Question Re: Klonopin

[Sweatin_Bullets]

Hi,

My doc recently prescribed Klonopin "as needed" to help me deal with my "situational" anxiety. I haven't really experienced taking it yet. He told me to take .5 mg a couple of hours before the event or 1mg if that didn't help. I have read other places that Klonopin may take days or weeks to feel the effects. I'm sort of confused then. How can you take a drug "as needed" if it takes days or weeks to feel the effects? If Klonopin can be taken "as needed", does two hours before the event seem reasonable? Thanks!!

 

[Noca]

Klonopin starts to work within 30-60 minutes of taking the drug. You can make it work faster by melting it under your tongue and NOT swallowing what it melts into.

 

[SilentType]

What Noca means is allowing the pill to dissolve under your tongue as a quicker route of administration. If you let the dissolved pill sit under your tongue, it will disappear within ten minutes, being absorbed beneath the tongue. It's the best way to use any benzo IMO...

Peace

 

[Forgetmenot_ak]

I heard from doctor that it eventually upsets you balance and memory.

I've been taking Klonopin for over a year or two now, and this is definitely true. I'm not so sure that with me it was an "eventual" thing, though, as much as it was just a side effect from the very start. It doesn't wipe your mind of memories and make you stumble about if you take a correct dose, but it's definitely something to add to the "con list" for Klonopin.

I was on vacation last month and took like 3mg a day and now I feel like I can barely remember the days and didnt notice the length of the days.

3mg is A LOT. My doctor got worried when I upped my dose to 2mg a day, and now I'm slowly going back down to 1mg with the occasional 1.5 or 2mg "as needed". 3mg definitely would make you feel like that, though... it's a strong pill.

I take Klonopin "as needed". I'll go days without, sometimes weeks.

 

[Forgetmenot_ak]

Hi,

My doc recently prescribed Klonopin "as needed" to help me deal with my "situational" anxiety. I haven't really experienced taking it yet. He told me to take .5 mg a couple of hours before the event or 1mg if that didn't help. I have read other places that Klonopin may take days or weeks to feel the effects. I'm sort of confused then. How can you take a drug "as needed" if it takes days or weeks to feel the effects? If Klonopin can be taken "as needed", does two hours before the event seem reasonable? Thanks!!

Absolutely, 2 hours is probably just the right amount of time. It's NOT one of those drugs that takes months to finally kick in - it takes anywhere from 30 mins to an hour or two. I think that, also, going with .5mg at first is wise. It's pretty powerful.

 

[SilentType]

I heard from doctor that it eventually upsets you balance and memory.

As for balance, it effects you for only a short time if you take it every day. You're body gets used to it in about a week and normal balance returns.

Memory problems, on the other hand, usually last throughout benzodiazepine use. I take 4.5mg of Xanax every day (been taking it increasingly for 3 years now), and my memory is fine. Sometimes I forget small details, but isn't that what we're trying to accomplish by taking the drug in the first place? These drugs are created to sedate us and make us not worry about little things so much, so it's understandable that this is a common side effect.

3mg is A LOT.

Not really. I was taking 3mg per day within my first year of getting prescribed to benzos. Some people take 10mg/day.


Peace