KLONOPIN clonazepam Stories and Experiences

I've been on Klonopin for over 20 years now, for PTSD, panic attacks and svere4 panic disorder. A few months ago I was switched to a different generic, when Osco was bought out by CVS. My panic attacks became ubearable, other meds were added to no avail. Had a toxicoligy screen and found NO evidence of benzos in my urine over a 3 week period. At the time I was taking 2mgs twice a day.

I tried to get brand name, Dr. wrote brand name meedically necessary but insurance refused.

I then found a different phrmacy with another generic brand. Symptoms still did not abate so my dose was increased to 2mgs 3 times a day. Just tested again and tox screens still negative for the presence of any benzos..not even a trace.

Has anyone had any sucess with a particular brand of gneric. I have tried teva and caraco brands thus far .

Has anyone had the same thing happen to them in so far as the toxicoligy screens.

The pharmacists tell me it is impossible to have negative screens that I must not be taking my meds. Fortunately my Psychiatrist knows better than that..but I am concerned. the clonazepam is no longer working, my dose has gone up, I am now on Clonidine and Abilify to try to help manage the PTSD symptoms and anxiety/panic as well as the addition of Effexor to my regime.

Previously I was on one anti-depressant and 1-2 mg of Klonopin a day for over 20 years ( with an occasional temporary dose adjustmnent) and functioning fine. Often times I only needed to take 1 mg a day) I am now a wreck and don't know what step to take next.

Plenty of us have heard that certain generics don't work as well..but for there to be NO trace of them in a toxoicology screen?? Sugar pills?

Bizzare.

There are 3 major chain pharmacies here, CVS ( carry Teva), Wallgreens ( carries the Caraco), I will chek Wallmart and the 2 smaller pharmacies here in town to see what brnads of generic they cover.

I want to return these generics to the pharamcy and pay for brand name to see if my toxicology tests then trun positive, but more imp[ortantly if my symptoms abate. I don't need a tox screen to tell me the meds are not working. ( but it is nice to have proof) the pharmacy cannot take them back.

Will ask for brand name next visit, phrmacy said I cannot pay out of pocket for brand I have to go with generic because I have insurance.. so I will take the next RX to a new pharmacy and say I have no insurance topget the brand if I have too,

I apologize for the length and hope you cpould follow this,

I guess the long and short is generics are not always effective and in my case I have the toxicoligy screens to prove it.

Any suggestions would be welcome and most appreciated.

On another note, I have had my liver tested and it is working just fine so there is no medical explanation that covers the fact that there are no metabolites in my urine. Do you think I should pursue a blood test? My doctor keeps telling me to just keep trying different generics until I find find that works. I know that's not very professional but it is what it is., I should also mention that I have paid out of pocket for and had these tox screens done at 2 different labs here in town.

Is there somewhere I can go report the lack of klonopin in my tox screens? Should I start with the manufactures? There must be a government agency that oversees this kind of stuff.

Frustrated and panicky, thanks for taking the time to read all of this.

I can be contacted at jverderami @ new .rr.com (remove spaces from email address when writing) if anyone has any input/advice. Thanks.

I just wanted to say that I have been taking the CVS Teva generic for almost 8 years, and it has always been effective reliable. However, I never did like the Wallgreens generic. I switched pharmacies because of it, but I'm pretty sure I didn't like the Wallgreens generic because the pills were hard to break in half. They would crumble up in little pieces and not split evenly. (Not sure if it was Caraco all those years ago or not)

But it is still interesting it's not showing up in the tox tests. I would understand if you were no longer feeling the benefits of the medication. With Klonopin, tolerance can happen all of a sudden. It has with me before. I was doing OK, and then all of a sudden, it seemed like it stopped working or actually caused the anxiety/panic to get worse after I took it. What I did in that case was wean down to a very low dose over a period of a month or so, and then work my way back up to an effective dose of Klonopin after the tolerance was gone.

Very few other things have worked for me including other benzos. Xanax makes me feel like I have to keep popping them all day to get any decent and stable effect. Valium makes me depressed. Ativan is totally unpredictable in my system. So, Klonopin has proved to be the most stable of them all for me.

In an effort to avoid tolerance this time, I just dropped my dose from 1.5 mg per day down to 1.0 mg per day. I am hoping to stop my system from getting a tolerance before it stops working this time. Not sure how it will work out, but it seems to be bearable so far. If I encounter high stress or panic, I will be able to work my way back up to 1.5 mg per day when I need to do so.

My insurance carrier recently insisted that I take generic form of klonopin manufactured by TEVA. However, the clonazepam did not work as well. I am wondering if there is a better generic manufacturer....or has anyone even reserched that. The klonopin is quit expensive and if I could find a better substitute, I would. My insurance carrier has said that if I submit a request for another generic manufacturer they will try to get it but I have no idea what is the best or even if there is a better substitue.

clonazepam makes me feel psychotic and I am so afraid. I've been taking it for past 6 years and I don't know if I am psychotic or its from the Clonazepam. I started taking them after my Dad died and I was 40. I never have felt this way in my life before taking these. I also have a horrid fear of mental illness that runs in my family. I just don't know. I can BARELY FUNCTION! I have no will at all. I am totally opposite of my old self and I never talk anymore.

I read your story about taking the generic for klonopin. It definetly struck a chord with me. I got so disgusted with my pharmacy (delays and stocking) that I switched to a smaller pharmacy. I get the distinct feeling that I have made a very grave error. My panic and anxiety all my PTSD symptoms are back with one addition, raving anger. I manage to hold it inside, but it frightens me that it may break loose. I don't have any tox screens, I can't afford them. I am on Medicaid, and Medicare and don't know if they will cover that sort of thing. The clonazepam 2mg that I got from the same pharmacy for 6 years worked just fine Now I get something that, aside from being thinner, has the same letter on it as my 10mg lisinopril: (they both have an M on one side, the other has a score, and a letter, c then the score, 15 below the score) One is lisinopril 10mg and the other is labeled clonazepam 2mg and the clonazepam 2mg does not work at all. thanks for listening

I was using Target as my pharmacy, and a have used clonzapam for about 8 years. I suddenly began to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, have the shakes, unable to sleep, and wanting to putll my hair out because my nerves were out of control A tox screen showed NO benzos in my systme. I got a new prescription from my psychiatrist and a new pharmacy and a new brand an was just starting to feel better enough to function a few days later. The new pharmacist looked it up, and the medication has a 30 hour half life. No way could even a misses 2mg tablet be out of my system. The new generic worked well. Today, I woke with the shakes and realized how much i had been smoking. I had chalked it off to stress at first, but now my nerves are screaming in my body and i want to crawl out from the inside, like before. I looked at my bottle, and sure enough, my new pharmacy has switched to TEVA brand clonazapam. Here I am, back to trying to get a new prescription because my week old one is making me sick. I was told how the FDA checks on these things and that it wasn't true that generics are sometimes not correct medicine. I was told that stories I was hearing about false medications were odd, since no one else had heard of them. Now, it is 5am and I am up and just waiting until I can get to the doctor in as few hours as possible to get my levels checked. There can't possibly be enough FDA workers to keep a check on everything. And I have been on this drug for years with no problems. 'sadly, tolerance may suddenly develope' doesn't fly, because a different brand left me fine and as before for months until this company was chosen by my new pharmacy. Now, I will probably have to search out a new pharmacy or try to pay for brand name. Does anyone care how hard it is to be diabled and raise a child alone on social security with no child support and take their meds regularly, as prescribed, and have this happen? This company has had trouble with this med before, and should be banned from producing it. I am trying to find out how to get the drug itself tested.

The Klonopin is what IS making you crazy...brain chemistry changes...eventually the drug turns on you...get off slow then start changing your thinking, that is truly the problem...not trying to be a smart alec...was on it for years and finally got off the merry go round....long time to feel better, will never, EVER go back on. Gotta learn to manage stress/panic without chemicals...it can happen..you have to want it to.

If anybodies pharm. doesn't allow you to purchase brand with cash, they are braking the law...period. Pharmacy policy does not trump black letter federal law. If you are not going to claim the purchase on your ins., which you have every right to do, then they cannot refuse to sell brand at full price to the customer. Chain pharms. will have to be taken to task if they refuse.. Just explain you understand federal law and they will have to comply.. If they don't report the activity to the FDA website. And tell them you will do so if they don't comply..you'll get your brand.

If any pharmacy does not allow you to buy brand if you are willing to not claim ins. and are willing to pay the brand price..that is illegal. You have every right to purchase brand and pay out of your pocket.. If the pharmacy turns you away or makes you purchase generic, remember that pharmacy policy DOES NOT trump black letter fed. law. And report them to the FDA.

I have been taking Clonazepam for a week. I was previously on Xanax, but it had gotten to where it was not working and rather than up the dose my pdoc wanted to try this. I must say that the Clonazepam is quite different than the Xanax. The Xanax I could actually feel working and not the case with the Clonazepam. I am on a low dose of .5 mg so I am wondering if I should maybe talk to my doctor about going up to 1 mg twice a day from the .5 mg twice a day or maybe the .5 mg three times a day ... any suggestions

I have the same exact problem!! I have not found relief from certain generics. I have had three tox screens and all of them have been negative for benzos. I currently take 1mg TID and feel that I do not get adequate relief. I was recently at the mayo clinic and had a genetic test done to check a metabolic pathway called CYP450 it turns out I am a rapid metabolizer of 3A4. This pathway metabolizes things like klonopin, alcohol, morphine.....ect. I was at one time accused of abusing the medication because I seemed to have such a strong tolerance to these medicines. People who are actively metab. drugs in this pathway can develop a hypertolerance because they have accelerated the breakdown of the drugs. It may also be possible that some mutations have taken place causing the drug to be metabolized differently into a metabolite that is not being tested during tox screens. Hope this helps. Feel free to E-mail me

Kmkrull@indiana.edu

Hi I was put on clonopin 20 years ago when I went through a horrible episode of major depression and severe anxiety. I could'nt eat or sleep untile it got into my syatem. This had happened once before when I had post=partum depression but it only lasted 6 months that time. The time when I was put on klonopin I had severe depression for 1 1/2 yrs, I finally got ok but 9 years later it happened again and I had been off the klonopin for a little while. That episode lasted another 1 1/2 years. I always feel like I'm dying when I go into depression, and think it will never go away. Well guess what, it came back again about 6 months ago and again I was put on paxil,seroquel and klonopin. I'm still depressed but I am able to function with the klonopin. My new doctor said I've been on it too long to try to get off. After what I went through going back into depression, I don't want to ever get off klonopin again. At this point I can't live without it. Thanks for listening. Good luck to whoever really needs this stuff.

I am a 17 year old high school senior, and have been dragged on a long road of medications for severe anxiety and social phobia disorder. I first started these meds when I was thirteen, with zoloft(which quickly proved itself useless) and Ativan 1mg to take up to four times daily as needed. The Ativan really helped for a while but after about 2 months one 1mg pill wouldn't do anything anymore, and I started double dosing and sometimes tripling my dose before going to school. My parents caught on to this and I am glad that they did. The psychiatrist at the time decided to take me off Ativan and zoloft and switch me to Cymbalta 60mg every morning and generic Valium, which is diazepam. Cymbalta seemed to work very stable with minimal side effects. I actually thought it was going to work for a while. The diazepam 10mg tablets to take up to 3x daily were somewhat of a lifesaver but I could tell that if I got too dependant on them, it would be even worse than Ativan. The Ativan withdrawals didnt affect me too much because I had just been prescribed Diazepam to replace Ativan. Diazepam never lost it's effectiveness but the psych wanted me to try clonazepam instead because he believes that it is safer. I have been on Klonopin for 3 years now and it still works wonders when I need to take it. I get CVS's generic Teva brand and they are exactly like brand name Roche Klonopin. My only worry is that clonazepam is very addictive and I started on a dose of .5mg twice a day, then 1mg 3x a day and now I am on the 2mg tablets up to four times a day as needed but I NEVER need it that much.

I had a horrible adverse reaction from Cymbalta around christmas of 07 which included a seizure, and that is why my dose was initially raised. I know take a very conservative 20mg dose of citalopram (Celexa), every morning and it has not really done much but I go along with the psychiatrist. I still take 2mg tablets of clonazepam made by Teva 3x a day as needed but I feel I am way past addicted to this medication, but the fact the it still works gives me reason to stay on it. I just can't imagine getting off of it for good, because all of the reports of withdrawals sound horrible(convulsions, vomitting, diahhrea, hallucinations).

The best generic is by FAR the Teva brand, followed by Walgreens's Caraco. I have had brand name Klonopin by Roche and it is exactly the same as the Teva brand in terms of onset and strength. I don't see how it still works for you after 20 years. You must not take it every day I would assume?

With reference to the concern over which generic company. The Hannaford Pharmacy gets theirs from a company called Mylan and I have had not trouble whatsoever with them.

I have been on the generic of Klonpin for 7 yrs. 1-1.5mg at night. Prescribed for fibromyalgia symptoms. All over Pain and insomnia. I'm sure it helped with my daytime anxiety since it stays in your symstem so long. After reading ALL the horror stores of long term effects, and withdrawl, of Klonopin I finally started weaning myslef off, with docs, OK VERY slowly. Down to .5 at night. NO sleep for a month and anxiety is worse. Many experts in the fibro field believe klonopin helps fibro patients because it slows down the neurotrmsmitters that fire to rapidly in our brain causing overexcitabilty. Any longterm users with NO side effects or complaints??? Im very conflicted and confused about the need to sleep vs gettig off the drug. Im thinking I just may need some Klonopin to get some sleep. We cant function without it!

I recently viewed a Psychiatrist on PBS that recommedns natural alternatives for Anxiety & Klonopin (Didn't get his name). I think he mentioned St. John's Wort and Kava Kava. Has anyone read the book, or tried these alternatives? Do you supplement the alternative while you reduce the Klonopin dosage? Anyone who has been on Klonopin for years and has managed to withdraw...can you tell us how you did it? Please, someone respond.

I have been taking Klonopin for Anxiety for over a year, at 1/2 mg twice daily and 1 mg at night. All of my UA's have come back fine showing the drug as it was supposed to, until my last screening March 13, 2009. I had a repeat screening four days later and still no Benzo's were found in my test. This has me in hot water with my Doc, and worried as to why there is no Klonopin showing in my system.

I am supplying her with letters from friends and family and any documentation I can find showing that negative UA's do happen. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I was also taking Tagamet, (Cimetidine,) for stomach problems, for the two months between my UA's and several websites have stated either a moderate or mild reaction with Benzo's. It has wondering if ths is just a bad batch of Generic Klonopin, or if the Tagamet is interfering with it or if something else is causing these false negative results?

Had a toxicoligy screen and found NO evidence of benzos in my urine over a 3 week period. At the time I was taking 2mgs twice a day.

This is most likely due to the fact the tox screen was calibrated to Oxazepam and not the generic. Clonazepam does not metabolize to oxazepam.

I've been in the pharma industry for many many years, and I can tell you this...

Sometimes Docs will RX a Placebo that looks exactly like the psych med THINK you are being prescribed.

Hello...all of you who are taking Klonopin.....IT IS A POTENTIAL KILLER..READ ON PLEASE!!!....I was on it for restless legs (uncontrollable periodic limb movements) along with mirapex. Restless legs cause you to not get the needed rest during sleep, if you can sleep at all. I was sleeping without medication, but woke up with my legs aching and I was so tired, until my husband told me my legs moved all night. I was unaware of this. So after sleep studies were done, I was prescribed different medications and was on L-Dopa which is used as an anticonvulsant and for Parkinsons. I have neither, but all are a type of central nervous system disorders, including restless legs. The medications helped for quite a while until I started to experience nausea symptoms. I went to my family doctor and he said it might be the L-Dopa, and advised I see my neurologist..who had prescibed my treatment for restless legs. My doctor changed my medication to Klonopin starting at a low dose and advancing following a strict schedule until I reached the dose he had prescribed. To wean off, you need to follow a strict schedule as well!!!!very important either way!!!I would fall asleep at The wheel driving, and if no one had been with me often I would have been in a terrible accident and injured others. I had no inkling I had even fallen asleep. It just happens. Klonopin stays in your body for 30-40 hours and I was unaware of this and I was taking it every night with mirapex. The regime worked well, but it wasn't until someone in my household took my bottle of Klonopin that I had to wean off of it. Luckily I had a pill container in my purse with some Klonopin in it so I called my Neurologist and he gave me the schedule to wean off. I got shaky (withdraw) because I did not have enough medication to do the whole routine. Klonopin is very expensive and generics did not work at all for me!!!!!!!!!!Costco chain stores do have it the least expensive..like half price..check it out its a bulk membership store..BUT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE FIND ANOTHER MEDICATION. BELIEVE ME..I SHOULD BY RIGHTS BE DEAD BECAUSE IN THE AFTERNOON I WOULD BE OVERCOME WITH FATIGUE AND SLEEPINESS AND NOTHING HELPED..NOT PUTTING THE WINDOWS DOWN TO LET COLD AIR IN..COFFEE..RADIO PLAYING LOUDLY ETC. I WOULD WAKE UP WHILE AT A RED LIGHT WITH CARS PASSING ME. SCAREY AS HECK. The medications relieved my restless legs but I wasn't ready to die earlier than expected. I don't know how many times the passenger would grab the wheel when I veared to the left or right, and my son often would have to continue driving because afterwards I would still be so sleepy I couldn't function and I was driving 27 miles each way to work. Sorry for the book, but I wanted those of you on Klonopin for any reason to realize its danger and it is also a very addictive drug!!!!!hence the need to wean off slowly. Doesn't that speak for its addictiveness and its potency???? Please talk to your doctors about alternative treatment.. I'm a retired RN, but you don't know about these dangers until you or someone else experiences the side effects. Thank you for reading this..It could save your sanity and your life. Even if you read the side effects in the brochure, you don't really know about how long the drug stays in your system; 30-40 hours is way to long and then you take another at bedtime etc..please do something and talk to your doctors folks..good luck to all who are on this dangerous drug!! for any reason. If any questions, please e-mail at katiemaries@gmail.com

I am from Chile and have used Ravotril (Roche Laboratories version of Klonopin) in occasions to sleep. Just half a pill (0.25) was MORE than enough for me to sleep like a baby. The cost of it in my country is $5.

I moved to the US 3 years ago, and apart from being absolutely outraged at the medical system in this country, on a personal level and on a general level, and about absolutely every aspect of it, now I must add the pharmacies and laboratories.

I just got Clonazepam from Wallgreens for the first time in this country, prescribed by my doctor. And IT JUST DOESN'T WORK. I have taken 0.5 and I can't fall asleep for 3 hours. I think a glass of milk would be more effective.

How can they sell you a placebo and have you pay $15 for it (!) with absolute impunity!!!

Americans NEED to understand that their health system has terminal cancer and that the reason for it is THE TOTAL LACK OF REGULATIONS AND THE TOTAL LACK OF PROTECTION FOR ITS CLIENTS.

I come from a third world country, and please, believe me, my mother's maid down there has health care that cost and quality wise is much much grater than America's.

I have payed for antibiotics and other medicines here 10 or 20 times more than in my country. My very birth control system is $60 here and $20 in my country.

And now this?? Selling placebos??? Who is doing anything about it?!!!

ML

Kevin51585 has the answer. Taking a drug for may years will alter more than one bodily system. The CYP450 enzymes which metabolize most drugs, including clonazepam, can become, in essence, more active in clearing the drug. More than one form of these enzymes may be at work. It is as if the body starts to better detect a toxin. It responds by working harder to eliminate the toxin by increasing the enzymes that metabolize it.

This process may be responsible for what people see as tolerance to the drug. Then increased doses are needed to maintain the same effect, but even that dose will soon need increasing.

When this phenomenon begins, It is time to search for another drug to treat the original condition. Increasing doses without end will eventually cause additional symptoms of illness. It is unlikely that the cause will be named by the physician. The symptoms mimic those of many other diseases. As work-ups for these fail to reveal the suspected illness, the problem is wrongly labeled as a psychiatric condition. The problem really was the longterm adjustment to the clonazepam. This happens with any benzodiazepine.

Of course it is essential to taper the drug. The taper schedules so commonly used can cause extreme distress and sometimes seizures.

Clonazepam is generally given in low doses. Typical urine drug screens are imunnoassays calibrated to oxazepam or nordiazepam (at cut off of 200 or 300 ng/ml urine.) Clonazepam is has a low actual drug elimination in urine. Even more, tests I mentioned are unlikely to test positive as the 7-aminoclonazepam metabolites are not detected by these calibrators. It takes expensive GC/MS testing and higher doses of Clonazepam to be detected. One to four 1mg Clonazepam do not generally cause a positive drug screen.

To the generics, I have taken them all after 10 years of Brand name. I noticed no difference in effects.

I don't know If this might be helpful to any unsatisfied pill purchasers, but here's what I got... I pursonally have alot of experience with purchasing a variety of meds (mostly all generic, as I have no insurance and little money), including klonopin (currently from Eon Labs). I like many of you seemed to have, went on a mission to descipher the differences from the name brand to generics, and then once I settled on the fact that I just FLAT OUT wouldn't be able to afford name brand, wen't on a mission to seek out the differences between just the available generics. In my experience so far, theres seems to quite a variation within the generics(quality wise, not price). For example: There are a few generics for Xanax, and after asking around and a little research, I found out that there is generic from Greenstone pharmaceuticals which is a subsidiary of Pfizer, the company who makes name brand xanax and many other meds. I would advise researching to see if that might be the case for your meds or at the least keep trying the different generics untill you find a doable fit. Two last things I'll add. 1. when filling a new generic you can ask for only a small portion to be filled, that way if you arent satisfied, you can then either opt to go name brand, or possibly transfer your script to another pharmacy, wich carries a different generic, all without waisting an entire script on BULLs**t Pills. 2. In different blogs I've only heard mention of CVS, RiteAid, wallgreens as most peoples choices for a pharmacy. I thought I should throw Costco in there, as it is the only pharmacy I use. My experience has been that I pay about a fifth the price as riteaid or wallgreens for my scripts. I priced my paxil script and the two lesser and it was $97 and $102, compared to 19 and change at costco, and all were for the same amount. Also, Costco carries a variety of different generics on hand at any given time, so I will always ask them when I refill to see what my generic options are. Maybe most people don't have a Costco in there city, sorry that blows, but if you do, I would check it out if you haven't already. --Sorry my post was so long. If anybody thinks highly of a particular generic, please add to this list. THE MORE YA KNOW ('')

For me Clonazepam has been the one drug that has saved me from what would have otherwise been horrible anxiety and panic reactions. Nothing else has been so effective as this. It does work better when you take it as needed - it works wonderfully this way.

HI. I have been on the med for 3 yrs.I have been through a number of pdocs. I also take seroquel and lexapro. My question is...Lately my anxiety seems to be getting worse. I was only taking 0.5 once a day, but now taking it twice a day.I take the generic teva brand.I noticed people on here saying that teva is ineffective? Has anyone proven it? I am seeing another new pdoc in 3 weeks and would like to get off this klonopin, but in the past when i tried to wean off it i felt like death, i had to go to ER i was having withdrawl. Can being on this med actually cause more panic?I hate this waiting for a new pdoc...Also i read somewhere that i am supposed to get liver tests and blood work while on the med...I have never had that done!!! Now i am worried.

I have been on .5 generic Klonopin twice a day for a year due to anxiety and now three times a day. Can anyone give advice as to what is the BEST generic from their experience? I have tried the three main ones - Caraco, Mylan, and Teva. Since my dose is relatively low, I sometimes can't even tell if I have taken a dose. I'm sure some of that is due to tolerance but recently the Mylan ones that my local Walgreens carries seemed markedly worse so I switch to CVS and their Teva generic but did not notice any improvement. I can not afford a tox screen and would like to know from people's personal experiences if one of these generics is better than the others. I appreciate William H.'s comment that Teva seems to work best for him and would like to hear what others think. Thank you.

