Hi,

I have been taking Klonopin .5 mg 2x a day for 2 years now. I usually take the 2 a day but sometimes I only take one. It seems like it's not working for me at all any more. I wonder if I'm building a tolerance to it. I don't really like taking any meds so I am hesitant to ask the doctor to up the dosage. I was just wondering if anyone else takes these meds and has had the same experience. I know I have to take them ( God help the people around me ) but I'm not too sure about upping the dose.

Hi...I have been taking clonopin off and on for over twenty years. Yes, you definitely build a tolerance for them, although clonopin has very long half life and your body doesn't build a depence on them as quickly as other benzo's.

You are on a relatively low dose. I know a lot of people who take 1 mg 3X a day. Are they prescribed for anxiety? If they're not working, there is no reason no to tell your doctor...I'd give him/her a call..

Hi.......


well, i'm a xanax girl! .lol ..i love it! It works miracles for me, whether for anxiety or muscle spasms! I've been taking it now for almost two years, and I'd have to say, there are TIMES when it doesn't seem to help that much, but MOST of the time, it's great! So, it's probably each persons body that reacts differently to whatever they're taking.

I tried Klonopin, it did ABSOLUTLEY nothing for me! So, back to the xanax i went, and I wouldn't switch.....(hey, wait a minute, isn't that some kind of cigarette commercial...or it USED to be anyway....LOL... )

I am a xanax girl also! I spent a great deal of time battling with panic attack's, xanax was the best relief for me and I have used it for over a decade.

For the past several years, I have only needed it here and there, so not everyday. But for the most part it still works fine, and I also use it before bed, it helps me to fall asleep. I have never tried any of the others so I can't comment on them, but I think you can build a tolerance with daily use over time.

Juliann

I've used Klonopin for many years. I don't use it for anxiety though, I use it for muscle spasm/myoclonic jerks, etc. I take as low a dose as will combat the problem (.25 mg, above that dose I can't stay awake) and I take it more on an as needed basis, although there are days I need it 4 times a day, and other days much less. I've never noticed any lessening of effect, and I've never noticed any withdrawal symptoms when I skipped a day of using it. I think everybody is different as far as their own sensitivity to meds and one person's reaction may differ greatly from another's.

Sign me up as a memeber of the xanax club! I just started taking it a few months ago for both insomnia and sleep deprivation induced anxiety. Doc wrote the Rx for .25 mg 3x a day...I take it on an as needed basis; probably 2, but not more than 3 nights a week and very rarely I'll take 1/2 during the day when I haven't slept and I'm an absolute nut. Sometimes it works better than others...what I like about it is that it doesn't make me feel dopey or hang in my system forever like some of the other benzos. I've noticed it works best if I haven't eaten for a few hours, duh...it might be worth giving that a try before asking your doctor about upping the dose. I've also noticed that if I take it a couple of nights in a row it doesn't work as well, so I skip between usage nights. Every doctor I've talked to has warned me about dependence and addiction with benzos as well as how the body builds a tolerance to them...since your drug is in this family I'm sure information applies. My primary doc writes the Rx as my shrink acts like benzos (xanax in his opinion is the worse) are the work of the devil and he will not give them to his patients...AD's are his drug of choice, which I personally can't tolerate. Go figure.

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for all your replies. I think that after 2 years I am probably addicted to klonopin but my doctor says that it works so keep taking it. I think that I may ask for a slightly higher dose when I go back. Being addicted is not something I'm too happy about but being in a constant state of anxiety is not fun either. I try to take the smallest amount possible so I won't be to dependent. I have had anxiety issues since I was 18. Back then their was no magic pill for this. I had to think I was nuts, convinced I had heart problems when I was 24 ( from the palpatations), saw several cardiologists who told me "your heart is fine"....no one told me it was from anxiety. When I was a senior in high school I had my first anxiety attack. My mother ( having no clue what it was ) hauled me off to the pediatrician who said I had anxiety. That was 25 years ago! Taking klonopin makes me feel "normal" ( as normal as I can be and I don't want to go back to the way I felt for the last 25 years!

