User Reviews for Clonazepam (Klonopin)

I have used Klonopin for the past 10 years for insomnia and anxiety/panic attacks. It is THE single most effective thing that works everytime for me. I never abuse it. If I was tired, I only took 1mg at night and, only if started to have a panic attack, would I take 1mg during the day. I worked a high stress job for 18 years (over six figures+). Much better than self medicating with alcohol. Been down that slippery slope once and I would take Klonopin every day of the week versus Ambien/Lunesta/Trazadone/SSRIs/TCIs because, for me it always works. The ONLY reason I stopped taking it was because my new job (Health care field) FREAKs if Benzos show up in your urinalysis. I cut it cold turkey from about 3mg per to zero. A bit of an anxious 5 days but nothing like trying to quit hard alcohol use where for 3-5 days you feel like you have the worst flu ever (too cold then sweating through all of your clothes, the shakes/tremors, etc.) I did these "detoxes" at home with no supporting meds to ease into a detox. Klonopin was my friend. Klonopin had less side affects, worked as predicted all the time and, cutting it off cold turkey after a 10 years run, was not 1/5th as bad as quitting a heavy use of alcohol for a couple of years. Everyone is different, talk to your doctor about what is right for you. HINT, heavy drinking is NOT your friend - almost everything you will regret during this time frame is when you were drunk - trust me.Read More Read Less

This med helps but I don't like the long term effect on the brain especially short term memory loss. I'm taking a med for ADHD which helps my mind stay sharp and a low dose of Zyprexa Zydis to control irritability and panic attacks while getting off this medication. It does the job to stop panic attacks but not everyone responds to this med in the same way. Over several years I went from taking 6mg of klonopin to 1.5mg of klonopin. It is a very difficult med to get off of but I only recommend you take it if you are in constant state of panic and terror. My life went from having panic attacks which led to depression and eventually led to bipolar disorder. I'm tapering off the medication slowly but I don't know if I like the way I'm feeling. While tapering off of it, I've noticed that I am more antisocial(nonviolent) but I think this is temporary till Klonopin leaves my system. Be careful and choose your medications wisely. I hope you find peace in your life.Read More Read Less

An incompetent GP prescribed 3 mg per day for ten months. I became unable to function in any way. Stay away from benzos, push for CBT, DBT, etc. DO NOT use drugs to control anxiety, they are poison.

This medication saved my life. I suffer from crippling arthritis and failed spinal fusion. I was taking diazepam on and on for 20 years with opioid therapy. I was stable on them. Suddenly my pain doctor did not look at my medical history and see that I could not take SRI SSRI having tried them all. The fentanyl insert states benzodiazepine therapy is reserved for people that cannot take SRI drugs. A more knowledgeable pain doctor recognized this an put me on clonazepam. I had been off the valium for 5 months and nearly died. The CDC opioid prescribing guidelines are actually Guidelies. Read More Read Less

Immediate elimination of my anxiety and panic. I spent every waking hour with racing thoughts. One dose and they are gone! I use them with fentanyl patches because I cannot take any SRI, SSRI because they cause serotonin syndrome and clonus.

Run away from a benzo. Klonopin is Satan's drug. It will cure anxiety and panic attacks but it will destroy your life because the addiction to this drug happens before you know it. When you don't have it, you are in hell. Read what Stevie Nicks said about this drug. You have been warned. She said it destroyed eight years of her life and it did the same for me. I had to hold to rehab and my withdrawal symptoms we're worse than herion addicts. As soon as I got out of rehab,, I went psychiatrist shopping to get a prescription back bcz I was a zombie without it. I lied and never told the psychiatrist that I was in rehab for this drug. It will help you at first but then destroy you in the end. Run away from Benzos.Read More Read Less

I have been on 0.5 mg for panic attacks for about 10 years now. This has been the most effective drug for me, no side effects like drowsiness. I have cut down to about 0.25 mg fairly easily , so don't get scared by those who write crazy stories about withdrawal symptoms! Just go slowly.

I took this medication for aout 10 yrs (.5 mg tid). Then my psychiatrist changed to Valium because he was concerned about Alzheimers. After several months, I started having panic attacks again, and Valium was no help. He put me back on Klonopin (same dose as before) with no mention of Alzheimers, Klonopin has made it possible for me to keep on living and to WANT to live. I can't be worrying about withdrawals or Alzheimers -- I'm happy to be alive. Main side effect: hair loss.

This has produced all the same symptoms cited in the literature. Why is it legal to prescribe? It is cited to be potentially fatal and there seems to be no benefit to it for anything, a drug that's listed as harmful.