I take clonazepam for epilepsy and there is a big difference in various generics where I am concerned. I take .5mg 5x/day. I will say that everyone is different and therefore processes medications differently and what works well for one may be a flop for another. Personally, Caraco worked the best for me...Walgreens quit carrying it recently and I am having to do a search to find someone who does..which has proven to be a major challenge. When Walgreens switched to Mylan, within 2 weeks the levels got so low I had a grand-mal, along with the withdrawal symptoms. I had used Teva in the past,with frequent milder breakthroughs which I thought was just due to my condition, but now after 20 years I am beginning to see that maybe it was the brand because the Caraco worked so much better, so after Walgreens quit carrying it, I switched to CVS for the Teva (again) started having breakthroughs 2 weeks later which is where I am right now but I had a little stash of the Caraco put aside just in case this occurred...grand mals are really no fun at all, so I took some of that and I could feel the difference when it hit my system the withdrawal symptoms and breakthroughs stopped. This was just tonight...a matter of hours ago. Now I have to work the levels back up in my system. Thank goodness I have enough to carry me through the weekend until I get up with the neurologist So, if I can't find anyone who carries Caraco brand then I am going to ask the dr. to write it for brand name neccessary and see how that works. Dealing with insurance is the biggest crock of BS I have ever had to deal with. It's exhausting to say the least and the loop holes you have to go through. I don't know that they WILL cover it..(Medco)..but I'd be willing to pull legal strings if that proves to be an avenue. On an ending note...with most psychotropic drugs of any kind the generic is usually found to be inferior due to the inert fillers which must affect it's absorption in some way. I did find an article written about this and I am going to try to get brand names for some of the other meds I take that fall into this catagory of drugs...the funny thing is all these years I could have had much better control and a higher quality of life if I had known the difference in the way that I would respond. From now on...I'm going brand name as much as I can when it comes to these kinds of drugs. I take more than one anticonvulsant and I want that switched along with the drugs from the psychiatrist. I guess the best advice is to find the brand that works the best for you and hope like heck that it continues to be available. I'm actually going to call my cousin who is a pharmacist tomorrow to see if he can help me find someone who carries Caraco. Hopefully he can give me so input and advice. Good-luck.

I am taking 0.5 mg of kolonipen 2 times a day. Every morning I wake up and get pains in my stomach and usally vomit. The brand is TEVA.Anyone have this expierence or any suggestions?.Thank you.Peg

I was tapered down to 1.25 brand wafers when they were pulled from the market. Walgreens gave me Par Pharmaceutical generic and said it was the same - I took at the exact same time (9pm) and was in withdrawal by noon the next day.

I have not tried the name brand but i can tell you which generics have worked for me regarding clonazepam. I have been on 1mg 3x a day for one year and still to this date do wonders for my anxiety troubles... here are two out of four brands that worked best for me:

Actavis Teva

I have also tried eon labs clonazepam which resulted in complete garbage.... and also watson.. which worked for a while and stopped working....

I'm a 30 year old male, and started taking Klonopin in 1998 (initially 0.5mg then increased to 1mg twice daily) for severe social phobia, anxiety and PTSD. I have taken it both as needed and on a regular basis (twice daily). In 5 years, I have not needed to increase this dosage, and it remains effective.

Prior to this I was Rx'd Ativan, Valium, and Xanax (not all at once!) Ativan was worthless and placebo-ish. Valium worked wonderfully but was highly sedating and required a 3 per day dosage regimen. It was also rather addictive. Xanax caused me temporary amnesia and wore off in a few hours, requiring me to take it so often that the dosage was going too high. Xanax is a lousy medication for someone who has chronic anxiety.

After taking 1mg of generic TEVA clonazepam, I can feel it begin to work within approximately 45 minutes, and the effects last easily for 8-12 hours. Every other generic version I have tried was absolutely useless. THE single most useless brand for me was Mylan. Avoid it like the plague. Teva is identical to the Roche brand name in both onset and duration of action, and begins to work as rapidly as Valium for me.

I recommend CVS Pharmacy (even though I dislike how large they have become). They have stocked the TEVA brand (both 0.5, 1 and 2mg) consistently for years. They have lots of customers, and this insures they are always receiving fresh shipments of the medication. Some of the smaller mom and pop pharmacies don't go through as much of the stuff and tend to switch brands often because of price differences, i.e. which one is cheapest for them and will maximize their profits.

In summary, probably the best medication available for chronic anxiety, certain forms of depression, social phobia, PTSD etc (either alone or as an augment to SSRI's and other AD's). If you are more prone to sudden and unpredictible panic attacks, Xanax is probably a better option, as it packs a more potent initial punch and will take the edge off quite rapidly. Just remember to avoid Mylan pharmaceuticals... in my experiences, most of their generics are crap. They do contain the proper amount of active ingredient, but their binders/fillers I believe prevent the tablets from properly disintegrating and being absorbed into your blood stream.

Good luck to all who suffer from this horrible illness!

Mylan's suck! Just got home and realized that my pharmacy switched from Teva to Mylan. These things are like placebo. I hope my doc isn't playing games and writing for a placebo instead of the real deal. Just my .2 cents on this brand of clonazepam.

Let me say this for 100% sure. I have been on Klonopin since 1991 and have used only the name brand and Teva generics. On a few occasions I had to get it at Walgreens, the tablets were flaky, they looked cheaply made and did not have any effect on me. Walmart up until January 2010 carried only the name brand and Teva generic. They suddenly changed to Mylan generic and it is pathetic. Mylan Clonazepam not only fails to work for me, but it has caused severe gastric upset for me, including severe esophageal burning and belching, as well as pain in my stomach.

I am done with Walmart, Walgreens and any other pharmacies that push these inferior generic medications. Taking Mylan Clonazepam is like not taking anything at all. I will find a pharmacy that still carries the Teva generic and if I cannot find the Teva anymore, I will fork out the cost of the name brand. To pay for name brand is a good indication of just how terrible these sloppy generics are.

This is criminal that these generic companies are watering down very important medications with binders, fillers etc. One thing I noticed about the Mylan brand versus the Teva and name brands, the tablets were bigger and fatter. Bottom line, Mylan and Carraco did not work, the only generic that worked was Teva-----End of story!

I want to know why the - Z - drugs are allowed in the United States of America. My doctor started me on the Z-durgs in the mid 1980's. This is now 2010 and I am, and have been, trying to get off of that final drug Clonazepam (Klonopin) for 2 1/2 years. I have gone from 3mg. to 1mg. at bedtime. As I type today I am experiencing withdrawal symtoms because last Friday night I reduced that pill to 3/4, and also for the next two nights. Today is Monday and I look and feel terrible. I started having problems Saturday but didn't associate them with the decrease.

I have looked at the schedule for Klonopin (Clonazepam) withdrawal, and it is very discouraging. Again I ask, Why? Why are the Pharmacutical Companies allowed to make and sell this drug in this country. What recourse do I have? This information is not available to the general public. Why isn't it being publicized? The Psychiatrists began stacking drugs called a Cocktail! I reached the point that I was being treated for the side effects, and because I didn't get better, the Psychiatrists then said I needed ECT as a last resort. Now I have massive amounts of time missing. Precious Memories of past events, killed - destroyed by the Drugs and ECT. What is my recourse? I am alive today by Divine Intervention! BUT, I am having a very difficult time getting off that last pill. What about all of the other people who have reported in? Good people, Christians, ADDICTED to PRESCRIBED DRUGS, what a travesty! Where do I go from here?

Anna Q

to qualify I have been on and off Klonopin 17 to 36 and a 12 step man too great sight for people who suffer and have chronic and offal horrible anxiety I have learned a few things here didnt know docs sometimes use placebo ill have 2 check into that.Oh I have seen some 12 stepers who truely beleive that is the cure for everything watch out warning warning another warning not true watch out for the ashton manual fanatics that sight will truly drive u mad i think it is benzouk dot org stay away and that lady really knows how to sell books And start a cult of people who suffer same 4 certain 12 step meetings that will convince u that u r an addict and have no control and r crazy that does not help a thing just an allusion of hope Oh its true Mylan sucks ass ok people stay positive this is the best med on the market for true suffers dont abuse the med if u have ween down and get back on your stable dose dont beat yourself up bout it or suffer without it if u cant take a normal does and pray something better comes along cheers my friends and good night

My mother who is 87, has been on Klonopin the brand, not the generic, for about two years. Recently, for about four months in succession, the urine drug test reported Negative for Benzos. She was and is still taking 3mg. per day. The doctor believes she is not taking the Klonopin, but that it may be diverted. This of course is ridiculous. She has been taking the full amount of Klonopin, but yet has consistently tested Negative. Can anyone tell me why? Her doctor also believes I may be the one selling the pills and not giving them to her. The doctor has created a witch hunt and has made my life a living hell for no reason. Why doesn't the manufacture get honest and inform the public Klonopin does not show up in the urine. There has been far too many people complaining Klonopin does not show up in the urine. Lets start a class action suit against the Roche drug manufacturer for covering up the truth!!!!!

In July 09 I was prescribed Clonazepam at 1 mg 2x a day along with 60 mg of cymbalta. These meds were given to me after I (1) had be laid off for a year; (2) discovered my husband had and was continuing an onlife affair and (3) was enduring bitter, mocking, if not plain ignorant treatment from my husband of 3 yrs. Lifetime drama aside, I was always cautious in using the Clonazepam b/c prior to that precription I found myself using Xanax more and more. Now, several mos. later of horrific, volatile, emotionally traumatizing treatment by my dearly beloved later, I am seeking dissolution (good) but found myself self-medicating Clonazepem by determining my own doseage. That last 2 days have been at 4 mg and I all want is taking just one more. Am i addicted? Am I on the wrong medical therapy? I know I am depressed, who wouldn't be when you devote your life to your husband, let him move 200 miles always to fulfill his dream of being a pharmacist (ironic, huh?), just to find out he has been carrying on with another student.

I'm reading the posts and sounds like folks like me that were on brand are having challenges finding a generic that is even close - I'm trying PAR now - anyone have any experience or found the magic bullet. I want off this crap and the generic makes me take more just to stabilize. Help?

I was just now put on klonopin, .5 mg, but i just took half, I was taking xanax before anything it seemed to help, but now my attacks are coming even quicker and all the time, i hate feeling funny so i dont usually take meds, but its been so bad i felt like i couldnt live, im hoping these new meds will help, the doctor also prescribed me zoloft but idk if i want to take that! Does anyone have any advice or insight, i hope i dont feel so sick!

If I could say anything in my life that would save hundreds of good people from living through the hell that is protracted clonazepam withdrawal, it would be do your homework BEFORE you allow a Doc. to prescribe this drug, even for supposed short term I was given it for anxiety and was told to keep taking it, due to my increased symptoms when I went off it. Those symptoms are withdrawal from the drug, Don't be fooled!! I went cold turkey over a year ago and would not wish the last 13 months on my worst enemy. Check out the forums for people who are going through this and listen to their stories...trust me! they are not making it up. I have been left with a serious balance problem which might never get better, also the drug covered up a serious heart problem, which could have been corrected, had I not been on this drug. Good Luck! J

10 Years of clonazepam as a sleeping pill, between 1-2 mg. Suddenly, it stopped working. I tried to taper, but then my withdrawal effects really began -- abdominal cramps, chest pains, anxiety attacks -- all at once. I am now stuck at 1 mg. I take it at the first sign of the withdrawal symptoms. So far, substituting Valium for the decrease in clonazepam withdrawal has not worked.

One thing I noticed about the withdrawal schedules is the high dosage of Valium required -- my body just doesn't like that much Valium.

Anybody else in the same boat? Stuck at a certain dose?

The physical and psychological effects of this drug are not worth what little benefits that one may get out of it. I lost my best friend and love of my life to suicide because of this drug's side effects and withdrawal symptoms.

I was given Klonopin 7 years ago in place of Xanax. When my son was 6 months old I started having severe anxiety and panic attacks. This stuff runs in my family so I figured it was unavoidable. I was originally given .5 mg twice a day. Within the first year I had tapered down to .5 mg at bedtime.. For the past few months I have gone down to .25 mg at bed for 2 nights then the 3rd night I will take the .5mg. I so want to stop taking this drug completely. I find when I try to taper anymore than this I begin to shake and get extremely agitated. I do not want to be on anything else. I just want to be finished with all the psych drugs. If anyone has advise on the taper..please post.

Now to generics. I have always been on TEVA generics and have never had a problem. In January Walmart switched to MYLAN. I instantly felt the difference. I went into withdrawl and had insomnia. I was going to continue to take them and just go through the process, but I was too scared to do it. MYLAN is useless in my opinion. Even the MYLAN generic for prevacid doesn't work. The OTC works better.

Have a nervous system disorder/neuropathy and still ruling out potential MS. This is the only drug that has helped me. My neurologist prescribed it for me. I take .5 in the morning and .5 at night for one year now. If I am not on it, I feel like my whole internal body is vibrating and pulsating. I would rather take this and feel like a functioning human being than feel like all of the nerves in my body are firing at one time. I suppose it depends on your diagnosis how one rationalizes being on this med. long term, but you can also get yourself worked up by reading about horrible withdrawl symptoms and then convince yourself you need to get off of it because of that. You should only take it as prescribed, and if you need to get off of it for whatever reason you are getting off of it, then you should have a competent Dr. to help you taper SLOWLY off of it. Nikki

I have been on klonopin for about nine months now and i think the medication is a lifesaver. I have a shot nervous system and suffer from physical and mental anxiety as well as depression which i treat with prozac. I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict which caused my nervous system to get shot by using the drugs. I take 2- 3 mgs klonopin a day and havent had a panic attack, a drink, or a drug in two and a half years. They started me on xanax but i felt i could get addicted to that so my doc switched me to klonopin 1mg three times daily definitely the brand name is the way to go although it costs more it is much more effective than generics.

I was diagnosed bi-polar on the low side. Also diagnosed with anxiety disorders separate from the depression, and PTSD. We tried every combination of drugs you can think of. It came dow to this: 20mg of Lexapro, and 8mg of Klonopin a day. I dropped the Klonopin to 6mg a day. Then I found out 2mg a day worked fine. He gave the extra dose of Klonopin to keep me from going manic, extremely dangerous, which I rarely did except not sleep for 7-8 days at a time. I reduced the dose of Klonopin by 1/4 mg a month. It was painless. You don't have to suffer the agonies of withdrawl. Do it super slow. I went up to 6mg a day irresponsibility because a new doctor gave it to me. Big mistake on my part. I went through terrible withdrawl. But I fully recovered and was functional. However my emotional agongy, panic attacks,and PTSD came back with a vengence after 8 months of post withdrawl symptions. Now I have been to a doctor and she if threatening to take me off the Klonopin, one of the two drugs me and a highly respected psychiatrist took 10 years to discover merely because it did not show up in a urine test. Any ideas how I can fight this. The administrator of the clinic is very sympathetic to me and helps me whenever I feel I am being jerked aroung. Don't know what she can do to contradict the doctors unless I have some hard evidence. Please contact me if you have any itea, and I am will to help you with your sufferings if possible. I've been around a long time: email me at mhp70437@yahoo.com Thank you and God bless you!

I am a 66 year old female who has had depression ever since I can remember.Lots of trauma in my life. Three years ago (after bieng diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms in both lungs) I began to be very anxious and it just built on itself. I did not leave my house for 3 years, was scared of everything. Cut off all of my friends because I had social anxiety. Did not go anyplace and even missed important things. No one understood, not even me. I quit cooking, cleaning and almost everything. I sat in a recliner all day and cried all day.I did not take care of myself and it got so bad that I couldn't think straight, or speak so people could understand me. I was confused and very forgetful.I had little support and I had a psychiatrist and psycotherapist. I could not dial the phone and I still with no understanding even from family. About three months ago Dr. put me on Klonopin 1mg. three times a day. After about a week it helped, I felt normal again. The last month it has just quit working. I cannot go into that hell again. I will not!

Just wanted to post that recently when filling my prescription for clonazapam at Wal- mart I noticed the pill looked a lot different. Then I realized they had switched manufacturers, from TEVA to MYLAN. I took it a few times (I only take when I fly, or go on a long trip out of my comfort zone) and the drug did NOTHING, except for make me tired 5 or 6 hours later. I told my husband, he thought it was all in my head, but it was an extreme difference from TEVA to MYLAN. My mom takes the same drug, like me not very often and she told me that her new Clonazapam was not working for her for some reason. Just to test this, I took one of my old pills left from TEVA and sure enough they worked fine. Your not crazy, this manufacturer is not good for clonazapam.

First of all let me say that there are MANY factors that contribute to the efficacy of clonazepam or any drug for that matter. First off, stomach pH and the lipid content of food play a big role as fats determine how quickly many drugs are absorbed. Second, the efficacy of any anxiety drug is dependent upon the level of anxiety at the time it it's taken. Yes, there are undoubtedly differences between generic but by law the FDA requires the bioavailability to remain constant. Personally, I have better luck with the Teva brand but who knows... Perhaps the stock bottle was brand new. We must all stop and wonder just what degree of a difference is real or imaginary. I have worked in two separate pharmacies and can tell you that many stock bottles (the containers on the shelves) DO in face lose their effectiveness over time due to moisture and other reasons. However, by the time you receive your Rx the medication, by law, but have at least one full year prior to expiration in order for It to be dispensed. Someone earlier mentioned that the inert binders affected the potency of the drug. Unless an patient is allergic to one of those binders then there should be little to no effect. I want you all to know that I didn't write this to refute your claims...maybe you really do experience difference between brand - if that be the case I'd suggest Teva. Just talk to your pharmacist... And do this very important step if you experience the aforementioned problem: when you take your Rx to the pharmacy, ask to speak to the RPh and explain the you do have brand sensitivity. Next, request a PARTIAL fill of whatever generic they dispense and see how it works. If you get poor results, request the remaining partial fill to either utilize the Brand or another generic manufacturer. I hope this helps.

Ever since i got back from the middle east i started having panic attacks. Its been six years since i have been out of the service and my body feels like its constantly shaking from head to toe, eventually causing severe panic attacks. My nerves feel shot out like they are all firing at once and can rarely stop my hands from shaking. I first thought it might be diet, but I eat extremely healthy and excersize on a regular basis. The doctor at the VA put me on 2mg of clonazepam 3x's daily and it didn't really help. It does for a brief time, but after about an hour or two the shakes come back. Is there anything out there I can take. I added gabapentin to my regiment but it still doesn't work. Might I have another problem? I don't drink or use illicit street drugs at all. I need help and answers PLEASE. contact me at brooklynbby2004@yahoo.com

I had my first panic attack 23 years ago while still in High School and had to leave class for fear of freaking out as if I were on a bad acid trip. Two weeks later (this was about 1985) a new wonder drug called xanax was out and everyone was getting a prescription cause those docs were writing at the speed of light for it. Three weeks later after forgetting a dose, I hallucinated so badly I could not find the stairs in my house. A week later another shrink puts me on Klonopin and five other barbs to come down from the horrific withdrawal of Xanax. Fast forward to today and this morning I went to get my three 1mg a day Klonopin scrip ONLY to see the dreaded MYLAN on my pills (or rather the M) and I immediately called my Pharmacist (as if she is MINE..yea right)asking for another generic or Id pay out of pocket for the brand even tho I dont really have the money but that's how badly Mylan works. I have been everything from a pharmaceutical tech that stole every pill in the book IE Nembutal, Tuinal, Doridan, pills most of you under the age of 40 have no clue about to a hard core heroin addict. I eventually kicked all drugs- became a drug counselor. Between my 25 year history as a walking PDR I can tell you with no hesitation that there is a difference between the generics. Maybe on paper there are a million biological reasons why they are all supposed to be on the same level but maybe due to our individual systems they simply are not. When the overwhelming majority of people complain about one in particular though like Mylan, something is wrong. The panic I felt when I saw the Mylan on my pills 2day was about the same if Id run out of them. THAT MEANS SOMETHING TO ME AT LEAST. At the end of the day, I use these threads to find out if others are finding the same issues, I dont use these threads to self diagnosis etc.. that would be silly. I just wanted to pipe in my two cents tho and imho feel people stressing the Mylan are not just letting other peoples words freak them out! there is something def not correct with them. Thank God I have a few friends who can help me out until I get another script. Our medical system is obscene and instead of waiting for the government to fix it (hahahha) or instead of us just bitching and complaining what about a grass roots boycott of STORES THAT CARRY generics that DONT work AND going to a store in your hood that carry's what you want-forcing other stores to order the ones that do work instead of them jst buying the cheapest??? We all know the pharm companies are evil, when do we fight back?

I switched from Qualitest .5mg to Teva .5mg and it is day and night difference. The Teva takes longer to absorb into my system, and I can tell. If I take more than the .5 it seems to hit like a ton of bricks all at once and knock me out. I was given the Teva because they were out of the Qualitest, and I am sure the only supply it when they absolutely have no choice. The pharmacy must knot it is garbage. I have thought of chewing them to see it the would work better. Err it makes me angry that they are allowed to sell this trash. I have thought of complaining to the pharmacy and taking them back for exchange. Any feed back or ideas?

I got court ordered mental health into a psyciatric hospital for 12 days, I was on Ativan 2mg q 6 hours bid and I asked Dr. McNeal about a 2mg Ativan for night anxiety. Ativan is a strong shorter lived benzodiazapine. Dr. McNeal said Jesse 2mg q 6 hours tid of Ativan is too high lets try 2mg of Klonopin q 8 hours bid and some Restoril 30mg for sleep. I was down to try it so at 8:00 am I took a 2mg klonopin a round white pill. Onset was quick maybe 30 minutes but it peaked from about 9:00 am until early afternoon. It made me have some strange side effects, for example overstimulation, very rapid speech, also increased impulsiveness. But the best way I can explain in would be a mild case of mania but hypomania like. Dr. McNeal noticed my increased talking and more energy, she said are you doing ok? I said yeah a little hyper though. Dr. McNeal said parodoxal effects can occur at this dose we will lower the Klonopin to 1mg q 8 hours bid. Dr.McNeal asked any increased anxiety, suicidal thoughts? I said no my anxiety has went down alot. Dr. McNeal saw me in 2 days on the 1mg q 8 hours bid. She said the 2mg at once was too much. On the 1mg q 8 hours bid I feel some of those parodoxal effects but not out of the normal. The dose 1mg q 8 hours bid is the same dose I have been taking for 3 weeks now. However the 2mg of Ativan q 6 hours bid worked better and had a more seditive effect to it. The Klonopin tends to change my mood and behavior (meaning not acting my self). I also still take the Restoril 30 mg at night it keeps me asleep for 7 or 8 hours. I wonder if the mixture of a long duration benzo (Klonopin) and a short duration benzo (Restoril) could interact? I am diagnosed with moderate to severe anxiety disorder, severe adult attention deficit disorder with moderate hyperactivity. I take one 15mg immediate release Adderall (orange round scored tablet) at 10:00 am, it helps until about 8:00 pm. I have been diagnosed as having severe depression with suicidal tendencies especially if I have been drinking. I have not had a drink in 3 weeks its hard. I take Zoloft 125mg q 10:00am (yellow scored 100mg and a green scored 25mg tablet(s) for the depression also for panic attacks. I am a white 29 year old male with alcohol addiction problems. I noticed the meds help with that urge to drink, maybe because I have lower anxiety on the Klonopin. I dont know why maybe it has to do with the GABA reuptake from the potent long lived benzodiazopine Klonopin? Pysc MDs disagree because of the danger of an alcoholic relapsing on drinking and maybe not even realizing the risk of overdose with the prescribed dose of the benzodiazapines he or she is taking.

I am 40 yo, I have been taking benzodiazapines for 30 years. Parden my spelling. I started out with this now illegal benzo inthe 70s.. Then I moved on to valium, then xanax,then kolonapin. ONe thing I can tell you for sure. If you take any sizable dosage of any of these drugs i.e 1/2 mg of xanax 2 times a day or 1/2 to 1 mg of klon 2-4 timesa day or 10 mg of valium 2 times a day etc.. if you stop. YOU WILL HAVE A SEIZURE. You will wake up not knowing where you are, who you are where you have been etc. I but my tongue almost off, I wrenched my back and felt liek I got hit by lightining. Be carefull. If you stop u must taper and the ONLY drug (anti siezure med) that will work as subst is a barbituate . No DR in there right mind woul d ever perscribe a barbituate strong enopugh to stop a benzo siezure and even so...It woudl render you an absolute mess for days on end.. Its not even fun from a drug addicts point of view.

