Klonopin

[jothenurse]

I was in the emergency room this morning because I had tried an SSRI (zoloft) for one day and I had nausea and diarrhea. After stopping it right away, I still was gagging this morning (which may be due to the anxiety and weight loss). Blood work was all normal. They decided to just put me on Klonopin .5mg twice a day (instead of the ativan) - does anyone else take this and how did it work for you?

[rckclmbr]

I was in the emergency room this morning because I had tried an SSRI (zoloft) for one day and I had nausea and diarrhea. After stopping it right away, I still was gagging this morning (which may be due to the anxiety and weight loss). Blood work was all normal. They decided to just put me on Klonopin .5mg twice a day (instead of the ativan) - does anyone else take this and how did it work for you?

Hi! I've been on Klonopin for a little over a year now. I take .5mg once at night to help me sleep (and help my anxiety!) .... sometimes if I'm having excessive anxiety during the day, I may also take half of one.

It's worked decently for me. It doesn't take away my anxiety, but it does help to take the edge off.

As I understand it, Klonopin is a bit more potent and has a longer half-life than Ativan ... so it stays in your system longer.

I had to switch to Ativan for about a month due to getting ECT for a research study, and I noticed a huge difference -- the Ativan wore off VERY quickly and didn't help me nearly as much.

It was a relief to me when I was allowed to go back to Klonopin!

I hope it helps you!

[jothenurse]

Question. They started me out at Klonopin .5 mg twice a day. I read somewhere that they usually start you out on .25 mg twice a day and then after a few days will increase it to .5 mg twice a day. They maybe did it this way because I had been on Ativan for awhile. But I am pretty sleepy and woke up with a headache and sluggish this morning and I will need to be taking my morning dosage soon. Any ideas?

[rckclmbr]

When I was started on it, my psych started me at .5mg once a day at bedtime. It was a good amount for me.

If I need to take it during the day, I'll usually only take part of it.

So if you're feeling sluggish and sleepy after taking the .5mg at night, try just taking .25mg at night and see how you feel in the morning. Everyone reacts differently ... I think you just have to experiment with what dosage helps you without debilitating you!

:)

[jothenurse]

The klonopin .5 mg twice a day that I have been taking seems to help some, but the dizziness and being really drowsy has been hard because I don't think I should drive that way. They recommended trying taking .25 mg up to 4 times a day and see if that will help with the drowsiness. Has anyone heard of taking it this way?

[rckclmbr]

maybe just start with .25 mg once a day and see how that works. if it isn't enough, take another .25 mg. but if the .25 mg IS enough, then that's good because you don't want to have to take more than necessary (or too much which will cause the drowsiness).

[jothenurse]

The .25 mg is not enough. They have recommended taking the .25 four times a day so I am still getting 1 mg/day. I definitely seem to need the .25 in the morning and also at noon. I question whether I always need the two at supper and bedtime, though. I'm wondering if I should just take the .25 three times a day.