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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
Well, here I am after 10 years of extreme anxiety, panic, insomnia, and suicidal feelings. It looks like I am now going to have to return to my old stand-by, clonazepam. Last time I was on it (2 mg), it seemed to stop working after a couple of months. Looking back, however, I'm wondering if I just panicked because I missed a night of sleep...perhaps it was still working OK and I should have stayed on it. Does anyone here have experience with this med in the long haul? Does it lose its effectiveness? Any info greatly appreciated.
Posted by laima on December 10, 2006, at 15:24:23
In reply to Does clonazepam lose effectiveness over time?, posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
I used it for about 4 years or so, but discontinued it about a month ago because I built up such a tolerance to it that it eventually was no longer was effective at dose my docctor was willing to prescribe. Per reports here on Babble, this doesn't happen to everyone, apparently. However, I've experimented before, and it seems to me that after a break it regains some effectiveness.
> Does anyone here have experience with this med in the long haul? Does it lose its effectiveness? Any info greatly appreciated.
Posted by shasling on December 10, 2006, at 15:56:33
In reply to Does clonazepam lose effectiveness over time?, posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
Hey Guy,
Long time no see; I dont have any experience with that med, just wanted to say hi,and I hope whatever you start on now works better for you. Know that other one you were taking was a double-edge sword...
Nice to see you
Suzie
Posted by zenhussy on December 10, 2006, at 16:41:20
In reply to Does clonazepam lose effectiveness over time?, posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
started out several years ago at higher dose of clonazepam. after while that does became too sedating and had depressive SEs.
been on current dose < 2mg/daily for few years now w/ little changes to that particular benzo.
hth.
clono. never affected sleep when missed....main SE when missed was onset of anxiety as half life wore off....sometimes that was only indicator of missed dose back then.
experiences of one poster only...fwiw
Posted by Phillipa on December 10, 2006, at 19:40:58
In reply to hasn't in several years...if anything dose lowered, posted by zenhussy on December 10, 2006, at 16:41:20
Depresses me big time. Love Phillipa
Posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2006, at 22:18:45
In reply to Re: hasn't in several years...if anything dose lowered, posted by Phillipa on December 10, 2006, at 19:40:58
for me, after 6 months I started having "misery attacks" when I woke up...kind of like panic attacks mixed with angst and despair. Could have been loss of effectiveness or other meds or klonopin-induced depression or...any number of things, really.
Benzo dosages can usually be kept pretty stable over the years, especially long-acting ones (unless sedation, not anxiety-relief, is the desired effect).
Posted by Quintal on December 10, 2006, at 22:28:12
In reply to Does clonazepam lose effectiveness over time?, posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
I used clonazepam for about five years almost continuously. I took it to help with social anxiety and I found it was the most effective med out of all I tried for that problem. I didn't notice the depressive effects many people seem to experience during long-term treatment, but I was taking some powerful ADs during that time. I did become very emotionally unstable and suicidal one time after withdrawing when I went back on it. The life circumstances may have been contributing to that though.
My usual dose varied between 2-4mg. I did abuse it though toward the end and was taking about 20mg for a short while this time last year.
I think it was still quite effective. Besides, if clonazepam does lose effectiveness you can usually regain your tolerance by lowering the dose temporarily or taking regular 'drug holidays'.
>Looking back, however, I'm wondering if I just panicked because I missed a night of sleep...perhaps it was still working OK and I should have stayed on it.
That may well be true. Clonazepam didn't help with my insomnia beyond a few weeks and I took additional sleep aids at night. You are likely to build tolerance to the sedation, but this is usually viewed in a positive light when benzos are being used to treat daytime anxiety. It can sometimes be mistaken for loss of efficiency.
If you are suffering badly I would recommend you try it again.
Good luck.
Q
Posted by laima on December 10, 2006, at 23:02:45
In reply to Re: hasn't in several years...if anything dose lowered, posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2006, at 22:18:45
Wow! I had that too. But now, since I'm off klonopin it's not happened once!
> for me, after 6 months I started having "misery attacks" when I woke up...kind of like panic attacks mixed with angst and despair. Could have been loss of effectiveness or other meds or klonopin-induced depression or...any number of things, really.
Posted by Maxime on December 11, 2006, at 15:56:33
In reply to Does clonazepam lose effectiveness over time?, posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
For me it did. I started 10 years ago at .25 mg and then last year was up to 4 mg. Taken all at once at night. I am now down to 2.5 mg of the med and trying to come off.
That's been my experience.
Maxime
> Well, here I am after 10 years of extreme anxiety, panic, insomnia, and suicidal feelings. It looks like I am now going to have to return to my old stand-by, clonazepam. Last time I was on it (2 mg), it seemed to stop working after a couple of months. Looking back, however, I'm wondering if I just panicked because I missed a night of sleep...perhaps it was still working OK and I should have stayed on it. Does anyone here have experience with this med in the long haul? Does it lose its effectiveness? Any info greatly appreciated.
Posted by RN320 on December 12, 2006, at 19:03:06
In reply to Does clonazepam lose effectiveness over time?, posted by Guy on December 10, 2006, at 15:10:31
Hi-
I took Klonopin for over 4 years. For the first couple of years I was using 2mg a couple of times a day for anxiety and to help with insomnia. The next year and a half I was at 3mg twice daily and then the last 6 months I got up to 9mg and it really had stopped helping me with sleep by that time. I think that it did continue to help me with anxiety, though. I weaned myself off and went through major withdrawal (my pdoc was less than happy!!) but I'm glad that I was able to get off of it, and I stayed off of it for over a year. Then this summer I had an accident and decided I needed somethihg to help me calm down and relax, so I took it for about 2 weeks in doses ranging 8-10mg at a time. I weaned myself off again, but even after only 2 weeks I still experienced minor withdrawal symptoms. Just my experience.......
/m
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