If you have an extreme anxiety disorder or panic attacks or depression go to a nurse practitioner that specializes in psychiatry. Do not go to your regular MD, they always will try to treat it, which is fine but then they think you're addicted or are taking to much after a period of time because the body builds a tolerance to everything. They may cut even cut you off completely and have you try an SSRI, usually starting you at too high of a dose causing lots of side effects. Stopping benzodiazepines after taking it for a while is bad if you dont slowly monitor the decreasing dosage and most general practicioners do not understand how horrible the disorder really is because they are not suppose to treat extreme cases only occasional life stressors or pain or colds or other common things.

If you have a true disorder GO TO A SPECIALIST!!! And make it a nurse practitioner, they go to school just as long as a regular MD and longer to speacialize and they take WAY more time with you. My first appt.was 2 hrs. long, they want a complete history and overview of you, your childhood, your family and any genetic links. Then they get a better idea of what drug or combination of drugs would be best for you. They follow up with you and they dont want to scare you by saying that they are going to take away the one drug that makes your debilitating anxiety manageable just because some people abuse it. They actually want to help you and dont look at you like you are an addict. They feel bad for you and truly want to help the hell you are living in. They know the drugs better and can tell who is an abuser and who honestly needs crucial help. ANYONE WITH SEVERE ANXIETY SHOULD GO TO A SPECIALIST OF THIS KIND! One last thing, panicky patients seem to metabolize drugs quicker and/or medication affects them more(i.e.more side effects). So they should start you on a low low dose and slowly build up, that is if they want to include an antidepressant or other anti-anxiety agent other than benzodiazepines.

I have been using Klonopin for years. Perhaps since 1990. It was prescribed for CFS. He said that it would help me sleep and help give more energy the next day. This was indeed true and a useful drug for me. However, I've had to increase the dosage over the years to help get me to sleep. The sleep cycles in the CFS brain are all messed up. I've tried generics for awhile and they seemed to work ok (got them from Drugstore.com). However, my doc wanted me back on Klonopin. Said there were too many variations among the generics. WHich is sad, because on Drugstore.com the difference in price is about 10 times. I try to ween my dose down from time to time, but it goes back up. Very hard to get off of. I guess I'm stuck on this one.

I have been on Klonopin 1mg 4 times a day for 8 months. I switched to a new Doctor and he gave me a script...take 1 tablet 3 times a day x4 days, 1 twice daily x4 days, 1/2 three times daily x4 days, then 1/2 daily forx4 days. I am not ready to be off the drug, it helps me tremdusly. Is it safe to come off of it that quick or should I switch to another Dr? I have been on it too long to come off in a little over a week. Please help, is this safe or should I switch???

Hi everyone, I too been on Klonopin for 20 years (2MG as needed for panic disorder). I live in Canada so I think the generic brand are different then in the States. I was on the generic brand GEN-Clonazepam and worked very well for me (vene better somehow then the brand name Rivotril/Klonopin). Wasn't sublingual but would dissolved quickly and it's peak action was 20min. Now, about 2-3 months ago, the pharmacists told me that this generic brand (GEN) was bought by Mylan, they told me it was the same pill. Looking at the posts here, I see Mylan listed and post dating way before a few months ago! So, that would mean Mylan isn't a new company? That they just switch me to a new generic brand? argh. Since I started the Mylan, as most of you said, it feels like a placebo! It doe snothing, I even tried to doube the dosage...I amd feeling the contrary! As if I was in withdrawl of Clonazepam...I am feeling VERY edgy, lots of anger, very pronounced insomnia and short term memory loss and depressed and shaky (not to mention enough rage of wanting to jumping out the window! Sudden thoughts of irrational suicide!) I'm actually feeling the adverse side-effects - maybe my body doesn't handle this meds at all. Scary...I am very angry. I was well with my previous geenric, now, like most of you, I'll have to do the generic trials...we know what this means: the body will react differently to each of them until one fits 'okay'. The anxiety is unbearable for me now since I am on Mylan. I hear good thing about TEVA although I'm not sre it's available here in Canada (theres many brands of generic, maybe it bears a diferent name here (?). I will do like one suggested, for my new refill, just ask a few pills of a new generic and try it out. I know the GEN and Mylan are different, I had kept a few GEN and with huge insomnia last night, I decided to take one and the effect was so quick and became sleepy and calm...But I want to save my last few pills in case of heavy panic attacks.

So just to be sure before I talk to my doctor & pharmacist: Mylan Clonazepam exist since when?

Cos they don't know anything when you try to explain them that it's NOT the same between brands even if it bares the label 'clonazepam'!!!

Okay, I have a list of generics here in Canada: Apo-Clonazepam (Canada) CO Clonazepam (Canada) Gen-Clonazepam (Canada)- no more :( PMS-Clonazepam (Canada) ratio-Clonazepam (Canada) Rivotril (Canada) Sandoz Clonazepam (Canada) Novo Clonazepam I think there's more.

Anyone have tried these?

(sorry for the long-post, I had to vent & agree with most of you here)

I have been taking clonazepam since April 2009 when I went through a divorce. I had severe panic and anxiety attacks. I have always had serious anxiety issues in the past and probably should have been taking this medicine before because it really works. I was taking .5mg twice a day and now only take .5 mg about 3 -4 times a week. It really works. However, I am now concerned about this showing up positive in a urine screen since it is a benzo. Does anyone know if .5mg, 3-4 times a week show positive?

I originally started on brand name Klonipin from my doctor, they worked great! When it was time for a prescription my insurance ordered generic, I go to CVS so Teva is what I got. They are ok, but I have to take 2 pills (supposed to take half a pill) so I do not want to cry 24/7. I am going to Walgreens to see if their generic works any better, from the sound of the other posts I may be wasting my time and money. I take them on a as needed basis, so it's going to take me awhile to even figure it out! I will stop back and update you all on what I find out. Good Luck to you all.

I was on Klonopin for years and it's not the Generic Name.. after you have been on it for years it starts altering you as you were before.. very dangerous drug, Taper slowly off it. The Klonopin will make you crazy after a long period of usage.. look around at sites and forums. You can get off of it, it's very possible and with a slow taper, or change to Ashton's Plan using Valium, you will not seizure coming off it, if you do it slowly! Don't cold turkey and watch out for Doctor's and Big Pharma nline.. they love to use scare tactics to keep you on the DRUG!

Obtain and select some good things from you and it helps me to solve a problem, thanks.

- Rob

I realize there are many, many of you out there who take Klonopin and it works for you, but please read this. I began taking Klonopin as prescribed by a psychiatrist when I was 27 years old, that is about 21 years ago. He prescribed me a dose of 2 mg twice a day for severe indigenous anxiety disorder. The drug worked, but unnoticed to me I began to change behaviourly. I began stealing, starting out slowly, like shoplifting and changing the price tag on items. This continued for about three months until I began doing insurance fraud. I lived for 8 months on the earnings I was receiving from the fraudulent behaviour. I have to repeat at this time that this behaviour is totally not the normal me, but while I was taking the medication it seemed normal to me so I did not suspect anything was wrong. I did not connect the behaviour to the drug, nor the unusuality of this behaviour. Also I was totally addicted to Klonopin and tried to stop on my own a couple of times only to experience the most horrible effects one can imagine, which led me to continue on the klonopin. Shortly after moving to Washington state the behaviour worsened and I commited two armed robberies. The police said when I was caught in the act on the second robbery I was loud, shouting I wanted to blow up the police station and the court house. While I was in jail I was sent to Western Stae Psych hospital and the doctor who prescribed me the drugs was interviewed but nobody wanted to admit that the drug was responsible for the acts not me. I was 27 without even a speeding ticket, and now I had a string of charges. I was found guilty and spent 4 years in prison and then was dropped off at the Canadian border at 3 am with nothing. I am a Canadian citizen who had a green card. I am now 48 and have not had even a speeding ticket since. I would never ever take this or any other tranquilizer again ever. Klonopin ruined my life totally so tread softly all you who take it and I pray none of youj have tyo go through what I did.

anyone tried the sandoz generics? the 1mg is blue with a E64 on one side n a score on the other..now im on TEVA. before i was taking xanax and i thought i was going crazy. i heard it made u a clepto and that was strange until i found myself randomly stealing the stupidest sh*t wen i was on it. i heard clonopins were safer so i switched to that. i like it, dont have as many nuts side effects i never noticed wen i was on xanax. i was on 2mg xan bars 4x a day and now im on clonopin 1mg 8x a day. dont even need the whole 8 cuz the half life is longer. trying to find the best generic...so far i havent heard anyone elses opinion on sandoz...thanks

I take Klonopin (Clonazepam 0.5 mg), and Effexor XR (Venlafaxine 75 mg) twice a day, for fibromyalgia, restless legs, PTSD, Agoraphobia, GAD, SAD and a few other similar conditions. The klonopin and effexor seem to be a good combination for these disorders. I've heard the withdrawal symptoms are horrid for both. But if you are like me and you have the physcial pain, anxiety and depression that I have, you have to take your meds to function, and so far these meds are the ones that work for me. I also take Adderall (Amphetamine salts 20 mg) for ADHD. I am trying to go to school and the adderall is the only thing that helps me to focus, otherwise I can read something a half dozen times and still not get it. I've had this problem my whole life. On adderall I can read something once and understand what I read. The Teva brand of Klonopin seems to work okay, and the effexor seems to work okay too, but my pharmacy just switched to the Teva brand of adderall and it is COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE!!! Absolutely no effectiveness, and no focus on it. I heard from MANY sources that the Eon/Sandoz brand of adderall was the best. And I found a local pharmacy that carries it. And I am wondering if the Klonopin and Effexor comes in this generic (Eon/Sandoz) also. Does anyone know? Have they tried this generic for klonopin or effexor? If so, how did it work for you?

I was put on Sertraline and Klonopin for an anxiety disorder at 21 years old. I was to take Klonopin only during panic attacks but I don't really notice any effects when I take it that way. However, if I'm super nervous around bedtime, I'll take one. I have nightmares that I can't wake up from more often then. I also wake up and just lay there for awhile before I can get up. Makes me think of not even refilling that prescription any longer.

I've been taking clonazepam 1 mg twice a day for 23 years prescribed by a psychiatrist for PTSD and other anxiety disorders. I have been fortunate in that I have never needed to raise the dose as I get the same result. A few times I have lowered the dose to see what would happen and I can get by, if need be, with only 1 mg in the evening. I pay for my meds so money is a concern. When I first startd Klonopin it was name brand only, blue tablet with teh K punched out in it. I was on major medical at this time so the cost was minimal. When I lost prescription coverage it soon went generic great for me. Teva and Mylan in my experience are the best generic brands. I have tried many and all are ok but for me Teva and Mylan are the best. I pay 29.99 for sixty 1 mg Teva clonazempam and fifty cents a tablet is not too bad for something that works so well. I will be on clonazepam for life and have no problems with this. I tried over benzos; lorazepam, alprazolam, diazepam and they either didn't help or were unpredictable in effect. Also the alprazolam was a rollar coaster ride to to short duration. If you need this med you need it.

WARNING ....DO NOT TAKE BENZODIAPINES ...

I was put on Clonozepam for Vaginal burning , I was on it for 4 1/2 mths total started January 10 2010, I was crying every day , I couldn't announce my words , at 3 mths I was in tolerance started to have convulsions and burning skin, my Dr told me to up my dose , said it was my anxiety , anxiety I never ever had before in my life, I went from 1mg to 1.5mg , by May I was told to up the dose again , went to 2 mg , I went to see my Endroncologist told me to get off them and to taper , my family Dr said to quit cold turkey , so I did , I am off now 8 1/2 mths now I have burning skin, anxiety , throat constrictions , inner vibs, tremors/shaking , insommia,R/L/S , Weak muscles , stinging everywhere , all because of this drug .

Hey. My Name is Justin. I have been on Klonopin for over 2 years now. Teva is the best acting, just as good as k cuts. But How good are they really? Sometimes they're a god-send and other times they make me insanely angry and I lash out at people. One time I sliced up my arm with a steak knife in front of my family on them, and wanted to die, landing me in a psyche-ward. Even if they work great for anxiety/panic, they can cause serious depression, and land you in a looney-bin like they did me. I'm Still on them, kills my sex drive, kills my motivation. They might as well prescribe me oxycontin for my anxiety, it works better for this, and is easier and safer to kick. Nobody gets it. Benzos trade anxiety for depression, and are life-threatening to quit. Opiates do none of this unless you're wreckless and OD, plus cure depression and anxiety, and are essentially less risky. I think I should have the right to choose what I'd rather put in my body. Freedom my ass in this country!!

I've been on clonazepam for emotional excess and social anxiety for a bit over a year now. I don't know what my first generic was, but as of a few months ago it became Teva from CVS. Even before the change, I noticed the drug gradually stop working. I told the Dr. and she switched me from 2 mg twice a day to 1 mg three times a day. No difference. I addressed this with the Dr. and she says that all generics are lacking and that she would prefer if I buy the brand name. This presents a problem because I'm afraid my insurance won't pay and I'm not sure how expensive Klonopin is out-of-pocket. Does anyone know the price of CVS's brand name Klonopin? My anxiety kicks up every time I have to leave the house and in order to get by, I am now taking up to six 1 mg pills a day, which scares me. Naturally, I run out of pills before time for refill and I'm afraid I'm going to have some serious withdrawals in the meantime. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Bipolar disorder,abandonment issues, mental exhaustion and PTSD, switched psychiatrists after disastrous experience with the first one. Present doctor has me on several drugs including lithium, topamax, lamictal and clonazepam, 1.5 mg daily. Since that time I have experienced 80 pound weight gain, tremors, and urinary problems (constant slow leakage)that resulted in five urologial surgeries in one year with no success. Urologists are baffled and feel that problem is med related. I read that Klonopin is a smooth muscle relaxant that worsens urinary leakage by relaxing external urethral spincter. Haven't seen this topic in any prior posts! Please help if you can shed any light on this. No problem before I started taking these meds. I continue to review the med menu with my psychiatrist and work out at the gym to eliminate the weight gain as the culprit. If anyone can shed any light on this I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

I suffered from depression and anxiety / panic for years before I started taking Klonopin. I was scared to take a potentially addictive drug because I have been in recovery from alcoholism for many years. However, my panic disorders became so bad and frequent that I started becoming non-functional, and could barely get out of bed to go to work. On the weekends I would sleep as late as I could to avoid having to be awake and experience the panic. At this point I started taking Klonopin, which has helped me very much. I started out at 0.5 mg x2 per day, which did not stop panic, and was put on 0.5mg x3 per day. After two years I increased to .5 x4 per day, and have been at that level for another two years. I know that I am completely dpendent on Klonopin (actually generic clonazepam, the brand name became too expensive), but I do not want to stop taking it because I dread returning to the state of panic I experienced without medications. I would like to hear from people who have been on a medium-high dose of clonazepam for many years with no real negative effects, but who have tapered off. How long does the withdrawal last? Does the panic return? I am very conflicted about being dependent on a drug while I am in recovery from addiction (I know, it is an oxymoron). That being said, while I was experiencing daily panic attacks, I contemplated suicide. Since then my life has been excellent, I am getting married, my career has taken off, etc. I just don't want to get that feeling anymore at the end of every bottle of Klonopin like if I can't see my therapist in time and have to go even one day without this medicine that I will end up in the ER with heart palpitations and a HR of 150 bpm again for no reason. Please post if you have successfully removed Klonopin from your system and not let the panic back in.

Thanks -C

I have been taking some form of benzo since 2003 when I had my first panic attack and ended up in the ER. They gave me 2mgs Ativan at the hospital and 8mgs take home until I could see the dr because they told me I might have an anxiety disorder, which I now know after several years of pyschiatry counseling that I do. I went through Lexapro which was ineffective, xanax which made me nervous, and finally found Clonazepam. I find the Teva's and Mylan to be most effective. Many on here have said that Mylans are junk, but I have to disagree. I have tried Qualitest and found them to be not as effective, i.e. I ran out of my script early because I felt I needed to take an extra pill every day, and people here have said they like Qualitest, so I guess everyone's different. I have been rx'd Clonazepam 1mg @ 3 per day for severe general anxiety disorder and panic attacks for the last 5 years. I also take 50mg Fluoxetine HCL (Prozac) which I can say is a combo that has worked very well for me. I no longer suffer any panic attacks and have not needed any increases after reaching the 3mg/day limit I am at. I can say that this drug and in combination with the Prozac has made me normal again. I have had several panic attacks from about 2003 until 2005 when I started seeing the psych. My medical doctor was not effective, you MUST see a psychiatrist or nurse practitioner to be fully understood because Benzo's can be abused and can cause euphoria in high doses and in non-tolerant individuals. I don't care if I'm on this drug for the rest of my life if it helps me to cope with my anxiety the way it does.

I was told today by the my medical group (300 physician practice in WA state) that I and any patient who need a refill for Xanax, Clonazepam, or any other of a long list of drugs that may be abused must submit to a urine drug tox screen 1) to make sure I am actually taking the drug and not selling it and 2) to make sure I don't do any other drugs including alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, etc. Has anybody else been subjected to this type of requirement? I was told that this applies to patients who have been taking antianxiety medications for years. Will we be required to submit to a tox screen for every refill?

I was on xanex .5mg twice a day for 10 years. A year ago the panic attacks came back and i was having them daily and while sleeping. After being on Paxil, effexor, topamax, seraquil, abilify, remeron, and about 5 other drugs not at the same time nothing worked and i became severely depressed and lost about 30 lbs in 4 months. Went to my MD and he tapered me off the xanex and topamax with klonipin. For the past 4 months ive been on .5 mg twice a day and remeron .45 at night and it has completely saved my life. Klonipin last much longer and is not as sedating as xanex for me. I also have .25mg wafers that disolve under the tongue and work in about 10 mins. Hope this helps someone!

I am on .25 mg klonopin three times a day for panic disorder and anxiety. I have never taken more but want off this drug. Before, I was having one, maybe two attacks a month, but lately I have been having mood swings like crazy. I cry at the drop of a hat then there is lethargy. It's been two years and I would rather have a panic attack than the light headedness and sleepless tossing nights I have now. Some days, I don't want to go or do anything. I was not like this before K. My doctor said I could stop taking clonazepam any time because of the low dose but I am afraid of withdrawal symptoms. Some days, I don't feel I need them, but take them because I follow doctors orders. Does anyone know if dropping one .25 mg a day for a week then another a week later will help me get off this? My doctor says to just stop but everything I read contradicts this. I was on Xanax,.5 mg three times a day for six years and went cold turkey. That was in 1986 and withdrawal was horrible! I don't want to end up in the hospital. Now, I don't know if I am addicted or not. Might be time to find a new doctor? Susanavendt@yahoo.com

I have been prescribed klonopin by a doctor for a steroid induced psychosis. It was one of THE scariest times of life. The symptoms were so frightening..I literally felt like I was losing my mind. The klonopin was THE only medicine which helped my symptoms. I also developed full blown anxiety that episode and klonopin 0.5 to 1mg was the only med that helped. Please know that taking this med HAS saved lives. It saved mine and I am now drug free. It helped me thru some horrific times..as well as therapy. If this med is taken responsibly and monitored by a competent doctor it can be life saving.

Since the beginnig of this year(2011), my monthly urine has tested nagative for my klonipins. What is going on, and why now? I've been taking them for close to 5 years and they would show up in my urine every month until the start of this year. My dose is 1mg three times a day. the brand is TEVA. So when my last urine came back nagative of klonopin, I insisted that they dipstick, I urinated on the stick and bam it not only test that klonopin was in my system, but that I had been taking them on a regular bases do to the level ratings. So I ask again, why since the beginning of this year, have my lab test been incorrect. Like I said before for almost 5yrs until recently my lab results had never been wrong, not once. And within the the last couple of weeks, I've heard more and more people are starting to complain about the same problem. So if you are in this situtation and not some bonehead that mis-uses or sell their meds. Remember to take action the very 1st time your urine does'nt show a klonopin positive, cause theirs something not right and it's always best to have undisputed proof instead waiting!!!!!!!!!! been wrong, not once. And within the the last couple of weeks, I've heard more and more people are starting to complain about the same problem. So if you are in this situtation and not some bonehead that mis-uses or sell their meds. Remember to take action the very 1st time your urine does'nt show a klonopin positive, cause theirs something not right and it's always best to have undisputed prove instead waiting!!!!!!!!!!

i was taking Xanax 1mg-3x a day for the past couple of years, and have been running out sooner, than what i was prescrbed, my panic attacks are relentless and became more frequent. So i was switch to clonazapam 2mg every twelve hour, and they seem to be working much better. However, i was curious as to what my pyschiatrist told me not to take the xanax at the same time because i would overdose, was she trying to scare me or is it factual?

I'm prescribed 3 2mg ativan 3/day and one 2mg klonopin at night for sleep. The thing I've noticed is that the K-pins come on so slow that you don't really feel them at all. I take them 2hrs before bedtime because it seems like that's how long it takes to effect my system. As for instant relief for anxiety you need a faster acting but shorter duration benzo like Xanax or Ativan. Tolerance plays a huge role too. Like the above poster I wean down once and a while and seems to do the trick.I also took 17 generic k-pins in a severe panic attack and it really just felt like the first time I took my activan. I don't suggest doing this by any means but I found it interesting;but my body can digest a nail.Now I buck up for the name brand and sleep like a baby. For immediate relief (20-30mins) I rely on the ativan. Worked so far for two years. I still believe that cutting my every so often avoids build a high tolerance.

I have read each and every post on here and i have to say i struggle with anxiety on and off as well and it has recently took a tole on my health causing me to miss alot of school etc., but now i can say ive found something to help! :) im perscribed klonopin 0.5, the onlt thing is is that they can be addictive so its best to try and keep your mind occupied and busy to where your not having to take as many! :) God Bless All

I have been on Klonopin for 6 years for panic disorder and agoraphobia. All of a sudden ,for the first time my drug screen came back negative twice in 2 weeks. I take 4mg/day plus I get 12 extra pills a month for extreme anxiety. It has always worked well for me and I am stable now. The problem is that because of the drug test being negative the doctor thinks I am not aking it and isn't going to give me any more, no taper...nothing. I have 2 days worth left amd am scared to death of a siezure or stroke as I have high blood pressure. Is this common? What could cause it? I have recently been on a high protien shake diet and lost 47lbs in 3 months and have been drinking alot of fluid including diet soda with Nutrasweet. Also I was recently put on Testosterone replacement therapy for Low Testosterone. Could any of these things affect the test? I am thinking of going to the hospital when I run out and asking for a psych admission or something. Any ideas? Is this common? I am very scared of what might happen. Twenty years ago when I was in an inpatient rehab for alcohol a guy died from benzo withdrawal. I have been completely sober for over 10 years now. I don't know what to do. I even offered the doctor to take a hair sample to have it tested, he just kinda looked at me funny and said nothing. Brian Burke Jr. bfburkejr@rochester.rr.com

I was prescribed klonopin due to seizures from ma and nevern took off i know takt 2 2mg at bed time for the 1st week maybe it helps sleep. But with some forn of say tylenol pm. But since full combat years no seizures i also xanan 1mg 3 x and adderal for some reason cause i was diagnosed I.E.D intermmitent explosive disorder with extreme prejudice hence 255 years of artial art roughly saying i could snap and injure any but never have

A panic attack (while driving) in 1985 put me on 0.5 mg. of Klonopin a day and it took 6 or 7 yrs. before I could drive my car without an anxiety attach. Now at age 85 I drive the Beltway and 75 miles to Slots once a week. My doctor says Klonopin is just an obsession and I agree. After one at 7:00 a.m., in short time I feel hungry (usually low appetite) and ready to go. But not without thinking side effects - awaken early every morning with sick feeling (?) - at my age so what (?) I attribute morning sick feeling as nerve damage done by those ?? Shingles of three years ago.

