Has Anyone Taken Klonopin for Anxiety?

Hi, D.. Klonopin works well for some people, but it is addictive and can make you sleepy. It's often used as a sleep training aid for people who have insomnia for that reason. It can also cause very vivid dreaming. This is a drug you will need to wean off of when you're ready because stopping cold turkey can cause seizures.

That said, I think it is important that psychiatric medication be prescribed by a psychiatrist in conjunction with counseling. There are several types of anxiety and different coping mechanisms for dealing with each type. A good therapist does not need to be a psychologist, they can be a social worker and each provider offers different styles of therapy, like cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavioral, etc.

Lifestyle management is very important. If you are eating poorly, not getting exercise, and not getting enough sleep, then the symptoms of anxiety you are experiencing can and will remain or worsen. For me, some of it was simply not realizing i was breathing very shallowly and taking some martial arts mixed with yoga helped me learn to breathe more deeply, which severely curtailed some of the physical symptoms of anxiety I had been experiencing.

If you are anxious because you do not feel in control, then you may need to make changes in your life that will help you to feel in control of your life. For me, that means that I need a lot of structure. I follow a schedule, I have procedures for doing certain tasks that I find can be overwhelming. If I know I have a good plan for getting things done, I feel more in control and have less anxiety.

Finally, It does sometimes take a while for your body to adjust to medication, but if you cannot function, then it may be time to call your doctor to adjust your dosage. Are you taking 1/2 of a 1mg pill? In my experience, for me, that's a lot. To help me sleep without a hangover, I would take 1/4 of a 1mg pill. You could ask your doctor if it's ok to cut back to 1/4 of a pill twice a day to see if that helps and then if you need the extra help, ramp back up to 1/2. I do strongly recommend that you seek the advice of a psychiatrist for medication management, however.

First I'll say that with these sorts of drugs, the reaction people have differs from one individual to another. I don't know why one person said it's valium - it's not. yes, it CAN be addictive and make you sleepy, at least at first. I started using it for anxiety attacks while in law school. I was able to stay and do well in law school while taking it and I'm one that doesn't have a necessarily high tolerance for these types of drugs - fairly normal tolerance. It helped me tremendously when I thought there wasn't hope. I never had to wean myself off of it, but I didn't take it more than .5 mg. I hadn't taken it in about 9 years, but about 6 months ago got a prescription just to know I had some available - the fear of the panic can be worse than anything else and knowing I had some help if needed helps keep the anxiousness away (my big thing is going over bridges - freaks me out). Anyway, I was all jittery and panicky about a month ago and I took 1/4 of the pill and it totally helped calm me down without making me all out of it or tired.

Basically, I think it's great, not as strong as others, just keep it all in perspective, don't use it as a crutch or take too much and it will help and you shouldn't have wean yourself off. I hope this helps, it seems you're getting a lot of contradictory responses :(

I was on klonopin for a while b/c of my bipolar disorder and although it did help, I was knocked out through most of it. I started on 1/4 pill & would still sleep much longer then i normally would and w/having children also I would tell my dr that I can't be on something that is going to knock me out so I just had to adjust when I took it. Most times the tiredness wears off, but it sure can be exhausting up to that point. Good luck!

I took Klonopin to help me sleep a few years ago. It is pretty potent, and it really helped me to rest. But it also is hard to find the right dosage, so you need to be communicating clearly (and frequently) with your doctor. I imagine it could be a challenge to handle the side effects, while being a stay at home mom with three young kids! It definitely made me tired too.

Also, it's a very dangerous drug to take if you are pregnant or nursing. Just a heads up!

Keep talking to your doc. It takes a couple of weeks for your body to get used to it, but you may still need to adjust the dose after that to fit your needs.

Good luck!

Too bad he cant just prescribe you a bag of pot..haha Klonopin is really addictive, and you can't function on that stuff. Wait till they take you off it. You will withdraw like a crack fiend. I would be careful. You say you have anxiety b/c your a full time mom.. I would just learn how to deal with it, sans medication. Really. I am not trying to be mean, but I suffer from anxiety myself, but it has nothing to do w/my kids.. for the exception of all the "what ifs" I tend to think about, that drive me nuts. Both Xanax and Klononpin are heavy drugs to mess with. I see people on that TV show Intervention who are addicted to that stuff, and they got it from the doctor, just like you. It could change you from the person you are now, into someone you don't even know.

Hi D.,
I took this drug, which is valium, because I was having trouble sleeping due to anxiety. I only took it before bed. And, I only had a month's worth of it. It is very addictive. It helped me sleep until my paxil kicked in because paxil takes 3-4 weeks to work its best. Once my paxil kicked in, I was fine and did not need the klonopin. This was years ago before I had kids. Now, I have twin eight year olds and a three year old. Its funny, but I dont experience anxiety anymore, and my life is crazier than ever. I havent taken paxil or anything since I learned I was pregnant with the twins. I guess I am telling you this so that you know that this period in your life will pass. Have hope.
Take care and best of luck,
K. G.

If you've tried a few medications and haven't found relief you will need to see a Psychiatrist (MD). Once he/she assess you, they can make a determination of what will work best for you and how much. Also, they may do something like 100mg of Zoloft plus some Xanax when you are most anxious. It's important to get help beyond a general practitioner doctor for the best relief. Good luck - I'm sure you'll be felling better soon.

I take it on occasion. .5mg when anxiety comes on, sometimes I'll take a second one. You get used to the being tired, it goes away. I feel its helpful, and I like it way better than Xanax. good luck

My aunt takes it for anxiety and does fine on it. ALL of those types of drugs are "addictive". You have to wean yourself off of any of them or you will go through withdraw. They lead you to believe that they're not addictive but if you just stop them you will feel big time withdraw. They are still drugs, even if they are legal. I would research some more, Xanax is a pretty powerful drug as well and if you are feeling some relief on it maybe you might do well with Klonopin. I would definitely try to look at it from all sides and see what is best for you, you are the one dealing with the anxiety and trying to live with it.