Posted by bristol on February 15, 2004, at 16:23:37
In reply to chlonazepam for life vs. effexor, posted by SuzieV on February 9, 2004, at 12:25:18
Hi - In answer to your question about whether or not you should stay on Clonazepam for life..i"ll share my story with you. I've been on Klonipin for three years now mostly staying between 1-2 mg depending on what I needed for sleep. The last year has been the toughest. Klonipin was the stable drug while I was put through the gamet of Depakote, Trilyptal, Topomax and Effexor. I'm off everything now but Klonipin and I'm realizing that by increasing to 2.5Mg, I've increased several side effects. I did research today and this is what i found..it confirms my own problems that I've been having with nightmares, hostility, anger, inability to keep stress levels in check and respiratory problems: here they are: Most of the adverse effects associated with clonazepam therapy are CNS-related and
dose-dependent including: headache, drowsiness, ataxia3 , dizziness, confusion,
depression, slurred speech, syncope4 , lightheadedness, fatigue, tremors, and
vertigo.Occasionally, paradoxical CNS stimulation can occur, particularly in psychiatric patients and hyperactive children.
Symptoms of paradoxical CNS stimulation include hostility, nightmares, talkativeness, excitement, mania, tremulousness, sleep disturbances, increased muscle spasticity, acute rage reactions, anxiety, restlessness, euphoria, and hyperflexia.
Benzodiazepine therapy should be discontinued if any of the signs of paradoxical CNS excitement occur.
<http://www.hsc.missouri.edu/htmls/indexes/products/marking/k.html>;Hi, I am new to this forum. I am 49 and have been on chlonazepam for over four years for GAD and SAD. I was a new person for the first two years, lost weight got a job and slept for the first time in years. All my unbearable symptoms disappeared. But after two years of working I had a nervous breakdown, (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Anxiety disorder and depression. I saw a shrink who tried me on Remeron which was awful and I had to quit working because I went into a depression when I went off it. Now I am on 2 mg. of chlonazepam and it has been loosing affect. I need to increase it but toy with the idea of getting off it all together. My doctor wants me to decrease it. Lately I have been taking an extra .05mg, which is the difference of day and night but I am going to be in trouble when I see my doctor. We are moving and have teenagers that are difficult so my stress level has really increased.
> Originally my idea was that I would go on it for life, I had discussed this with a previous doctor who left the province. We acknowledged it's addictive quality but hoped it would give me a more normal happy life.
> Now I am concerned. I know going off it would be a disaster but I'm not sure what will happen if I continue. I don't really understand why I can't just cautiously increase it when needed. I don't have an addictive personality and don't drink. Does it start to make you have bad side effects at higher doses? Does it eventually not work at all no matter how much you take and make you stupid at the same time. My memory and concentration are not great but never have been and I think that's just because of my GAD.
> My sister has had really amazing results with Effexor after she had a major nervous breakdown last year. But she has depression where I have anxiety. But I thought it might help me wean myself off the chlonazepam. But now I am reading bad stories of what happens when you go off Effexor. All other anti-depressants have had intolerable side effects for me anyway.
> My brother-in-law, who has Tourettes syndrome is also in the same boat as me. He takes the same amount of Chlonazepam but it isn't working anymore and so his neurologist is giving him an anti-pyschotic and trying to wean him the chlonazepam. This made me consider anti-psychotics, but don't think it's a good idea due to the side effects.
> Is there any reason why I can't stay on Chlonazepam for life and increase the dosage as needed? I personally believe it's the best option for me.
> Thanks for listening,
> SuzieV
poster:bristol
thread:311272
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040215/msgs/313679.html