I have been taking Clonazepam for 3 years. For the last 9 months my dr has done urine test to make sure I am taking the appropriate dose he has perscribed. Tests are done every 3 months and evey time my levels have come back very low. Now he will not give me my meds. I have several health problems and I'm on many different meds. I requested the doctor to do a blood test his response was that they do not do that at that facility. I know in my heart that someone else has had this problem. He made me feel like I was a drug dealer. I take 1 .5 in the morning and 2 .5 at bedtime. I feel like my world is crumbling!

Clonazepam is in fact one of the few benzodiazepines that typical sensitivity urinalyses can fail to recognize 4 mg per day is about the borderline dose. However, there are finer sensitivity tests that will give accurate levels, although these are more expensive (usually involving mass spectrometry rather than the simple chemical markers that commercial urinalysis strips use). I have also had low doses of lorazepam and high doses of temazepam (generic, but active and effective) test negative for benzodiazepines. As for an effective generic clonazepam, Qualitest is the highest quality and potency I have tried (although not very relevant to this discussion, it is worth noting that Qualitest is a very variable brand and many of their other generics are low quality--i.e. Qualitest alprazolam gave the same nightmare, inactive results that you experienced when switching generic clonazepams). I'm fairly sure Mylan and Teva are also effective. Avoid Sandoz. I don't know if one of the ineffective brands you tried was Sandoz; but when I received Sandoz I had the same experience: an almost inactive substance. Greenstone makes a very effective alprazolam--the only other benzodiazepine indicated for panic disorder. Neuroleptics and SSRIs are at best, off-label solutions for panic disorder and tend to have mich more dangerous side-effects and possible adverse reactions than minor tranquilizers. Therefore, I seriously question the logic and wisdom in prescribing such medications as Abilify--an anti-psychotic, and Effexor--an anti-depressant for panic disorder or any illness with anxiety and stress primary symptoms; their efficacy is highly questionable and their potential for damage--sometimes permanent--both neurological and organic is high. The main side-effect I experience with such medications is severe agitation: restlessness, akathesia, confusion, and increased anxiety with no symptomatic relief whatsoever. This may just be a hypersensitivity peculiar to persons with neurochemical imbalances typical of mine (major diagnoses: GAD, ADD, dysthymia). I also suffer from a variety of chronic pain conditions (daily headaches/migraines, sciatica, fibromyalgia) which respond well to minor tranquilizers (barbiturates for the headaches, benzodiazepines and sometimes GABA analogs (Lyrica (pregabalin) has the most potential) for the fibromyalgia (the closest diagnosis for the chronic global body pain I experience) and sometimes the lower back pain) although opioids are generally the most effective (and of course the most controversial). In any case, to answer your question succinctly, the most effective brand of clonazepam I have had has been Roche brand Klonopin. I have gotten this filled with straight Medicaid (no HMO) with DAW written on the prescription and a pre-authorization from the doctor phoned into the main Medicaid office in the state capital. I don't know what kind of insurance you have; but, it is surprising to here that it was denied. A pre-authorization is necessary; that would begin at your insurance company's main office. Medicaid is about the most generic medical insurance there is; so, if I could get brand name Klonopin under medicaid, I don't know why this shouldn't be possible under all insurance companies. If worst comes to worst, you may just want to pay cash for Roche Labs Klonopin. It's not that expensive--1 mg tablets are about $1 each. However, many people notive very little difference, if any, between Klonopin and the better generic clonazepams. Check the threads, also. Most people seem to prefer either Teva or PurePac, in that order, although I can't speak directly to those opinions as it's been a long while since I've had any brands other than Qualitest or Roche (except for the Sandoz, which the threads corroborate my poor experience with). Caraco is also a widely disliked generic according to the threads. And my generally positive experience with all Mylan and Teva generics seems to be in step with people's positive experience with the small green 1 mg clonazepam tablets, which could be only either Mylan or Teva. So those are your best bets for generics: Mylan, PurePac, Qualitest, and Teva--not necessarily in that order of effectiveness. And avoid Caraco and Sandoz. That's by best advice to you if generic clonazepam is your only choice. If alprazolam became available the best generic is Greenstone, while the worst is Qualitest (Qualitest does not manufacture its own pharmaceuticals, the master bottles say 'Manufactured for Qualitest by Mikart, Atlanta, GA'. I don't have any master bottles for Qualitest alprazolam, but I suspect it's not manufactured by Mikart. Either that or the Qualitest alprazolam I received was expired or manufactured from old bulk alprazolam. However, the Qualitest clonazepam has been consistently good over the past several years (I'll often feel a single milligram even after several years use and always feel 2 mg, although it then becomes hard to stay awake unless I'm active). You may want to play it safe, though and try the Teva next time, which I may also switch to from the Qualitest as the Teva is almost universally well-reviewed.

I have been on Klonopin off and on for over 20 years for panic attacks. Have always taken .5 to 1mg as needed. There have been times when I have gone months or years without taking and then some periods where I take everyday for a couple weeks. I have never had any withdrawal symptoms and the drug has been a lifesaver. I will say that a few years ago I tried to save some money and purchased the generic. It did not work. Was like taking nothing at all so I went back to the brand name. I just recently went to my pharmacy for a refill (it's been a year since I have had to refill a 90 day rx) and was told that the brand name is no longer made!!!! The drug is only made in generic. I was at Walmart so I called Walgreens and they are saying the same thing. Has anyone else heard this? I am very worried. When I took the generic tablets a few years ago they did not work. My doc prescribed .5 mg wafers also and those came in generic and do not work. HELP! Please post if you know anything about the name brand being no longer available.

in the past 2 months mylan has been the name of my klonopin,,,,walgreens,,,i started to notice i was rigid and nervous,,,i kept taking it ,,could not sleep was having panice attacks ,,,i felt myself on the virge of a sezure,,,finally i found a few older klonopin i had,,,i took and and bingo relief,,,called the drug store,,called my dr,,,,the mylan with M on one side and c 15 on other is lacking in the fact it is either mislabeled or to much filler,,today i will be calling mylan and a lawyer after the hell i have been through,,,,hope this helps someone,,

I have been taking Klonapin well actually now the generic Clonzapam for about 10 yrs now. I have Severe OCD (Obsessive Complusion Disorder-pretty much like Monk on the TV show.....lol....it's really not funny it's a terrible thing having this and I also have anxiety. I am on Medicare & Medicaid and my presciption plan through Medicare will not pay for my Clonzapam. I got a new prescription yesterday from my doctor, she gave me a quantitiy of 90 the price was $47.00. There is no way in hell I can afford that. I only get SSI & disability once a month which totals $694 a month. I was told by a person from Medicare that if I call the pharmacutical co that makes mine which is Mylan they may help me pay for them. I don't quite understand how things work, if I was not able to take my Clonzapam for my OCD and had to go into a Pysciatric facility because I couldn't function and put in as an outpatient or inpatient Medicare would pay for that plus they would put me on my Clonzapam and then pay for that also, it's not at all logical! Has anyone ever received help from a pharmacutical company? please let me know if so with details if you would. Thank you.

I have been on 100mg Zoloft once a day for depression, along with Lorazepam .05mg 3x a day for anxiety for several years now. I am currently experiencing alot of break- through panic attacks, sleepiness, and fatigue... which I attribute to the Lorazepam no longer working as it should. I am considering asking my doctor to switch me to Klonopin since it works for a longer period (so maybe I can take less), and does not have as much of a tranquilizing effect. I know that I will need to be on a benzo for life, which doesn't bother me as long as I am on one that continues to work. Any opinions here? dawnck@charter.net

I am 29 years old and have been dealing with panic attacks since i was 7. They would come and go over the years and the panic began to go away by the time i was 25 or so. Since, it's the unnerving anxiety all the time...which i can deal with naturally but leaves me exhausted. Enough. A month ago my doc put me on celexa. The first week was rough but after that....wow. normal. This is what ive been missing all these years! I have ativan to take as needed, which i never take. I have an international trip coming up wirh my 8 year old daughter. I told my doc i needed something for the 2 transatlantic flights. I still get servere anxiety when traveling. He gave me 20 1 mg of klonopin and suggested i try it out to see if it was best for me. I took it last night at 5pm. About 45 mins later i felt stoned, then drunk. I was bumping into things and felt so out of it. I was in bed and asleep by 730 and didnt wake until 8am. While i think this drug is perfect for my flights, i couldnt imagine being on it for normal daily things. This morning ive gad 3 cups of coffee just to get rid of the fog im in. Hope this helps! Great for special circumstance, be carrful if you need to work, drive, or take care of children.

I am prescribed 1 mg tabs x2 times a day, plus serequel 50mg x3 at bed time. Lately I haven't been feeling much if anything from the clonazepam and today I took 30mg. I usually can take 10mg and function, but even after 30 I'm fine. Is this normal, I usually will take around 10-15mg then take off about 7-14 taking 2mg days so I can build my tolerance back to actually feel it. I'm 23 weight only 140lbs and can tolerate this much with ease. oh yea I used to be a heroin addict and take suboxone each morning, but only 1mg. most people take 24-32mg of suboxone. i just cant get off the suboxone. I can easily take 30mg of clonazepam one day and not take any for 1-2 weeks. I've been on it close to a year. I wish I could just ask my doctor for xanax, but then he would know I'm drug seeking. which yes I am looking to feel good, but it's been than going on the street and buying heroin, I get 180mg of clonazepam every 3 months. recently I said that my script was stolen so my doctor re-filled it and I made out with like 100 extra pills back had to pay without insurance and it was $104.99 compared to the usual $8.3, well worth it.

I got my ne script today. was on teva 1mg, guess they didnt have any so now its the little round 1 mg Sandoz. i took four right off the bat because i hadnt slept in a few days and just wanted to zonk out. i dont do that all the time just so yo know. normally just ake two Tevas once a day, and i can tell you taking 4mg of Sandoz is about like 2mg of Teva brand. also noticed a headache. AND I WISH PEOPLE WOLD STOP RANTING ABOUT BENZOS BEING BAD. some people take the stuff and it changes their lives for the better, while other people....IDIOTS are the ones getting addicted. Not everyone has bad effects from them,so stop telling them to avoid something that could help them.

I just went to the doctor today because of my inconvenient Chemical imbalance in my mind. So Far I love Kolonopin because it subsides my anxiety and I don't worry anymore.. but I am also fearful of eventually getting dependent on it. So my advice is to do psychology as well as psychiatry because just pills wont fully help anyone..its just a temp mask to help get through it. I don't want to be a dependent because Im in contol of my own life and we all have weak points but we cant just take pills to mask it cause its like quicksand,we work through it, we talk about it, we get help and we look back on what we were and live above it.

One love

I had THREE negative screens at SEPARATE times for Klonopin. At the time I had taken a MINIMUM of 1m/day in two divided doses of 0.5mg for the last 2 years. I was floored. Especially when my meds were pulled by my GP over the issue. I demanded a blood test and was refused at first b/c it wasn't a random screening as the hospital they work under demands of their clinics 1x/yr. Well... I then came back about 1.5mths later and demanded a specific blood test for klonopin (I still had enough meds to make it to that point) and it STILL came back NEGATIVE! I was fairly devastating but I simply switched doctors, asking for my medical records for manual pick-up and PULLED the ones relating to the negative tests as I KNOW I was taking that damn stuff EVERY DAY. I even called the testing facility, Quest about 5 times trying to get somewhere but they just defaulting me back to the doctor. NOW.... fast-forward a YEAR... I got seriously hurt. I hand to attend a pain clinic for 9mths and they of course had to test for medications quite frequently. WELL... b/c of what happened to me over these crazy false negatives, I always claimed klonopin was on a PRN basis and even had my new GP writing as such. (I was taking 0.5mg-1.5mg/day in 0.5mg doses.) Guess what? Doc one day asked, Why did you say you are taking Klonopin and your result(s) keep on coming back negative? I said, Negative?!? I WAS PISSED! 3x that I know of gave false-negative if not more? I reminded him I was PRN but told him, You know... I just took some YESTERDAY and even THIS MORNING? He said, Do you want to fight about it? ...then you can get in trouble? I clammed up after that, but still pissed at what could have been traffic when my 1st GP pulled my meds of this initially. Had I not done a few, Questionable things as noted, I'd gone cold Turkey after what was really 4 years of PRN and BID Rx's. Btw, I'm of all benzo's now since last fall. I'll tell you why in separate posts. I think you should listen.

Hi Im 28 years old and to cut a very very long story short I started taking clonazepam, klonopin as you guys call it (I live in australia) 11 years (I was first given it in hospital after breaking my neck as a passanger in a car crash.... yeh long story) ago about 8 of those years I used to take them and xanax and opiates to come off meth I was using over 1.5 grams a day off meth... anyway went to rehab but I think I have worked out they missed the main problem CLONAZEPAM i used to buy off the street but last 6 years I have had a doctor what would just give me as much clonazepam and xanax as I asked for and my script is for 4mg clonazeapam a day and 4mg of xanax a day I also take 600mg serequel at night and 900mg lithium (you think thats alot i was on 12 different drugs coming out of rehab at doses that make me laugh at my current situation) but the whole 10-11 years I have been using clonazepam I have been abusing it when i was 16 1 would give me an amazing high - 3 years ago i ate 2 bottles of 2mg (400) and honestly it helped me sleep better but I woke up fine and went about my day.... now every where I read they are like clonazepam rivitil klonopin calll it what u will is STAY THE F%&K AWAY FROM IT long term but its past long term and 4/7 days a week i might eat 30 2mg clonazepams and 20-40 2mg xanax's to maybe feel a high and maybe not..... Don't get me wrong this scares me I was convinced clonazepam didn't work on me anymore and stopped takeing it for 3 days then...... World War 3 in my head convinced me all its doing is feeding my withdrawls..... to add insult to injury I am now having sleeping problems which I have barely ever had, and I have found a lot of other people (long time users of a short term drug) are as well.... I know I have dug my hole by abusing the drugs that they use to fix you but after 5 days of no more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time im going crazy..... I'm 28 i have an IQ of 127 and I can't hold down a job the drugs cure anxiety at home but not out of it.... where do i start????? please anyone????

i have been on klonopin for 15 years as i have always had panic attacks since i was a child. nothing helped i cant take anything with seratonon paxil zoloft prozac to many bad side effects even nuropathy. i get these spells almost every day feelings like i am going to die cant even get out of bed sometimes thay pass when i take another klonopin i am on a low dose 055 mill. 3 times a day it has saved my life no panic attaccks but this awful weak dying feeling is that my body telling me i need another one? anyone else have these symptoms?

I have had issues going to sleep for years. Recently I have found that I have stepped over an imaginary line and now cannot relax enough to sleep. I actually am anxious about falling asleep! My Dr. prescribed .5 mg Clonazepam. It works, but I feel medicated and a bit tired the next day. I am afriad that I may need it for a long time to come and I hate this. Relaxation tapes and a book on Anxiety are a starting point, but so far, it's the pill that makes things happen.

Anyone else have this issue? Have you found a better solution than Clonazepam? Thanks for any insight! Im4fsu@comcast.net

ANXIETY DISORDER----Hi im 20 years old and i caught my first panic attack in november,2010.it freaks me out alot i got diagnosed with anxiety disorder because everyday i use to freak out scared to catch another panic attack its not a good feeling.Well i went to my doctor and he prescribed me buspirone and alprazolam (xanax),the buspirone i had to take everyday 2x and the alprazolam i had to take whenever i felt a panic attack coming on.So i stopped taking the buspirone it doesnt work at all because i was still having the panic attacks and the buspirone suppose to eliminate that.Well i went to the doctor a couple weeks ago to get another prescription for alprazolam and he gave me a different medication called CLONAZEPAM. The first time i took it it had me scared because it was all new to me before i took it i was feeling fine but when i took the medication i started trippin out i dont know why,but after a hour or so i felt soooo good.But i jus wanna stop my anxiety disorder without any meds involved i am so tired of it and wish that god can jus heal me completely from this disorder its a living hell,and i dont enjoy the things i use to because when i go out im afraid im gonna catch a panic or anxiety attack which i dont know the difference.But to all of you that suffers with the same thing just pray and keep praying,and take your meds as needed because i know its very addictive,but the main thing that stays on my mind is dieing from this disorder which i know you cannot but its just the fear and the feeling of it while expiriencing the panic attack it makes u feel like you are about to pass out,go crazy,or die but its all in the mind,exercising,getting out more,not worrying,not panicking about anything,and jus being happy will deliver you from this horrible disorder.

Xanax stops even my worst panic attacks even at.5 mg. I just took a .5mg of klonopin. Well see if it works as well. Will update.

I am a 44 year old father of five. I am happily married and have been a lawyer for 22 years. I have been taking 1.5 Klonopin for about 15 years. I recently went down to 1.25 just to see. I really dont feel like i had anymore than a couple of headaches. I have never had any side effects. I do think i struggle with panic. I do think this med is addictive. But, like the post above, if you dont abuse it, and it works, unfortunately, it may be for the best.

I have many doctor friends, and only one has shown concern for taking this drug. The others have said to do what works. I will also note, because of the overlap, I did quit drinking when i started taking this drug.

I also have a false neg. drug screen. I been taking 2mg 3xs a day for over 3 years. I am very upset because my doc says he is stopping my med. due to this reason. This is not fare, and he refused to retest me in any way. I am on the generic made by teve. This is the first screen I have been give.

I have read a lot of the posts and am shocked. I will start with my story. I take 1mg of generic klonopin by Teva. I take one 1mg in morning and 1mg at night the are blue pills. I went to get my prescription for the pharmacy and saw the pills were yellow and .05 and said take two in morning two at night. I got the prescription on June 15th and took the required amount. June 16th at work about after lunch I went into a full blown panic attack and had to go to the ER. Interesting because I have been taking the blue 1mg pills for years. I believe the change in the two 0.5mg had something to do with my major panic attack. Both dosages 1mg blue pill and 0.5 yellow pill are from Teva. I am going to look into this since hearing all your post of sugar pills, urine samples, I think we should all reseach and find out what we are getting in our generic drugs. Please write to me if you have had same experiences. I am going to talk to my pharmacy. I talked to my physcitrist and he said to talk another 1mg in the afternoon. You can email me at Impylaurie@aol.com. I have been on this drug for about 15yrs and never had a panic attack till June 16th. One expensive trip to the ER. Maybe the drug company should pay for that!

I HAVE BEEN ON KLONOPIN THE GENERIC VERSION 16 YEARS 0.5 3 TIMES DAILY I CANT TAKE ANY OF THE SERATONIN PILLS LIKE ZOLOFT PAXIL ETC ANYWAY I HAVE BEEN GETTING THESE WEAK FEELINGS FOR ABOUT A YEAR LIKE I AM DYING FAINTING ETC WHEN I TOOK MY KLONOPIN IT HELPED I HAVE BEEN DDOWN TO 2 PILLS A DAY NOW 0.5 AROUND 12 PM AND ANOTHER AROUND 7 PM WHEN I TAKE THEM HALF AN HOUR LATER I GET THOSE TERRIBLE FEELINGS ANYONE ELSE GET THEM THANKS

I been on Clonazapm for over two yeas now for extreame anxiety anger and ptsd. I am up to six pills a day and what is worse i drink with them which makes me feel better. I am addicted. The doctors want me off i was in the hospital and checked myself out because i can not live without them. Don't know what other drug they will be giving me also told i have bioplar so confused been on this road for a long and time i guess you can say i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. Just affraid to get off go on biopolar medication and put weight on which happen to before when i was on depokote and all other sorts of drugs just wish this was a dream.

Having severe panic attacks and not being able to leave the house or drive a car I was prescribed Rivotril by the Doctor.

Other than having huge bowel movements of diareah I had dry mouth, loss of appetite and drowsiness and mood swings as symptoms from taking the drug or from a combination of the drug and my anxiety.

After 2 years I cut myself down to .125mg.

I take the drug periodically now in doses of 0.125 (once in 2-3 months maybe) to take the edge off if I feel a little panicky or upset. In about 1/2 hour or so I feel relaxed and able to deal with my day but I don't let myself become habitual. My personnel rule is: Take it when you need it, not every day!!!

I carry a whole pill in my wallet wrapped in tinfoil and tucked in the corner. Having it with me increases my confidence knowing I have a way out if anything should occur causing panic.

I've had no adverse effects that I am aware of.

Briar

I spent last year fighting stage 3 cancer. The high doses of radiation has caused alot of problems. Now dealing with depression, not panic attacks persay, more like full of energy, crying all the time ect. My dr has me on 1mg, 2x a day og clonazepam, it has helped me. I am also on 159mg 3times a day of bupropion. This has also heed, but the brain gets addicted very quickly. I was feeling better so I tool the night dose out of daily dosage routine. oh my goodness, I thought I was going to go crazy. Dizzy like you cant imagine, everything in my head rolled around every second, I was sweating alot and just plain sick, walking around like I was drunk. Upsets me because my body is already so addicted. Even if I feel good, I now have to take it to keep myself from being very ill. The clonazepam (klonopin)does help me sleep I dont sty asleep but d wake up less than I use to. I would enjoying talking to anyone, IAm new at feeling this way, I am on meds seems like for everything, even that depresses me.,,

Hi to all out there, i have been on clomozapam, 4 months now, out of the the blue 8 months ago 1 night i couldent sleep, ever time i tried to get to sleep i would get like an electric shock that would wake me up over and over again, i went to the doctors and she said i was over weight and to stop drinking lol, then this kept happening i went to hospital had tests, chest xray and heart test, they said every think was fine and i went home, i was getting about 1 to 2 hours sleep per night i was in a right mess, went another 3 times to hospital and they said there was nothink they could do, i went the doctors again and again and they said i might have sleep apnea and booked me an over night sleep test, but the waiting list was 3 months. i couldent wait that long so i went private and got a sleep test with in a week they done a home test and i got the results that i had sleep apnea with 28 breath holds an hour, up to 2 minits each time, but i still thought this was part of the problem, they issued me with cpap witch did not help me 1 bit cause every time i closed my eyes to go to sleep, i would still get this electric shock, so i went back to the doctors and she said she couldent give me sleeping tablets cause i had sleep apnea, i am 6 foot 1 and 20 stone geezer, 6 months ago and i was in a right state by this time i had lost 4 stone, i went back and seen my sleep consultant and he weighed me and said the apnea should inprove, also i must add i havent had a drink since that night it happend and i dont smoke, he recommended another sleep test cause of the wight loss but this time in hospital not a home sleep test, its a more intense test so i agreed and went by this time i had lost 6 stone, i was now 14 stone i went the doctors again and she put my on loads of antidepressants i dident know wear i was i was that druged up, i was crying all the time and vey stressed, my family have always seen me as strong hard guy, that can do anythink and nothink bothers me, thay couldent beleave what was gonig on, i had my missis and my mom stopping with me holding my hand at night i dident wont to live, they went back to the doctots with me and the doctor put me zopicone, i had two tables and they nocked me out for 4 hours, i was so happy i got 4 hours sleep, but the down side i dident have a clue were i was or what was going on, so went back the doctors again and she put me on clomazapam and they have been working, but side affecks are vivid dreams, mood swings and feeeling strange,the sleep test i had at the hospital come back as a fasle reading and they said could i come back for another test cause 1 of the electrods had come off my head and dident get enuff sleep lol, so shaved my head and just went back for another sleep test and iam awaiting results, when i went back they weighed me iam now 12 stone, so they know sumthink ent right, iam interested in the results cause in the begenning they said stop drinking and losse weight and your be ok, well 8 months later i have lost 8 stone frew stress and exercise and diet and havent had a drink, i have spent a small forturne on every product out there on the market and had 10 sessinons of accupunture, mastered the didgerido, cut out dairy products, tryed everythink, and nothink has changed if i dont have clomozapam i dont sleep it helps but i hate taking any king of drug, sum days i feel like giving up but you have to keep fighting, fight and fight hard, i will let you know how i get on with the results if the test was sufcessfull. my mind races all the time trying to get to the bottom of this or do i just exspect this is the way iam now and deal with it.

This is about panic disorder and benzodiazepines (benzos). I have not read anything on this site about the nature of panic disorder, other than feelings of anxiety and full blown panic attacks.

Panic disorder runs in families frequently, and it is a physical condition, not a psychological condition. If you have it, it is like epilepsy - you are going to have it the rest of your life, although there may be times when it is not active. And lack of sleep, stress and alcohol and some other things like working in a lot of heat or strenuous exercise can make it worse.