I first was prescribed this when I was 20. I had ocd issues however could not handle any ssri's so doctor prescribed this. It worked wonderful. Took 2mg 2x a day along with perphenazine 2mg 2x a day. Had no side effects except for sex drive declining. Even drank beer with no issues. After 25 years of this the pills just stopped working and I fell in withdrawal. Now I try to take them but I get the reverse effects and all the side effects My world is crashing and been homebound ever since Jan. All my original disorders are back as well. Hopefully diazepam can take it's place. Better than hoping too grab a lucky pill out of the bottle which doesn't work. I had no clue this was an additive drug but need something after 2 months being off it. Wondering if I should take anything at all at this point however, the panic I am experiencing is really bad to the point becoming dizzy every day I wish it worked again. Be careful with this drug but it really is spectacular when it does work Read More Read Less

I was prescribed this medicine for 6 weeks due to a severe muscle tear. I suffered panic attacks and whole body pain for almost 4 weeks after stopping. I've never had any issues with anxiety before using this medication. Now my brain feels like it has been fried. No, I would never recommend this medication to anyone.

I suffered from mild tinnitus for a couple of months after a loud explosion at work. It was slowly lessening, but my family doctor prescribed klonopin to help in the meantime. At first it was great, the tinnitus went away completely. However, after a couple of months on the medication, I started noticing memory loss and confused thinking. My doctor told me to taper for 2 weeks and get off the klonopin, because apparently this is a common side effect. 5 days after cutting 1/4th of my dose, I began experiencing painful muscle spasms in my limbs, and 2 days later I felt like someone poured boiling water over my skin. I went to the ER and found out that nuropathy (feeling like your skin has suffered a severe chemical burn) is common when coming off of klonopin and other benzos, and the ER told me it and the muscle spasms would go away in a couple of days, once the klonopin was out of my system. It didn't. Not only did the burning sensation get more severe and widespread over the next several weeks, but my tinnitus came back 100x worse than it was before I started therapy. A month later I went back to the doctor when the issues didn't subside, but the doctor insisted that since the klonopin was out of my system, it couldn't be causing these issues. It took 3 full months for the nuropathy and muscle spasms to finally subside, but my tinnitus is still much worse than it was before i started therapy. Before klonopin, it was a mild hum. Since stopping klonopin, it sounds like an airhorn is going off in my ear. After doing some research, I found that many people have their original condition get much worse after benzo therapy. Read More Read Less

Best medication for the treatment of Panic disorder

The doctor prescribed .5mg to take daily for occasional panic attacks. At first it seemed like a lifesaver, but after a few months, it didn't seem to be helping, so the doctor doubled my dose. A few weeks later, my panic attacks went from a few times a month to almost daily, and were much more severe than the ones I started taking klonopin for in the first place. The doctor told me to cut back down to my original dose, and my body went crazy - muscle spasms, intense panic attacks, loud ringing in my ears, and nauseated all the time. I would give anything to go back to my "old" panic attacks, which for years only hit once or twice a month for a few minutes at a time. These klonopin panic attacks are lasting for hours at a time, and I am basically housebound between the panic and the physical pain. I am now slowly tapering off this medication, dropping .1mg at a time every month. I have read that it is actually quite common for klonopin to increase anxiety and panic attacks. Why didn't the doctor tell me this could happen?Read More Read Less

This drug helped, but beware. If you take this longer than 2 weeks. You will have major problems getting off. Check out benzobuddies.org before you take this. Your welcome.

Was prescribed .5mg for restless leg nightly. Took for a few months then tried stopping due increasing anxiety, memory loss, and confusion. Even with tapering, I spent 2 months in a state of hell coming off this drug - panic attacks, hallucinations, full body pain and burning, and severe tremors. I wouldn't recommend this medicine to my worse enemy! Why is this stuff legal?

klonopin has helped me for years but i fear getting off. i think we all do. my panic disorder has subsided and i am very pleased how well it mixes with my other meds.

Helped my anxiety extremely well.

I've been on this for about a year. Very low dosage and take only when need. Works much better when I'm having an anxiety attack take 1/2 of a 1mg and I calm down within minutes. Only when I take regular is when things seem sad, I feel sorry for everybody, I'm more scared than normal. All I do now is take half and pray it works wonders. Now I'm barely taken the half because God has made me feel more better. But if I do have a bad attack I know I could take 1/2. Try to only take when you are having a major attack and half gives you more control. You take something long enough your body depends on it. But if you only treat a medical issue for that moment your not co dependent. Good luck to all us special people. We truly are one of a kind. Even if we are sensitive. Just take control don't let it control us. We know we need our meds but just take half for each attack.Read More Read Less

Within a week, I feel worse than when I started taking it. I can't even read the news without crying, and if anything is out of order, I freak out. I forget things very often, it's very hard to sleep/get out of bed, and I use the F word way too much. I'm constantly anxious.