![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by elderweissblue on May 31, 2001, at 15:57:11
I took 1 mg of klonopin just last night and another in the morning. Ive just begun it. It makes feel "stoned a little". Its made me more cheerful, talkative, hopeful. Its taken away all my worries and agitation, strangely even my depression, but I dont know if I want to be that calm. Does it get better?
Posted by Amy Blue on May 31, 2001, at 16:42:38
In reply to STONED ON KLONOPIN, posted by elderweissblue on May 31, 2001, at 15:57:11
Klonopin produces a sedative effect for about the first 8 weeks you take it. This will wear off. But you are on a relatively high dose. I took 0.5 mgs/morning and 1 mg/night for a couple years for anxiety. That amount worked well. Some days I only took 0.25 mgs in the morning.
Maybe you should lower your dose a bit if you feel that "stoned." The cheerful, talkative feelings are a result of the anti-anxiety properties of Klonopin. I assume you are taking it for anxiety...?
Good luck to you -
Blue
Posted by JETT55 on May 31, 2001, at 19:08:47
In reply to Re: STONED ON KLONOPIN, posted by Amy Blue on May 31, 2001, at 16:42:38
> Klonopin produces a sedative effect for about the first 8 weeks you take it. This will wear off. But you are on a relatively high dose. I took 0.5 mgs/morning and 1 mg/night for a couple years for anxiety. That amount worked well. Some days I only took 0.25 mgs in the morning.
>
> Maybe you should lower your dose a bit if you feel that "stoned." The cheerful, talkative feelings are a result of the anti-anxiety properties of Klonopin. I assume you are taking it for anxiety...?
>
> Good luck to you -> Blue
AMY BLUE,
i noticed you said you were on Klonipin for a few
years? well, i am also, and the same amount as
you, but i feel now is the time i can stop using it. but i am so
afraid of withdrawl. did you slowly taper your
dosage, and if so, by how much and at what amounts?
did you have any trouble getting off? any help or
info will be greatly appreciated. thanx
jett
Posted by gilbert on May 31, 2001, at 21:21:25
In reply to Re: STONED ON KLONOPIN FOR AMY BLUE, posted by JETT55 on May 31, 2001, at 19:08:47
I took klonopin and the drug was just wonderfull. I felt no anxiety. I slept like a baby and I did not obsess or get depressed. The strangest thing is that the drug made me slightly impotent. I still had sensation just you know not the rest.....Otherwise I would still be on it....so stick it out give it a good try I think it works wonder.
Gil
Posted by kid47 on June 1, 2001, at 10:32:34
In reply to Re: TRUEHOPE profits, posted by Deb_s on June 1, 2001, at 9:44:20
Hi Deb. Boy we certainly can be a jaded & cynical bunch. I think because so many of us, like yourself, have had such disappointment with meds (&docs) that promise a magic bullet & deliver only more misery, we tend to be wary of (& justly so) something that appears to be to good to be True.(sorry for the lame attempt at humor). But I don't argue with success. If this particular regimine is working for you (for whatever reason) I congratulate you & thank you for sharing your story . Just like the "approved" meds & therapy, it may work for some & be a disaster for others. I would like to believe that the negative comments posted here are motivated by concerns that someone less "experienced" with this circus of mental health treatment, might jump at this without investigating it. Of course that is potentially a problem with any type treatment discussed on this list.
Anyway, I wish you continued success & personally would be very interested in being informed of your progress. Good luck. Take care.
kid
>
> I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody. I'm only sharing my experience.
Posted by JackD on June 1, 2001, at 18:00:16
In reply to STONED ON KLONOPIN, posted by elderweissblue on May 31, 2001, at 15:57:11
I take 1 mg 2x a day too. At first I felt almost drunk, I guess what you describe as feeling "stoned". It does work well for anxiety and inhibitions, eh? Well, as with all medications, after some time you'll begin to build a tolerance to it, in the sense that hopefully most of the sedation and undesirable side-effects will go away. With me, for example, after about a month or two, I began to feel as though the Klonopin stopped working. So I tried stopping it to see what would happen. Surprisingly, it was still working, but I had just become so accustomed to the "new me" that I didn't think it was working anymore. Just give it time, it's an awesome drug!
Posted by grapebubblegum on June 1, 2001, at 20:24:22
In reply to Re: STONED ON KLONOPIN, posted by JackD on June 1, 2001, at 18:00:16
Yes, that is just what Cam said, that a tolerance does develop to the sedative and motor effects but not to the anxiolytic effects, so people sometimes mistakenly think they need more of it, when really they are just adjusting to the sedative effects.
I feel freakish next to you guys because I take just .125 mg 3 times per day (at one point I took .25 mg 3 times a day and I may return to that) and at first this had me falling asleep anytime I would sit still, as in to type on the computer. But within about a week, that effect decreased dramatically and now it is not even a problem. But I believe the anxiolytic effect is still just as good because I have never felt better; no early-evening aura of panic or late-night "sick" feelings like I had before, (which were undoubtedly anxiety symptoms.)
I don't know how people can take 1 mg at a time without passing out; but now that I say that I have been in the midst of panic attacks in the past and taken more than 1 mg and the motor effects were pretty darn compelling but the anxiolytic effects were barely making a dent in my panic.
Cam, if you can stand another question, can you explain how these two effects are different and why they appear to operate independently of one another?
I think I was on the wrong track by using klonopin only "as needed" because I would wait till a panic attack was taking hold to begin taking it and, like Cam said, it would be four hours before I would even begin to to come down from the bad trip that is the best way a panic attack can be described to anyone who has not experienced one. Now that I am taking a tiny dose on a regular basis, I think that might be a better way to keep my disorder under control because I have found that P.A.'s are a good thing to prevent because, like fires, it's easier and more prudent to prevent them than to try to put them out once they are in full swing.
Posted by Cam W. on June 1, 2001, at 22:30:03
In reply to Do you mind one more question, Cam?, posted by grapebubblegum on June 1, 2001, at 20:24:22
GBG - I do have a paper at work on the GABA pathways though to mediate both the anxiolytic and psychomotor pathways. For give me if I can't remember their names. What basically happens is that the GABA pathway that causes psychomotor side effects desensitizes (probably via receptor downregulation) while the GABA pathway involved in decreasing anxiety &/or panic doesn't. I do not believe that these pathways (involving several interconnected neural pathways) have been fully worked out, yet. The differences in changes of sensitivity between these pathways is probably controlled (or moderated or mediated) by other neurotransmitters.
Outside of these guesses, I really can't answer your question. - Cam
Posted by paulk on June 2, 2001, at 4:24:21
In reply to STONED ON KLONOPIN, posted by elderweissblue on May 31, 2001, at 15:57:11
>
> ... strangely even my depression,
KLONOPIN is known to have some seritenergic effect.
Posted by grapebubblegum on June 2, 2001, at 10:10:54
In reply to Re: STONED ON KLONOPIN, posted by paulk on June 2, 2001, at 4:24:21
Your answers at least give me clearer trails to follow. :o)
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.