In addition, when your mind feels it is losing control, it subconsciously sends a signal and this frequently triggers panic. When I first take my meds (more later), my mind feels the difference and I sometimes feel anxious or dizzy due to the onset of the medication. This lasts until the med takes more effect - 5-10 minutes usually.

I also experience pretty bad panic AFTER I get a shot at the dentist's office, as the painkiller takes effect. When I had surgery with a spinal block and light twilight sleep medication, every time I sort of came to, I experienced panic due to my subconsciousness's perception that it was out of control. Since then I know to have them knock me out completely if I have surgery.

BTW, any drug that changes your mind set can bring on panic attacks, including marijuana, and that can be a terribly bad trip as MJ magnifies the panic tremendously. Takes a lot of xanax to overcome.

I have had panic disorder for 32 years. I probably had the beginnings of it in the form of extreme anxiety for 20 years before that. But what really motivated me to get help was full blown anxiety attacks. They are extremely motivating.

It was long ago, but I originally took ativan for panic attacks. Ativan was totally addictive, in and of itself. As it wore off, I would start to feel anxiety - that was every 4 hours. After trying to help myself with relaxation techniques through self-hypnosis and meditation, and getting some of the stress out of my life (my husband), I had the strong feeling I could start cutting down on the ativan.

I know, I know, everyone thinks they can go off their meds. Anyway ...

I was scared to death of full blown panic attacks, which in my case are extreme weakness, cold sweats, total panic, disorientation, and very fast racing heart beat. I was taking 4 ativan a day, so I cut back by 1/4 of only one ativan pill per week for a week. Then by 1/2 of only 1 ativan pill per day for a week, and so on. It took a long time at that rate, but I did get off them, and I didn't have any panic attacks.

There is nothing that says you have to get off these pills faster than that. That's how scared I was. It took 16 weeks, but it was a peaceful 16 weeks.

After that, I went without an attack for 20 years. Then family stress returned to my life big time and I started in on the whole variety of forms that panic attacks can take. It can take about 20 forms (and counting).

The first return attack 10 years ago was in the form of mild hyper-ventilation. I woke up with it and I was alone. I didn't know what it was. After about 40 minutes, I started to cramp up and black out and I made it to a neighbor's house. They called the paramedics. By the time they arrived, I was coming out of it. But they insisted on taking me to an emergency room. On the way there, the paramedic told me he was pretty sure it was a panic attack. I guess they see a lot of them.

The hospital did a blood test and verified that it was hyperventilation. It took some hours for me to uncramp and then they let me go with a small supply of xanax and instructions to see a psychiatrist. I told my reg. doctor about it and he prescribed xanax for me as needed.

This was not a preventative. It just helped with recovery afterwards - or I could take them when I expected trouble - like the dentist (or flying). It was hit and miss and I had lots of attacks.

The next attack was chest pain on the left side. My family took me to the ER to find out if it was a heart attack. It was not. My heart is fine.

Then I started having only twilight sleep - no sound sleep at night, which is also a panic disorder variation. After the third week, I was falling asleep driving - so I went back to the doctor. He put me on a regular regimen of 3 xanax 0.5 a day. After that I slept really well. Things were better, but any big stress and the panic had the power to break through - such as the stress of trying to evacuate Houston when Hurricane Ike came through and then staying home and weathering the hurricane. I was up to my eyeballs in xanax.

So I went to a psychiatrist to see what a specialist would say. He said that the benzo clonazepam .5mg twice a day and an SSRI sertraline (generic Zoloft)25 mg twice a day would stay in my system longer and give better protection.

They knocked the heck out of my sex life and I sometimes have dizzy spells as they take effect. Three different times, I have also had throat (esophageal) spasms that go on for hours so I take them with thick V-8 juice now. I finally took xanax for the throat spasms (also a panic disorder variation as is the dizziness) and the xanax knocked them out. It also knocked me out. What a relief.

These meds, especially the xanax and clonazepam put holes in my memory and I get spacy sometimes. I occasionally sit at green lights until someone honks. I just do the best I can. The throat spasms and occasional chest pains and dizzy spells show clearly that I can have breakthrough attacks.

But in order to be totally symptom free, I cannot imagine how much I would have to take and I doubt if I would be able to function at all - certainly not do math or drive, or remember if I had taken my pills. (-: Recently irritable bowel syndrome has added itself to the list.

It is getting so that unless I have a broken leg, I assume that everything that happens to me is panic related. They should call this Job's Disease. Yes, I did go to an expensive cardiologist and get a real workup with a stress test and nuclear tracers and an echo cardiogram. My chest pain is not my heart. I wish my brain were as healthy as my heart.

Reading about clonazepam and talking to the psychiatrist about it, I think it has pretty well been verified that its effectiveness tends to diminish, sometimes suddenly, after about two years. But you can switch to another benzo without tapering off, and a new related benzo will work (hopefully). The Wikipedia has the long list of benzodiazepines and their half-lives.

This is so commonly known to psychiatrists who specialize in panic disorder that they routinely switch patients to another benzo after two years to avoid the situation, and then switch back to clonazepam two years later.

Someone in this list said that they had established a routine of cutting back on their clonazepam for a while and then upping it again to avoid the tolerance that develops. I can see where that might leave you vulnerable while your dosage is low, but if it works for you - it's good.

Since unstressing myself got me off meds with no attacks for 20 years in the past, I am a strong proponent of working to un-stress yourself and I am trying to find time 4 times a day to sit quietly and do something peaceful. I know how to meditate, sometimes I read, sometimes I listen to music or pet the cat, sometimes I fall asleep. I love long peaceful baths in the evening. If you can commune with your Higher Power by just sort of letting peace wash over you - that would work. I'm not religious, but peace is peace. Finding the time is not always easy. And sometimes I forget.

Staying in overdrive about politics is not peace.

As I mentioned above, exercise is not good for panic disorder - it can bring on attacks. However, something slow and easy like tai chi with no hassle attached, such as rush hour traffic to a class, is something nice to try.

I apologize for the length of this, but I've had panic disorder for a long time.

There is a web site called Tapir (the animal) which stands for The Anxiety Panic Internet Resource, at: www.algy.com/anxiety/about.php which has a chat and blogs and a newsletter - it is award winning and serves hundreds of thousands of panic and manic sufferers.

There are so many variations to panic disorder that I continue to experience new adventures with it. There are a few significant symptoms that I have not had and don't ever want to have, such as derealization and depersonalization. I hope to get through this lifetime without them.

I hope I have shed a little light. Christine

I take .5 mg generic klonopin (clonazepam) for migraine prevention. Without it, I can suffer migraines 10-12 days a month. Some that last for days. Very difficult to function when in tremendous pain, nausea and vomiting, can't tolerate light, sound, movement, etc.! I do have effective abortives, but they have side effects as well (take them, they stop the pain, eventually stop the other symptoms, but have to lay down and go to sleep for a few hours).

Once I started klonopin, migraines were down to one per week. The only side effect is that I do feel very drugged on klonopin (sleepy and spaced out during the day), so I take another prescription to counteract that. It is not what my neuro would prefer, but since the klono has been so effective against the migraines (and so many prior preventatives were not), she's agreed to let me keep this routine. I also have cognitive/language issues -- I frequently struggle to find the right word, feel like I can't think straight -- but I had these to some extent prior to the klonopin. I think they're leftover effects of all my time on topamax.

I did stop the klonopin once for several weeks. I don't think I suffered any withdrawal symptoms as others have described, other than that the migraines returned in full force. I think I did taper slightly -- maybe over a few days -- when I stopped. Since I am on such a low dose, my neuro wasn't terribly concerned about withdrawal. I was substituted with a librium/amitriptyline combo (cannot remember the name) but it was completely ineffective against the migraines. Back on klonopin, and the migraines retreated.

Best of luck to all whose conditions require treatment with klonopin. I know we all struggle weighing the pro's of treatment vs. the con's of our various afflictions and vice versa. I know it is not in the best financial interest of the pharma industry, but how I wish more effort would be devoted to finding cures and not just endless, lifelong treatment wherein you are always making quality of life compromises.

I've been on .5mg for 8 years. Really haven't had any bad side effects other then forgetting words or names more lately. My problem is I have tried to wean off slowly many times but when I get down to .5 a day I can't sleep at night and I feel my anxiety getting worse. I've tried a few other thing to help me wean off but none worked. You got any ideas how to get off this stuff or something to replace it that is not as bad. Thanks Ken email me: ksamiams@hotmail.com

Hello,

I went to a holistic Doctor who took me off of Klonipin .5mg a day for eight years. I went through a few withdrawal symptoms restlessness and some sleepless nights back in April Well the bottom fell out last week and all hell broke loose. I have very bad anxiety hard time sleeping a foggy brain and panic attacks. I call my GP and he referred me to a Psychiatrist who put me on Xanax. My question is should I tough it out or go back on the medication? When I told the Doctor how much I was taking he said that there is no way that it is the medicine it is rebound anxiety. I have never had anxiety like this before. I have taken some of the Xanax with a little relief but done know where to go from here???

HELP!!! My husband recently started this medicine along with others for depression and being bi-polar, but he has been VERY agitated/moody and seems withdrawn from our family. This isn't like him. He is usually very hands on, loving and devoted but lately he hasn't been home, spending more time with friends, and when he is home he is out of it. He is also making very rash decisions, and not using his best judgment. I am very worried that it will get to the point that he doesn't want to have anything to do with our family. Should I speak to his doctor about this? Would he keep our conversation private and away from my husband? With this new anger issue that he is having I am afraid that by me talking to his psychiatrist about his symptoms he will be angry with me. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, I have just started taking generic klonopin from walgreens. The generic is made by Mylan. Has anyone heard how effective it is? I suffer from anxiety/ depression and insomnia. I have tried SSRRI's and xanax. I recently tried Amoryl which is a natural supplement with St. John.s Wort and other supplements/vitamins. I found this to be more effective than Lexapro, Zoloft ect. Now I am trying to get a good nights sleep and some relief from anxiety (more than 4 hours and waking all night/morning). Since researching Klonopin, I feel hopeful, but am worried about the whole sugar pill generic stories I have read. I am not doubting what I read, just want to get the best out of this med. Thank you and please respond!

Ive Been on Klonopin for around a year now was on .5 MG twice a day then I got up to 6mg a day. I heard that was way too much when i was last seen at are local hospital.

For starters I got pregnant two months ago. My O.B.G.Y.N. took me off it cold turkey. No one knew not EVEN him, that I would go threw withdraws and after 2 weeks of them I almost died of a seizure. Now my unborn child might be permanently effect or will die from the treatment they are giving me for withdraws.

I know several people who take Klonopin, some of them have a hx of drug abuse, some of them not. They all seem to abuse the drug. Even when they take what is prescribed they are still out of it when they take Klonopin. I don't care how much people want to sugar coat the truth that the drug is prescribed so it's ok to take it.....taking Klonopin is just a legal way to get high. Who do people who take Klonopin think they are fooling. If it makes people who take Klonopin feel better to tell themselves that they are not getting high since Klonopin is legal then go ahead and tell yourselves that. It's sad when people take Klonopin because they have anxiety. Who doesn't have anxiety? There are people in third world countries who have real problems like nothing to eat or drink and Americans are sitting at home feeling sorry for themselves with anxiety. So go ahead drug users....continue to feel sorry for yourselves and getting high every day to make your pathetic lives feel better.

Have been on klon for 10 years...took 9 years on 3mg daily..now comfortable@1.5 daily...however, Teva has been out of stock and switched to Qualitest.... added an extra pill recently..

TEVA VS. QUALITEST??

ANY CONCISE OPINIONS?

MY STORY IS DIFFERENT THAN THE ONES I HAVE BEEN READING ABOUT,I HAVE HAVE IDIOPATHIC CNS HYPERSOMNOLENCE,THIS DISEASE IS A LIFE-LONG ILLNESS.THE DOCTORS SAY THE BRAIN INJURY @ 12 MAY HAVE CAUSED IT.MY BRAIN SKIPS ALL THE FIRST STAGES AND GOES RIGHT INTO REM,THEREFORE I DREAM ALMOST ALL NIGHT AND I AM IN THE DREAMS,WAKE UP MORE TIRED THAN WHEN I WENT TO BED SOMETIMES.I WAS LEAVING SLEEP SPECIALIST OFFICE,STARTED CRYING AND TOLD THE DOCTOR I COULD NOT GO ON LIKE THIS,THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING,HE REPLIED,NO PILL THAT WILL STOP THE DREAMS BUT I CAN PERSCRIBE KLONOPIN 0.5 WHICH SHOULD TAKE THE EMOTIONS OUT OF THE DREAMS,LIKE I HAVE A DEPRESSING DREAM I AM DEPRESSED ALL DAY ,STAY ON COUCH.FOR THE FIRST 30 DAYS I TOOK BRAND AMBIEN AND KLONOPIN BY THE END OF 30 DAYS I WOULD WAKE UP AND DID NOT KNOW IF I EVEN HAD A DREAM,DOCTOTR ORDERED A 90 DAY SUPPLY,THE MEDCO PHARM, SAW THE SCRIPT,IT READ KLONOPIN, HAD FORGOT TO PUT DAW OR MEDICALLY NEC.THEY KNEW WHAT HE MEANT,CALLED HIS OFFICE,,HE DID NOT PICK UP SO THEY SENT ME THE CLONAZEPAM,I TRIED IT,HAD THE WORST DREAM OF MY LIFE AND COULD SEE IT PLAIN AS DAY,MONTH AND A HALF BEFORE I GOT THE BRAND BACK AND IT DID NOT WORK,HE DOUBLED IT TO 1MG AND IT STILL DID NOT WORK AS BEFORE,SAID HE COULD NOT MAKE IT MORE,I COULD HAVE A STROKE OR HEART ATTACK.I AM STILL USING,IT ACTS SOMETIMES AS MAYBE IT MEY START WORKING AGAIN AND OTHER TIMES NO.THE TIME BEFORE I WAS TO GET 90 THEY COULD ONLY GET 40,THIS TIME I WENT TO PICK UP MY MEDS AND THE KLONOPIN WAS 0.THEY SAID THERE IS A BACK ORDER AND I COULD NOT HAVE ANY,AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE IT SAYS TO QUIT COLD TURKEY COULD CAUSE A SEIZURE,THIS IS SUPPOSED OF BE SEIZURE MEDICINE ACCORDING TO MY DOCTOR,NOT SLEEP AND ANSIITY.I CALLED THE MFG.OF KLONOPIN AND THEY SAID THEY ARE BACK ORDERED, I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE FHA IS LETTING THIS GO ON,GENERIC IS GETTING AS HIGH AS BRAND AND IT DOES NOT WORK AT ALL FOR ME,THE LAST MONTH OF AMBIEN WAS NOT REAL AND I HAD TO BUY OVER COUNTE FOR THAT MONTH,MANY SIDE EFFECTS.EVERY 90 DAYS A PROBLEM OF SOME KIND,WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO DO TO US,WE DO NEED TO STAND UP AND TAKE A STAND,THE PHARM, ARE GETTING RICH,CHECK THEIR STOCK IT IS SOURING.

I am going to cut straight to the chase here: there are variations between generics. I have read many different perspectives here. Some folks appear to be without basic knowledge, and the other end of the extreme seems to contain people who have done their homework. I am somewhere in between but I have done some incredibly obsessive reading on the topic of benzodiazepine treatment.

I do not pretend to be a physician; nor do I, under any auspice whatsoever, pretend to have a background in pharmacology. I don't even have a degree in biological sciences. However, I can discuss generic brands. I have tried them all. While I would like to say, the rules say that all generics must be equal, the truth is that there is some incredible variation in effectiveness by generic brand, especially with Klonopin and Ativan.

For those people who simply do not have the time to wait, here are my rankings (I have not tried Watson)

1 (Best bet) Sandoz Pharmaceuticals: Sandoz not only taste like the traditional candy while melting, but they give you instant anxiety relief in tablet form, the likes of which can only be rivaled by Par Pharmaceuticals Orally Dissolving Tablet (ODT). I cannot get into which pharmacy where because I am unsure of laws governing such abatements, but Sandoz is not nearly as common as TEVA.

2 (Second best bet) While many would give TEVA's the nod, I simply can't. There was one instance when, upon taking TEVA for a few days in tablet form, my throat began to puff up, I had a dry throat, and I had slight heart palpitations. This is tell tale WD's, which is a very common abbreviation for Withdrawals. TEVA, however, is available far more frequently than Sandoz is. For this reason, you may begin your process of finding the best generic by calling around for the Teva's. Sandoz is harder to find, but asking for Teva generic Klonopin will save you a ton of time and energy.

3) (If this is all you can find, better phone the doctor's office...you need another script) Mylan Pharmaceuticals is great at manufacturing an effective blood pressure drug, as well as who knows how many other drugs: psychotropic medication from Mylan is horrible. I read where someone on this thread maintained that, in essence, it varies by person. What you must understand about Mylan is that: A. Their generic klonopin is so bad that a non-epileptic could develop a mild seizure. B. Their generic continues to become available in the INCREDIBLY LARGE PHARMACIES---the one's that don't need to see the customer a second time. Revolve the M Imprint upside down on the pill and what is that letter? Upside down I mean? My point is that if a big time pharmaceutical drug store doesn't make money on a generic, they will get cheaper than cheap in order to maintain a bottom line. Mylan is available at the stores that are too big. While your complaint matters to them, the fact that you don't return isn't exactly going to change the fact that they make vast sums of money off of other products in their store. Mylan is less than unimpressive: It is, in essence, a placebo. It tastes good! Sure! So do Skittles and Sour Patch Kids! Save yourself a few bucks on the appointment, as well as the medicine, and buy yourself a glass of milk to get to bed. C. These medicines are not required by law to contain the exact same amount of brand name chemical as the brand name itself; rather, much to my dismay, they must be within 15-20% of the brand name. My estimates? Sandoz is 4-5% off, TEVA is about 8% off, and Mylan is about the full 20% away from the brand name stuff. I am no mathmetician, but that is hardly the Real McCoy. Mylan creates, and markets, a number of effective drugs, but generic clonazepam is not one of them.

Also, there was some mention of Klonopin being made into an RX. That would be like turning an electric vehicle into a propane-fueled vehicle: that would be pointless. The half-life---or time that it takes for your body to completely eliminate this chemical---is about 36 hours. For a drug such as diazepam (Valium), that half life is even longer. One might go ahead and refer to Xanax (Alprazolam) as having an XR version, which is also its competitor: Klonopin. Klonopin is safer because you pop less of them, but you pop less of them because your body retains them for longer.

Here is another thing: if you have a physician who writes for a placebo, go to another doctor. If I were ever to discover that I paid for a doctor's visit that amounted to a physician duping me into showing up to a pharmacy and paying for sugar pills, I wouldn't get angry: I would shop my services somewhere else. In the same way, if I paid an attorney to get me out of a traffic ticket and they took my money, showed up to court with me and paid the ticket, entered a guilty plea, and walked off with the difference while smiling, I would seek defense counsel elsewhere. If a doctor placebos you, next doctor. If you have a condition, you have it. There is nothing left to discuss and there is very little to be discovered: now that you have it, it is time to be treated for what you have. What discussion?

Oh, and finally, be careful with name brand anything. Your dosage will swing out of control. I once got my hands on 60 K-cuts .5mg about four years ago. I started out by eating one or two. The next day it was three or four. I ate the whole bottle by about 15 days in. This has never occurred with generics. Name brand stuff is a last, last, last ressorrttttt! If the price tag isn't enough to scare you away, then realize that the name brand is for the hardcore anxiety freak. It is for the person who gets the shakes as a result of walking in a movie theater.

Again, nothing which I write should be misconceived to be the advice of a practicing physician, but shop for TEVA's and if you find Sandoz...bingo! Get away from Mylan's psychotropic line up because it just doesn't work. I can't articulate the pharmokinetics of why it doesn't work, but it only legally must be within 20% of the original thing, and my best guess is that they used all twenty of that.

One additional concluding idea is that you should never discuss your medical history in public. Don't ever voluntarily disclose anything pertaining to what medical problem you have been unavoidably plagued with. Much of medical history is incredibly sensitive and juries have awared $1.5 million dollars to victims of those who exposed someone's else's medical condition when damages could be demonstrated in a court of law. When you hear someone rambling about what medicines they take, remind them of how they are forfeiting their opportunity to play the HIPAA lottery, which could land them over one million dollars, pending a jury verdict in a court of law.

Good luck with your meds and be responsible. Don't take it as a means by which you can alter your perception of reality; take this as a blessing that a complete treatment plan exists for the purposes of treating what could debilitate you and prevent you from entering the public realm.

Take care friends and be responsible.

i switched from xanax to klonopin about a month ago and today i went to the doc. to switch back cause it didnt seem like they were working at 5 2 milligram tabs a day. i still had bad panic disorter,tox screen showed negative and weirded me out,like my doc is messin with me but this was a different doc. and igot my xanax back thank god! it was a nightmare. i cant wait to see what the prescribing doc has to say about it.

I am prescribed for up to 3 Clonazepam pills per day, at .5mgs a pill. I usually take it at bedtime because I don't like to be out of it, although I have been SO tired since sometime in April, 2011. I have Depression & Bipolar, as well as other issues. But, at night, I don't feel a big difference when it comes to getting tired. I was on the same dosage of Xanax but Clonazepam is cheaper for me. I am on a lot of pills and can't always sleep, even with my Clonazepam. My Xanax dosage at night was 1mg so I think I need to increase my Clonazepam. But, I don't understand the Euphoria people are supposed to get from Xanax OR Clonazepam! I sure don't feel it. And I try not to take 3 a day, even! Don't know what the fuss is all about! However, it IS very hard to wake up (even worse when I have to take Trazadone, 200mgs a night, when I can't sleep! Heaven forbid I get up before 3pm, no matter what time I go to bed). Basically, I don't feel the AHHHHHHHHHHHH feeling. Sort of, but not really too much. And, if I do feel a bit, it doesn't last long (15 minutes???). I guess I'm just too used to many medications and changes in medications over the years.

First off people who comment that are taking this drug for things other than anxiety should ease off. For example the person who wrote in bold letter about how no one should take this. Firstly as u mentioned u were taking this for a restless leg or parkisons, both bad problems but not severe anxiety like many of us on here who take the drug do it for. I mean ur taking for something different and of course your goin to have heavy sedation esp if ur taking it a high dose which is anything over 1mg imo. For exp my mom took it before me a couple years back to test it out and she saud she was very sedated but is because she doesent suffer with extreme anxiety like me, so when i took it, it sedated me a bit but because we have much more brain activity to begin with its doesent sedate or affect to the same degree. So please dont post like you know everything for everyone and scare innocent people who are suffering from this horrible disorder and will for there whole life. Just like people who take meds for other things its the same here, if u have anxeity its next to impossible to cope without any meds.

I take only 0.25 right now and have a couple weeks and its helped a lot just at that dose. If i time comes were i need more so be it but i always start at the lowest possible even with anxiety unlike many others who go overboard take these high doses like 6mg a day and than wonder why things dont go well. I know some people may need more but there is also those people who just tend to like to take more than they need and they make it out as if the med is terrible when they are self destructors and will suffer with any drug.

