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Re: Any risks with Klonopin (Clonazepam)??bretbe

Posted by bretbe on April 4, 2003, at 12:38:05

In reply to Re: Any risks with Klonopin (Clonazepam)??bretbe, posted by Tepiaca on April 3, 2003, at 17:41:26

It's understandable to be worried about taking a medication for the rest of your life, especially since it is "worry" (anxiety) that you are taking the medication for. For me, I have sometimes tried to go off of it more because it seems an inconvenience to have to always have some of it on hand, take at night, etc., if it isn't helping. However, since I am now convinced it is helping tremendously, I think of it like taking insulin for diabetes or heart medication; if my body needs it, why worry about taking it. Lots of people take medication every day who would otherwise be dead...that's the beauty of modern medicine.

I've never heard of the "hurting other people" effect of Klonopin. I've certainly never had that problem or any other problems, on Klonopin and I've taken it now for 10 years (1mg/night-time). Well, I should say that I have not been able to get off of Klonopin even when trying to slowly taper down over the course of 2 years, but that could also be because it is helping me. It's literally a life saver for me. If you have anger/irritability problems, you may want to consider Depakote, Tegrital, or Trileptal usually very good for agitation and/or aggression. Both Tegrital and Depakote were great at reducing irritability for me.

MAOI's are often very powerful anti-depressants and for many people they are life-savers. If your depression is the low energy kind, these can be very activating. I have a good friend who has been on Nardil for over ten years and he had originally been very suicidal. The down side is you have to watch what kinds of food you eat and over-the-counter medications you take. I personally did not have good results from Nardil but most anti-depressant meds (SSRI's, TCA's) and especially Welbutrine make my anxiety sky rocket! Parnate and Seligiline are other MAOI's. As you can see from all the advice from people on this message board, our bodies all respond differently to medications so you have to find the one that works for you.

I'm not an expert so this is just my opinion but if 3mg Klonopin is not working, you may want another combination. Have you tried buspar? If SSRI's work a little, you may want to experiment with different doses (e.g., higher) and combinations with other anti-depressants. Also, some people have good results with anti-epileptic meds like Neurontin or Topamax with SSRI's. I'm not sure what stage you are in trying medications and what you've tried in the past. When did your anxiety/depression start? Did you have anxiety over specific things or just all the time? Is your "pain" more anxiety or depression...or both equally? Is your depression cause low energy or do you have too much energy? (or just enough?). It's hard to say exactly what you need but keep working with a good psychiatrist who knows ALL the available medications. If you've never had counseling, you may want to try that too.

Best of luck to you!


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