I'm convinced that xanax is one of the best drugs out there - quick, effective, and you really don't need much to do the job! I took it for about a year and a half off and on, and rarely need it any more, but it's there when I do. Definitely a good one.

Yes, I agree with that. I've been taking it for several years, and it still doesn't take much to get the desired effect. Ambien is one that will stop being effective if I take it several days or a week without a break. Wish it worked as well as xanax.

Tried ativan once or twice but it absolutely nothing !!

I think xanax is great. It even helps me when my irritable bowel is really acting up. My mom's doc said to take it when neck muscles are very tight and won't relax and it does help. So it's not always anxiety related. And it helps with bad nights of sleep as well. Good luck.

I've been using Klonopin and Xanax for about 6 months, every day. They still work great.
I use Klon at night and Xanax in the day. (name brand only)
I think Xanax is great, but you have to find the right doc who doesn't think it's a big deal to RX it.
Fortunately I have one!

Jaguar

Klonopin girl here. I have pelvic floor syndrome, which means my muscles spasm and it feeling like my bladder is on fire AND sex can be a bit of a problem. Apparently it is caused by anxiety, which I have off the charts, so I don't mind taking my 2 mgs. a day. It gave me back my life. Doc says I might have to take it for the rest of my life, but it is still working after three years. If you need it and it enhances the quality of your life, take it. I have gone off of it for periods of time and had no problem, so don't think I could be terribly addicted. According to my doctor, the people who mainly have problems are people who keep upping their dose and basically abusing it. So, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

I think Xanax is great, but you have to find the right doc who doesn't think it's a big deal to RX it

Boy, isn't that the truth! I saw a PSYCHIATRIST - not a GP, a bit more than two weeks ago, and she would not prescribe it. You'd think I had asked her for Percocet or Oxy-whatever, or Vicodin..... . I have osteoarthritis in my knees and hands and lumbar spine. I also have herniated disks, spinal stenois and degenerative disk disease in my spine. I hurt sometimes - LOTS - and the strongest thing I will take for it all is Darvocet. I don't want to ever get caught up in the narcotic pain-killer syndrome, but I had no idea Xanax also carries a "stigma".

I had been seeing a psychiatrist for more than 10 years when he moved his practice out of state. For all those years - closer to 13 years than 10, I had been taking, precisely as he prescribed, Zoloft and Ativan - the Ativan eventually at 2.5mg per day. When he moved, I thought I could wing it with my GP -it was after all, just the Ativan and Zoloft. GP prescribed the Zoloft, no problem, but would not continue with the Ativan, and prescribed .5mg Xanax times a day, and then the following month, decreased it to .5mg, twice a day. After more than a decade of taking so much Ativan, I was simply not coping well with the lesser Xanax, hence the reason for seeking out a psychiatrist again. I've been suffering with anxiety for many, many years, and with peri since at least 2005. I just had a hysterectomy this past May, and every nervous/anxious/tense symptom I have ever had has multiplied tenfold.

I am truly at my wit's end... I did see a different gyno yesterday who prescribed Promentium - natural progesterone, which he thinks will help with the anxiousness. My first gyno - the one who did the hyster - started me immediately on synthetic estrogen post-hyster, despite still having my right ovary. The gyno yesterday thought that was a misjudgment on the first gyno's part, and told me that too much estrogen is as bad as not enough!!

I'm hoping the Promentium will help, but I also have an appointment with another psychiatrist tomorrow who comes highly recommended. Both DIL and her mother see him, (DIL's mother is close to my age - menopausal - what does that tell you? This time of our lives is HELL - despite the best positive outlook and all the good thoughts and everything else, it just plain stinks.)

Anyway, to my original point...... given a choice between the Ativan and Xanax, I would much prefer the Ativan. I understand this new doctor favors Clonopin, and that will work too. Must admit to having tried one of DIL's, and it didn't make me nearly as tired and "dragged out" as the Xanax does.

Best wishes to all! It HAS to get getter one day, right?