Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 229680

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Yet another Klonopin question?

Posted by Dragonslayer on May 28, 2003, at 8:24:12

I have used K for about a year. I do Ok with it and titrate within a small dose range. I find when I'm just using it at night it goes pretty well. Do any of you find the daytime doses to be a problem with lethergy that doesn't really "burn off" after using it in the daytime for a while? - even after use this way for months. I "hit a bump" and tried to add the daytime use in for a bit. It makes me feel worse, almost to the point of a paradoxical reaction with anxiety feelings and phyical symptoms worse. Do any of you consistently use a night time dose and get decent relief for the ALL of daytime? (shouldn't this be possible with long 1/2 life) Hits me in the afternoon mostly. If I take a dose in the afternoon, I'll feel like cr** for hours. I add I only use K and it's all I want to use, as I had some bad experiences with just about everything else. So, people who use it exclusively comments would be appreciated.

 

Re: Yet another Klonopin question? » Dragonslayer

Posted by Janelle on May 28, 2003, at 19:28:43

In reply to Yet another Klonopin question?, posted by Dragonslayer on May 28, 2003, at 8:24:12

Hi,

I was CLOSE to using K exclusively - I was on just K and Paxil for like 10 years. And I was on only 1mg/day of K at that time.

Amazingly I think that K just does NOT work overtly for me because I took that 1mg all those years in the MORNING and had NO DROWSINESS whatsoever. I was also taking Paxil - perhaps that offset it, although I hear a lot of people feel drowsy on Paxil as well!

This time around with the darn 2mg I take (1 in am and 1 in pm/bedtime) I still don't think K is doing anything overt to me. I guess I'll find out because starting next week, with or without my pdoc's approval, I am going to start a slow taper OFF it which was posted on here!

You are RIGHT in your belief that one SHOULD get decent relief for ALL of the next day from a night time dose, due to Klonopin's long half-life and gradual, slow action.

However, something to bear in mind is that we are ALL DIFFERENT; what applies to most people might not apply to you and vice versa! My pdoc and I have discovered that unfortunately I cannot tolerate high (or sometimes even the minimal therapeutic) doses of many meds. This is very frustrating because my BP2 has yet to be stabilized and under control.

 

Re: Yet another Klonopin question? » Janelle

Posted by Dragonslayer on May 28, 2003, at 22:40:06

In reply to Re: Yet another Klonopin question? » Dragonslayer, posted by Janelle on May 28, 2003, at 19:28:43

Thanks for responding. I actually didn't do any daytime K today and did pretty well. One day, hard to judge from that. I did use a PM dose last night as to what I would use in 24 hrs. Prehaps that will work for me.
I hope your taper goes well. I have found it does really help me and I do need it. I have avoided most of the pitfalls sometimes associated with it. It's been a good drug for me. I just need to use a scheduling system that fits better - to rid (hopefully) the daytime nasty feel. As I said, maybe this sl. higher dose at PM will work.
Curious, are you stopping K for lack of effectiveness or some other reason? If it's not working for you, that's good enough.
Best to you.

 

Re: Yet another Klonopin question? » Dragonslayer

Posted by Viridis on May 29, 2003, at 2:01:42

In reply to Yet another Klonopin question?, posted by Dragonslayer on May 28, 2003, at 8:24:12

I don't use K exclusively anymore, but I have. When I started, my pdoc recommended that I take the whole dose before bed. The problem was that (despite the supposedly long half-life) it invariably wore off by about noon the next day. So, I experimented with small doses throughout the day. This was fine; my pdoc called this the "west coast" strategy (used by pdocs in CA) whereas "east coast" pdocs apparently prefer the before-bed dosing. He said just do what works and gave me lots of leeway.

I quickly settled on the whole dose in the AM; for a week or so I was a bit clumsy and sleepy, but this wore off quickly, and now I have no side effects at all. I find K very effective, although now I also take Adderall, Neurontin, and Xanax as needed (X occasionally only).

 

Re: Yet another Klonopin question? » Dragonslayer

Posted by mattdds on May 29, 2003, at 6:07:45

In reply to Yet another Klonopin question?, posted by Dragonslayer on May 28, 2003, at 8:24:12

I use K exclusively (0.5 mg bid-tid) with great results. Interestingly, my pdoc recently tried to titrate me up to 0.5 mg qid for residual derealization / depersonalization (anxiety of all types was already completely obliterated, I just had nagging derealization), but it seemed to have a lethargy inducing effect, as you described. So I dropped back down to the 0.5 mg bid. On a bad day, and mainly for prevention, I'll go up to 1.5 mg total daily dose (0.5 mg * 3).

I prefer to take the divided doses throughout the day, because I like enjoy the feeling of a nice bolus of Klonopin "kicking in". I live in Manhattan, and my doc said that it is OK either way; one big dose or two or three divided. The only problem with taking bigger doses all at once, according to him is that you get bigger peaks and valleys, even with steady state pharmacodynamics (K in = K out, at any given moment). I'm pretty sure, if I remember correctly from my pharmacology class, that "steady state" is really NOT that steady with oral dosing, even in drugs with long half lives like Klonopin. That definitely mathces my experience.

I tried taking it all at night, but found I get better anxiety control with divided doses. But for me the AM dose is by far the most important. Thinking about it, this would conceivably give you the best "coverage" for the barrage of any given day's anxiety-provoking events. So again, the main thing is the AM dose.

It's funny - most people take coffee to get up in the morning. I just use the coffee to wash down the Klonopin.

Best


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