Clonazepam, the generic drug for “Klonapin,” is also known around my house as “my nerve pill.” I’m not proud to say that I take Clonazepam, but I have taken it for approximately seven years now. Some things my brain and its attending organs were designed to do, don’t do their job right. I take medication for it, much as you would for diabetes, or heart disease.
Technically, Clonazepam is a drug used to treat seizures and panic attacks. It is a benzodiazepine which is known to act on the brain and central nervous system to have a calming effect. .
It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I had to live my life subject to this, and other, medications. Clonazepam, Xanax, Lithium, these drugs were for others. Crazy people. Not me. I was just a little stressed, a little edgy.
Time proved me wrong. Thankfully, I don’t take Xanax, nor Lithium, I never have. I continue to take Clonazepam, and find that it is prescribed more and more every day. The least little nervous issue and an M.D. will write you a script for Clonazepam.
I’m going on the record to say that if you need any mood altering medication, or “nerve pills” consult with a psychiatrist, someone who is trained in the area of psychotropic medications and mental illness. It is a broad subject with a broad range of treatments. Based on the current body of knowledge psychiatry is part science, part art. You need to consult with someone who knows what they are doing. Finding the right medication or combination of medications for you can be a difficult and time consuming process.
Having said that I will tell you about my personal experience with Clonazepam. The biggest side affect that I have experienced with Clonazepam is delayed motor skills or reaction time. This has had a huge impact on my life, because I will not drive a car within several hours of having taken the medication. It is too much like having a drunk driver behind the wheel.
The medication warns not to drive or operate large machinery, but I know many individuals who continue about their daily lives, doped up on Clonazepam, despite the warnings associated with the side effects of Clonazepam.
Not only are motor skills delayed, but another side effect of Clonazepam is that it also slows down thinking skills. Clonazepam’s side effects can also cause you to skip a thought, or suddenly forget where you were.
At times, I have terrible memory issues. I can remember little things that happen today, or yesterday, but I cannot recall important events, like a child’s birthday party that happened a few years ago. It is as if milestones in my life have been taken away. I contribute the memory loss, by and large, to side effects of Clonazepam.
A beginning dose of Clonazepam is usually .5mg. Seven years ago, that worked for me. One pill in the morning, it didn’t cause many side effects, like making me drunk or dizzy. I was able to go about life’s routine. After a year or so, .5 mg didn’t do anything to calm my nerves and I was increased to 1mg.
On 1mg, I experienced only one severe side effect, bladder in countenance. That may not sound so bad to you, but when you are a school teacher in your 30’s and your bladder decides to empty things can get pretty hairy.
When I could take the side effects of Clonazepam no more, and 1mg ceased to work, my doctor at the time put me on other medications. I tried several different meds, but one made me jumpy, one made me more agitated, one put me to sleep for days on end.
I went through this for about a year or so. I was seeing a doctor who, rather than decreasing my meds and trying to help the situation, was happy to add a new medication to the list for every system. There was a time when I had prescriptions meds to help me sleep, wake me up and give me energy, calm me down, and keep me from being depressed. It’s no wonder I ended up at the nut house.
There, everything was discontinued, and as you have to do in psychiatry to process began again. This time I had a much wiser, more well-informed psychiatrist. He put me on two medications and I have used both to date. One of them is Clonazepam.
I was placed on 1mg with strict warnings to watch for side effects of Clonazepam including dizziness, nausea, vomiting, rash, and the usual litany of allergy warnings. One of Clonazepam’s worst side effects, for some people, is that it can make them sleepy. It is difficult to use Clonazepam for drug control on the job when one of the side effects is that it makes you sleepy. Thankfully, I never experienced that or any other side effects of Clonazepam at that point.
Over the years, I increased to 2mg of Clonazepam per day. The manufacturer recommends no more than 3mg per day for an adult. 2mg worked out fine for a while, with only the side effects mentioned above: some memory loss, slowed motor skills, and slowed cognitive function. The side effects of Clonazepam were more aggravating than life threatening.
During the holiday season, I went ahead and upped my does to 3mg per day, without the doctor’s knowledge or permission. I was significantly more affected by the side effects of Clonazepam. At times my mind was not lucid. I tended to babble both coherently and incoherently. I knew where I was at all times, but one of the effects of the Clonazepam was to cause me to feel disconnected from my body.
At 3mg, and eventually 4mg, I knew where I was and with whom I was talking, but there words often sounded like babble. I couldn’t always pull myself together in the room and be fully present. The side effect of the Clonazepam was that I acted and felt drunk. Even on the lower dose, I became clumsy and could not hold things in my hands without losing my grip.
Realizing that Clonazepam can be addictive, I finally spoke to my doctor. We tried some things to remediate, and I’m once again on 1mg per day. It works fine, and the only side effect I have is that when I have to go to the restroom it can come suddenly, and I have to go. Part of that comes with age and bearing children, but after a bladder tack, I know that a large part of it is due to the side effects of Clonazepam.
My experience with Clonazepam is not necessarily typical. I know many people who are placed on the med at 5mg/ once a day and that works for them for years. My body has a high tolerance to medications, and I have an addictive personality. I have to be a lot more careful with Clonazepam than the average patient.
I do know of patients who have taken only 5mg and have experienced a drop in blood pressure and feelings of faintness. One individual in particular looked as if he would pass out. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead within fifteen minutes of taking his first 5mg dose.
It is my understanding that doctors like to use Clonazepam because it has relatively few side effects and is relatively safe. I guess that depends on who you are, and your perspective. Clonazepam had also been known to decrease libido, cause hair loss by the handfuls, and muscle spasms. I have occasionally experienced muscle spasms and pains associated with the side effects of Clonazepam, but not to the extent that I would even report it to my doctor.
Today, Clonazepam keeps me on an even keel. In the event of a stressful holiday or tragic event my doctor allows me to take 2mg/day. I try to keep that to a minimum. He has also advised me that instead of taking it “as needed” for nerves, as I was doing, to take one a day, so the medication could build up in my system. After all, that is the way it is prescribed. It is NOT an “as needed” nerve medication. I have since learned that failure to take the medication on a regular schedule can cause exacerbated depression and agitation.
Clonazepam should not be taken with pain medications, muscle relaxers, sedatives, or alcohol. It is likely to intensify the effects of these medications.
Do not take this medication and drive until you are certain how your body will react. I have had a relatively positive experience with Clonazepam, compared to frazzled nerves. However, others have suffered from the negative side effects of Clonazepam.
Talk to your doctor and pharmacist before you begin taking Clonazepam. Ask about drug interactions, and watch for side effects specific to Clonazepam. I played a dangerous game. Don’t be guilty of the same foolishness.
