Posted by finelinebob on May 7, 2004, at 1:06:16
In reply to Need to stay on and up klono dose, but..., posted by jonh kimble on May 5, 2004, at 22:41:29
I remember the first time I took a dose of Klon ... it was like someone shut off this buzz, this constant low-level vibration along my spine and down my limbs that had been there for so long I didn't even realize it was there until it stopped. I wound up taking 1mg/d of Klon for about 5 years straight. As always, YMMV ... but I dropped it in December due to having no money for any meds whatsoever, and I had no withdrawal. The buzz came back, tho ... expected as much.
I just got back on my meds. New location, new pdoc. He wants me on 1/2mg/d on an "as needed" basis. Same effect, tho -- first time I needed it, 20 minutes and my nerves were no longer dancing.
This is just the opinion of one geneticoneurochemical-deviant, but I've believed that if your body needs it, you won't have side effects (because those effects are main effects for you) and the associated bad mojo of them. SSRIs rip my body to pieces. nortriptyline, on the other hand, is cleaner for me (zero side effects) than SSRIs are supposed to be for everybody. Same thing for clonazepam and me.
I feel I need it everyday. But I'm cutting my new pdoc a little slack. He's suggesting some exercise (I can certainly use more of THAT!) can help me manage the moment-to-moment background anxiety, saving the Klon for anticipatory anxiety. One of these days, I'll get the motivation to get that exercise. And I'll find out whether my pdoc is right or wrong. The point to take away is that I'll be respecting his view by trying. If the exercise works, then the Klon will be just that more effective for when I'm two steps from a panic attack. If it doesn't, I have that much more empirical evidence to present for opening up his definition of just what "as needed" means.
So, if you need to hear someone say "I've taken 1mg of klonopin a day for years and years and had no adverse effects (withdrawal, habituation) from it" then count me in.
On the other hand, if your pdoc is giving you alternate strategies for coping with your anxiety -- plus the cbt -- then do them as well as you can, keep a journal of what you do and how it works (or doesn't), then present a couple of months of data to your pdoc at the end of June.
Anecdotes from others are fine. Empirical data from your own life is a helluva lot better.
poster:finelinebob
thread:343854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/344240.html