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Starting Klonopin. What to expect? .5 mg


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Ok, so I came back from my pdoc today, and he said that he's tried so much to help with my anxiety, but here is another option. He gave me Klonopin .5mg. And I'm scared but I trust that my pdoc knows what he's doing. What should I expect? Will I be a zombie? He said absolutely no alcohol or smoking with it. And he said if I do, then don't take it. He said that he trusts me that I can be responsible with it. Are there any potential side effects? He wants me to take half a pill twice a day....

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Benzos have never really given me any side effects. I think that's the case for most people. It may cause you to feel a little sleepy, but that should go away after you get used to it. If you take half and don't notice any benefit, I would discuss trying to take a full pill with your doctor. Also, if you don't feel that klonopin is making much of a difference in your life, I'd consider not taking it on a daily basis. Benzos can cause physical dependence (even if you're not abusing them), so you just want to keep that in the back of your mind. If you find that the benefits are so great that you can't live without them (like, if they help you to function better and generally increase your quality of life), then don't worry about it. 1mg/ day generally shouldn't cause physical dependence, but it depends on the person.

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I love my klonopin. I hope they never try to take me off of it again. Stupid anti benzo hospital Dr....If they try that crap again to me I'm fighting it!

Anyway, I am one of the ones where it makes me function. I don't care if I'm physically dependent on it or not. Without it, I can't leave the house, I can't drive, I can't be alone yet can't be around people, I get daily panic attacks, I worry about everyone and everything to the max where it interferes with my life terribly (it's all I can think about and do), I cry over EVERYTHING, I am just a nervous wreck, I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't eat, I feel like I'm having a heart attack or dying, doom and dread everything bad is about to happen right this second, etc. OMG

But with klonopin I can leave the house. I can drive to certain locations a few times a week. I don't get panic attacks unless really bad things are happening in my life. My worry is bad but not extreme. I can function with the anxiety and use therapy skills and learn therapy skills to help my anxiety get better further. 

So yeah, I take 1 mg three times a day of klonopin. But for 10 years I was on a lower dose of 1 mg to 1.5 mg daily. Only recently we had to increase to 3 mg daily. But who knows I might be able to handle a lower dose again soon. So it's not true that EVERYONE needs higher and higher doses rapidly. Some people do have that experience but I did not. 

But I cannot stress enough that klonopin plus therapy skills for anxiety is probably your best bet. Once the anxiety is down you can learn the skills and practice them and then they will help alongside the klonopin. Best of luck to you!

 

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