saying that as a fact, just that when I was driving, I got used to the meds and felt fine enough to drive. It was just a matter of time for me to get the meds in m system. Actually, at the time I was driving, it helped me MORE when I drove to have the benzos in me; otherwise I was anxious and was more likely to have anxiety attacks while driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aura Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 once I got used to how they made me feel, I was fine to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 3 hours ago, rowan77 said: My question is…. Do others drive safely on benzos??? Yes. And I was also worried because Valium makes me sleepy. But if I am definitely taking the med for severe anxiety or panic attack then driving, working, speaking all works fine. If however I take it at night right before I go to bed, in my pj's, bookie ready, then driving would be dangerous. There are times my anxiety needs to go away because I have to sleep or because I have to do something. And strange as this sounds, one pill works for both. Normally for sleep I take Xanax, a different benzo. But if I am only mildly stressed, don't want the heaviness of xanax, I can take a valium at night, even though 99% of time I use valium for performance anxiety, panic attacks, et. al ad infa nauseum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReallyImFine Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I take clonazepam twice a day, morning and afternoon, and occasionally a third time "as needed" and I have never felt it affected my driving negatively. I would follow the advice of avoiding driving for a couple of days until you get a feel for how it affects you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 About what water said above ... it depends on the time you take it. If I take it in the AM I can do things, but if I was to take one when already tired, forget it ... there would be no way I could get in a car to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAL9000 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 My SO just lost it at a family funeral and she grabbed one of my Valiums. I would not have wanted to let her drive but I think that it greatly depends on the person and how the drug effects them. I would (personally) not drive if I were taking something new for the first time up until the point I knew how it was working on me. Totally agree that driving when you need to take benzos is probably much worse then just about anything. At least the kind of anxiety when your so tensed up it hurts or your just unable to stop jerking around or however it affects you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyT Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I take 4mg a day of klonopin, at least 24mg a day of zanaflex, at least 2400mg of gabapentin +others and my doctor doesn't want me to drive without it. I definitely suggest you consult your doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 It's usually safe to drive on them, but if you're at fault in a serious accident where someone else is hurt, there could be problems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 ^^Great point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) So I saw pdoc yesterday and he is happy with my improvement, sleeping well, no irritability or agitation or restlessness. We have reduced the clonazepam to 0.25 morning and afternoon but still will take 1mg at bedtime. He has allowed me to return to work and therefore drive. He told me to exercise caution and if I am at all affected to stop. So yeah! Am back to work tomorrow and truthfully am not at all concerned about driving Edited January 22, 2016 by rowan77 Meant to type 0.25 instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 2 hours ago, rowan77 said: So I saw pdoc yesterday and he is happy with my improvement, sleeping well, no irritability or agitation or restlessness. We have reduced the clonazepam to 0.125 morning and afternoon but still will take 1mg at bedtime. He has allowed me to return to work and therefore drive. He told me to exercise caution and if I am at all affected to stop. So yeah! Am back to work tomorrow and truthfully am not at all concerned about driving That is great, rowan! I'm glad things are working out for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasps Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I have 1mg Lorazepam that I can take as needed up to 2 times per day and I had to take 2 yesterday due to severe anxiety during school hours I drove home on it fine but I was having odd hallucinations which I'm sure is just a side affect... my pill bottle said to never drive while taking it but I've driven multiple times on it and never had any problems. as long as the weather is fine and the traffic isn't crazy you should be alright. also avoid highways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I've been on most of the benzos and never had an issue driving. Just don't do it until you know how the med affects you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincess88 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 On 1/19/2016 at 4:09 PM, rowan77 said: I take clonazepam 0.5mg in the morning and 0.5mg again in the afternoon and 1mg at bedtime. My pdoc has insisted I don't drive whilst on this medication but I feel absolutely fine. At the beginning I did feel slightly sedated but not at all now. The thing is that I feel ready to return to work but the only way to get there is drive. I see my pdoc tomorrow and will see what he says. My question is…. Do others drive safely on benzos??? I agree with seeing how it affects your first. I have to drive because I have school. But Benzos can make you tired. I was on Xanax before Klonopin, and Ive never had any problems with driving except getting sleepy sometimes. I have caffeine pills for such instances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts