Posted by Ritch on September 5, 2002, at 13:21:49
In reply to Klonopin Questions and PRN's in General, posted by Jim Bob on September 5, 2002, at 12:34:07
> Hey everybody,
>
> I have a few questions concerning Klonopin. I was just prescribed 0.5 mg, 3 times a day PRN. First, do you know of any interaction between cigarettes and klonopin? I was told by someone that smoking might interfere with the action of klonopin.
Hi Jim,I have heard that cigarettes (nicotine) can cause some medications to be eliminated more quickly. I know for sure that cigarette smoking will cause caffeine to be eliminated about twice as quickly. So, if you don't smoke you have to be extra careful *not* to drink coffee too close to bedtime. I don't know if Klonopin would have the same interaction with smokes or not, though. But, I think the "interaction" would be a simple one of quicker elimination or reduced elimination rate of the med involved, not anything really dangerous (given Klonopin is fairly safe in overdose). It is possible that if you quit smoking the Klonopin might build up a little more in your body and you wouldn't need to dose as much.
>
> Second, I tend to drink a glass of wine with dinner. If I'm on a dose of klonopin, how dangerous is it to drink 1 or 2 glasses of wine while on 0.5 mg of klonopin?
I don't think that would be really "dangerous" as long as you aren't driving or running a buzz saw or something. Of course, booze can aggravate anxiety and depression, so it could be thwarting the medication.
>
> Finally, for those of you out there on klonopin or any other benzo for that matter PRN, how do you budget your medicine to avoid going over your daily allowment? It's very difficult for me, with a bottle of 90 klonopin, to avoid taking an extra one during the day when a dose has worn off. Any suggestions, personal experiences, or handy tips for budgeting PRN meds?
>
> Thanks,
> Jim Bob
I found that with Klonopin or any benzos for that matter that a lower dose taken *every* day as a regimen with the option to increase it above that baseline on a PRN basis works the best. I know take just .25mg of Klonopin at bedtime, and I take .25mg once or twice during the day as needed on top of that. But, that doesn't happen very often-probably because I take .25mg every night regardless-so there is always some medication in my system, which makes it less likely I feel a need to take it during the day.hope this helps,
Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:118895
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020829/msgs/118903.html