HI - I'm happy i found this forum because my psychiatrist has had me on Kolopin 12 mg a day for over 8 years.. (4mg 3x daily) I didn't even know it was a high dose as it honestly doesn't WORK ANYMORE! ): it hasn't in a couple years. I begged to have it changed to something different saying I believe my body is simply used to it. She REFUSES. The only time I can tell that I am on it is when I attempt on my own to lower the dose..whoever says it lasts over a day definately isn't on my dose. Within a hald a day I am shaking, I hurt all over like a baseball bat has hit me everywhere (I'm sadly not kidding) then I'm crunched over with stomach cramps, and the worst is the way my body feels and my brain. I am terrified of everything and everyone. I don't answer my door. I try but it's not going to work for me to quit. This happens after decreasing 1 mg at a time! I am a single mom who can not possibly go into treatment to get off this psyche med I'm on for PTSD. I was abused for many years so severely that if someone lifts a hand to get chips at the grocery store I jump backwards. My son died and then abuse was wretched. Rasing my other child who's young (3rd grade) literally makes this impossible for me. HOW can I report a Phychiatrist who has me on sooooo high a dose that 1 mg less every 12 hours and/or 1 day even... catches up and makes a definate difference. I know from experience before she met me --after my son died..I was prescriped xanax which was helpful and not a high does, also just to help me for the shorter time. My family Dr. prescribed Ativan after a huge tragityand that too actually worked... is this because my body is simply used to kolonpin? I hate everyday of my life. I'm anxious, I couldn't go to a FUNERAL that was a day away because my prescription would have run out & there's no stores except the hospital pharmacy where i live and in the city last time I found they didn't accept my insurance I have up here, refusing it and charging me almost $100! that was my gas money home1--- I'd rather die than live this nightmare anymore. I told her 2 weeks ago I felt suicidal and wanted to decrease my med & she said --well, right now you've had quite a few deaths with accidents & unexpected tragities, plus your ex husband was just here in jail again (he's 600 miles away until he surprises me by coming to kick the deadbolt in!) --- I'm so sorry!!! I didn't intend on venting when I began typing. If you see typos it is because my eyes are very blurry all the time ): I want to be happy again and i still need and want an anti-anxiety medication, I just would like it on an as needed basis, not this living hell I am in right now- I HONESTLY think it will take years and years to get off safely. I'm angry and honestly, if not for my child who keeps me here because of the love I have and the closemess we share... I would rather die. I am miserable and think being beaten to a bloody pulp and in the hospital all the time geting put back together and having to take my child to womens shelters was better!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not know what to do. I'd gladly go into the hospital for about 2 months (I don't know..how long will 12 mg daily for 8 years+ of kolonpin to safely leave my system without massive issues...especially if done at home where i have to cook, clean, help with homework, etc---and not shake, feel scared, etc?? omg I wish the world would open up and swollow me whole!

My entire life since about age 13 was anxiety ridden. I had to deal with it in social situations and just talking to anyone could bring on great discomfort. I got through nursing school at Duke but it was hard, I avoided people who intimidated me and I know they didnt respect me.This continued down through the years of my life I used avoidance alot . i could NOT stand up in front of even a small group and make a talk. Giving a report to the hospital staff after working the night shift was agonizing and humiliating. Many years later I found a psychiatrist who gave me klonopin. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This has been my life for 20 years now being able to cope with things without stress., I have taken 1 mgm a day for 20 years and have never had to raise the dose I was glad to pay as I didnt have drug insurance.But my druggist says they will not be making brand name klonopin anymore. I dont know what I will do.. I cant believe thet are takeing this drugthat helps so many off the market. The generic version is worthless. I only have a few left. It cant all be gone that fast. Does anyone know where it can still be obtained I can get a prescription, pmclamb8@nc.rr.com does anyone want to sell theirs if it it doesnt work for them I am desperarate Thank you

I've been on Klonopin,(brand name from Roche), for 25 years this October, for Peripheral Neuropathy. I took their .05 mg. tablet cut in half, i.e., 1/4 mg. twice daily, up until a year ago, when I had to increase my dosage because of breakthrough cramping by 1/4 mg., i.e., I now take .75 (3/4)mg. daily.

When I last tried to refill my script, I was told by my pharmacy that it was no longer available in any size, from Roche, the brand name provider. I immediately called Roche to find out what the problem was. Their rep told me that there had been some sort of a manufacturing problem with the brand name Klonopin, and all sizes had been pulled by them from the market, but that the brand name Klonopin has not been discontinued by Roche, and that they didn't know how long it would be off the market. Not sure if what they told me is really true, but I've checked with other pharmacies, and all tablet sizes are definitely unavailable currently. Being that I've read that there are extreme drug shortages in the U.S. because of raw material unavailabilities, this may also be the problem, which isn't very encouraging.

Needless to say, I was very upset by this, as I've preferred the brand name to all generics, which don't seem to work as well, including the 1/4 mg. generic dissolvables, which I've also tried.

Does anyone else have any insight as to what's occuring here, or any info re a source for procuring the brand name Klonopin?

I've been on Klonopin,(brand name from Roche), for 25 years this October, for Peripheral Neuropathy in my calves and feet, acquired from ingesting only 2 tablets of Metronidazole (Flagyl), taken back in 1986. I take the Roche brand name .05 mg. tablet cut in half, i.e., 1/4 mg. twice daily, up until a year ago, when I had to increase my dosage (because of breakthrough cramping and nerve pain in my calves and feet), by 1/4 mg., i.e., I now take .75 (3/4)mg. daily.

When I last tried to refill my script, I was told by my pharmacy that it was no longer available in any size, from Roche, the brand name provider. I immediately called Roche (Genetech, U.S.A., Inc., the distributor), to find out what the problem was. Their rep told me that there had been some sort of a manufacturing problem with the brand name Klonopin, and all sizes had been pulled by them from the market, but that the brand name Klonopin has not been discontinued by Roche, and that they didn't know how long it would be off the market. Not sure if what they told me is really true, (as the generic versions must be killing them,) but I've checked with other pharmacies, and all tablet sizes are definitely unavailable currently. Being that I've read that there are extreme drug shortages in the U.S. because of raw material unavailabilities, this may also be the problem, which isn't very encouraging, so I asked, but they aren't talking.

Needless to say, I was very upset by this, as I've preferred the brand name to all generics, which don't seem to work as well, including the 1/4 mg. generic dissolvables, which I've also tried. I am actually having repercussions from using the generic version of this drug and really need to continue on with the brand name version.

I thought of purchasing it from a Canadian pharmacy using my U.S. prescription, but when I called a couple, I was told that they won't ship it to the U.S.

Does anyone else have any insight as to what's occuring here, or any info re a source for procuring the brand name Klonopin before it's too late? :-(

Lidarose1@yahoo.com

I have found using EFT to be the best treatment for panic attacks. You can find more information at www.emofree.com.

I was up to 5mg of Klonopin a day and it was providing less relief. My panic attacks were fueled by the fear of not being able to do anything about them. EFT gave me my life back. I do still take 1.5mg to 2mg of Klonopin a day but am considering stopping because of memory problems. I suspect that the same emotional issues that caused me to have panic attacks also contribute to my memory loss as does living on four and a half to five hours of sleep pr night for the past five years. I am convinced that my cognitive habits contribute to my anxiety but I also have a family history of mental and emotional problems on my father's side. I had never thought that the composition of generic clonazepam would vary as indicated my many histories on this site. I need to look into this. I am trying to determine if my accelerated memory problems may be caused by Klonopin or if my emotional fears and such are resulting from increased fear and stress in my life. I do feel there is a relationship. I have dealt with anxiety all my life of over 50 years. My life situation changed when I was about 35 and I was not longer able to deal with it by reading self help books and such. At this point my physician put me Trazodon for depression but it did not help much. A Psychiatrist prescribed Klonopin for the anxiety and I got immediate results. I went with 1 mg in the morning and 1 mg before bed and did well. I have tried most every antidepressant that was supposed to help anxiety but thy did not help much. I do take 200gm of Luvox daily. I did taper off all prescriptions once for about six months but never felt stable so I have continued. A Chiropractor who did muscle testing (Applied Kinesiology) on me for the effect of Klonopin, indicated that my body did not like it. You can contact me at tewsrus@gmail.com.

I read the stories and I am heart broken. I too went on clonazapam not realizing what I was getting myself into back in 1993 when my son was seriously injuries and I was so upset I could not sleep. So my story began with taking them now and then for sleep. Well I would go months 6 months without needing any. Only when life bumps would upset me badly would I take one for sleep. My does was a .5 mg and I would brake it in half. Well in 2007 I started to experience pain in my shoulder and arthroscopic surgery and it was rough by now I was taking .5 mg everynight. Six months later the pain came back with a vengence, found out I have a not so perfect cervical spine. Was put on prozac and clonazapam 1 mg at bedtime. I have been feeling off balance, cannot feel emotions, cannot cry at a funeral or enjoy sex fully. So I started weaning off. Oops, this was a mistake cause now I am feeling far from great. Still managing but life is not easy. Gonna see primary doc on Friday. Wish I could find that magic wand to fix this mess. Have not been a very good Christian for quite a while...might be time to turn to God for support and wisdom. Wish you all my best in trying to find happy balance in your life!

I began my Klonopin journey while working as a Firefighter / medic back in 1995 Under great stress of working 80+ hours a week for years and trying to raise 3 kids. I began to have panic attacks and the beginnings of PTSD from all the hell I was seeing as a medic in a rough city. I should have seen it coming but ignored the symptoms until it was too late and true panic attacks set in. My psychiatrist was old and old school starting me on .5mg x 3 with plenty of extras! It felt great, like a shield from reality...half of my shift would be pretty much gorked. lost all interest in furthering myself or even staying in the excellent shape my body had been in for 33 yrs. My dose spiraled up to 6 mg a day, mixed with alcohol when I did have time off. Around 2002 I had enough and began the very painful ride down for 2 years and made it back to my starting dose ! I never was able to get below that and the PTSD took hold again. Can't sleep without the med and I have terrible out of body sensations when talking to people if I have not taken my yellow pills [instant panic] ! Yes YELLOW MYLANs I must be different than the other 90% who hate the things..I can't stand the TEVA but another factor is the high power pain meds I take for a ruined lumbar spine and hips [at age 49] IF I COULD SAY SOMETHING TO ANYONE NEW TO ANXIETY / PANIC ETC. These medications are ok for short periods, A FEW DAYS ONLY ! If used that way with a good support system of psychotherapy, yoga etc [hopefully one day medical marijuana]? Please don't do what all these people and I have done...This POISON WILL OWN YOU FOR LIFE..in most cases. Thanks for reading my post, Bob in Ct. AFDTower1@aol.com

For everyone's info: I spoke with the Roche/Genentech reps again a couple of days ago, and they told me that Genentech was in the process of shipping the brand name Klonopin back to wholesalers. When I had my pharmacy check with its wholesaler, they told my pharmacist that it was in transit. This is a very good sign! Thought everyone would want to know!

:-D

The 25 year brand-name Klonopin user

I started taking Klonopin one year ago for anxiety attacks. I had tried Ativan and Xanax, both of which were too strong (I felt drugged) and did not last long enough (4 hours or so). Klonopin feels like it lasts 7-8 hours. I take 0.5 mg of Klonopin about twice a week, sometimes a whole milligram if I have to give a speech or something big. It is only addicting if you take it every day (even if it's a small dosage, your body will get used to it if taken daily). It relaxes me without making me feel drugged. It also helps me sleep really well during nights after I take it. Klonopin can sometimes make me feel unmotivated, though, as if I'm too relaxed, which is why I take it sparingly and only half a milligram. I highly suggest that people taking Klonopin also take an SSRI (Prozac, Zoloft, etc). It takes trial and error, but once you find an anti-depressant that helps you with your anxiety (which they do), your need for Klonopin will decrease significantly. Otherwise, I can see why people take it every day if they are not taking anything else to keep their anxiety at bay. Klonopin erases your anxiety temporarily, which sounds great, but this is how people get addicted to it without ever learning how to deal with anxious feelings. An SSRI keeps your anxiety levels low and helps you face it. Personally, Celexa has helped me. I recognize anxious situations, but do not stress over them like I used to. Of course, sometimes I reach for Klonopin because a situation is unbearable, but this does not happen very often because of the SSRI.

I never thought about the generics having different potency. I've always heard, and believed that name brand was the way to go with most meds, especially psychoactive meds. It seems to be unanimous that Mylan is weaker than the others. I've gone site to site, and what I've found out was some people swore the Sandoz was best of all, others Teva, and yet others Caraco. There are a couple other generics that other folks have claimed to be best of all. What do I make of this?

Conclusion: I've never been on any brand other than Mylan, and I view this as a blessing. Mylan has worked great for me! It may be weaker but it's all I've known, and it's for darn sure more effective than some sugar pill!!!! I can't function without benzos at this point in my life, and would notice anything close to a placebo within hours. I know I won't be switched to a brand than will seem less effective. Any swith would be like a dosage increase, so I can deal with that. I've been on 1mg twice a day for 3 years, and it works nicely for me.

For those of you who're on a large dose, and feal the med has stopped working for you. I know of a couple safe non addictive, yet very helpful supplements if added to your daily dose, may very well help you get the effectiveness back, and your life back under control. Shoot me an e-mail: markbull_99@yahoo.com and put benzo help as the subject. May we all battle through this terrible infliction called anxiety, and find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Nice. I typed a very long message (I admit, it was way too long but I guess I needed to get some things off my chest) and when I finally hit Submit, it said I'm limited to 20k characters and had typed 43k. LOL

Now considering the subject matter, what if I were in withdrawal, typed 43k characters, hit the link it told me to hit and for lack of a simple POST (4 friggin' characters, guys!), I was returned to a BLANK submission form.

And if I weren't a net geek myself and know how this stuff goes and had already been saving it in Notepad repeatedly.

Here goes the original in probably 3 parts.

As a child I was constantly made fun of because I would blink and sniff a lot with some other occasional traits I later learned were called tics. No

biggie. Childhood can suck and a tough childhood can make a tough man.

In the Army I noticed my twitches as I came to call them had dramatically increased. I mean DRAMATICALLY. Learned later that stress can

aggravate my twitching.

I got by best I could, having my dad's Nervous twitches?!? What've you got to be nervous about? as the closest thing to an explanation of my

weird involuntary behavior for many years.

Until the late 1990's when (I still haven't figured out a catalyst) my compulsion to blink became so bad I had to quit driving. My eyes were slammed

forcefully shut more than they were open. I'd developed many other ticks like shoulder shrugging, shaking my long hair out of my face even when I

had short hair, a vocalization that's hard to describe except it's similar to a German glottal stop, incessant sniffing I always blamed on a deviated

septum (apparently incorrectly, though my left nostril is quite constricted), and I don't know if this is related or not but I was also the most

easy-going guy but nobody, myself included, could predict what could completely unsettle me or even enrage me. I would (and still do) fly into

incredible fits of rage over what later seem minor things. My family learned that if I stubbed my toe or hit my head or banged my knee, just get out

of the way and let me yell it out of my system, often destroying things in the process.

I never once harmed a human being in this rages even if they were conveniently close enough to do so. But when I stubbed my toe (is it just me or

doesn't that just hurt so much it makes you angry just to think of it even when it's all your fault but lord help someone else if it's their fault?) once and

I started having a fit, she said Quit being such a baby. My marriage nearly ended that day. It did for what I consider related reasons just a year

ago.

Along with my compulsions to blink, grunt, shrug, etc, I noticed that I tend to be obsessive and compulsive overall. Really not bad traits to have

when you have someone around to help you channel them productively or you can do it yourself. My daughter is about as OCD as they get, I

nudged her into obsessing over the trumpet, and she recently graduated college as what I'll call a trumpet performance major but I think technically

it's Brass Pedagogy (puzzles me -- she smokes my sorry butt on trumpet and I'm no slouch but I play the other brasses better than she does) and

is at her most comfortable and best-performing when she has an audience. Her OCD has served her well and should continue to do so. I like to

think because good ol' Dad kept his eyes open for something she'd like that'd be worthy of obsession.

Me, I first obsessed over cars, then computers, becoming a successfully and entirely self-trained (as I was with my many other professions)

programmer/analyst, then the stock market, making and losing in single days well over the annual poverty level. Oddly, I'm a very controlled

gambler, though. I gamble somewhat for fun but mostly to make money. Or maybe I don't have fun when I'm not making money. Even when I had

considerable financial resources, I'd usually limit myself to a $200 daily loss limit and that was that. Still is a hard and fast limit.

Then I obsessed over unhealthier (for marriage) things which I shan't discuss here and ended up not married as but one part of my life's

unraveling. My biggest obsession to date has been high performance driving events on road courses. I loved this hobby dearly until the 4th

Subaru WRX/STi I owned (2008) twice put me at the wrong end of major screwing by Subaru of America, and the hobby that, to me, was life, was

over. I couldn't trust my wheels anymore and I couldn't trust the marque I'd been so fiercely and loudly loyal to. I felt so betrayed. I obsessed over

this betrayal and though I had the resources to buy the first replacement non- warranty engine at 1987 miles, I didn't when a Subaru dealership

themselves, when I brought it in with another broken piston ringland, destroyed the car I once loved so much.

I'd been an instructor of this hobby for years and by all accounts a mighty fine one. I was self-actualized at the track both in the driver's seat of my

car and in the passenger seats of student cars. And suddenly my healthy OCD outlet was removed.

And you know, I never once have had a single desire to blink hard or sniff or shoulder shrug on the track. People have reported to me that I'm a

comparative apparently loon off the track but on the track I find (well, found and thank you SO much for taking it from me, Subaru) peace unlike any

I've known. When you're in the zone and your mind doesn't even use language anymore but instead simply locks into the car and gives it inputs

and reacts to its communications, it's Nirvana. Comparing it to sex is like comparing yellow to apple pie. There's no such thing as one being

better than the other. They're different states of being.

Once the track was gone (Thanks again, Subaru), my twitching reached unprecedented levels as did many other behaviors I'd been able to

contain or channel but had lost control of. I quit a $190k per year job running the company I was instrumental in building because I wasn't happy.

Direct quote. Not that I was unhappy with my job. I was unhappy and hadn't yet identified any source of it other than my Brit bosses were very

frustrating to deal with (I sold the companies in 2006), but I managed until shortly after I came back from London and took my beautiful new 08 STi

to the track and had it blow up. And had Subaru blame me. The car blowing up was something I figured was just a fluke since I know Subaru to

make superior products, but their blaming me and making me pay for the replacement engine kicked off a pity party of unprecedented levels. I

backed way off the hobby and when the second engine broke a ringland ON THE STREET, then the dealership returned the car to me much more

destoyed and in pieces months later, again blaming me, the hobby was long-gone.

I vaguely was aware that my unhappiness wasn't specific to my job but that it had to do with my job and the loss of the important counterweight

driving to the edge of a deep dark hole two weekends a month provided. The epitome of catharsis. It wasn't until I could use hindsight to realize

I still loved my job; I simply couldn't cope with how tough it was anymore with the loss of my ability to completely immerse in something completely

different from it.

Subaru of America ruined my life. Everything fell apart starting with the first engine and rapidly dove downward with the demise of the second one

and especially having driven it to the dealership, well aware of the oil condition and level only to get it back months later in boxes, myself blamed

again, and the bottom end of the engine destroyed.

Of all the things I find immensely distressing in life, unfairness is near the top of the list. Having become the victim of it, it's safe to say I lost it. I

quit my job, I quit caring about getting up in the morning, I quit caring about being a good family man (fortunately my daughter was out of the way at

college but my poor wife bore the brunt of my sudden acting out).

This is supposed to be a Klonopin story, right?

It is, to an extent. Without getting shafted by an organization to whom I was so loyal I planned to festoon my 48-foot car hauler with their logo, I

don't think I'd be as I am now; unemployed, having money only when I sell things I worked hard to buy, nearly constantly so depressed I never do

anything except out of necessity (like my current preparations to sell the house I lack the ability to maintain and the resources to pay for).

Klonopin.

Klonopin gave me an Achilles Heel. Subaru sliced clean through it, permanently hobbling me. Without Subaru's screwing, I'd be doing great.

Without Klonopin making me more susceptible to having my life ruined (self- destructed?) as an outcome of said unwilling virtual sexual

participation, Subaru would've still hurt me but I think it's debatable whether they could've ruined my happy life. A profound happiness to which

they'd contributed since my first WRX in 04 and subsequent 06 STi and 07 STi, which never let me down.

I've contemplated suicide because of my deplorable quality of life, the increasing belief that an enormous wrong will never be righted and those I

was loyal to (SOA) don't care and never did, so long as I bought their cars.

Klonopin. I suspect it's possible that Klonopin has made it possible for such a thing to destroy me so utterly. How upset and self-destructive do

most people get over a car? Or maybe it's normal for a car nut? People who saw pictures of my car taken the day it returned from the last

dealership have universally expressed outrage rivaling mine.

I swear I'm not writing this to badmouth Screwbaru. My point with them is that though they destroyed my life (the timeline of so many bad things in

my life lines up too perfectly with news of SOA having taken another Viagra and eyeing me coquetishly (sp?)), Klonopin may've helped make it

possible for them to do so. I don't know but have to wonder if, absent the Klonopin, I would've simply opted for the Uzi in the belltower route and

made this a short (well, non-existent) missive.

I think it's possible Klonopin set me up for the beat-down SOA gave me.

Conjecture at this point, though.

But as the title says, Klonopin is my hero and villian.

As I'm sure every reader has guessed, I suffer from Tourette's Syndrome. And, man was I suffering for a while. Well, the blinking was a damned

pain in the ass and real dangerous when driving. All of my tics were becoming so. Remember though that my tics went away whenever I was

on-track. I think it's possible that the totality of the grip of a really good obsession keeps TS completely at bay.

I remember my business partner and I visiting the president of the company I sold to in Paris and climbing the Eiffel tower. Someone mentioned

vertigo when we were way up and I suddenly felt its complete grip. I wanted badly to cling to the center of the structure and waiting to be

rescued. But that's not how I rolled back then (and probably as good an explanation of my crazy success as any other) and I told my climbing

companions to wait a moment and I leaned against the outer railing then bent way over, hands outstretched, looked down, felt the terror, grabbed

it, and owned it, and stood up a man with yet another big win notched up.

That's the kind of man I was, and I was on my twitch pills many years by then. But I still had my mojo. In spades. Whether it was the Brits or

Subaru who gave me my mojoectomy or perhaps both, well, the Brits frustrated the hell out of me with the deplorable work ethic and ability of

some (but not most -- I love most of them and even the ones I hated doing business with I loved as people) to get right under my professional skin.

I suppose once I sold, it was a big part of my life no longer completely in my hands, though I tried for nearly 3 years. Once the Subaru proved just

how completely I could have things taken from my hands and how a company could quietly take me into a dark alley and mug me and walk away

scot-free, that put the exclamation point on I used to be the man, respected and followed by many who got rich with me but now I'm just twisting in

the wind!

Is an inability to stay focused and write concisely possibly a TS trait? It's probably just me. I was (charmingly, many said) this way BS and PS

(Before Screwbaru, Post-Screwbaru) though many have observed that the flow of my words, like the story-teller at the campfire, is now

unfamiliar and not as aesthetically pleasing, though I haven't given up hope on doing something with my love of writing -- I just haven't done

anything about it either.

Klonopin.

When my doc confirmed what I'd only recently discovered and studied enough to suspect; that I had TS, he put me on 2 1mg doses per day.

And I was a brand new man! No longer bugged and embarassed and even debilitated or at least semi-disabled by my tics, I felt, well, STRONG!

I'd already been kicking the world's collective ass until then, but now I suddenly had a greatly reduced compulsion to twitch and grunt (a feat

Klonopin accomplished that previously only the racetrack and the focus on my driving or teaching a fast student could accomplish) and I dare say

my employees started taking me seriously.

Actually, that's a little inside humor that's only funny to me. I had no employees at the time. I did shortly after. In growing numbers just like my

company's and my income.

The company for which I worked as a glorified hall monitor (see page R17, June 12, 2000 issue of Wall Street Journal -- yep -- they talked about

me the whole page!) was acquired and I was subsequently laid off and quickly took a job working for an upstart ostensibly run by a

stock-market-loving kid in Florida but in reality run by a scamster in Canada who wanted to profit by doing bad things with public forums with the

blessing of my good name, so I quit on principal. A year later the kid gave me a little over half the company in return for a promise to take it over

and pay its bills until it could support itself. Smart kid. 3 months later I quit writing checks to it and another 3 months later it started writing checks

to me and him and about a year later wrote a larger one to buy the company I used to work for.

Mojo dragging the ground, man! And taking twitch pills! My programming was brilliant, as was being commented everywhere (I even invented a

neat way of doing things that was never duplicated by any other web programmer I was aware of until Microsoft started incorporated my

functionality into their language -- I didn't care about patents, kudos, royalties -- it was all in great fun and anyone who could figure it out could use

anything I wrote, and frequently did).

4 years after starting that ride, I sold both sites to a Brit firm for a tidy sum.

