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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Didier on October 20, 2000, at 22:00:05
Klonopin was a seductive drug for me. I was first diagnosed with a form of epilepsy and given Klonopin to stop the symptoms; involuntary jerking. I have other symptoms but the doctors did not seem to be able to deal with them such as extreme sensitivity to sound and visual stimulus. I wear earplugs and sunglasses everywhere I go.
I experienced extreme confusion on Klonopin. Thinking back, I remember a time being out on the street; not knowing what to do to help myself and not being able to make a simple phone call. This was only the beginning. After an MRI and EEG I was told it was stress and I was then put on Xanex and Buspar. The doctor observed me in an imbalanced emotional state at the time he switched me from Klonopin to Xanex and Buspar but he did not associate my weird behavior with the Klonopin. After all, I had just walked into his office, recently, and he did not know me. He told me I needed a counselor. I never noticed any withdrawal from the Klonopin and was now promptly on Xanex and Buspar. I did notice while taking the Xanex and Buspar (AND was able to communicate with my neurologist) that I was having feelings of isolation and alienation and thinking about suicide. This was not like me. But he did not know that. He said, "The only way that I would know, would be to get off the drugs." I was not looking forward to it as I did not like the anxiety symtoms. There was some difficult discomfort from withdrawal from the Xanex (about three days total). The feelings of isolation and alienation and suicide disappeared and the anxiety symptoms resurfaced. Keep in mind that when I was taking Klonopin I was not able to distinguish that there was something wrong with me. I lived it. I was in it.
I only went another week before calling the doctor and asked to go back on Klonopin; thinking that this was my only solution. I was a totally different person on Klonopin. It took control and I was jealous, confused, argumentative and very demanding. I lost 15 pounds. My children knew that there was something not quite right about "Mommy" and started to spend more time in their rooms; afraid to come out. What was "Mommy" going to do today? Eventually, my husband asked me to leave and take my drugs with me. At this point, it seemed totally justified that I should take my life. Everything was upside down and backwards. I wasn't even a good "Mommy." I threatened to do it. I meant to do it. I was totally at peace with doing it. Every thing would have been better. I need not go into anymore detail accept to say that I can reflect back and realize that Klonopin made me see my world differently. My personality was totally extreme. I mean extreme. My husband was shocked and was told by the neurologist that it was not the drugs and to take me to the emergency room in the hospital.
At 3:30p.m. I arrived. A nurse suggested a crisis counselor. We said, "Okay." We waited until 11:00p.m. only to have that crisis counselor lock me up in a mental ward. It was all arranged. They did not care. They thought they were doing the right thing. But they could not care because it would have bothered them, too, much. I was driven away in a cage. It was an hour and 15 minute drive to the mental ward. They locked me up and took away my rights. It was called 51/50. They had 51% of my rights and I had 50%. It was a horrible experience. An experience that other people have had and are still having right now. It is not worth anything to mention in detail the experiences but I can say it was just like all the movies. Everything was so out of touch with what I could associate with that after awhile everyone was a movie star. Everyone had their lines. Cut. Print.
The psychiatrist in the mental ward also did not think it was the fault of the Klonopin and put me on a drug for treating Schizophrenia. So, now, I was being treated for Schizophrenia. After all they had 51% of my rights and could have forced me to take the drug. Come on.
After getting out of that place, which was not an easy thing to do, I looked up Klonopin on the Internet only to find out, too, late that 1 out of 4 people that take Klonopin (25%) have a severe reaction which can include a suicide attempt. It did say that usually those that attempt suicide, already have some other mental disorder. What can I say? The word "usually" can mean much.
SO, WATCH OUT!
I hide, now, from all doctors. It is as if I have been raped; violated. And not only that, but I had to pay for the whole thing. Since, I am the only source of income in the family and have been for quite awhile, I, presently, feel that these so-called "care-providers" are also extorting money from me. Their standard answer to my question as to whether or not I had been really served is "Do you have insurance?"
SO, AGAIN WATCH OUT!
After confiding this to a friend recently, she told me that her brother had committed suicide while on the drug, Klonopin. I knew he had died but did not know the circumstances. Why don't doctors know this? I found it on the Internet. Don't they do any research on the Internet? Statistically speaking, have they seen all the people that react okay on Klonopin and are they now overdue for the rest of us?
The Internet also said to stay away from Xanex if there is a severe reaction to Klonopin. They are in the same family so-to-speak. So, this explained a lot to me, too. I hope it helps someone by writing this.
It cost me plenty. It cost me my integrity, my honor and my pocketbook.
Posted by laural on October 21, 2000, at 0:11:59
In reply to Klonopin, posted by Didier on October 20, 2000, at 22:00:05
I really feel for you didier. i have to wonder, why if you apparantly had epilepsy, did they put you on these drugs and not an anti-epileptic like depakote? it seems like you've had a horrible experience with doctors. please don't rule out all doctors. i have had similar experiences with some, but if you keep trying you might find doctors who will work with you. the mental ward experience was just like mine and i think it actually helped me in a weird way but a way i think it was intended, it made me appreciate little things when i got them back, like being able to go outside and smoke--but i don't think that kind of therapy works for all disorders. please don't give up, laural
Posted by JohnL on October 21, 2000, at 6:05:16
In reply to Klonopin, posted by Didier on October 20, 2000, at 22:00:05
Didier,
Unbelievable. Holy cow! Yikes. What can I say? I'm so sorry. What a heavyduty experience. Man o man. You must be one strong women to survive all that. You don't know me at all, but I send you my heartfelt support.Your experience highlights a couple things that I often preach at this board.
