HydroCat Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 It has been two weeks on .25mg Clonazepam. It works great but I'm not sure it makes sense... My pdoc prescribed it for anxiety, sleep is not a problem. I take it at night, so if I understand correctly the effect should not even last through the morning. It feels as though it does last till the next day at the afternoon. Since I am on it I become extremely tired at around 4 pm, for around one hour in which I almost fall asleep at work. Is this possible? Anyone had a similar experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I am on clonazepam and have never experienced this type of thing, but perhaps you could drink a cup of coffee in the afternoon before you get tired? Sorry I don't have any better advice...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Could u just ask the doc about adjusting dosing around these problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrjun Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 They were prescribed to me for anxiety/panic AND insomnia, so I sadly cant relate. The old ones (TEVA brand of klonopin) did make me very tired. I slept like a baby though, which is better than now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HydroCat Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Caffeine has no effect on me, I drink coffee before bedtime. I have an appointment next week and I'll ask. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 15 hours ago, HydroCat said: My pdoc prescribed it for anxiety, sleep is not a problem. I take it at night, so if I understand correctly the effect should not even last through the morning. It feels as though it does last till the next day at the afternoon. Unless you sleep 12 hours it is there in the morning. A long half life, it is all over the place on the Internet, is 19 - 60 hours. I understand that with this med there is a great variance on metabolism on the individual level. It will take between one to two days for 50% of Klonopin to leave your system. I take Klonopin at night to avoid experiencing the sedation. I did not need help with sleeping. I am a mess in the morning and the Klonopin from last night qwells my morning messes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HydroCat Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 I can't sleep 12 hours even though that may be nice at times. The effective time is unclear to me. Looking at the wiki page it: "It has an elimination half-life of 19–60 hours" and the next line: "it is effective for 6–8 hours in children, and 6–12 in adults." I think I'm still missing something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schlep Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 You should consider trying Ativan, as I believe it's shorter acting than clonazepam. Maybe .5mg (equivalent of .25mg clonazepam) at night and beyond that as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Schlep has a good point...when is the anxiety at its worst? Maybe u could use a more "targeted" approach with a different med 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HydroCat Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 My symptoms are mostly the same throughout the day. There is no trouble sleeping at all though, regardless of how I felt during the day.. So a long acting med, taken in the morning is probably the best choice. If I take Clonazepam at night then I “lose” most of its effective hours to sleep, then it wears out mid-day. Anyway, I asked my pdoc about this and he said that there is no problem taking Clonazepam at the morning instead. As long as I don't take more than .25 a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schlep Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 1 hour ago, HydroCat said: My symptoms are mostly the same throughout the day. There is no trouble sleeping at all though, regardless of how I felt during the day.. So a long acting med, taken in the morning is probably the best choice. If I take Clonazepam at night then I “lose” most of its effective hours to sleep, then it wears out mid-day. Anyway, I asked my pdoc about this and he said that there is no problem taking Clonazepam at the morning instead. As long as I don't take more than .25 a day. Splitting the .25 into 2 doses a day might also help. It depends on exactly how much you need to "feel" it; but doing that would probably help with the side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Clonazepam has one of the longest half-lives of all the benzos. This is why it's the benzo of choice for many pdocs who want their anxious patients to have all-day benzo coverage. Alprazolam and lorazepam are considered intermediate acting. If you're finding you're having next day sedation, one of those two may be an alternative, but pdocs are less willing to use those as daily medications and they generally get relegated to PRN status. There are some exceptions to that though. If you were to switch the clonazepam, I would say lorazepam should be your second choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HydroCat Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) Not sure why this happens but ever since I am on Clonazepam I fall asleep mid-day, about 16 hours after I take it. Problematic when I am at work... This is a very late onset for its sedating effect. Metabolism thing? Edited January 18, 2019 by HydroCat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) On 12/16/2018 at 1:42 AM, HydroCat said: I can't sleep 12 hours even though that may be nice at times. The effective time is unclear to me. Looking at the wiki page it: "It has an elimination half-life of 19–60 hours" and the next line: "it is effective for 6–8 hours in children, and 6–12 in adults." I think I'm still missing something. Simple. It takes 19-60 X 5 hours to clear all the Klonopin but enough is cleared by 6-12 hours that it is no longer effective. Edited January 19, 2019 by notloki add X5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HydroCat Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 Then it comes to that: no matter when I take the .25mg, AM or PM - I literally can't stay awake after lunch. Besides that, I can't really tell what it does for my mood. Maybe I don't really need it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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