Should've lived happily ever after since they paid me handsomely to keep supposedly running the companies though until my mojo got whammied

by excessive blowby that was happening to any STi that broke its ringlands, and an inexcusably high percentage of these cars since 08 have

done it but it's swept under the rug because it's a low-production enthusiasts (well, used to be -- it's an idiot's car if he doesn't put forged pistons in

it the day they shove it off the truck) car so though the double-digit failure percentage is the stuff of tales that include belltowers and automatic

weapons, the actual number of self-destructing units is so low the NHTSA (or is it NTHSA?) will never take note -- it has bigger fish to fry, Subaru

usually covers these under warranty and even issued a recall that covered exactly my failure and whose verbiage could've been scripted from my

upset phone call to a service manager after a few laps on the track. Dude! Is there any way to detune this thing to 290 horses? I don't need the

extra 15 and some idiot decided, perhaps as how the extra power was gained, to leave this thing carrying stupidly high boost at red line, just as

the rev limiter starts shutting off fuel -- are you TRYING to aerate the pistons? This is irresponsible tuning and I want this car detuned before it kills

itself!

You know, I've always traveled off-subject a lot (and included a lot of parenthetical asides), which I'm told is a charming part of my writing style that

makes it feel as if I'm sitting there talking to you but I've gotten so much worse about it lately.

Subaru screwed me over and ruined my life and that, after all, IS life, and they were intended to be mentioned only in that they were the catalyst

and Klonopin possibly the fuel and I was going to blame Subaru only for crushing me in a weakened state caused by Klonopin but I think I've been

talking myself through a slow epiphany here and, villanous as Klonopin is, it doesn't absolve the real people at the real American organization that

ruined my American life when it was going swimmingly.

So I've learned that, or so I believe.

Part Deux

Let's get back to brass tacks.

Klonopin thwarted TS's attempt to disable me in very real ways. Scarily real for a man who opted for self-employment while raising 2 kids he

loved spoiling along with himself (when I bought my son a KDX220 in January for his birthday, I told the salesman, of the shop at which I used to

wrench coincidentally -- I'm a true renaissance mojoless mess, eh? -- I told him Hey, I have a birthday this year too! and bought myself a

KLR650. Damn it was fun being me!!!) I was actually movin' on up pre-Klonopin, but TS really jumped on me hard and was slowing my roll and

Klonopin not only got my roll back on-track, it largely relieved symptoms I'd lived with and later realized I'd been hobbled by for years, though the

epiphany here is that the onset of TS in overdrive was an albatross I'd learned to deal with and not really notice until Subaru grabbed it and beat

me senseless with it and there I go railing against them again!!! Stop it, Bob! You'll have your day in court. Soon, I hope. Not that the jury can

give me my life or my mojo back even if they see what vile thing was done to me.

Does it sound like Klonopin's only my hero and Subaru is the only villain?

Well, after I'd been taking my twitch pills a while I noticed the slow return of the tics and having been largely free of them for a while, it was

somewhat upsetting but the good news was that 2 2mg pills a day would have me right as rain. And it did, after a fashion.

I started self-adjusting my dosage, trying to take as little as possible, usually half a pill twice a day but maybe twice a week taking a full one in the

evening.

Why?

I was first and foremost a programmer but also the president of a growing dotcom, and I NOTICED a reduction in my mental acuity and quickly

decided, without yet understanding the mechanisms of any meds, let alone benzos, that the Klonopin muffled my TS by slowing down my

overactive brain but on the new dosage, it slowed it down to a level at which it was difficult to do my job. I had to be sharp as a whip and think on

my feet, field endless crises while plotting my company's world domination and making it happen and hiring people to help me make it happen,

but always lots and lots of programming because I wanted my website known for its speed and I wanted people to know the P on my flowing

cape meant Programmer or President; not Playground monitor.

I couldn't afford a loss of much of my edge. So I adjusted my dosage not only to keep my edge but because I didn't have to have the years of

deep immersion in the stock market to recognize a trend when I saw one and I fought (and fight) like grim death what I'm sure is inevitable; higher

dosages and an even slower brain.

On track weekends; not only because of how they relieved me of symptoms but because if I brought anything less than my A game, I'd do my

students a disservice or possibly injure or kill them, I took half a pill at the end of the track day. And twitched and blinked enough to be useful

generating breezes in the paddock, but was one cool customer in the cars. Okay, my friend, you're a passenger now so both feet in and when

we stop this cool pirouette we'll discuss how we found ourselves doing this and why it'll never happen again or I'll call you embarassing names but

only privately Or, to my endless amusement and done partially as part of the learning process of making their concentration complete along with

some great positive feedback YES!!!!! You nailed it! Dang, didn't that feel great? Gimme that feeling in that turn every time!!!

As an aside, I like to think I was a particularly good instructor. (The many clubs I was with and the 25-50 students I'd handle, usually on their first

outing, every year are unknowing victims -- thanks Subaru). I'd typically do maybe half of my own sessions on-track so I could rest from my student

sessions and talk cars with them and get them as addicted to the hobby and know I was making it nearly impossible for them to be the cause or

even victim of a public-road accident.

Here comes another aside but it's an example how important this part of my life was and a glimpse (perhaps more for me than anyone else) into

the seemingly strong possibility it was the loss of this hobby and not Klonopin that killed me. You pull out in front of me on the highway, violating

my right of way and I t-bone you and we're both dead. First, am I less dead because the police report blames you? Second, between you and

me, it's more my fault. I'm an instructor of instructors of racers. Well, okay, shucks. I was. And a bag o' chips. But I preached the sermon of

situational awareness and if you were in a position in which you could jump out in front of me, that and the dozen or so other potential challenges

had already been noted and avoidance measures decided long before you saw me. I carry my (un-named German high-performance car club)

National Instructor Certification card proudly and take it seriously and expect perfection. It ain't a race on the track. Though at my level, it's honing

a craft. As I tell my students who I quickly determine are autocrossers, It's not a mosh pit; it's a ballet. Dance with the car. Smoothly. Gently. But

we're gonna really scoot since we're here to learn how the car wants to be driven should you need to use its limits to stay alive, not to teach the car

anything.

Klonopin, is it?

It's my saviour. Tourette's at the level at which I have it absolutely SUCKS!!!! No vulgarities out of context, but it's debilitating and once I figured

out there was something (years unnamed) neurologically or mentally wrong with me, I went for employment that occasionally put me in the limelight

just because I was the kind of guy who wraps his arms around everything that scares or intimidates him and squeezes it into submission, but

mostly let me thrive simply by being brilliant behind the scenes. That's the kind of work my overclocked brain could do without putting people off

by making them uncomfortable in view of my disturbing tics. Hell, I just learned that a neighbor I think is the coolest guy out here in Boogerville has

thought for 10 years I don't like him because I grimace and blink and shrug when he's around -- he had no idea I had TS and to my horror, I didn't

realize I was twitching like that around him. He kinda does raise your revs a bit, though, as he's almost always really happy and talking loud and

fast. Puts me on edge a bit but I love the guy and he thought I disliked him which is why the one guy out here I can probably most relate to when it

comes to swearing and playing with old tractors on acres and self-effacing humor, hardly ever talked to me.

I've vilified Subaru quite a bit here, haven't I. Alright, Klonopin, it's your turn.

I love you for mellowing out my hyperactive brain that made my body embarassingly twitch, and doing it at probably the time I needed it most, but

DAMN you for the resulting addiction! Disorders I never dreamed I had or were of the type I was such a world-beating kinda guy I'd just squeeze

the life out of have become the price I pay when I run low or, heaven forbid, run out! DAMN you for that!

I never knew what Agoraphobia was until I spent 4 weeks without my twitch pills. As I told my ex-wife, it was like every minute of every day was

spent in a full-on panic attack. Why? Because before my scrip ran out, I called in asking for a refill but the pharmacy had neglected to tell me

previously or even then that I needed to see my doctor before he'd issue a new set. But of course he'd want to monitor my condition and,

inevitably increase my dosage, which I'll have to go ahead and take and mark the end of my days of being at least the little bit of me I still am.

I can do 2 2mg pills a day now and I do when I need to catch up or when the increased stress caused by the meltdown of the rest of my life trumps

the twitch pills. But being on them for years then suddenly not having them? Talk about a catch-22!!! I have to go see the doctor, I'm told a week

after I've run out and am bugging the pharmacy (when I can fight my inexplicable resistance to picking up the phone and dialing the number and

hoping I remember why I dialed) about my lack of pills and that I've started reading some horrifyingly scary stuff on the internet that's part of the fun

of Klonopin withdrawal, especially cold turkey, and lucky me! I'm experiencing all of them! Constant nervousness? Check. Scared to death to go

outside? Check. Scared to drive? Oh, my god, I'm terrified of it and I intellectually know I'm a Samurai among drivers but I'm scared to death to

move! Paranoia?!? Who told you I'm paranoid??? Huh??? Was it the guys across the street always watching me?

I was living a nightmare!

Didn't help that the Subaru, the resulting direct and indirect financial trouble, the loss of my wife and my dogs, and my inability to keep up with the

house apparently put up a neon sign in my yard that said Easy pickin's, folks! I was burglarized (the first time was so traumatic -- now it's so

commonplace I keep wondering why the heck they're no longer stealing anything, and the ugly potential answer may be later in this sentence), and

some time later came up from my workshop to the house in the wee hours only to be accosted by a, well, apparently male sentient being, who was

wielding what I slowly realized was a sawed-off double-barrel 12-gauge.

Let's do this by the numbers. The drugs and the money. Huh??? Klonopin ain't that damned expensive but here's all my money. (I lied. --

Yeah, about the money too) Seriously, I quit paying on the Subaru because Subaru Motor Finance were turning a deaf ear to my pleas for any

kind of assistance as a fellow injured party and one of the repo guys who I can't convincingly tell myself I wouldn't now kill on sight said out loud

after the cops chased them off Yeah, you go back to your meth lab. Loud enough for all 6 cops (my assistant, CB and I'll let you figure out what

that means, quite in her right according to the cops confronted them, went in the house, grabbed a shotgun, loaded it 3 feet from them, closed it,

cocked it, and told them that, no, they don't actually have the right to enter any building on the premise absent a warrant) and the whole of my

neighborhood (and therefore, within minutes, the whole county) to heard.

I immediately called the finance company and filled out an online form and took them to task because around these parts, that repo guy, acting on

their behalf, may've sentenced me to death because there are a lot of people who, if they even *think* you have a meth lab, will enter, kill you so

you don't interfere, then look for the drugs and the huge pile of money that you can't easily take to a bank in a paper sack.

A friend of mine told me a joke. I couldn't decide if I wanted a black lab, a chocolate lab or a golden lab, so I got me a meth lab and I can afford

any kinda dog I want.

I figured the guy on the other side of the gun for some stranger who caught wind of the meth lab comment and was very surprised he was in my

face rather than down at my workshop having his own look-see as my body cooled on the floor.

I hate to be a broken record, but I was on my Klonopin at the time but still had Subaru's tiretracks all over my mojo and my realization that this guy

would likely kill me soon and it was likely the repo guy's (thusly intended) comment, made me just go off. I shouted at the guy What drugs???

What money??? Here's all the money I've got on me, which sorry to say, was a few hundred bucks in my pockets -- I won't go deeply into why a

comment by a former employee of People's Bank led me to believe any funds I deposited even as cash might be inaccessible for a very long time

because they weren't sure they were going to let me have an account there -- so I threw the money and everything else from my pockets onto my

desk. The office I'm able to sit in because the net result of the butterfly wingbeat at some Japanese car company's US office is that I wouldn't care

if someone walked in and put a slug through my head now or ever in the past couple of years -- don't call the suicide folks. I've not had any serious

suicidal ideations. I simply don't give a shit if I get killed. Huge difference, people! So why am I not on a racetrack doing what Subaru seems to

THINK is what I actually do on the track. Oh, that's right! That car was delivered home DOA a year ago. A few months after I drove it to the

dealership. And I don't drive that way anyway. My one catharsis aside from motorcycles, all of which I've had to sell, is gone.

So, guy with a shotgun. Hardly a time to be distracted, eh? Jabs the gun too hard against my chest (carried the bruise a long time) and said No,

asshole, where do you stash the meth and where's the settlement money?

Okay, so I think I know why he thought I had a stash of meth. Repo guy's meth lab comment that I'd smile while killing him for (aside -- I was on

an anti-depressant to quit smoking while my company was big and busy and someone asked me if I suffered the suicidal ideations they'd hear

were a side effect. Try homicidal! I'm biting the head off of any of my people who dares talk to me! And my Brit friend/boss called my assistant

once and said Would you toss a chill pill down that man's throat! I quit that antidepressant and enjoyed a cigarette, both within the same minute.

My employees celebrated.

So, shotgun wielding idiot makes what's obviously a rookie, mistake, aside from his whole personna being a piss-poor conglomeration of every

bad guy he ever saw on TV. Pokes me HARD with the gun while saying Where's the real money! The settlement money!

Did I tell you there'd be a quiz? If I get hurt, say, by stubbing my toe, what do I do? Flip out?

What if I'm hurt by a shotgun being shoved against my chest very roughly. I still barely believe it. Apparently I grab both barrels of said gun (not

realizing until later when the nervous idiot accidentally squeezed a trigger that at least one barrel wasn't loaded) with ONE hand and forced it

downward way away from me and said That $%&$*& hurt dammit! If you're gonna kill me just squeeze the damned trigger. I can deal with that,

but I ain't gonna let you shove that damned thing into my chest again.

I had control of the gun, folks. Oh, did I mention I've played piano all my life and bass most of my life and could've squeezed the end of that barrel

down to about a .22 calibre. My grip is amazingly strong. People out here put black walnuts under boards then drive their trucks over them to

crack the shells. I can do it with my hand.

I was one second away from twisting my wrist and yanking the gun out of his hands when some part of my brain I would have removed if I could

locate it it said What are you doing, dude! He's brandishing a shotgun and you wanna wrestle him over it? LET GO BEFORE HE KILLS YOU!

that part of my brain nonsensically yelled while another part of my brain sounded like a flustered Jimmy Stewart saying B-b-b-but, didn't see? I

actually had the huge disadvantage in places to grab it and I owned that gun and could've... WHAM. Shotgun swung like a baseball bat across

my right cheek, causing me to bleed profusely but surprisingly not lose any teeth, yet. To this day, it hurts to eat most foods because every tooth

on the right hurts and none of them line up with each other anymore -- well, 52 years was a good run.

Part Drei

Then I got all cool because at that point I didn't care if I died (kinda like before I made his acquaintance until current), I still had a good bit of anger

going, and the part of my brain that had the vice-like grip on the gun with the walnut cracking hand at the end of the railroad-tie moving arm of this

country boy while city pansy held the better end unable to conceal his surprise that the gun was seemingly superglued in place and he couldn't

move it until I stupidly let go (deep inhale after the Herculean phrase) had dragged the Let it go! part of my brain out back to kick its booty and I

said You know as well as I do that if you don't kill my ass right now, I can take that gun from you anytime I want and put it anywhere I want.

He regained his composure and proved as much by angrily using the gun to knock everything off of my desk, and gave me some non sequitur like

Maybe we'll just see., and yelling Kill me or get out of my house. only yielded more of the I want the real money nonsense. He walked me

through the house and, unfortunately, and leading to my very real suspicion that I'm occasionally or often observed, went right to the bed and had

me lift the mattress.

Remember my mention of the bank who might not let me have my money once I put it in their care? I was 3 months late on the mortgage and

taking no chances (I stupidly thought) and though it made me nervous as hell (the bank people later didn't care that I'd been clubbed and robbed at

gun point of $5400 they'd made me afraid to deposit -- none of them was the gunperson so it wasn't their problem -- yes, that's People's Bank of

Louisburg, KS folks. Tell 'em Bob said whatever vulgarity comes to mind) so I cleverly, or so I thought, hid the money in various places all in the

same place. Under my mattress.

Prior to that we toured the house and he kept mentioning settlement money and at first I thought he meant the insurance settlement for the burglary

and I said That was only about $6k and it was months ago! Yeah, look in that fridge on the way and tell me I have a lotta money. Geez!

After he got the money under the mattress, which was kinda close to how much I got from the insurance settlement (it was by sheer luck I was able

to raise the funds to not lose the house!) he said noticed a pack of cigarettes on the bedside table, noticed me semi-lunge toward him when he

picked them up, lit himself one and tossed the pack at me, which contained 4 more and said Settle down. Aside from you doing what any man

would've had to do, you've been a cooperative gentleman and I'd never take a man's last cigarettes. Now go downstairs and smoke all 4 and

don't come up until you do.

I came up later and he'd yanked the ADT control panel out of the wall. Yeah, ADT hates me too. I'd added a huge room years ago and replaced

many windows and wanted video surveillance added if they had it and they just couldn't grasp what I was telling them and kept sending a

repairman with one window unit who'd tell me he'd make sure they sent someone from sales. A year ago I canceled because the alarm would

wake the whole town at random times between midnight and 4:00 AM every night, causing many soiled sheets in my house in the process and

they wouldn't fix it.

Robber-guy saw it wasn't displaying anything when he pointed at it and asked what it was. In a stunning display of intelligence, he did yank it out

of the wall while I was downstairs, though. Yeah, if I was telling the truth, the fact he'd been there at least half an hour without police intervention

wasn't convincing enough and if I were lying, yanking the unit out of the wall might just be one of those things that signals ADT that there's a

problem?

Eventually I went outside and this guy who'd taken to calling me friend and saying he wouldn't take a man's last smokes had rifled through the

Mustang, too, the door key because he couldn't figure out how to get the ignition key out (SOB was gonna leave me stranded!!!), an expensive

OBD reader but not the necessary cables, and.... Oh, I'm gonna kill me someone! My carton that had about 5 packs of smokes left!

Literally, that's when I really got angry. So much so that I went in and grabbed my 10/22, loaded up a couple of banana clips and stormed outside

and took aim at one of the girders inside the 60x120 workshop because I'd learned the noise is definiting when you hit one, fired at it, and

challenged him to come out with my smokes if he wanted to ever leave my property. Then I went to each building looking for him. Long gone.

Weird thing is I later met the guy whose gun that was and found out who the robber was; a semi-relative of an erstwhile friend who is just

scandalous and stupid enough that they're kept just close enough to keep tabs on the robber who, unfortunately isn't in jail like he was for

something else a month ago when I learned who he was.

I didn't report it to the police. A neighborhood family who had 3 local houses was selling them and I expected to possibly have mine on the market

soon and all reporting it to the police would do would likely put me on the sticky brown end of the justice stick (with two notable exceptions -- a

gentleman my age who seems to relate to me very well and is old skool through and through and who I first met when the repo guys showed up

and he told me if it happened again, drag the bodies inside before calling the cops, and the adorable blonde who makes you feel safer and other

things when she's around) as I've actually only recently (oddly enough upon becoming a middle-aged white man -- it was deplorable when I was

black!) found that most cops are, well, okay, it can't be most of them but there are some who manage to cross paths with me who are dickheads

who are WHY Rodney King deserved to win because he knew as soon as the poh-leece turned their lights on and headed his direction, they were

bringing a beat-down with them so he might as well make them earn it -- the simple fact is we need increasingly large police forces not because

the citizens are acting up but because a lot of cops are causing them to. Law- abiding (cough-cough, okay, I used to smoke weed and I KNEW it

was wrongly illegal) citizen that I am? I've caused violent crime to be under- reported out here so my friends and I wouldn't take a beating on our

home sales. But I know who it is now and, almost bringing this full circle, it finally occurred to me what settlement he was referring to.

I had told exactly one person (whose name was brought up by the gentleman whose gun had been stolen and used) that day or at most earlier that

week that I had finally filed suit against Subaru. They took it to mean I'd gotten a settlement. Some time previously when asked by a few people

what outcome I was looking for, I told them I wanted my $18k back I'd dumped into payments, the lien paid off, and the car taken from my view

forever. He'd mentioned $18k at some point and still thinking burglary, I told him the filing was for only half that and after deductibles, it was closer

to 6. I don't know yet how he knew I'd have a large amount of cash in my house for the first time EVER but I knew who told him his flawed info. Oh,

and he and my erstwhile friend knew me so well, he dyed his hair green. And I'm colorblind and thought he had brown hair that just looked a little

weirdly shaped.

I feel like I just sang 128 verses of Weird Al's Albequerque to lose my place and remember that my main point is that Subaru ruined my life, when

actually my point about Klonopin could be made shorter, but the sheer size of this missive might bear a Klonopin lesson, too. Okay, those who

know me well might say it's a bit long even on my scale, but only a bit. But perhaps those who've read me most on my sites (Silicon Investor being

my baby but under the founder's care now since I ran out of money), many of whom claim to do so because they're under this delusion I'm an

engaging writer (my writing has made me money and gotten me offers, though, so who's to argue...) might want to do a comparison between now

and May 2008 when my car blew the motor 2 months after I took delivery and whether there's a difference and what part of that difference might be

a result of that first thrust in a years-long, ummmmmmm, servicing by SOA or if it's a Klonopin thing.

Klonopin, eh? God love it, it bought me relief from a lot of my TS symptoms for a long time but is become slowly less effective and I'm doomed to

larger doses but it seemed so much less scary than the alternatives.

But being off of it 4 weeks cold turkey? It was beyond ridiculous. I was already paranoid to stay at my home at night (and rent an apartment

because of it) but when the withdrawal symptoms hit me? Oh My God! I missed the first appointment because I just couldn't drive. Amusing that

I'm sure the doctor would understand (actually I count him a good friend and back in the day we planned to own a plane together and take lessons

together) but his wife and assistant chided me for missing the appointment (I told them to research Klonopin withdrawal and reconsider the

chiding) and when I finally could use a phone again to reschedule, I moved from hotel to hotel gradually closer to his office like I was sneaking up

on it.

What a relief that first pill brought. I was full-blown agoraphobic and the next day I was out working in my yard and waving at neighbors driving by.

I know it's effective in treating agoraphobia in its own right.

I hate that without it, and sometimes WITH it if I haven't taken enough over the long haul, I end up with conditions that would land me square on

Disability if not for their existence manifesting only when I'm off the twitch pills.

Hello, My name is Matt. I hope to share some insight into some and I say only some of your problems with benzodiazapines not being effective. In many studies that I am aware of and have researched extensively, please google placebo effect with valium and other psychotropic type drugs. The effects of most narcotic anxiety medications is only a cause of the persons awareness of taking the drug. In other words in double blind type studies people were given Valium IV and told they were given saline and there was no effect on persons relief upon receiving the drug Valium. In reverse the study groups with saline and told valium were effected with antianxiolitical effects or they felt like they were on Valium. The point I am trying to connect is the use of placebos among doctors in the U.S that effectively prescribe placebos. This meaning that these pharmaceutical companies can decrease the active ingredients and have an effect almost as good as the full dose in name brands. But not all people respond the same. Very important is that you remember your perceived outcome of these generics before you took them? and how that may have effected there strength.

The Warning Benzo Hell. My name is Shawn K and I am a Recovering Accidental Benzo Addict. I have never done illegal drugs or even drank beer in my life. in 2009 I was healthy and happy, I came down with a very bad case of food poisoning, I was put on compazine, which caused akathesia. I eventually ended up on Ativan a Benzodiazipine drug... Benzo's Are highly addictive and Cause numerous horrendous effects on the human body... I am sorry to inform you that most doctors do not know about it... I nearly died 7 times last year because of doctors ignorance... For some people Benzo's do help... But I would only ever recognize them as a last resort... for some it works wonders but... often times people get terribly addicted and suffer Hell on Earth... Please look into these and educate yourself. Search Wikipedia for Benzodiazipine. I pray that you do not end up like me. -Shawn K

I have been taking Real Klonopin for 15 years now due to a skiing accident hitting my head on a tree stump.Well I have always told my doctor that generic isn't working its almost like there is no medicine in the tablet .I wish I could take it to a lab & pay for the testing .I have been suffering on these generic pills for over a year , can't leave the house .Went back 2 the doctor asked for a prescription 2 not substitute & now after 3 days it works ....What should I do about the generic meds .I think this is terrible .......