1)When a patient starts treatment with a drug that's new to them, and there's any kind of bad reaction, pull the plug. Stop it immediately. I'm not talking about dry mouth, nausea, insomnia, nightsweats, stuff like that. I'm talking reactions that affect our behavior in obviously negative or scary ways. Not cool. As you've seen, some mighty horrible things can result, including suicide. Most doctors will instead say, "Give it some time". I totally emphatically disagree. The risks are too high. The stakes are too great. These kinds of reactions can happen with ALL drugs, not just Klonopin.
2)Don't be so limited in drug choice as to consider only the drugs that are most common for a particular set of symptoms. For example, the benzodiazepines are most common for anxiety. But they may be totally inappropriate with some people, depending on the true underlying chemistry causing their symptoms. If low GABA was not the problem, then a benzo was almost certainly going to be bad news. After the initial bad reaction, other things could have been tried. Such as tiny dose antipsychotic (dopamine reducer), small dose Depakote (electrical smoother), small dose Lithium (chemical smoother), serotonin antidepressants (serotonin enhancer), or betablockers (noradrenergic reducers). All of these can and do work on anxiety, depending on the root cause with each person.
I preach the above two philosophies all the time. Your unfortunate experience is just one of many examples why. Again, I'm very very sorry. You have my support. Hang in there! :-)
John
Posted by Snowie on October 21, 2000, at 6:43:09
In reply to Klonopin, posted by Didier on October 20, 2000, at 22:00:05
Didier,
I had a similar reaction to Klonopin the first time I tried it, but to a lesser degree than you. (If you don't mind, I'll email you and tell you my first experience with Klonopin.) I tried Klonopin again a second time just months ago, and had a completely different reaction to it ... basically, it didn't do much of anything the second time, and I don't know why. I'm having better success now with Neurontin. However, I have had no problems with Xanax.
Snowie
snowie98@hotmail.com
> Klonopin was a seductive drug for me. I was first diagnosed with a form of epilepsy and given Klonopin to stop the symptoms; involuntary jerking. I have other symptoms but the doctors did not seem to be able to deal with them such as extreme sensitivity to sound and visual stimulus. I wear earplugs and sunglasses everywhere I go.
>
> I experienced extreme confusion on Klonopin. Thinking back, I remember a time being out on the street; not knowing what to do to help myself and not being able to make a simple phone call. This was only the beginning. After an MRI and EEG I was told it was stress and I was then put on Xanex and Buspar. The doctor observed me in an imbalanced emotional state at the time he switched me from Klonopin to Xanex and Buspar but he did not associate my weird behavior with the Klonopin. After all, I had just walked into his office, recently, and he did not know me. He told me I needed a counselor. I never noticed any withdrawal from the Klonopin and was now promptly on Xanex and Buspar. I did notice while taking the Xanex and Buspar (AND was able to communicate with my neurologist) that I was having feelings of isolation and alienation and thinking about suicide. This was not like me. But he did not know that. He said, "The only way that I would know, would be to get off the drugs." I was not looking forward to it as I did not like the anxiety symtoms. There was some difficult discomfort from withdrawal from the Xanex (about three days total). The feelings of isolation and alienation and suicide disappeared and the anxiety symptoms resurfaced. Keep in mind that when I was taking Klonopin I was not able to distinguish that there was something wrong with me. I lived it. I was in it.
>
> I only went another week before calling the doctor and asked to go back on Klonopin; thinking that this was my only solution. I was a totally different person on Klonopin. It took control and I was jealous, confused, argumentative and very demanding. I lost 15 pounds. My children knew that there was something not quite right about "Mommy" and started to spend more time in their rooms; afraid to come out. What was "Mommy" going to do today? Eventually, my husband asked me to leave and take my drugs with me. At this point, it seemed totally justified that I should take my life. Everything was upside down and backwards. I wasn't even a good "Mommy." I threatened to do it. I meant to do it. I was totally at peace with doing it. Every thing would have been better. I need not go into anymore detail accept to say that I can reflect back and realize that Klonopin made me see my world differently. My personality was totally extreme. I mean extreme. My husband was shocked and was told by the neurologist that it was not the drugs and to take me to the emergency room in the hospital.
>
> At 3:30p.m. I arrived. A nurse suggested a crisis counselor. We said, "Okay." We waited until 11:00p.m. only to have that crisis counselor lock me up in a mental ward. It was all arranged. They did not care. They thought they were doing the right thing. But they could not care because it would have bothered them, too, much. I was driven away in a cage. It was an hour and 15 minute drive to the mental ward. They locked me up and took away my rights. It was called 51/50. They had 51% of my rights and I had 50%. It was a horrible experience. An experience that other people have had and are still having right now. It is not worth anything to mention in detail the experiences but I can say it was just like all the movies. Everything was so out of touch with what I could associate with that after awhile everyone was a movie star. Everyone had their lines. Cut. Print.
