what dosage do you take?

[Ethansmom]

I find that .5MG does nothing. I need more like 1MG to feel an effect. I'm just curious as to what others take. Does anyone take Xanax when they have a panic attack. It seems that the Clonazapam does not prevent panic attacks for me.

[ana]

I used to be on Xanax and Xanax SR. Personally, though, I've never found it helped quite in the way that Clonazepam did. I was on 1 mg initially, but now, just .25 works quite well for me, and is enough to have an effect. Otherwise, I was on 0.5 mg daily for years.

[akb]

Klonopin is addictive after a few weeks i.e' if you stop taking suddenly you will get withdrawal effects. The same is true for any benzo.

However, if you keep dosage within a certain limit, you can take for a long time and still get beneficial effects.

I take 0.5 every afternoon to take the edge off. Been well over a year now. My psych told me that 1 mg a day is 'safe'. Over that amount can lead to real addiction problems.

On another note, panic attacks are something you should look into treating naturally. Not easy and demands courage but can be done.

akb

[ana]

I did get addicted to Klonazepam, and I believe that, regardless of the dosage (though I could be wrong as I'm not a medical professional), it is addictive when taken longer than 5 weeks.

Anti-depressants tend to work better for treating anxiety as they keep your anxiety levels in check throughout the day, whereas benzos wear off after 5 or 6 hours.

[akb]

Ideally benzos should only be taken for about 3 weeks but in practice this is rarely the case.

The main problem with them is that they effect the efficacy of anti depressants and can actually make you feel miserable.

I would suggest 1 mg a day as enough to take the edge off, and not too large an amount to wean yourself off when you have to.

With xanax the "safe" amount is a bit higher, 1.2 to 1.5 daily, but effects wear off quickly. They are the benzoate if choice to take while having a panic attack because they are quick acting.

Living in fear of panic attacks will sure as hell give you a panic attack, which is why you need to look at self coping strategies. Panic attacks can be reduced to onsets of anxiety, which are still horrible but less so than panic, and again there are strategies to dampen their effect. All take time, repeated failure and patience, but can be done. I am currently working on this because my doc won't increase or change my meds, so I have no choice.

[ana]

I agree on the living with fear argument. Sometimes, however, people just need the assistance of medication as their immense anxiety would otherwise prevent them from functioning on a day-to-day basis. I don't think it's wrong or detrimental to help yourself maintain a somewhat functional daily life whilst taking anti-depressants or tranquillisers. I've found that benzos, when taken together with anti-depressants have no effect on their efficacy, and I've been on medication for over 15 years now.

[akb]

Amazin!

[ana]

akb, I take it you're impressed with my long-term use of medication?

[Ethansmom]

I take the clonazepam with Celexa. It's been a rough ride with the increased anxiety, so i'm doing whatever it takes to get through this time.

[.Poppy.]

How long have you been on the Celexa? Is it possible you need to try a different SSRI?

I take Lexapro daily. My psych wanted me to take clonazepam daily as well and I did for several months (anywhere from .5 mg to 1 mg daily) but I quit because I was concerned about getting addicted. I pretty much quit cold turkey and thankfully was fine.

I now take it as-needed, which is pretty rare, anywhere from .25 mg to .5 mg per dose.