I have had, totally controlled for 13 years, Cervical Dystonia. But, at the insistance and due to the shortage of TEVA clonazepam, I was 'suckered' into by walmart to accept a round of MYLAN.

I kept wondering why I was having such a hard time sleeping, waking with nightmares, yelling out in my sleep ... totally bizarre symptoms, never before with me.

Then, woke two nights ago with muscle cramping I could barely draw a breath for the pain in right side of neck,shoulder muscles, shoulder blade area and also right arm.

Finally got myself up and in a hot shower to unlock the spasms, called walmart and insisted , TWO CALLS, that I get my Rx refilled ONLY with the previous Teva.

Another fiasco, but had to drive to yet another pharmacy (they won't transfer that but once) to get TEVA brand. After a day and a half (5 doses of 1mg) of the real stuff, I am down to only sore muscles.

God help anyone ... stay away from that stuff. I've not built a tolerance to clonazepam or even to Neurontin (gabapentin), but MYLAN's 'clonazepam' does NOT have the same stuff in it as it is supposed to.

My condition is the canary in the coal mine, trust me. The pain was extreme, but with my normal Rx, am fine now.

I tried to taper from 1.5 mg/day klonopin using the Ashton method (Valium). Didn't work at all - compared to klonopin, Valium was like pissing in the wind. Couldn't make it any lower than 1.0mg/day.

My new Doc put me on 750mg/day of slow release Depakote to help with the withdrawl...it was effortless to get down to .5mg/day (where I am now) using this route - and I don't foresee any problems coming off alltogether. (I'm still taking it relatively slow .125mg reduction/week).

I wish I would've known about this method sooner - must be that Depakote works on GABA similar to Klonpin - no zaps, insomnia, anxiety nor seizures.

I have PTSD,severe depression, and anxiety. I have been taking Klonopin since 1992, except during my two pregnancies and a few other brief periods of time. I am also a recovering addict. I do not abuse benzos, but I did start to abuse amphetamines. I have been clean for long periods of time since 2008. I relapsed a few months ago for a brief period of time and did something really stupid; I gave some of my benzos to someone else. I had never done this before and I was intimidated by this person. I was afraid for my safety. I didnt think it would cause me a problem, as I very often only take half of my prescribed dose. I had decided to never do this again because I knew it was wrong. I also stopped taking amphetamines. I started to clean up my act, but the problem was; I confided in my psychiatrist about what had happened and asked for another prescription somewhat early. Not only did she refuse to prescribe them to me until our next appointment; she refused to prescribe them to me ever again. I ended up in the hospital withdrawing and feeling as if I wanted to die. A few days after I got out of the hospital, my mother got sick and my psychiatrist prescribed them to me once again. I assumed she had decided to prescribe them to me regularly again, but when I went to see her today, she refused. Her attending physician told me I would have to seek therapy elsewhere if I wanted to be prescribed a benzo. I am a mental mess. I know that what I did was wrong. I know that I will never do those things again, but now my record is tained for life and when I dont have a benzo I cannot do much of anything. I have three kids and a house to manage and I can barely do it when I am not taking klonopin. I shake, and I feel as if I cant do a simple task without dropping or breaking something. I dont want to leave the house and I even shake and twitch when I am alone. The only thing positive thing I noticed about when I am not taking Klonopin is my decrease in fatigue. I love having more energy, but to live life in an anxiety-stricken state is far more crippling than the fatigue. I don't know what to do. What if any future doctors need my records? Then nobody will prescribe it to me. I know all of this mess is my fault, but I feel as if I have learned yet another lesson the hard way and that I might as well give up on ever having a normal life again. Has anyone gone through this and has anyone found an herbal supplement that works? I hate klonopin and I love klonopin. I hate needing it, but it is what it is.

I've been on Clonazepam for many, many years now. The dosage I'm on is 6mgs per day. I have noticed that my leg muscles are very sore and wonder if any other people have experienced this. My disability is Generalised Dystonia, early childhood onset and I'm on Valium as well as Clonazepam. Lately I've decided to come off the drug and decided to go almost 'cold turkey I've cut down from 6mgs per day to 2mgs per day as I write. I'm on 40 mgs of Valium per day and wonder if these will assist me in getting rid of the clonazapam from my system. While the spasms associated with Dystonia have not improved while I was taking Clonazapam neurologists have been unable to help me with any other medication. What is the safest way of getting off Clonazapam and now that I've reduced by 4mgs per day, should I go back on the drug and titrate down at a slower pace. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Was first prescribed Klonopin (1mg/3daily) over 13 years ago for very very painful cervical dystonia (look that one up). That, along with baclofen and periodic botulinum toxin shots in the muscles in my neck, upper back. Then tried a sample of Neurontin and THAT has been the miracle for me since first pill. I am 122 lbs. and take still the 3mg clonazepam and 1,800 mg of gabapentin daily. I KNOW when I have forgotten even one of my three doses very quickly. But, after all these years with no problem with generics, I can assure you that something was hideously wrong with first IPL generic and then I totally collapsed on the next bottle which was MYLAN brand generic of clonazepam. Back to TEVA, and it is also the generic of the gabapentin I take. I recommend everyone to insist to their doctor to let them try gabapentin for darn near anything related to nerves and muscles, pain. A note on Xanax...some idiots at a hospital my father was in decided he 'needed' that...he damn near crawled out of his skin. He begged me to write the medication down and to tell them NOT to ever ever give it to him again. Poor guy...it was a horror to see bad reaction from something he didn't need to begin with. And, at U of L, they almost killed him with the third round of morphine (he was NOT IN PAIN!) after I'd told the after the first time no more. I took him out of U of L that next morning...he had no memory of what had even happened from his violent reaction. Damn hospitals!!

I have taken name brand and then, finally, generics for my Cervical Dystonia (very painful, incredibly life altering) and have been totally controlled since 1998 from the horrible symptoms. I take, having eliminated baclofen myself years ago, only clonazepam and Gabapentin (the miracle for me). I no longer needed Botox injections into neck and upper back muscles after Neurontin, but no insurance and it was a choice of it over food at times.

Fast forward to the last 4 months...I didn't realize wal mart changed the brand of clonazepam I get to IPL...I could not sleep...night terrors, waking myself up yelling...endless symptoms I had no idea why. Then,a friend had to pick up for me my next month of walmart generic...the next was a different color (blue) and was MYLAN brand. I realized my 'illness' was from the last two generics when I woke up with the muscles locked up on one side of my neck, arm and back. I was furious, called walmart to refill my Rx in ONLY TEVA...no other. They agreed, I could barely drive the mile there, walk in and get it. BUT...I insisted on opening the bottle and so help me it was that cursed blue Mylan brand. I told them if they could not find a walmart or another pharmacy with TEVA to forget it. I nearly threw it at them after them lying on the phone. Another walmart did have it, God knows how I drove another 5 miles, and it was TEVA. I started feeling better, though muscles sore for a month gradually getting better/more flexible. So, after picking up the TEVA, one lady there told me it would be the last of that they would ever get. (One other woman still tried to sneak a bottle of some other on me to complete my order!!! I had to refuse loudly.) So, now to find a pharmacy that carries TEVA and pray that they never screw around with their 'formula' for it.

Mylan is garbage-their xanax is a joke.I take Teva klonopin,and I tried brand name klonopin last week,and saw NO difference-Teva is good.

k pin does not show up on their tests even though you have taken it. believe me i knw. so dnt worry. I had wandered the same thing and found out that most test do not detct clonazepam at all. They have to do a special search just for that one benzo to find it. most companies and po offices do not knw this. therefor its a good thing so keep it a secret.

I have benn on Klonopin for 1-1/2 years. Started with 1mg. 3 x's a day and it was too much for me. I tapered off to 1 time a day, but this is a bad drug choice for me. Unlike most people, I have a very rare movement disorder and this was the drug of choice. Anxious, irritable, hostile, rapid heart palpitations, depressed and IF I miss a dose, the withdrawal is even worse. Is anyone else taking this drug for movement disorders? Seeing my neurologist next week to begin weaning off this stuff. I do not like what I have read, that most doctors give you Valium to wean off the drug. Yet another addictive drug. Surely there are other alternatives. Can you ever get off this stuff completely without side effects lingering? From what I am reading, it takes a long time to rid your system of the drug. The drug worked well initially, but truly affected my cognition with the higher dosage. If this is supposed to be a short term medication, why are so many people on this stuff for long durations of times? Anyone taking this for movement disorder and have you found sucess with a mild alternative?

After a long and frustrating period of trying to get a diagnosis for my symptoms, one doctor and $1,000.00 out of pocker later (I was laid off earlier this year and don't qualify for benefits at my new empolyer yet) I was found to have panic disorder/attacks. I was put on 20 mg celexa and .25 mg clonazepam when needed such as the onset of a panic attack. I purchase mine from wal-marts pharmacy generic and have found them to be effective for me. I am very glad that they take effect within 30 minutes if I am having issues it makes all the difference in the world to get it over with and get back to work. I must note that I am a lightweight when it comes to prescription meds, can't explain why but anything I've ever taken seems to affect me more than it would anyone else. I wish you all the best of luck and offer my sympathies if you've had people not understand what you're going through.

I have been using clonazepam for last 8 years.....but unfortunately it increase the tolerance with the time. Anxiety and insomnia was my problem with high levels of blood pressure maximum of 180/120....since then i am using both clonazepam 2 mg and hypertension drugs. Recently i started reducing the dosage it took 2 months to reduce from 2 mg to 1 mg looking ahead to totally close the dose

Going threw xanax withdrawals is hell I been taking xanax for 10 yrs psyc took me off cold turkey and its been hell since. the withdrawals i had were hallcinating,disorented,confused,paranoid couldnt even put 2 and 2 together i had thought i lost my mind. i was out of work 4 months could not go outside for a month i could even write a check to pay a bill cause i didnt know where to put my name that how bad it was. i am 8 months now and am still in trouble i work but barely making it my nerve system so out of whack when i see people i feel like i have jump out my skin i am very jumpy i hate loud noises i scared of everything and i cant concentrate or focus and am 8 months when is this going to end. please someone e-mail and tell me this will end or am i going say this way. e-mail is ab.nolan416@yahoo.com

Hello, I was diagnosed with general anxiety. It's never been to bad up until 5 months ago. Just everything built up I guess. So I'm on 10 mg of cipralex a day and I was taking 2 clonazepam one in the morn and one at night and they are .5mg. My anxiety has subsided very much... Which I hounestly think has a lot to do with me. So I started decreasing my clonezapan, I now try and do half a pill at night and 1/4 in the morning. Well let me tell you.... My dreams are just wild. Scary and just so vivid they seem real, and when I wake, I remember it all do well. Car crashes, jail, world ending, aliens, I guess whatever u watch or think could be dreamt about. The thing is your not scared in the dream. So you don't usually wake up even if the dream is terrifying. When you finally do wake up, you just feel weak and irritable... Sleep is great... Don't wake up during the night... But when you do wake up... It's just hard to get out of bed, and your left in complete shock from your dreams I think. I do smoke a bit of cannabis at night... Which could greatly effect my dreams when mixed with clonazepam. But I'm weeding my self off this drug. I want to go back to the old me. The me that wasn't afraid of anything, and I didn't need drugs then. So I am withdrawing a bit, I feel nauseous, balance is skewed, I'm quiet, maybe more irritable but it doesn't seem that difficult. I am doing fine but still taking half at night and 1/4 in the morning. I always think positive and look on the bright side of things... I will be off them soon. In time. Thanks email me If you have similar thoughts or want to chat about dreams and side effects of comming of the drug. My email is gibster15@msn.com

There are a lot of people asking for help on here, but don't give contact info. Folks pretty much tell their stories on here, as opposed to offering help, because most people need help. If you're on a large dose, and need help cutting down. My e-mail is markbull_99@yahoo.com

I have been taking xanax for about 7 yrs due to extreme anxiety. An unfortunate and unusual side effect I have had to endure is the overwhelming urge to shoplift. This is not something I am proud to be posting here but I recently just got my second felony retail theft, which goes to show how uncontrollable the urge is. Even knowing I would automatically receive a felony no matter the amount of the item stolen, I still could not stop. I know a lot of people would say to get off the med or try something else and I have tried many other benzo's including klonopin, valium, and ativan. All with the same side effect.It is so bad that I just refuse to go in to stores while on the medication because I know I will not be able to help myself. I have been searching for related information on a connection between this unusual phenomena with little to show. I have decided to post here and ask if anyone else has this side effect or knows anyone that does. You may e-mail me at ens816@gmail.com or just reply here. Thank you all, any information will be helpful.

To be honest it's a band aid not a neuro-scientific cure. Until neuroscience can go in and fix the misbehaving neurons, neurotransmitters (GABA is heavily involved in panic/paranoia), and the receiving cells of those transmitters it's either risk the meds or live with anxiety. Life is not always nice. For all the complaints on this site just thank whatever you choose to thank (science, god etc...) that you at least have a band aid. Imagine how many people don't. If it doesn't work well enough for you, TOUGH! Stop taking it and deal with on you're own if you think you are able, if you don't think you are able SHUT UP and take the medication until something better (again probably through neuroscience) is developed that is a cure, a real cure, because until then take what you can get and be thankful you have that! A population of self-entitled over-expecting patients made me leave my practicum in Med School. People could be dying in the hallway but that wasn't as important as some dip who didn't take his meds having a panic attack in the middle of isle b/c they don't like feeling stoned and drowsy but yet want something else (usually other benzos). Medicine is not an exact science like classical physics, deal with it. Some of it is guesswork or hypothesis more accurately You will NOT be cured by clonazepam. Period. It's a band aid. Sorry to be so negative but you have to face reality, life isn't fair and sometimes even the cures are bad. Try complaining to someone undergoing chemotherapy about the ill effects of cures.

i have been taking clonazepam for 2 years. I take 3mg a day. MYLANS DO NOT WORK!!! teva's however do, and i read almost aall of these posts. is it true there is no more klonopin brand name made? cuz im going to get my scxript today and i was gunna as for brand name for the first time. teva works, i just feel like theres alittle bit less of miligrams of actual clonazepam in each pill. for example maybe a 2mg pill has 1.25 mg so they can save money.. but what people dont realize is these drugs are tested reguarly, and at first there was a few times were i thought they were giving me a placebo, till irealzied ITS HIGHLY ILLEGAL to do without ur permission why would doctors be that stupid. im also on suboxone i use to be a herion addict. ive been clean from herion for 19 months but still take suboxone klonopin and trazodone.

Is anyone else having trouble with there suboxone doctor letting u take klonopins?? let me know...

Hello my name is Nancy Ohno, my story starts 28 years ago with an on the job MVA, in which I had sever damage.. Was put in the hospital and they did surgery (dr's thought i was out when they put glue like material down your nose to put a tube, feels like drowning, this started ptsd, anxiety+++) to correct some problmes with face damage/broken jaw displaced missing teeth etc.

Months went by and I really didn't remember much, so to jump ahead a year my oral surgeon, whom dealt with some of major teeth and jaw issues up and left for the middle east to make million and left me with no doctor,,

I continued to have multi- problems, which range from a closed head injury to panic anxiety Ptsd,,, NOW being the owner of a business (1984) i need to get back to work asap, but I couldn't I went and tryied...but ended up broke.co was sold 1985..

There goes my insurance other than to go on L&I,, which is what i did,, and 28 years later still having problems, L&I after 25+ years has not added to my on going anxiety/ptsd/tmj/dental probmes of NOT paying for Brand name of Klonopin expensive so they stoped it any cold turkey. That sent me into withdrawal,

We tried a generic and it didn't help, and today after trying several generic, I look 10 years older over the last year and can hardly leave my home...I have no Doctors as they were paid for by L&I too, they refuse to pay for a dr and er's. Im in the cold until an appeal, which has taken nearly one year...

My attorney doens't understand i can't even go into a building to the forth floor where this was set up and much to my surprise, i didn't fully know about the appeal, the attorney was talking directly to the dr's, because L&I had fallen 1.5 years behind in payment,,so is the appeal to help me get my much need meds back for life or to get the doctors paid...i don't know there is a big lack of communication even with e mails i have send most are left unanswered by atty..

Faxes to the doctors office that i need help, are not even brought up when i go in.... The doctors are great don't get me wrong,the big problem is the cost of meds and the responsibile party will not live up to their end of the law...After being on klonopin brand for all these years, and the problems i am having trying to use generic and can't go out at all. RIGHT NOW I can't go near a doctor or hospital or anywhere even fun, but i don't know what that is anymore, too much anxiety+ every day, getting worsse not better?

I am not sure i would tell someone else to do this. MUST be other solution to some of the problems i am having,(anxiety therpy with medication) would it make sence to go in a group and go out and expose oneself to the anxiety with others that understand in a controled way? Like a place for people whom recover from other things,,,,,

Family practice doctor and none will take a L&I claim that is as old as mine...

The medical insurance professional are really hurting us... Mine is a direct reflection on the lack of state money as it appears, as not that long ago the attorney told me no less than meds and drs on pension, well now that has changed...

I feel let down and no meds are working.(when employeed had 100% medical/dental/eyes/expense account/co.auto) LIFE WAS GOOD!!!!..

I am at the end of my rope and it just seem that in the USA.

No one should go without medical and medications..

I can tell L&I that no one goes thought all of this for the little amount of money they give as TIMELOSS, it to me is not enough to go though years of doctors every week....

I have only lasted this long in that system because i have money but away... But how do we get meds that work and know they are safe and well not end up trying generic after generic that fails and leaves us less for the ware, we try...

I try to spend the state money as effective as i would mine.... if i could take generic i would, but to cut one off with no supervision of withdrawal can be deadly and i do have some problems from that 5 mg a day to nothing... what are they thinking.....

I want to go out and live as I use to,,, life has become a battle,, it's 11:36 am and I have not even gotten up yet, i was a 6am person before the accident and did all kinds of things.. Anxiety/panic/ptsd are all problems many lay people do not understand, they just think i'm crazy or didn't want to go.... How sad!!!

I have no family so i'm on my own though all of this and this last taken away of medication is inhumane.....to say the least....

I need a good MD and better coverage from L&I as it is an on the job injury....... thank you hope it help... PRAYS FOR ALL.

Hello, I have been diagnosed with OCD and depression and was perscribed Luvox,Temazapam for sleep and Klonipin for anxiety, this is the first time in my life Iv ever been on any medication and Im 40 years old. I stopped the Temazapam four weeks ago ago without any more insomnia problems but continued the Klonipin up untill about two weeks ago. I went from three .05mg a day to two and then one in the morning withing the two week period. My anxiety is under control, and I dont feel I need the kolinipin, but my sleep has slowly resorted back to insomnia and fits and starts for the last week. I DO NOT want to take Klonipin again, because of all the horrible stories I have read about and researched. Im wondering if anyone has experienced insomnia rebound when stopping Klonipin and what you did about it. Thanks for any information. manonbreakdown@gmail.com

Hello, I have been diagnosed with OCD and depression and was perscribed Luvox,Temazapam for sleep and Klonipin for anxiety, (I have been on medication for 7 weeks now) this is the first time in my life Iv ever been on any medication and Im 40 years old. I stopped the Temazapam four weeks ago ago without any more insomnia problems but continued the Klonipin up untill about two weeks ago. I went from three .05mg a day to two and then one in the morning withing the two week period. My anxiety is under control, and I dont feel I need the kolinipin, but my sleep has slowly resorted back to insomnia and fits and starts for this past last week. I DO NOT want to take Klonipin again, because of all the horrible stories I have read about and researched. Im wondering if anyone has experienced insomnia rebound when stopping Klonipin and what you did about it. Thanks for any information. manonbreakdown@gmail.com

Hi all. I am bipolar type two with an anxiety disorder. Anyway, my medicine regimen was as follows before introducing Klonipin 1 mg at night:

Morning: Lithium extended release 450 mg and Buspirone Hcl 10 mg.

Evening: Depakote 750 mg and Buspirone Hcl 10 mg.

There were few side effects to report except that the Buspirone in the evening was keeping me up late into the night, so much so, that it became a problem. Thus, my Dr. had me substitute the nighttime dose of Buspirone with 1 mg of Klonipin. Unfortunately, on the next morning of the first day on this medication I awoke with soreness in my left eye which was rather painful and scared me into discontinuing the treatment. It has been one day since I have gone off the Klonipin evening dose with no ill side effects to report. I hope this post will be helpful to anyone new to Klonipin treatment. I must also mention that Klonipin on its own, as I remember, did not produce any pain in my eye. It was only when taken with Depakote that this occured.

Best,

Will

I was prescribed Klonopin, lil round green pill. My Dr. told me to take it for stress,and panic attacks being brought on my crappy cheating hubby. One day he pulled the same crap as before made me panic. I decided to take a pill. Next thing I know, I am filled with a rage I have never felt before. The clonazepam turned a regular ole, angry woman, into a stark raving lunatic. It is lucky for me. I did not hurt him, I was able to control myself and advised him to run for his life. I left him and tossed out the pills the next day. Later, I researched and discovered that Klonopin will make some people stark ravin lunatics, but only a few, right? Well according to what I have read here, he does more harm than good. Don't take this stuff. You could end up in jail and have your entire life ruined. Unless you think the jury is going to buy, the Klonopin made me do it.

I had the experience as many of you have had re: false/neg. drug screen test. I came back negative 2 weeks in a row. My doctor told me she could no longer continue seeing me. I live in Florida and they are really cracking down on control substances thanks to Gov. Scott. I called the lab myself to see why I was testing that way as I HAVE to take it every day due to severe anxity attacks. They wouldn't tell me but said they would tell my doctor... she refused to make that one phone call...after much pleading and going over her head to patient advocate service and the director of the office they decided they needed to check into this...maybe it was because I threatened to contact my senator in charge of disability complaints...or maybe I finally talked to the right person who was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Bottom line...the Doctor of drug screening at the lab was called and she said that a false/neg. with this drug wasn't uncommon. She recommended that the doctor take blood instead of urin with and order a certain kind of test that will show if it is in my system. My doctor called and said she would take me back as a patient and called in my RX. for Klonopin. I have to go and have the blood test in one week. If it doesn't show you will hear from me again. If it does then all is right with the world. In all fairness to doctors...because of the epidemic street drug sales they are being monitored very closely because some doctors give it out like candy to people who don't really need it...so they have to protect themselves... But if you are having this problem you might benefit from this info...If I can help one person in the situation I was in then it was worth the time it took for me to post this...I want to follow up on you if you try this and it works for you, for my own records...so will you please contact me at divaofchrome at yahoo. Thanks... Hollywood dated Easter 2012

Hi, I have tried all different brands. Teva was so bad, that it sent me on a journey of hours of study to find this little known, but incredible brand. Activas makes the best generic. When my pharmacy ordered it for me, the 1st time I took it, it was like taking a benzo for the 1st time. My body felt warm, and I had not a care in the world. The results are still there 6 months after starting them. Google Activas in the USA, and you can find a list of products they make. I switched to Wellbutrin XL 150, and the effective results are amazing. They take pride in their products. They are a little known company that is gaining in popularity as people discover them. Currently, I was doing a search of Generic Opana, to discover, that they are getting ready to release a brand name pain reliever. To release brand name products are unheard of by generic company knock offs, but their world wide extensive research and development department, allows them to do what other generic companies would not think of, wasting their money on creating a brand name drug. I bought a list of drugs that Actavis makes to my pharmacy that I take, and asked them to please order any of these drugs I was taking from Actavis. They were happy to do so, because their wholesale prices are so competitive with other generic companies. Good luck, and I hope this helps anyone else on Klonopin, or Xanax (as they make the under the tongue (OCD) Xanax) and any other drug they make, as their pain medication is rated as Number 1 across the board on all the forums. If I was in the stock market, I would invest in them today, because their name brand pain medication will hit the market end of July.

I am not an employee or have nothing to gain by talking about Activas. But after years of having substandard medications, I was floored to find a drug company that lives up too, and in some cases surpasses the name brand drugs.

guyny

KLONOPIN ( clonazepam )
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KLONOPIN ( clonazepam ) Stories, Experiences, and Advice

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KLONOPIN ( clonazepam )
Stories, Experiences, and Advice