>
> The psychiatrist in the mental ward also did not think it was the fault of the Klonopin and put me on a drug for treating Schizophrenia. So, now, I was being treated for Schizophrenia. After all they had 51% of my rights and could have forced me to take the drug. Come on.
>
> After getting out of that place, which was not an easy thing to do, I looked up Klonopin on the Internet only to find out, too, late that 1 out of 4 people that take Klonopin (25%) have a severe reaction which can include a suicide attempt. It did say that usually those that attempt suicide, already have some other mental disorder. What can I say? The word "usually" can mean much.
>
> SO, WATCH OUT!
>
> I hide, now, from all doctors. It is as if I have been raped; violated. And not only that, but I had to pay for the whole thing. Since, I am the only source of income in the family and have been for quite awhile, I, presently, feel that these so-called "care-providers" are also extorting money from me. Their standard answer to my question as to whether or not I had been really served is "Do you have insurance?"
>
> SO, AGAIN WATCH OUT!
>
> After confiding this to a friend recently, she told me that her brother had committed suicide while on the drug, Klonopin. I knew he had died but did not know the circumstances. Why don't doctors know this? I found it on the Internet. Don't they do any research on the Internet? Statistically speaking, have they seen all the people that react okay on Klonopin and are they now overdue for the rest of us?
>
> The Internet also said to stay away from Xanex if there is a severe reaction to Klonopin. They are in the same family so-to-speak. So, this explained a lot to me, too. I hope it helps someone by writing this.
>
> It cost me plenty. It cost me my integrity, my honor and my pocketbook.
Posted by Noa on October 21, 2000, at 14:03:40
In reply to Re: Klonopin » Didier, posted by Snowie on October 21, 2000, at 6:43:09
I agree with John--Yikes. Ouch.
Laural, Klonopin is both a benzo and an anticonvulsant--something I learned from others here at PB.
Didier--I am also sensitive to noise, not so much light. However, I have a freind who wears sunglasses 24/7 to prevent migraines. She also has panic attacks and hypomanic irritability and depression, for which she takes neurontin and effexor, which seem to help a lot, but she still needs the sunglasses.
I sometimes have to plug my ears at the movies. I think your post reminded me I should buy some ear plugs, instead of having to use tissues. Yesterday I was at a conference and the guy was SHOUTING into his mike the whole time, so I plugged my ears with tissues.
Posted by Didier on October 22, 2000, at 14:11:09
In reply to Re: Klonopin, posted by Noa on October 21, 2000, at 14:03:40
> I agree with John--Yikes. Ouch.
>
> Laural, Klonopin is both a benzo and an anticonvulsant--something I learned from others here at PB.
>
> Didier--I am also sensitive to noise, not so much light. However, I have a freind who wears sunglasses 24/7 to prevent migraines. She also has panic attacks and hypomanic irritability and depression, for which she takes neurontin and effexor, which seem to help a lot, but she still needs the sunglasses.
>
> I sometimes have to plug my ears at the movies. I think your post reminded me I should buy some ear plugs, instead of having to use tissues. Yesterday I was at a conference and the guy was SHOUTING into his mike the whole time, so I plugged my ears with tissues.Noa,
Thank-you for sharing. And thanks to John and all.
Could you tell me a situational example of hypomanic irritability?
The psychiatrist in the mental ward told me my symptoms were uncommon and not anything that a doctor could place to any malady. I thought he was saying in a polite way that he did not believe I really had them. Thank-you for telling me that you, too, suffer in this way.
Living with sound sensitivity and movement sensitivity has really altered my life. I could feel it coming on for years until I just broke, I guess. I had planned on going to a doctor but decided to wait until I could afford it; you know, wait until this bill was paid or that was paid. And just when I decided I had better go soon, my symptoms became very exaggerated and embarrassing so that I had to go. People called me "slinky" on the bus on my way to and from work. These are friends; keep that in mind. I would stand on the curb waiting for the bus and have to completely block out all movement of cars and noise. I would leave just enough space open to see the wheels of the bus drive up and then "jerk-around" in my seat on the way home. It is worse in the afternoon and evening.
I am better, now, but some days take me by surprise. I think I appear to be better because I wear the earplugs and sunglasses and basically make a conscious effort to avoid looking at movement such as cars passing by. I believe that excessive noise and movement exacerbate my condition. Sometimes, I feel as if I have been injected with poison. There is some chemical imbalance I can not explain but someone else might. My body feels very sickly at times. And there must be some mental part being effected, as sometimes, if I look at a drab building or something dirty or depressing then my world, too, becomes this way. I consciously, again, avoid looking at the building or the dirty thing or depressing stuff to avoid the overload.
Again, I want to thank-you so much for your simple confirmation that there are others like this and I am not so alone. You, too, Snowie.
This is the end of the thread.
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